Eternal Geass Moon: The Garden of Sinners

Disclaimer: In this particular universe, I do not own or in any way shape or form hold a claim to the Code Geass, Kara no Kyoukai, any other elements of the Nasuverse, or any other modern works that I may reference in this story.

In the legends of nearly every civilization, there have been references to mysterious cultures on long vanished continents, of peoples that lived during a golden age, when the earth brought forth its bounty without the manifold labors of man, when dreams shaped reality, when all that man required could be brought forth by will alone—a time forever lost when a cataclysm born of hubris and war sank a legendary land, wiping out much of humanity in the process, with the scattered remnants forced to rebuild from what was essentially the Stone Age.

As the ages passed, the practitioners of these arcane arts faded into the shadows as technology kept on its inexorable advance, eliminating the need for mages for the most part. Still, magic and those who use it continue to exist today, and rumors linger of a strange lineage of magi isolated from the flow of time, carrying within their Codes (akin to Thaumaturgical Crests) powerful magic from a bygone age – a lineage of magi known as Witches.

" " denotes speech

'italics'denotes thought

'bold' denotes location names

'bold italics' denotes skill use


Undisclosed Location

In the midst of night, the rain poured down in unbroken sheets, pitter-pattering in icy torrents that soaked through clothes and seemed to cut through flesh, leeching the color from the world, as Lelouch Lamperouge found himself watching events play out in the middle of a bridge, as several figures did battle in the gloom, the staccato roar of firearms serving as a counterpoint to the sound of shredding metal.

Crack-a-crack-a-crack!

Such was the sound of assault rifles snarling out molten metal death, sending a wave of bullets hurtling towards a gentle-looking Japanese woman, who was doing her best to simply stagger towards the end of the bridge, pressing a hand to her stomach in a futile attempt to keep from bleeding to death. Shock would not be long in coming.

Splash-splash-splash!

Feet stomped heavily through puddles, tossing up water, as grey-clad phantoms sheathed in body armor ruthlessly made their way forward, pushing aside metal and the bodies of their comrades as they forced their way through a storm that made it hard to walk. But their objective was in sight, and so this last fireteam made their way forward, keeping their target focused on escape rather than counterattack, as all around, metal poles and other debris were strewn.

"No…I do not…want to die," the dark-haired woman muttered, teeth pressed together, breathing labored, lurching forward through the haze, as blood seeped from the open wound in her gut, the hot pain of the injury burning through the wet cold of the storm. "I…do not…want to die."

Just a few more meters.

"Ungh, Ack!"

A violent cough shook the woman's form, and she stumbled, falling to the ground, finding it difficult to breath. Her legs will not move, having been perforated by bullets, like her gut. Her head was dazed, and there was nothing inside her but pain and the desire to survive.

'A familiar feeling…just like nearly twenty years ago…' she thought, reaching out her arms and dragging her body forward, inching towards the divider between the bridge and the embankment. 'It hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts!'

"Ugh!"

Another sharp stab to the gut, the pain getting worse by the second. Face down, the woman coughed out blood, her vision red as numb fingers found the strip of metal delineating the edge of the suspension bridge. With a last heave of effort, she heaved herself over the edge, pupils blazing a hellish red and green as a channel opened in her mind.

"Bend!" the esper screamed at the top of her lungs, creating in her mind a moment of rotation on either side of the bridge, and twisting.

Screech! Cra—whip—BOOOOOM!

A tumultuous roar, like the crash of lightning, as the high-tension cables holding the structure up snapped one by one, lashing out wildly and smashing through those on the bridge. A rumble, as the world tilted, the supports giving way, the ground shaking—and all collapsed, with the bridge and all upon it falling into the frigid ocean, lost in the storm, as Lelouch's consciousness faded from the place, as if he had been possessing the broken bridge.

