Disclaimer: Code Geass belongs to Sunrise.
Rise of Swords
The Start of Something
By Storm Wolf77415 and Wing Commander White Wolf
It had been a few days since Shinjuku. Sebastian and Lelouch had tried their best to hide their fatigue and weariness from their classmates. However, they weren't doing well enough to avoid nodding off during the Student Council meeting. "WAKE UP, LELOUCH!" Milly Ashford's shrill voice rang in his ears as she whacked him in the face with her magazine. "Don't try to hide it! I saw you clearly and you WEREN'T BLINKING!"
Shirley giggled at the Student Council President's method for waking up the former Emperor. The orangette went for a softer approach with her boyfriend. She leaned over the table and kissed Sebastian right on the lips, he sat bolt upright, eliciting a heavy blush from her, "Same with you, Sebby! No sleeping on the job!" She admonished him with a motherly tone.
"Yes, dear!" Sebastian replied with a huge grin while rubbing his face. She was exactly as he remembered her from before the whole nightmare started, perky, happy, the biggest concern in the world being getting her homework done on time. He hadn't wasted any time rekindling his relationship with her. "So what's the latest business, Madam Prez? What kind of crazy are you going to unleash on the unknowing populace of Ashford Academy this week?"
"Whatever happens, I hope it doesn't result in all the female members of the ballet club being forced to run naked across the campus! We're all still feeling that one, Milly!" The pink haired beauty at the other end of the table pouted cutely. Sebastian looked to where the former Third Princess was sitting, looking quite fetching in the Ashford female student uniform. Euphemia Li Britannia, now going under the name Euphie Lamperouge, hadn't hesitated in casting off her royal status, joining her brother and sister in Japan. As Sebastian expected, Euphie had the intended effect of warming Lelouch's heart. At Ashford, Euphie was on the swim team with Shirley, both becoming fast friends, and the star of the Ballet Club.
"I guess it can't be worse than you forcing the guys on the football team to parade about naked!" Rivalz quipped.
Milly smirked, making the pinkette shiver, "Oh, it's better than that, Euphie! FAR better! We're getting a brand new student! And she was very interested in coming to our school!" Sebastian and Lelouch both swallowed when they saw the scheming glint in Milly's catlike eyes. "And Rivalz, if you wanted to the guys to run around naked, I could certainly arrange it! You two wouldn't mind, right?" The blonde directed that last line at the other two male members.
Rivalz quailed under the double glare, Sebastian was captain of the Kendo Team and Lelouch was the smartest student in the school, despite his constant cutting of class. He knew that both of his fellow male Student Council members could make his life a living hell, "Uhh, what about this new student of ours, Madame Prez?"
"Professor Anderson is going to introduce her during homeroom tomorrow." Milly said. "That guy is as cunning as a fox, I swear. And he's not bad looking either." The blonde recalled listening to their history professor during one of his lecture, a slight blush on her face. All of the Student Council rolled their eyes.
"Honestly, can you be any more shameless?" The red haired girl on the other end of the table huffed. "Fawning over the teachers is so wrong! I know your family runs this school, but do you want people to think you're a slut, Milly?" Kallen rolled her eyes in annoyance.
Milly stood up dramatically, clapping her hands to her face "Why Kallen, I had no idea you cared so much about my public image! It's almost a shock!" She stretched her hand out to the sky. Kallen sighed, banging her head on the desk. Shirley leaned over and patted her on the shoulder. The morning bell rang, sparing everyone any further theatrics from their busty leader.
They entered their homeroom and sat down. Five minutes after the last bell rang, and Nathan stepped out of his office. "Good morning, class." The Steel Fox spoke. "I would like to announce that we recently got two new transfers here to Ashford. Please treat them well and make them feel at home."
"Two transfer students?" Sebastian whispered to Lelouch. Both boys were wondering what Nathan was pulling, and then they were both pulling their jaws off their desks, as a young Japanese girl of fourteen skipped into the classroom, wearing the regular school uniform. Her long raven black hair flowed freely down her back. Brilliant emerald green eyes twinkled playfully. Both Sebastian and Lelouch thought the exact same thing. What is she doing here?
