Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass. I do own the plot and a few characters.
Chapter Two: Day of Reunion
Lelouch had done all the calculations in his head. He only had to take the leap of faith and hope to whatever force had permitted him to live this long would continue watching over him so well. If he took the right preparations and made the right moves he'd be perfectly set to escape. His only challenge, then, would be to assure the guards wouldn't be anywhere near the hole he'd found. All he had to do was push out the five by five area in the left corner of the room they locked him in when they were giving him his bathroom time. The only problem after that would be finding a way to get back to Japan without getting caught by his father and his cronies. 'I could enlist in the help of the wolf pack here but… They might not want to help me, considering who I am,' He thought to himself, trying to relax. Finding your Zen mindset was not easy, however, when you were dangling from the ceiling by a very tight rope. He squirmed a little bit again but was awarded the same extreme pain he'd felt before. He bit his lower lip to withhold a hiss. The circulation was being cut off. When the tips of his fingers turned purple he'd be let down, his bare feet being shoved straight into a small box of broken glass. It would then be dunked in a bucket of lemon juice mixed with a bit of salt. And then, while he was biting back his tears and swears, they would offer him a little food, water and a quick bathroom trip. 'I've got another… Five minutes before they'll cut me free. Best get ready for this.' He thought bitterly. He looked up at the dark ceiling pleadingly. 'Suzaku… When are you coming for me? Do you still care? Or am I just a distant memory to you?'
…
Suzaku looked back at the large Britannia Manor with a keen eye. Lelouch was in there. Hidden under the many different smells filling the air around the demonic castle he could catch the light waft of Lelouch's smell. Roses and lavenders stuck out but were overshadowed by Lelouch's blood and sweat. The citrusy tang of lemons were added in along with the slight grit of salt. They were swirled and mixed, almost completely laced, with the blood and sweat. He growled lowly, knowing that the monsters that had tricked Lelouch were torturing him. 'I'm coming, Lelouch. They aren't going to hurt you any more,' He thought with determination, standing a little straighter and more alert. His ears shifted upward and he took a deep breath in. 'But is this really a good idea? If what Mom says is true he'll die either way…' He shook his head again, forcing himself to not think about it. He didn't care if he was supposed to kill Lelouch; he wasn't going to do it. If they could last out until after both the Day of Reckoning and the Day of Preservation Lelouch would be safe. His life would no longer be a necessary sacrifice. Suzaku took another breath, finalizing his resolve, and darted over to the left side of the large manor.
"Lelouch is being kept in the left wing of the castle, which was a bad decision on Charles' part. I've noticed that a few mice have managed to burrow out little holes under a few brinks on the lowest floor, therefore loosening them. I'm almost certain Lelouch noticed this as well, if he's been in the room it leads to. He's probably been loosening them himself to make his grand escape," Marianne had explained over tea and little sandwiches. Suzaku crept lowly, moving at a slow crawl like a newborn pup, and peered around for any sign of the little spot his Partner's mother had been talking about. A few bricks began wiggling about. Suzaku, being the always curious boy he was, walked over slowly and began sniffing the brick interestedly. It bopped him rather roughly in the nose, causing him to yelp and stumble back. He shook his head and growled until he realized a pale hand had shoved through with the large red construction material. The familiar scent of roses, lavender, sweat and blood seemed to snake from the flesh and call to Suzaku's sensitive nose.
"One down, twenty four to go," He heard a raspy, tired voice sigh while the hand retracted into the dark shadows of the castle. Suzaku, knowing the voice was Lelouch's despite the strangeness of it, barked at the hand just as the fingertips disappeared from few. The hand poked back out and reached about blindly, groping for something. Tail wagging, the emerald eyed wolf stepped forward and nudged the searching hand with his muzzle. Chilly finger lightly crept up along his muzzle until it was burrowed in his silky, curled auburn curls. "Suzaku?" Lelouch's voice was that of disbelief. His Partner answered by licking at the exposed forearm affectionately, tail wagging even more furiously.
"Lelouch! I'm so happy you're safe!" He cheered softly, tears pricking at his eyes. Had it really only been about four days since last he'd seen the blessed human he'd lived with for so many months? It felt like years had passed!
"I'm glad to know you are too, but right now we've got more pressing matters. Like, for example," He explained before clearing his throat lightly, "maybe getting me out of this Hellhole?" Suzaku jolted up, senses hopping right back in to overdrive, and he nodded. "Help me yank these bricks out. Four more on the top and all the other below it." Lelouch stated before retracting his hand. Suzaku missed the contact but quickly set to helping get the other free. He lifted one paw and placed it where the first brick had once been, leaning a bit closer and dipping his paw farther down, he yanked out, clearing the four bricks beneath the first to fall out. Lelouch leaned over, his violet spheres glinting in the new light. He didn't even wince at the brightness of the sun. "Well if I'd known you could do that I wouldn't have spent so much effort knocking the guards out to assure I'd have the full fifteen minutes necessary to get all these bricks out." He stated bluntly, voice swirled with a bit of sarcasm. Suzaku merely wagged his tail and smiled innocently at the other. "Now for the rest?"
"Scoot back," Suzaku began as he himself began to back up, "and I'll clear these out in a few seconds." Lelouch perked up, leaning back and realizing what his companion had in mind.