The last thing the magus saw as his vision faded was the broken form of Asagami Fujino collapsed where she lay, with a black cat with strange red eyes padding out of the shadows and nuzzling her, with a plaintive "meow".


Tokyo Settlement

'I will need to invest in a better way to get around,' C.C. reflected, as the Witch and Satsujinki sped towards their destination on their Vespa. 'While this vehicle is efficient and useful for Mana's solo missions, it is…inconvenient in situations such as these.'

At least neither of the two were splattered with blood anymore, since the Grey Witch's straitjacket and other garments had been atomized in the explosion, and the Ryougi had her own way of dealing with blood stains (something to do with picturing the "concept" of the stains on the garment, and then "killing" that concept—which certainly made laundry on the run rather easy), which was a good thing, as that would have made the two overly conspicuous.

Not that the somewhat awkward position in which driver and passenger were seated, with Mana doing the driving and C.C. sitting sideways on her lap, her legs draped over the Ryougi's hips and dangling off the side, her arms hooked around the Satsujinki's neck, wasn't rather conspicuous in itself, but it was so in the way that inspired wolf-whistles rather than suspicion and hateful glares.

'Though much of that is likely because my hair is hidden…and I'm rather low on magical energy at the moment, so it's actually much easier to shield myself from detection,' the Grey Witch mused, trying to think about the minor positives about being drained of—

Gurgle!

—and that was the not so minor disadvantage.

"No, C.C., we're not stopping at Pizza Hut…" the Satsujinki admonished, having heard the rather loud rumble of the Grey Witch's stomach—and seeing the immortal looking hungrily at the gaudy red and white sign of a certain chain of pizza parlors. "You yourself said that we needed to find a place with a bounded field, so you won't be caught flat-footed."

The Ryougi was then treated to a baleful glare from the amber-eyed witch, whose face was twitching ever so slightly.

"You do happen to remember how much energy I need when I'm forced to recreate my body from scratch? And that out of the many ways I can replenish it, the most...mundane is consuming food?" the immortal asked, silently cursing at her lack of mobility at the moment, as the Sorceress didn't fancy letting go of the Satsujinki's neck and risking a spill across the highway. That would likely lead to being run over by a car, and cause…more problems. "Besides, you of all people should know that I cannot live without mana."

A low chuckle from the lips of the raven-haired girl.

"Why thank you, witch," the assassin said mischievously, her voice a pleasantly teasing lilt. "I didn't know I was so loved…or that you were capable of it after so many years."

"Why you…even if I am fond of you, you know very well what I really mean," C.C. quipped in turn, arching one slender eyebrow. "And that I'm not particularly in the mood for jokes when I'm hungry."

"Well, as hungry as you are, you're not touching my strawberry ice cream," the Satsujinki said firmly, with a small huff. "You owe me that much after causing so much trouble."

A small grumble issued from the immortal's lips.

"Hm?"

"You have a point, I suppose," C.C. conceded, grudgingly. "I suppose I'll just force my contractor to buy me some pizza then, after a good night's rest. Onward we go then."

"Is the one that made this field friendly, or will I need to act?" Mana asked, curious about her role in this. Bounded fields seldom materialized without an intelligence's intervention, and most beings capable of creating bounded fields reacted with hostility to unwanted or simply unexpected guests.

"A little of both, I would say, since your persuasion is generally quite helpful."


Stadtfeld Residence

After the debacle that had been the Shinjuku Incident, and the nigh-miraculous ceasefire (which Kallen Kozuki thought might be due to the intervention of the mysterious voice), the fiery spirited resistance fighter barely managed to change and make her way home, and to her room, where she had quickly disrobed and collapsed into the softness of her bed.

'What a mess…' the redhead thought, sinking into the reassuring comfort of fresh washed sheets against bare skin, the energy she had borrowed from adrenaline and desperation draining out of her as she finally relaxed—slightly. 'Nagata's probably dead, and the White Knightmare took away our chance of victory…but who was that voice? And what the hell happened in that last skirmish?'