"First, is Miss Kaguya Sumeragi," Nathan said, his gaze turned cold, "The first racial slur I hear will earn you detention until the end of the term. She is a student here, and you will give her all the respect she deserves. And don't think you can get away with it outside of this classroom, because I WILL hear of it! Miss Sumeragi, tell us some about yourself."
"Thank you, Professor Anderson," Kaguya smiled, looking completely natural in the beige jacket and black skirt, completely with long blue and white striped thigh high stockings. "I'm very grateful to be able to attend here at Ashford Academy. I'm looking forward to getting to know all of you very well." She said, ending with a wink that wouldn't be far removed from Milly's face, sending a shiver down everyone's spines.
Sebastian and Lelouch sunk into their seats. "It's official, we're dead men walking! Think we could grab Nunally and sneak out of the country before anyone knew we were gone? I hear Antarctica is particularly nice this time of year!" Sebastian babbled. "Lelouch, this is the worst possible thing that could happen to us!"
Kaguya plopped down next to Sebastian. "Hello boys! Been awhile hasn't it?" She cooed, and started batting her eyelashes cutely.
"What. Are. You doing here, Kaguya?" Lelouch asked. She pouted cutely.
"It's been so long since we all played together at the shrine! I thought you'd be happy to see me!" Kaguya's lip quivered, even though both boys knew she was faking it. Sebastian sighed, instinctively slipping into the peacemaker role.
"We are happy to see you, Kaguya. It just came as a big surprise. We're trying to keep a low profile and it won't take much to blow our cover. When class is over we'll get together and show you how things work around here. Will that make you happy?" He asked. Kaguya leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "I'll take that as a yes."
Nathan cleared his throat. "And now we have our second student, my…cousin from the homeland, Cecelia Anderson. Come on in, girl." In sauntered a familiar green haired witch, her hair done up in twin tails. All the guys drooled at the sight of C.C.'s shapely legs and firm round ass, and she certainly wasn't being shy about the attention.
"She does make the uniform look good, huh Lelouch?" Sebastian elbowed his friend. Lelouch couldn't help but gaze at her. He leaned over close, "As much grief as she gave us the first go around. We both got through some rough times thanks to her. She helped shape us into what we are. Let's not blow this second chance, okay?"
"Agreed," He whispered. C.C. moved with the poise of a queen, and took a seat next to Lelouch. Under the table, she took the young prince's hand and gave a squeeze. Satisfied, Nathan went on with the day's lesson. The bell rang and the students dispersed to their various extracurricular activities. Sebastian pulled on his gi top and hakama, picking up his bokken. He walked into the gym, where the rest of the Kendo team, fifteen strong, was waiting.
"Alright boys, we've got that demonstration we're doing with the Ballet Club for the school assembly next week. I know we've all been practicing hard, but I have to reiterate how important it is for us to make this as clean and polished as we can. We're going to run through the routine from start to finish. Form up, find your places." The sixteen boys lined up in four rows of four. In perfect unison they put their hands on their practice swords.
"Ready…Begin!" Sebastian barked, and the entire squad launched into an elaborate series of chops, blocks, and parries. The entire team was in perfect sync, and Blade Wolf couldn't be prouder. After completing it once, he made them run through it three more times. "Very nicely done, guys. We are going to knock them off their feet."
A light clapping started. The team turned to see Kaguya standing in the doorway "I concur completely!" she chirped merrily, "That was a superb display of kenjutsu. You've trained them all very well." She said. Sebastian gave a sweeping bow, "I aim to please, milady." He said, kissing her hand. The other guys gave confused looked.
"You know this…girl, Sebastian?" One of the guys said. He flinched when the Blade Wolf gave him a cold glare, one perfected by years of staring down uppity Black Knight and Britannian soldiers.