"Wait, Suzaku-!" He began but was too late. Suzaku ran full force right at the brick wall. The wall pushed about halfway in, the remaining sixteen bricks staying in place by sheer will power and, Lelouch felt, a bit of irony. He sighed when he heard the future alpha groaning on the other side. He reached for one of the bottom corner brisk, yanked it out, and the rest came tumbling down. "I meant for you to do the same thing you did before with your paw, not head butt it and give yourself a goose egg." Lelouch chided as he crawled out, wincing a bit to himself at the stinging sensation in his feet and hands. He leaned back once out and looked at the werewolf beside him, who was lying on the ground with a paw over the aching spot on his head. "You really are an idiot sometimes, aren't you?" He chuckled lightly, placing his hand in front of his mouth a bit. He didn't mean to laugh but it was too funny. After four humorless days in the dark, wondering if he was going to live or die, Lelouch was in desperate need of a little comic relief.
Suzaku shook off the slight sting and turned his attention back to Lelouch. He looked like he'd been dragged through a fresh, wet mud puddle then hacked up with various sharp objects. His school uniform jacket was gone, the white button-up shirt he wore under having been torn off at the shoulders to reveal multiple slit makes and scabs already beginning to form. His pants were ripped just a few centimeters above his knees, revealing the extremely pale skin hidden beneath to be a little reddened from injury, poor treatment, and, Suzaku feared, an infection of some sort. Lelouch's feet were no better. Reaching over and being as gentle as possible he yanked a large shard from Lelouch's heels with his teeth. The other let out a hiss of pain and grabbed at the wound, which wept crimson tears from the new open gash. "Sorry," Suzaku whimpered lightly, the coppery scent of his Partner's blood making his nose burn.
Lelouch waved a hand and forced himself to stand. He winced but shrugged the pain off. A clattering was heard and the two teenagers turned to face a guard approaching shakily, holding out a spear awkwardly. His hands shook, making the spear bobble up and down unevenly. With their brows raised in question the two looked at each other, then smirked and slowly advanced on the terrified guard. Neither of them noticed he urinated himself from his fear of their team.
…
"Lelouch, baby, I only tricked you to protect you!" Marianne whimpered and pleaded lightly, looking at her sulking son with teary eyes. He kept his aloof gaze directed to a wall, his arms folded neatly over his chest. Rin, who was treating the last of the young blessed human's wounds above a warm bucket of water, looked between them and shook her head. "If I could have been there for you and Nunnally you know I would have! I had to assure your father was kept in the dark about your location!"
"Because that went over wonderfully, as we can all see," Lelouch retorted coolly, gesturing to the white wraps going all the way up his arms and around his midriff. He ended up having a few broken ribs as well; a result of fighting back when a few guards were trying to force themselves on him. Suzaku had become so enraged by this he had punched a whole through one of the apartment walls. Gino was currently using tweezers to pluck bits of debris out so the little knicks could be tended more easily. "He ended up finding us somehow. I wouldn't be surprised if you told him yourself."
She winced at her son's words. They cut her heart like a hot dagger. She shook her head. "No, it was your classmate Nina Einstein. She was one of many spies they sent out in search for you," She explained gently. She looked up, daring to meet the critical eye he examined her with. When had her son become so spiteful? "But it will all be over soon. We can return to Japan and then you'll be okay for a little while." She stated, voice trying to sound warm and reassuring. This caught his interest.
"What do you mean by that? I'll only be safe for a few days? The Day of Reckoning is in two days. If they don't kill me then I'll be in the clear," He stated. Rin's head snapped up and glared at Marianne accusingly. He looked between the two older women. "Or is there something that you didn't tell me? Some other little part?"
"Marianne, you swore you had told him everything!" Rin snapped bitterly, setting the gauze she was to use to wrap up Lelouch's leg with. The raven haired female winced and whimpered, looking down at her lap. Rin growled and turned to face Lelouch. "You aren't out of the woods after that. Two weeks after that Suzaku will take your life on the werewolf Day of Preservation. The ending of your life will begin an eternity of peace for not only us but all races on the earth. None of us will have to hide again. It will be like many years ago, in the centuries where people were unsure if demons and ghosts were real but did know that there were things no normal human could defeat. Your life can either tear the world down or raise it back up. It is all in your hands now."
A long silence fell in the room, the air becoming tense and uneasy. Finally Lelouch nodded his head then tilted it back, his gaze landing on the ceiling above him. "If that is what the end of my life is worth I guess I have no choice. I'll stay safe for the next two days so I can revive the proper world order on the Day of Preservation," He agreed softly. Rin smiled and picked the gauze wrap back up as Lelouch threw his arm over his eyes.
"Thank you, Lelouch," She stated happily. Marianne looked off while Gino smiled to himself. Thank God the blessed human with the ability to end the world was on there side! Suzaku, however, watched Lelouch sadly. Oh yes, he knew what was really going on under the mop of black locks. Lelouch knew that he had to die some how, at some time. He was accepting it on the outside while inside he was still torn apart. After all, no seventeen year old boy could ever be okay with dying before he even got to really live his life. And Suzaku knew that, despite his instinct to protect his people, another thing urged him to find a way to protect Lelouch as well. But there seemed no way to manage that.
End
The next chapters will be very short (sorry) but I promise you that the very last chapter will be much longer than any of these. Not only that, but after this one we've only got seven or eight chapters left to go. Aside from the very last one, and after this chapter, I shall not be adding author comments at the end of chapters. Why? Because it's much more fun to hear all your predictions and questions instead. I would like to let you know that a) I have planned it all out from here until the end, so it is a done deal, and b) I think that my ending will be satisfactory to all individuals. Well, see you later!