Fighting against that white mobile armor had been abnormal, that was certain, as Kallen had felt an almost overpowering sensation of mingled anger and grief flood through her as her Knightmare buckled under the strain—only to look on in shock as the left arm of the enemy mech had caught fire, which should have been…

'Impossible. But then, this whole operation has been strange, from the moment we stole the capsule from the Britannian weapons depot…' she mused, glancing over at her right arm, which had been wrapped in bandages to protect it—as it had apparently suffered first-degree burns. 'And it ended strangely too, with the white Knightmare's arm bursting into flames…and the impossible ceasefire. Just what is going on?'

Even now, Kallen could still feel a wave of heat radiating from her body, with every inch of her skin flushed a tender pink, as exhaustion took her at last. She would simply have to think about things on the morrow, when she had recovered from her activities.

'I'm just glad most of us made it out alive…'


Ashford Academy

By day, Ashford Academy was a rather bright and cheerful place, filled with life and vitality as students hustle-bustled from class to class to club activity, a sight that could usually bring a smile even to the campus' resident ice prince Lelouch Lamperouge, to say nothing of the ever ebullient Milly Ashford. But at night, the school was far quieter, with as most students would have either returned home or to their residence in the dorms, leaving the campus deserted.

Or nearly so, at any rate, since a solitary figure could be seen patrolling the grounds, the light of the moon softening the lines of her form.

'Something strange happened near the settlement today, I know it…' the curvaceous blonde mused, her blue eyes surveying the campus for intruders as she attuned herself to the boundary field of Ashford Academy. 'The smoke and the flare of mana couldn't have been a simple coincidence…especially not when Lelouch came back with activated circuits, though the Lamperouge abilities were sealed until now...'

Milly shivered, unable to shake the ominous feeling from the afternoon, as—

Eyes shot wide open, a chill running down her spine as an alarm system of sorts sounded, the alert delivered directly to the mind of the magus charged with maintaining the safety of Ashford Academy – in other words, her.

'An intruder…a magus has breached the boundary of the Academy… '

A rather disturbing through, as for a magus to step uninvited into the territory of another without either an invitation or a very good reason was tantamount to a declaration of war, meaning that the blonde would have to confront whoever the intruder was—even fighting them, if necessary.

'That's right…it's my role to defend the safety of Ashford Academy, and to protect the students therein, as in choosing to come to this school, they entrusted themselves to our protection. I cannot violate this trust…'

So the blonde thought to herself as she quickened her pace, heading towards the place where the intruders were—

"…waiting," Milly whispered, hands curling into fists as she quietly chanted a spell aria, 'loading' one of her most potent wind spells for quick release, as that was the specialty of the Ashford house.

Step-step-step.

A fleeting moment of silence, and then—

Rustle

—her opponent was before her, a young woman of Japanese descent dressed in the colors of night, an antique knife held loosely in one hand, eerily glowing blue eyes looking intently at the blonde.

"Greetings, magus of Ashford," the Satsujinki challenged, her quiet voice carrying easily in the windless night. "So you are the one charged with maintaining this bounded field?"

"So I am, but what of you?" Milly answered guardedly, glancing at her surroundings and checking her distance—about 10 meters from the other. "Perhaps, but you are no magus, are you?Are you here to eliminate me?"

'I don't detect a large concentration of mana within her, and if I was this woman's target, she would have already attacked…but—'

While the intruder's goals were uncertain, it was best to keep the shadow talking.

"No, I am not a magus, and neither are you the one I seek," was the simple response, the assassin's gaze unwavering. "Though my quarry is indeed within the aegis of this field."

"And who might this quarry be be?" Milly inquired, keeping a quaver from her voice, and fearing the worst, her body tensing as mana welled up in her body, ready to be commanded as she saw fit.

'Guts!' she cried out in her mind, the invocation opening her Magic Circuit.