"Yes I do. I never told anyone this, but before the invasion I lived in Japan for a short time when I was younger. Kaguya and I used to play together as children. She's a friend, and you will treat her as such. Otherwise I tell Professor Anderson and you'll have to answer to him. You'll be out of this squad so fast it will make your head spin! And that is a guarantee!" He said. "That's all for today guys. If you don't mind waiting, I'll hit the shower and we can get going, Kaguya."
The ravenette leaned against the wall outside the locker room and Sebastian came out in his school uniform. "Mmm, you do make that uniform look good. Although I liked you better in those kendo robes better." She said. "So where are you taking me now?"
"The pool, Shirley's captain of the swim team and Euphie's a member. After we pick them up we'll go to the student council office and you can sit in on the meeting." He replied, "And in the meantime, you can tell me what you're doing here. How did you find out where we were?"
Kaguya put her hands behind her back, "Toudoh told me, and I think he'd be very proud that you've kept up with your training after all this time." She said.
"I would never let my skills slide. I've known Mr. Ashford since I was a kid. He's taken care of us since the invasion's end, and he's very accommodating." He said, the two arrived at the pool, the strong smell of chlorine in the air. Sebastian and Kaguya took a seat, watching the end of the swim team's practice. Shirley was on the ten-meter platform, clad in the blue school swimsuit, Her long auburn locks tucked under her white spandex swimcap. She held her arms above her head and dove off, a perfect entry with little splash. "I could watch that all day." He said.
"You like watching the girls in their bathing suits, don't you?" Kaguya giggled, latching onto his arm.
He gave the younger girl a sharp glare, "Just Shirley. She's my whole world. We've been dating for about two years now." He said. Shirley climbed out of the pool, and came over to Sebastian, kissing him on the cheek. "Hi sweetheart. You and Euphie about done here? We've still got Student Council."
"Sure! Euphie come on! We've got a meeting and we don't want to keep Milly waiting!" She called to the pinkette, who'd been swimming laps the entire time, "Let us clean up and we can get going!" She said, a bright smile on her face. All the girls smiled and waved at Sebastian. He was a regular fixture at the swim club's practices, offering his support to his girlfriend and foster sister. Euphie and Shirley cleaned up and the four headed for the Student Council room, where everyone was awaiting their new arrival.
The ravenette's brilliant emerald eyes lit up when she saw Nunally sitting at the table, "Nunally darling!" Kaguya cried in joy, glomping onto the young princess. "Oh it's been so long!"
"Kaguya?" She lit up, feeling the other girl's face. "Oh, Kaguya it really IS you!" The younger Lamperouge said, embracing her oldest friend. All the senior members of the Council looked on with joy at the happy reunion. "I don't believe it, Lelouch! Kaguya is really here!" Her joy then subsided, giving way to reason, "But…how can you be here? They'd never let a Japanese attend a Britannian school!"
Kaguya just gave a dazzling smile, "They can now! The new Viceroy passed a law requiring all Britannian schools within Japan to open their doors to every child whether they're Honorary Britannians or not!" She put on her cutest smile, "Now are you going to introduce me to everyone?"
"Of course…" Lelouch said, "Everyone, I'd like to introduce Miss Kaguya Sumeragi. She's an old friend of mine from back in the day. Believe it or not, Nunally, Euphie, Sebastian, and I lived in Japan in that short period of time just before the invasion. We played with Kaguya as kids, and we were all very close." He faced Milly, "Madame President, I'd like to request that Miss Sumeragi join the Student Council."
Milly said nothing. She rested her chin in her hand, tapping her foot idly. Getting up from her seat, she circled around the Japanese girl, like a breeder appraising a foal. She did this for about five minutes. The entire council was on the edge of their seats. Euphie and Rivalz waited with baited breath, Nina just sat off to the side quietly, her work on the computer forgotten, Sebastian and Shirley held hands.
Kallen rolled her eyes in impatience at Milly's theatrics. "Will you just make up your mind already! Some of us have things we need to do!" She finally snapped.
