A/N: Sorry about it taking so long to post any new chapters for any of my stories... other things from the job hunt to local politics and more have taken up my time. but without any further ado I am proud to present Chapter 4.
Cornelia awoke with a splitting headache and quickly sat up only to find herself feeling nauseous and lightheaded as she reached up to hold her aching skull. After taking a moment to collect herself she took in her dimly lit surroundings. From the fact she was lying in a bed with handrails, there was a TV set up on the wall and curtains hanging from rails on the ceiling she quickly surmised where she was: In a hospital room; again. Looking for the door to the room she looked to her left and smiled as she saw her Knight asleep in a chair next to the bed she was in.
"Gilbert?" She asked and wasn't surprised when he stirred from his slumber.
"Princess?" he asked as he woke, he reached over to flip the switch so he could see his princess, despite his damaged vision.
The moment the lights turned on Cornelia hissed in pain and reached to protect her eyes from the painful spears of light bombarding them. "OFF." she hissed out.
Guilford was confused "Princess?"
"The Lights. Off."
It only took Guilford a moment to turn the lights off again
With the lights now off Cornelia took a moment to collect herself again. "What happened? Shit. Where's Lelouch!?"
Guilford took a moment to respond "You both were attacked by Nagisa Chiba. After she knocked you out, she moved on to your brother; Princess if it hadn't been for Kozuki's timely intervention Lelouch would be dead now."
Letting the mother hen in her take hold for a moment Cornelia demanded "How is he?"
"Last I knew still in the ER. The doctors are working around the clock to try to save his life, they've nearly lost him once already..."
"Where is she? I'll kill her."
"If she survives General Tohdoh."
Nagisa Chiba awoke to find herself chained in a cell much like her prey had been.
"So you're finally awake."
It took Chiba a mere moment to recognize the speaker "General Tohdoh."
"I would say I am disappointed Nagisa, however that doesn't go far enough; I am disgusted by your actions. You defied the orders you were given, so that you could try to kill a defenseless man-"
"But General-"
"Silence Nagisa Chiba, the fact of the matter is in your insubordination you decided that you were worthy of being Judge, Jury and Executioner, I have forgiven your past actions as mere over-zealousness in the pursuit of duty." As Tohdoh spoke he grabbed a sheathed katana that had a very familiar tsuba from where it rested against the wall. "Nagisa, a decade ago I gave you this blade when I inducted you into my holy swords, however your record of insubordination has proven you unfit to serve."
"In short Nagisa Chiba, you are not worthy of Japan, of the name Holy Sword, or even" Tohdoh said as he drew her blade from its scabbard and placed the sword at an angle tip on the ground.
"No Please, not that! Anything but that!" in horror Chiba begged Tohdoh as he lifted his foot in preparation
"This Sword." Tohdoh finished with an air of finality as the Katana shattered when he brought his foot down on the face of the blade.
"NOOOO!" Chiba screamed in pain as she saw the very symbol of her membership in the swords, of her oath shatter under the might of the man who had give it to her.
Dropping the hilt and letting it clatter to the ground Tohdoh turned away and walked to the door pausing for one moment to leave his former subordinate a terse message: "I never want to see you again."
As she was wheeled to the royal infirmary Nunnally had never felt more powerless; all she now wanted was a chance to restore her relationship with her big brother and he might... she couldn't even bring herself to think of that very real possibility. As Sayoko pushed her wheelchair through the door to the waiting area Nunnally recognized two people she knew already waiting; Jeremiah Gottwald and Kallen Stadtfeld, who was being checked over by a nurse. "Sayoko could you wheel me over to Jeremiah and Kallen?"
"Certainly Lady Nunnally."
As Nunnally neared the other two she heard their heated argument.
"Damnit Jeremiah, how many times do I have to say this? You don't owe me anything!" before hissing as the nurse applied some pressure to a bandage.
"On the contrary miss Kouzuki, you were there to defend my liege from his enemies when I was not."
"Have you forgotten that until recently I was one of those enemies you had to defend him from? Have you forgotten that I've tried to kill him myself?"
"Be that as it may, you had no idea how bad off the Emperor is, and you have since protected him, I bear you no ill will."
"But I-I" as she clearly became more uncomfortable
"Hello Kallen, Jeremiah." Nunnally interjected "Can you tell me what happened?"
"N-Nunnally!" the redhead nearly jumped out of her seat.
"Hello Princess Nunnally; Certainly"
"Well what happened? Why is my brother in the ER? What happened to sister Cornelia?"
"It would appear that Nagisa Chiba, General Tohdoh's subordinate, decided to take it upon herself to act as Judge Jury and Executioner. Under the cover of night she sneaked into the penitentiary, proceeded to incapacitate Princess Cornelia before attempting to kill the Emperor, If it hadn't been for the intervention of Lady Kozuki here Lelouch would be dead now."