"Simply a magus," was the reply, the knife twitching slightly in the Satsujinki's hand as Mana Ryougi smirked. "The former eleventh prince of the Holy Britannian Empire."

The worst possible response, as it meant Lelouch's identity had been discovered, and if the Ashford heir's suspicions were correct—

'She's going to kill him, isn't she?'

"Aero!" the blonde spat, extending her hand and speaking a word of power, as Mana blurred, breaking into a run.

FWOOSH!

In an instant, a massive vortex of cutting wind was summoned forth to tear apart the assassin, bearing enough power to destroy everything in its path!

Slash!

But the spell was nullified by a flash of light, a bright swing of a knife that left a lingering trace in the darkness. Or perhaps one might say...it was killed.

"Air Strike!"

Chaining one spell to the next, Milly released her second strike, with five blades of razor wind hurtling from the blond magus to shred her foe entirely!

Fsh! Whirr! Slash! Slice! Cut!

But the knife was swung still faster, tracing silver arcs of light that eliminated the existence of the blades of wind, as--

And then Mana was in range, striking without hesitation, elbow knocking the wind from the blonde as the Satsujinki forced her to the ground and straddled her, knife poised at the skin of Milly's trembling throat, answering fear with infinitely deep eyes.

"Who...are you?" the blonde whispered, eyes wide in shock, taking in the beautiful figure of impending death,

'How…how did she just eliminate my—'

For the magus of Ashford had been defeated by a nameless opponent, a shadow in the night.

"Everything in existence has an imperfection," the raven-haired Chokushi no Magan adept said coolly, the edge of the knife hovering just barely above the magus' skin. "Humans especially, but even air, will, and time. For anything that has a beginning has an end…an end that my eyes can see."

Hearing this, Milly paled, her mind freezing as she recalled the lore in which all magi were drilled, swallowing as she realized what the assassin's power must be.

"You…but how…Balor's eyes, the eyes of death, exist only in—"

"—fairy tales?" Mana Ryougi asked sardonically, a slight edge to her voice as she regarded the blonde beneath her with ominous eyes. "Of course, but so does magic, right?"

Clip-clip-clip!

"That is enough," a cool, musical voice intoned, with Milly looking to the source to find the Grey Witch perched upon a lamppost, her white kimono seeming to glow in the moonlight. "I think this proves our point, Satsujinki, as had we truly been the magus killers your family conceals itself from, you would already be dead. Seeing as we do not mean you or those under your protection any harm, this battle is already decided, don't you agree, Milly Ashford?"

"…I will acknowledge my defeat if you swear under Gaia not to harm those under my charge," the blonde replied, a hint of defiance in her voice. She knew that her current position was as far from favorable as possible, but—

A soft laugh.

"You have guts," the Witch acknowledged, seeming almost to smile, though the expression was as fleeting as the wind. "Very well, then I propose a mage's contract. We will spare you life and knowingly bring no harm to those under your protection, and in return the house of Ashford will assist my associates and me in any fashion I deem necessary."

"So be it," Milly voiced, as a surge of magical energy sealed their compact, and the Satsujinki pulled away her blade, helping the blonde to her feet. Surprisingly, the magus was not wounded. Even after a complete and utter defeat, her body did not bear a single scratch.

Still, the battle had indeed been concluded, as the Ashford heir understood that it was impossible to oppose this Eleven as a mage – and to be honest, she couldn't believe she was still alive, that she hadn't simply killed outright.

"…I would ask for your names," the blonde spoke, gazing evenly at her opponent, and the magus in the distance. "As you seem to have me at a disadvantage."

"Mana Ryougi," the Chokushi no Magan adept replied tersely, a simple name that the wind magus inscribed into her mind as the one who, armed with only a knife, had singlehandedly forced her, the one trusted with this territory, into defeat.

The name of a shadow, clad in the colors of night, luxuriant black hair flowing in the wind.