Milly smirked, "Alright…she's in! She looks like hardy stock. We always welcome the fresh blood!" Her ice blue eyes gave a devious gleam, "And I bet you have some very interesting stories about Lulu and company when they were little! Am I right, Miss Kaguya?" Sebastian and Lelouch swallowed hard when the same gleam went off in the younger girl's eyes, they knew in that moment kindred spirits had met.
The silence was broken by the sound of someone clearing her throat. They all looked to see C.C. standing in the doorway, a bemused expression on her face. "Am I interrupting anything? I was told this was where the Student Council met. I was hoping I could join." She said.
"By all means! Welcome Miss…Anderson was it?" Milly said, "I'm Milly Ashford, the Student Council President. Let me go around and introduce you to everyone." She pointed to Lelouch and Sebastian, "These two dashing young man here are Mr. Lelouch Lamperouge, the Vice President and Mr. Sebastian Connor, head of Student Security. The lovely lady next to him is Miss Shirley Fenette, the Council's secretary." The redhead started blushing and Sebastian put his hand in her lap. "The other dashing man sitting at the edge of the table is Mr. Rivalz Cardemonde, our Student Council Treasurer." Milly continued, "And the other three lovely ladies are Miss Kallen Kozuki, Miss Euphie Lamperouge, and Miss Nina Einstein." Milly then gave a sisterly gaze to the youngest occupant of the room, "Last but certainly not least is our junior member, Miss Nunally Lamperouge."
C.C. gave a playful smile, "Nice to meet you all. As I'm certain some of you remember, my name is Cecelia Anderson. My cousin is your history professor here at Ashford. I'm looking forward to getting to know all of you better."
"Well then, as is tradition, all current members will take a vote to determine whether we allow our new recruits in. All in favor for letting both Miss Sumeragi and Miss Anderson join the Student Council?" Milly said. All hands went up at once. "All opposed?" The hands went down. "Okay then! Kaguya Sumeragi, Cecelia Anderson welcome to the Ashford Academy Student Council! Sit down and take a seat. We have a lot of work to do!" the council finished work on the budget in record time thanks to their newly swollen ranks.
"Feels good to have all that paperwork done! The other clubs get snippy when we don't hand them their budgets on time!" Sebastian said to Lelouch, running his hand through messy brown hair.
"Having those two on the council didn't happen last time. The changes between the continuities are greater than I thought," Lelouch remarked, staring out the window at the afternoon sky. "It worries me that we're being watched. That Steel guy knew about me like he was one of the Emperor's agents. Although, the fact that he was willing to eliminate Clovis is making me have second thoughts about him."
Sebastian rapped his fingers on the table, "That's not all…both of us agreed that we wouldn't keep secrets from the girls this time around. Are we going to tell them? Now that we have C.C. and Geass, there's no turning back. We've crossed our Rubicon. Are we going to keep them all in the dark like last time? That's one of the reasons why everything came unraveled."
Lelouch stood up and looked out the window, "I know, and not just Euphie, Shirley, and Nunally, but Ohgi and the rest of the Black Knights as well. Schneizel was able to use that to his advantage and I will not let him do it again."
"So I guess that answers my question." The Blade Wolf said.
Lelouch offered his trademark smirk for a split second, "For the most part," He replied, his expression turning humble. "I suppose we should just go and do it. There's no reason to dawdle."
"Let me get Shirley. I want her to be part of this too."
"Very well, it's amazing her memories of the former timeline came back to her when they did. Not to mention how they did." Lelouch said, to which his partner and friend leered.
"Don't I know it! Some might call it cliché…I call it the best night of my life!" Sebastian recalled the night and he and Shirley celebrated their two-year anniversary by getting a hotel room and making love all night long. He had woken up the next morning to find her in tears, saying she remembered everything of her 'past life'. After going through several boxes of tissues the couple was happily reunited, and Shirley was now their main confidant.