"But I-"
"Thank you Jeremiah, could you retrieve a status update on my siblings?" Jeremiah quickly turned and headed for the kiosk. "Thank you Kallen; How are you doing?"
"My arm will heal soon enough."
"You know full well that is not what I meant. So are you going to make me ask again?"
Looking away from the young princess Kallen began "I-I just don't know anymore. I fell for him... I fell in love with him. Then we turned against him. He broke my heart then told me to live. I was so confused, until he took the UFN hostage. Then he was the enemy I hated him. I hated him for betraying the world, Japan, the Black Knights. For betraying me. I tried to kill him. Now I find out we broke him; I find out that he's been drowning in his own insanity for months now." Kallen started as Nunnally grasped her hand in her own.
"Please Kallen; you can tell me."
"I wanted him to die, I wanted him to suffer as he died. But when I saw Chiba inflicting as much pain as possible... I didn't hesitate, not even a second as I rushed to protect him. I-I'm so confused. What's going on with me?" Kallen pleaded as she made eye contact with the younger girl.
As Jeremiah waked to the front desk he remained unaware of the shadow he had picked up from Nunnally, and as he neared the desk and spoke up Sayoko hung back waiting to hear the results of Jeremiah's query.
"Excuse me Miss? How is the Emperor's surgery going?"
The attendant nurse asked for a moment to look it up before turning back to provide him with the update. "You are in luck my Lord, it seems that the Emperor is in stable condition now, though they do warn that he has suffered a major concussion. They wish to keep him under observation for now, but he is now being moved to a room to recuperate in."
"Lady Nunnally will be delighted to hear that."
Turning around, partially in surprise, Jeremiah responded; "So you followed me Sayoko, if you'll give me a moment, Excuse me miss when can I expect to know what room the Emperor is in?"
"In about half an hour my lord, the doctors also wish to keep Ms. Kozuki under observation for the night."
"I see. Thank you." Turning around to speak with the ninja-maid Jeremiah caught her attention; "Sayoko, If I may ask, why would lady Nunnally be 'delighted' to hear that my lord is in stable condition? Last I knew she was hurling deprecations his way." With this they both began walking back towards the two young women they had so recently left.
"My Lord I..." Sayoko began
"Please Sayoko there is no need for formalities."
"Very well Jeremiah-San, I believe it is Lady Nunnally's place to tell you, however I can tell you that Lord Lelouch's reaction to her during the interrogation shook her."
As they walked back into earshot they heard Nunnally confiding in Kallen; "You aren't the only one confused Kallen, the revelations of the past day as set my entire world spinning. I-I hated Lelouch, my own brother because I thought he had become evil incarnate... No I convinced myself that he had always been evil and had just pulled the wool over my eyes."
"Excuse me Lady Nunnally, but would you mind elaborating on that?" Nunnally and Kallen turned to find that the Speaker was non other than Jeremiah Gottwald.
"Lord Jeremiah! How is my brother doing?" Seeing the conflicted but hopeful eyes Jeremiah nearly gave in but insisted. "I will tell you after you explain to me the reason for this sudden shift. Just this morning you had naught but the worst to say about your brother; yet now you are concerned about his well being."
Seeing Nunnally deflate was one of the hardest things that Jeremiah ever had to do, but he brushed that aside as she began to speak. "I-I no... When he rejected me as an imposter, when he declared me dead, it hurt. No matter what I thought of him I was sure he knew who I was. But he... He looked so sad and angry. I wasn't able to tell which way was up. Then I heard it. I know why Lelouch thinks I am dead, I broke the last bits of his sanity. He can't conceive of me hating him. To him I can't be Nunnally because he is convinced that Nunnally couldn't hate him. His Nunnally would love him even if she disapproved of what he was doing..."
"I think I understand what you are saying, however I won't treat you any differently than anyone else." Jeremiah then sighed before "Lelouch has been declared to be in stable condition, all visitors will be supervised by myself or someone I put my faith in. Now Lady Nunnally, Lady Kallen I believe that it is time for both of you to head to bed."
In near perfect stereo both young women began to argue against it but Jeremiah cut them both short. "It is 3 in the morning, neither of you has had much sleep, and if you two want your questions answered wouldn't it be better if you were both well rested should the Emperor awake tomorrow? Now Sayoko would you kindly take Lady Nunnally to her room. As for you Lady Kallen the medical staff wish to keep you overnight, so please follow me to the desk, a nurse will take you to your room."
"Goodnight Jeremiah-San."
"Goodnight Sayoko, Goodnight Lady Nunnally." with that Sayoko began wheeling Nunnally back to her room while Kallen got up to follow Jeremiah grumbling "This is why I hate hospitals."
Elsewhere hidden deep in the dungeons a green haired immortal awoke to find herself in a straightjacket, her bound arms stuck hugging an odd yellow plush. Exasperated she groaned "Not this again." before she rolled on her side and curled around the treasured toy. "At least I have you Cheese-kun."