Thump!

The sound of the Witch leaping from her post and flipping through the air to the ground below, landing gracefully on her feet.

'I see...this magus is skilled with organic reinforcement - a technique widely known to be quite...difficult.'

"And I am called C.C.," the Sorceress intoned, golden eyes staring out into the darkness towards the Student Council Clubhouse where Lelouch Lamperouge resided.

"Not a very human name," Milly noted, walking up to the Grey Witch as if to confirm her suspicions about the other's mana signature. "Or much of one at all."

"As magi, none of us are quite human, are we?" C.C. asked in turn, with Milly conceding the point. "In any case, my true name was forgotten long ago, and it is under C.C. that the Sealing Designation was issued for me, the name which the Magus Killers know..."

"I see, so we share a common enemy then," the blonde said, furrowing her brow as a flash of insight hit. "And judging by your mana signature, I presume you were the one I sensed earlier today on the outskirts of the Settlement..."

"Shinjuku to be precise," C.C. corrected, inclining her head in a simple nod. "Your detection abilities give you credit...or perhaps it is an effect of your bounded field? A useful one, for a family of magi in exile."

"So it is," Milly admitted, narrowing her eyes at the woman before her, as the green-haired girl was seemingly no older than her physically, and yet had an otherworldly presence that bespoke power and age. "And how is it that you know of my family...and the identity of your quarry?"

"Because I was an ally of the house of Lamperouge," the Grey Witch let slip, amber eyes fixing on the younger magus. "Your Academy's bounded field is excellent, by the way, concealing all evidence of magecraft within – though that is also how we found it."

"Oh?"

"You will have noticed that a certain exile now has his magic circuits activated?" the Witch asked, to which the Ashford heir nodded, raising a slender eyebrow. "There were magus killers wishing to eliminate him, so I gave him a gift to allow him to survive."

"Hm, so awakening his potential was your doing?" the blonde asked sharply, glancing askance at the two, though her gaze softened ever so slightly as she took in their words. "And thus, you saved his life?"

A simple nod, silence hanging in the air.

"Then you have my deepest gratitude," Milly said softly, showing her vulnerable side for a brief moment, inclining her head to both the Sorceress and the Satsujinki. "Though I suppose he owes you his allegiance in return, and that is why you seek him out?"

"So it would seem, by the principles of equivalent exchange? Every wish, every action has a price," Mana replied with some amusement, lips quirking up into a small smile. "Still, there is no need to fear for his life, at least not by our hands."

"I see...fair enough for now," the Ashford heir said firmly. "What are your intentions?"

"For the moment, to escape the sight of the magus killers in Area 11, while I gather my allies...a matter which may interest you," was all the immortal said for now. "In any case, we will require a place to stay and a workshop, preferably close to...our mutual friend...if at all possible. And of course, since his circuits have been awakened, he will now need to be trained, lest he become a liability."

A soft sigh from Milly.

"Very well, I suppose there's more room in the Student Council Clubhouse," the blonde said, interest piqued despite herself. "I will inquire about the details at a future date, and handle the training, as he is under my family's care. Is there anything else you require?"

"Our mutual friend should be able to handle the rest of our requests," C.C. smirked, her voice a perfect deadpan. "After all, he does owe us his life. However, if aught comes up, we will notify you. Now shall we see to our arrangements?"

"Very well then," the Ashford heir acknowledged, as the trio made their way towards the Student Council Clubhouse, bound together by words of oath and obligation. "Oh, and as needless as it is, may I be the first to welcome you to Ashford Academy."


A/N: The Witch and Satsujinki join up with the rest of the cast at Ashford Academy, a place possessing a strong bounded field that conceals evidence of magic, as Lelouch's transference of consciousness ability sporadically activates in his sleep. It would be an accurate guess to say that his credit card will soon be used to buy a hungry witch her pizza. Thanks for reading, and reviews are much appreciated!