"You still going to bring her into the organization?" Lelouch asked.
The Blade Wolf's blue eyes flashed. "Damn right I am! It's the best way I can think of to keep her safe. Even if I can't be by her side 24/7, I can at least know she'll be surrounded by those who will protect her. She will become my consort…my Lady Blade Wolf."
"Is someone talking about me?" the boys turned to see Shirley's head poking in the doorway.
Sebastian took her hand and led her in.
"Yes, my love. The time has come for Zero and Blade Wolf to take the stage and change everything. It's my hope that you will stand by my side when that happens, Shirley Fenette. I realize now just how much you meant to me and how far I fell without you there. Will you join our fight to make this world a better place, Shirley?" He asked. The orangette didn't hesitate. She put her arms around his neck and gave him the biggest, sweetest, most tender kiss she could manage.
Tears brimmed around her lime green eyes, "What do you think? Have you forgotten what I said that day?" Shirley beamed, nuzzling against Sebastian's shoulder. "I know you haven't."
He smiled and nodded, "You wanted to be the one bright spot of truth in our ocean of lies. I had never forgotten that…ever." Her luscious cherry lips hovered inches from his face.
"I meant it then…I still do." She cooed, kissing him again. Lelouch shook his head, and turned away, giving the couple some privacy. A slow, sarcastic clapping started. Everyone turned to see a certain green-haired witch standing there. "Can we help you with something, Cecelia?" She said.
"If you two lovebirds are finished, we have to enact the next phase of our plan. Provided you two geniuses have thought one up," C.C. remarked with amusement, sauntering over to Lelouch and planting a wet one on the lips. "I missed you." She whispered to him. The former Emperor said nothing, just stroking her soft emerald locks.
"I suppose there's no point in delaying the inevitable. Let's go and break the news to the others. It's time to take up our swords once again." Lelouch said. The two couples headed for the clubhouse.
(Student Council Clubhouse, Lamperouge Residence)
Kallen was sitting at the dining room table hunched over her math homework. The redhead clutched her forehead again. She'd been having monster headaches ever since Shinjuku, and dreams about her piloting a sleek and powerful Knightmare Frame. Kallen would have much preferred to be with Ohgi and the rest of the cell, but the former teacher had been firm in telling her to remain at the school and lie low.
"Kallen, can you go down to the basement and get me a tub of butter for dinner?" a warm, inviting voice came from the kitchen.
"Yes mom!" She called out; giving a small smile to the one thing that made hiding out at Ashford bearable…her mother was there. Kallen's mind drifted back in time, she reflected on the hellish time that was the Invasion of Japan and how they met a pair of brave young boys that changed their lives forever.
(August19th, 2010 a.t.b.)
"Mommy, I'm tired. Can we go home now?"10-year-old Kallen whined. She had been traveling with her mother and older brother for the better part of a week and a half now ever since the Britannian forces had invaded. They had the luck i in finding an abandoned house to hole up in for the night. The little girl was cranky and wanted to go back home.
Anzu Kozuki gave a patient smile to her daughter. "I know you're tired sweetheart. It will just be for a little bit longer okay?" She tucked Kallen into the musty old bed they found, and started singing a Japanese lullaby. The cute little redhead smiled and drifted off to sleep. Anzu looked down at the little girl who looked so much like her. There was no greater treasure in her eyes.
She jumped at the sound of the front door opening downstairs. Her features hardened, Anzu wasn't about to let anyone harm her baby girl. Grabbing a baseball bat she had taken from their home. Kallen's mother slowly made her way downstairs to investigate. Clutching the bat tighter, she cautiously peeked around the corner to see who had arrived.
It wasn't at all what she expected. A group of six children, three boys and three girls, stumbled in. They all looked ragged and battered, apparently having traveled for quite some time. "I guess we're going to have to settle here for the night."One of the girls remarked, her long pink locks tied in a ponytail. "At least it looks better than that drainage ditch you found Sebby."
