A/N: I own no portion of Code Geass. Thank you for reading, I appreciate it. Please leave a review and let me know what you think so far : )
Home Again
Kallen opened her heavy eyes, everything in front of her was a blur. All she could see were vague shapes in front of her. She was on the floor of a room, a small room. She pulled herself to her unsure feet, each step seemed to be a task in itself. There was a chair in front of her, it was the only other thing in the room. Those vague shapes slowly grew definition and form until her vision was nearly perfect. "Where am I?" She asked aloud although she couldn't hear anything. Had she gone deaf? Did she actually speak, or was it in her head? Kallen reached a hand out in front of her, the walls seemed slightly transparent, yet clearly visible. She placed her hand on the wall, it was firm. She could feel it, it was cold. The chill sent a shiver up her spine. Was this the expected effect of refrain? As if someone was turning up the volume on the world, she could hear a voice gradually becoming louder and more pronounced.
"..llen. Kallen? Kallen, can you hear me?" Nunnally was asking. She had been eagerly awaiting Kallen to regain consciousness. She couldn't help but worry for her. Every day that Kallen had been unconscious, Nunnally made an effort to come in and check on her.
Kallen reared her head around to see Nunnally in her wheel chair with a remorseful look on her face. This was weird, everything felt real, very real in fact. Granted, she had never taken refrain before, but still, from the chill of the walls and floor on her bare skin to the tightness of her dress, it was almost frightening. "Nunnally! What's going on? Where am I?" Taking another look around Kallen recognized this place. It was the prison she'd been held in, before the battle for Tokyo.
Nunnally's face brightened with the sound of Kallen's voice. "Thank goodness you're finally awake. You've been unconscious for several days."
Kallen shook her head and looked at her surroundings. Everything was so detailed, she could make out all of the screws and bolts that held the bridge together. "Several days? What are you talking about?"
"After you attacked Suzaku.." Nunnally paused for a moment, she seemed disappointed. "You were seen as a liability, so the guards came in and knocked you out. They said you hit your head pretty hard. We weren't sure if you were going to wake up at all." Nunnally's voice trailed off, not wanting to think of the possibility. Even though they were supposed to be enemies, Nunnally liked Kallen quite a bit. They'd been on the student council together for some time. Regardless of their allegiance, Nunnally couldn't wish ill will on another person, let alone a friend.
Kallen was confused, she searched her memory for an incident where she'd been knocked unconscious. Nothing came to mind. Kallen looked at her hand and hesitantly moved her hand to the back of her head. She pressed lightly and pain throbbed where she touched. Quickly she found herself in a panic, she was past worried, bordering on terrified. What had she done? She brought her hand back in front of her face, it was shaking. Quickly she forced her hand away, she looked back up to Nunnally but another woman was now standing at her side.
With few words she wheeled Nunnally away. Kallen could hear that Nunnally was trying to protest but the woman quickly silenced her. "Viceroy this is urgent, you must insist that you come with me." The door hissed shut as they left Kallen alone.
"What could be that important?" Kallen asked aloud. The idea came to her mind in a flash. This must be the battle for Tokyo, the Government Beuro was under attack and they had to ensure Nunnally's safety. It all made sense now. But if that were the case, that would mean that she was about to be released by Sayoko. The doors hissed open again, three soldiers entered. Kallen couldn't help but smile, it was her executioners. The men charged with killing her to ensure she didn't escape. They didn't say a single word as they walked onto the bridge leading to the door in front of her. The first raised a case containing a lethal injection, they seemed surprised that Kallen didn't try to hide or shield herself at all. Suddenly they fell to the floor in complete silence. Behind them stood Sayoko, with shurikens in her hand. With tears in her eyes she called out, "Sayoko!" She never thought she would be so pleased to see the female ninja.
"You're looking well." Sayoko responded with a briefcase in hand. "Master Rolo has gone on to secure Miss Nunnally." She raised the suitcase in her hands to show her the contents. "We came to give you a present Miss Kallen. It should fit." Inside was her flight suit, just as she remembered it. Sayoko opened the door and they made their way to the hanger.
"Thank you Sayoko for rescuing me." Kallen said with a sincere smile. Sayoko merely nodded and they entered the large hanger. Standing all by itself was her Guren S.E.I.T.E.N. It was a beautiful sight to behold, she hadn't seen it for months now. Just seeing it in front of her made Kallen well up with joy.
"I think Miss Milly's former fiancé is behind the changes. There seems to be a draft construction manual inside. Shall-"
"I don't need a manual, let's get this thing going." Kallen said confidently while tying her trademark headband. She jumped into the cockpit and inserted her key. The runway lights flickered on as the Guren roared to life, all the systems were operational and ready to launch.
"We're still trying to determine master Zero's current position. Shall I transfer the IFF data?" Sayoko asked typing away on the computer in front of her. With a few simple commands she was able to complete the prelaunch necessities.
Kallen now remembered what her immediate mission was: to rescue Zero. Her features quickly hardened to grizzly resolve as she gripped the controls tightly. "Yes." Kallen responded simply, checking all the controls to make sure they were as she remembered. Once satisfied she closed the cockpit hatch. "You go after the Viceroy, I'm going to save Zero." The words alone brought a wave of pleasure to Kallen's body. She couldn't wait to hear his voice again. "Guren S.E.I.T.E.N. eight elements now launching." Kallen's heart beat picked up as the lights on the side of the runway flashed by faster and faster as she accelerated. With a blast of energy she blew down the nearest wall. Once outside she went full throttle. If her memory was accurate Zero was engaged in combat with the Vampire of Britannia.