Anzu was shocked to hear them speak English, why would Britannian children be in the middle of an active war zone? She stayed silent, listening to the children talk further.
"Those Knightmare Frames would have seen us and it was the first place I saw, Euph! Beggars can't exactly be choosers!"A boy with dark brown hair and blue eyes shot back. He turned to another boy with midnight black hair and violet eyes tending to a younger girl with light brown hair. "How is she?"
"Sleeping for now, but we'd better find some food soon. I don't want her to get undernourished."He replied, running his hand through her hair. The pinkette walked over to the second boy and gave him a sisterly hug. Anzu's maternal instincts were flaring on all cylinders. Even if some of them were Britannian, they were children in a dangerous place all by themselves.
They all huddled together for the night, waiting for the sun to come up so they could scurry out the door before any wandering Britannian patrols found them. Anzu smiled and headed back upstairs, where she knew there was a cooler full of treats they would enjoy…
Who knows what would have happened to us? Kallen thought, grabbing the tub of butter from the downstairs freezer. Anzu and Kallen had traveled with Lelouch and his group until the end of the invasion. After finding them, the Ashfords offered the Japanese woman a job on their housekeeping staff, which she had gracefully accepted, and Kallen became a student at the Academy.
Still some things refuse to change. Not liking the state of her homeland, Kallen had joined the resistance cell created by her older brother and was determined to fight for a free Japan. In the meantime, she treasured every moment with her mother. She even found Lelouch and his siblings to be fairly decent people; unlike most other Britannians she had the misfortune of knowing. The redhead handed the butter to her Mom and resumed her homework.
The door creaked open, admitting Sebastian, Shirley, Lelouch, and C.C. "I see some things haven't changed." The Green Witch remarked, her delicate eyebrow quirked at the sight of Anzu in the kitchen making dinner and Kallen at the table. "And some things have changed greatly…what is she doing here?"
Sebastian rubbed the greenette's shoulders. "The timeline is a bit different than you recall…Cecelia. In this continuity, we ran into Kallen and her mother in the middle of our flight across Japan during the invasion. It was pure chance, but we didn't want Mrs. Kozuki to be become hooked on Refrain so she's been with us ever since. We in turn invited Kallen to live with us as well. That way she doesn't have to live with her bitch of a stepmother. She's still part of the resistance. That's how we were able to reach out to Ohgi and the rest of the cell."
"Is that a fact?" She gave her traditional cat like smile. "Does she remember?" They both shook her head. "Oh…well I can fix that." Both boys felt their hearts stop in an instant as she sauntered over to where Kallen was sitting. C.C. waited for Mrs. Kozuki to leave the room and then spun Kallen around and planted a big wet one on the lips. Shirley gasped and blushed at the sight. Sebastian growled and went down to one knee. The symbol of Geass flared to life on his left hand and C.C.'s forehead.
Kallen pushed C.C. away, and slapped her across the face. "What in the hell!" She screeched, attracting the attention of everyone in the house. The red haired Japanese beauty blinked a few seconds before her mind registered just who exactly kissed her. "C.C.? What are you doing here? Where are we?" She turned to see Lelouch and Sebastian standing in the doorway. Her eyes rolled back into her skull and she fainted.
Sebastian caught Kallen before she cracked her head on the granite tile floor. "Really…you had to do that didn't you?" He glared at C.C. who just idly checked her fingernails; "You get to explain this to Kallen when she wakes up, Lelouch. My hands are clean of this!" He carried her to the couch. Shirley took a cool washrag and put it on her head.
"Oh I can't wait to hear you talk your way out of this!" C.C. chuckled.
Their very bad situation was further compounded when the sound of the front door opening, "I'm home!" Jeremiah Gottwald's rich baritone echoed down the hall. The day just went from bad to worse.
Jeremiah closed the door behind him. The former knight was clad in a dark blue business suit. "Oh, what a day." he sighed, loosening his bright orange tie. "I'm home everyone!" he called out, "You'd better be doing your homework, your highness, or it's going to be extra laps for you during gym class this week!" Jeremiah had become the gym teacher for the male students at Ashford, and like everything took his job very seriously.
Lelouch was finding out the hard way that despite all of his loyalty and servitude Jeremiah was a total slave driver, never letting Lelouch cut class. The few times he tried, "Orange" had found him inside of an hour. So the poor prince was forced to get an actual physical workout, at the very least he didn't get out of breath after running five feet anymore…
Jeremiah's briefcase slipped out of his hand at the sight before him upon walking into the living room, Shirley and Euphie trying to rouse Kallen, Sebastian and Lelouch looking very nervous, and C.C. leaning against the wall, as she watched the entire scene in amusement, "Did I miss something here?" Was all the beleaguered former royal guard could say. The two boys were spared from explaining themselves by the appearance of Nunally and Sayoko.
"I'm home big brother!" Nunally chirped. Her brilliant violet-blue eyes lighting up the room. Sebastian and Lelouch shared a glance and nodded. There was no more holding back.
"Actually, Jeremiah, there is something going on." Sebastian said. "We have to come clean, everyone. There are some things we've been keeping from all of you, but not anymore." Kallen groaned and came back to her senses. "Nice of you join us, Kallen. You're just in time for the party."
"Ugh, I had the weirdest dream, I thought I went back in time and saw Lelouch…" She trailed off when she saw everyone looking at her. Kallen squeaked and was about to pass out when Lelouch grabbed her around the midsection, bringing memories of a kiss on the staircase at Ashford Academy screaming into her mind.
"I assure you this is no hallucination, Kallen. But it would be wise if you remained awake. We'll explain everything." He said. The young prince turned to Euphie and Nunally. "My dear sisters…can you forgive your foolish brother for only doing what he thought was right?"
"Big brother…" Nunally said. Euphie frowned, rubbing the younger girl's shoulders. Sebastian took a deep breath and began.
"I won't beat around the bush. Long story short, I'm a time traveler from the future. The world I left behind was a very different place." The Blade Wolf knelt down to look Nunally in the eye. "Nuna, my dear. You once told us both you wished the world would be a kinder place. Lelouch and I tried to do just that. It's just that neither of us knew just how big a price we'd have to pay to make it happen."
The two launched into their story of the past time line, not leaving any details out, From Shinjuku to Narita to the debacle of the SAZ and the failure of the Black Rebellion. They also described the resurgence of the Black Knights and the formation of the UFN, the seizure of Britannia itself, and ending with the final battle over Mount Fuji and the climax of the Zero Requiem. Finally ending with the trip back into the past.
The reaction was about what they expected, Euphie and Nunally were both in tears. "Oh big brother how could it come to that! Making yourselves out to be monsters and then letting Suzaku kill you? I would never want to live in a world like that! Not if I couldn't have you with me!" Nunally sobbed grabbing onto her brother Lelouch couldn't contain himself any longer, letting tears fall freely from his eyes.
"I'm sorry, Nunally! I just wanted to make your dream a reality. I never meant to push you away. I was so wrapped up in my mission…I lost sight of what motivated me in the first place." He turned to the other sibling that meant anything to you, "Euphie…you were right all along. The SAZ would have made a huge difference. But I acted like a child and wanted to sabotage it. Everything was just a total mess."
"And yet you came back anyway." C.C. remarked. Her expression was stoic, but Kallen could make out the moistness in the green haired beauty's eyes.
"I for one cannot believe you would do something so selfish!" Kallen snapped at Sebastian. "Maybe we suffered a lot of hardships along the way, but we won! We earned the peace as you guys wanted it! Why would you erase everything you sacrificed…just to get a few dead people back?"