The Guren zipped across the battle field, crushing units effortlessly. She left nothing but a trail of explosions in her wake until she found the Percival and Valkyrie squadron which detained Zero. In a quick dash she was able to destroy the Valkyrie squadron before they knew what had hit them. The Percival backed away from Zero to judge the current threat. Kallen narrowed her eyes. "So it seems that I get to take your precious life again, Vampire of Britannia!" Then she heard him, she heard Zero, the voice she could only play back over and over in her head until now.
"Kallen is that you?" Zero asked, thankful for the timely rescue.
Kallen stopped in her tracks. Tears welled in her eyes, just as she expected. "Yes Zero, I've returned to your side. I'll never leave you again. I promise." Noticing that she was distracted for a moment, the Percival moved in to attack. Kallen knew his strategy all too well. "What a pathetic excuse for a Knight." Kallen parried his attack with her blade, leaving his back exposed. With a single blow the Guren gripped the cockpit and ripped it from the Percival. Kallen's adrenaline was rushing now, for the first time in what seemed like ages. The shell of the Percival fell from the sky while Kallen maintained a tight grip on the cockpit. With a satisfying twist of her wrist the radiant wave surger activated, melting the capsule in her clawed arm. Sir Bradley's scream could be heard from inside the Guren, the plea for his own wicked life.
Lelouch's face appeared on the screen within the Guren, he seemed both amazed and relieved. "Kallen your loyalty is unrivaled, as are your piloting skills. Quickly now, we must turn the tide back in our favor." He spoke with all the charisma and valiance that he'd possessed for as long as she could remember.
Kallen only had moments to marvel at the sight of Zero before Suzaku and Gino were upon her. Guilford also joined the fight, although he could do little more than buy Kallen time as he pinned down Gino and his Tristan. "Suzaku!" Kallen growled. The Lancelot let loose a blast from its Hadron Blaster. Luckily with all the recent upgrades, the Guren was able to deflect it with ease.
"What? She deflected it?" Suzaku questioned the sheer possibility of such a thing. In that moment of disbelief Kallen launched her harkens, the first destroyed the Hadron blaster and the second bit into the Lancelot's right shoulder. With a violent heave Kallen closed the distance between the two of them. Suzaku raised an arm to counter but Kallen cut it off at the elbow with her dagger. She had to stop him before he could fire the F.L.E.J.A.
Gino broke free of Guilford's hold and made a bee line for Zero's Shinkirou. With a slight adjustment Kallen launched her clawed arm after the Tristan. "Don't you dare touch Zero!" Kallen screamed as the arm snaked towards Gino. With her attention split Suzaku drew his sword to cleave her in two. Now that the Guren had new energy wings it was simply too fast for the Lancelot. In a seemingly effortless motion she side stepped his slash and a delivered single strike to his sword, forcing it from his hand. The Guren's claw found its mark and gripped the left wing of the Tristan.
Gino looked back over his shoulder to see his wing get ripped clean off his back. "Faster than the Tristan? How is that possible?" He panicked as the Tristan fell into a corkscrew dive.
Kallen brought her attention back onto Suzaku as her gauntlet returned. "Now Suzaku, I will crush you!" She extended her clawed arm to clench the Lancelot's torso.
Suzaku's geass took control of him as he raised his right leg to block her claw. As the Guren gripped the Lancelot's thigh he ejected the limb. The Guren was momentarily occupied as the appendage melted. In that moment Suzaku pulled back and fired the F.L.E.J.A. towards the center of the Tokyo settlement.
Kallen watched in horror as the warhead drew closer and closer to its destination. "No... I couldn't stop it." Kallen smashed the sidewall of the Guren with her fist. Pain shot up her arm as her fist connected. "I knew what you were going to do!.. Zero.. I'm sorry, I've failed you." Tears, once again, were welling within her eyes.
Zero was consumed by shock as the warhead detonated. The blast already engulfed a huge area and it was growing quickly. "Nunnally!" His scream was gruesome and without restraint, it sounded as if his soul was dying as the name escaped his lips.
"Damnit!" Kallen shouted realizing that both, the outcome was her fault, and that she couldn't escape the blast radius. Luckily Zero was outside the warhead's reach. Kallen's mind was racing for a way out.. It was a long shot, but it was all she had. She raised her radiant wave shield in front of her. The blast met her shield and the two forces raged against each other. Everything become blindingly bright as the blast consumed her. The inside of the Guren became blurry very rapidly until everything went black.
The blackness began to clear as shapes became visible one by one. "Zero!" Kallen lunged forward only to find herself in her room with her arm outstretched. Reality had returned, like a tidal wave crushing a sand castle. A lump caught in her throat as she collapsed to the floor. She had forgotten about this world, completely enveloped in the other. Tears continued to fall down her cheek as she clenched her fist until her knuckles turned white. At that point pain shot up her right arm. This sudden realization caught Kallen off guard. She thought back to the memory she'd just relived, was it a memory? She didn't even know what to call it anymore. A thought came to her mind as she looked at her shaking hand, the same way she had in that prison cell. She closed her eyes and held her breath as her hand moved to the back of her head.
Kallen pressed lightly against the back of her head and gasped in pain.