"Yeah…I did reset time to bring Shirley, and Euphie back to our sides. It was selfish, but I think you could have a little gratitude, Kallen! By changing history, your mother is no longer an addict! In fact the entire student body LOVES your mom! She's changed the opinions of a lot of people about Numbers, and they don't particularly like it. As for the peace that required the sacrifices of so many…it didn't last long." Sebastian stood up, staring down the red haired halfblood right in the eye, "Tell me, Kallen…what year did you originate from? How far ahead in the future were you before C.C. here yanked you back?" He asked.
"2019…we just celebrated the one year anniversary of Lelouch's death." Kallen replied. Blushing at the memory of the kiss.
He sighed, shaking his head, "I came from 2028, almost a decade later. The peace we fought so hard for, the peace that came at the cost of so many lives…barely lasted five years. People seem to forget the lessons taught to them quite easily. They make dumb choices and put their trust in the wrong people."
"Impossible! Anyone still mired in the old ways were dealt with! We took down any militants that opposed our plans!" Lelouch snapped.
"Yes we did, and we were quite thorough in that regard. We broke the resolve of any resistance that tried to oppose us. But we never dealt the other side of the coin, did we? Shortly after the Zero Requiem's climax, a faction of extreme peacemongers came to the forefront. They advocated a policy of 'total pacifism'. These guys wanted all weapons banned from the UFN. They thought that all disputes could be handled with discussion and communication."
"But that's what Lelouch died for isn't it? He wanted the fighting and hatred to come to an end." Nunally said.
"Yes he did, Nunna. He wanted a world that was peaceful and where everyone got along. But your brother isn't naïve and certainly not foolish. The world he envisioned would have people he knew would have the best interests of the public at heart and try and settle things in a diplomatic matter. At the same time they would not be afraid to use force when it was called for, which was the purpose of Zero and the Black Knights all along. But these pacifists didn't even want that. It was their belief that all matters could be settled with mere discussion and the idea of any violence would be anathema."
"Then what would they do if some armed force sprung up and started making demands?" Euphie couldn't believe her ears. "I know Father would never approve of it."
"One of the party's members said if they wanted something, they'd just give it to them and the problem would be solved." Sebastian said, shaking his head, "Appeasement…the exact opposite of Chuckie's preferred method of dealing with problems. And just as bad in my view. You give into every demand they make, and they'll know they can get away with it again and again."
"Certainly this didn't happen overnight." Jeremiah commented.
"At the start they were relatively weak and disorganized. Not to mention Kaguya and Nunally weren't the type to stifle their freedom of expression. But then about two years later, the peacemongers gained a voice in the form of a young woman with considerable political and diplomatic acumen. Her skill at the negotiating table matched even Schneizel. With her in control, they became a powerful force…and she became the new chairwoman of the UFN."
Every occupant of the room was slack jawed, "What exactly did this woman do to my dream?" Lelouch asked.
"Not much…she just disbanded the Black Knights completely. Said they weren't needed in the new future to come. It's only because of Kaguya that they were able to hold off on it for so long. They just started the disarmament process when I went back in time." Sebastian said.
"How do you know about all of this, Sebastian? You spent all your time wallowing in your own misery on Jeremiah's orange farm. Where does all this knowledge come from?" Euphie said.
"The news and the Internet? Just because I was in exile didn't mean I wasn't paying attention to what was happening in the outside world." Sebastian said. "But that's neither here nor there now. None of this happened yet. If we have our way it never will."
"You going to assemble the Knights of Justice again?" Kallen asked Lelouch.
"Indeed, tell me everyone…will you join us? Will you help Sebastian and I make this world a better place? Perhaps this time around, we can do it right." Euphie and Nunally glomped their brother tight. "I take it this is a yes?"
"You better believe it, Lelouch Vi Britannia! There's no way we're letting you do something like alone this ever again!" Euphie said through her tears, "I love you so much, brother. You don't have to carry this burden alone."
"Thank you all." He said, putting his arm around C.C.'s waist. "Now how about we have dinner? It's been a long night and I think we need time to soak it all in."
"Now you're talking my language!" Sebastian said, running to the dinner table. The secret was out in the open, and now the true revolution was about to start.