AN: Hi there. I'm here with Ch5 as expected, currently the shortest chapter as will be explained in the lower AN. Not much to comment on here so please, enjoy the 'show'.
-Chapter 5 – First Victory?-
The pattering of the rain was the only sound in the otherwise quiet Tokyo. As the small droplets fell, they broke apart into an armada of shells that bombarded the ground and anything else they fell upon. The day had long since passed leaving only darkness where there was once light and silence where these once the bustle of people in their daily lives. However not every living creature was necessarily away. In a rich neighbourhood, near the center of Tokyo, a single lone man walked slowly. He had no umbrella so he was drenched to the bone but he seemed to not mind, he merely kept on walking without a care in the world while never giving off a hint of discomfort. Every now and then the man would come under fire from the common lamppost that were scattered throughout the city, it was under one of these that you could see his features.
Lelouch Lamperouge stopped, under the lamppost he looked towards the damp sky and sighed. His day had been harsh to say the least. With being 'kidnapped', watching multiple people including his best friend be killed, gaining a God like power, leading a small battle and meeting 'her'; the day had was certainly not ordinary. However what depressed him was not those things that had happened but instead what happened afterwards. Because today… he had killed someone.
Clovis's heart had stopped, in front of him was a ghost. Or, at the very least, someone he thought had died. Lelouch, his little brother, his amusing little sibling whom he had last saw seven years ago. At this moment he was ecstatic, and terrified; both at the same time. On the one hand he was beyond joyful now that he knew that one of his favourite siblings was still alive, however he also had to accept the fact that he was also holding a gun pointed towards him.
"Lelouch? Your still alive? I.. I thought you were-" Clovis questioned.
"Dead? How foolish of you Clovis, then again I was always the smarter one so…" Lelouch said in a sarcastic and mocking tone.
"Ah, I didn't know, they told all of us that you had died in the invasion"
"Well, now you know that all they do is lie and tell crap all" he replied in a harsh tone.
"But, really Lelouch. I am overjoyed right now. Ah I know, yes, we should head back to the homeland as soon as possible. When everyone hears the news I am sure they will be-"
"Did you really think I hid for this long only to go back home…" he said with a hollow tone in his voice and eyes.
"The only reason I've hid for so long… Is because I mean nothing, to any of you bastards-" Lelouch continued.
"-After my mother was killed, we were suddenly worthless and undefended. We were sent to this country to die while you pigs dined on the back of the world. However I'm not a fool any longer, I know this was planned. I know that it was you people that killed her."
"P…P..Please Lelouch, I had nothing to do with it. I swear, I loved Marianne, I would never-"
Suddenly something very strange happened. In the midst of the rage on Lelouch's face it was if… some sort of glowing symbol had manifested in his left eye. With the shape of a bird sigil and glaring an evil red, it unfolded and gazed upon him.
"I'll find out for myself soon enough. You-" he directed to Clovis "-tell me everything you know, who slayed Marianne Vi Britannia."
Clovis felt himself quickly becoming tired before almost immediately passing out. And yet in this state he still obeyed everything his brother had ordered.
"I do not know, my brother Schneizel or my sister Cornelia might though" he said in complete monotone.
"Tch…" Lelouch scowled.
Soon after, Clovis once again came too. He then proceeded on with what he was about to say beforehand.
"Honestly Lelouch, I don't know and it definitely wasn't me. You have to believe me" he pleaded.
"…yes…I believe you-" Clovis felt relieved.
"-however I'm afraid I can't let you carry on any longer, especially since you know about me now" Lelouch brought the gun back up to his head again.
"NO! Please Lelouch, we may be born from different mothers. But you and I are still brot-"
Clovis was silenced by the loud blast emanating from the pistols barrel. In the close confines of the room, its sound was enhanced to shocking levels. The lead bullet emerged not a second later, it proceeded to make its way to its target menacingly. As the bullet impacted Clovis head, a small hole was drilled through his skull before entering the precious treasure hold of his brain. The bullet whizzed through, ripping apart his mind, soul and thoughts thus ending his life. The climactic event was finished when the bullet broke through the remaining skull with great pressure, spraying his blood onto the wall directly behind him.
With the show finished Clovis lay lifeless in his throne, an eternal face of terror lay on his face. Lelouch slowly began to make his way to the exit of the room, making sure to place the gun in his side holster. In this sombre moment, he realised that he had in fact murdered his own brother.
As he walked through the rain into the night, he thought back over his life until now.
Lelouch Lamperouge, that was the kind and intelligent man that most people knew him as. He was a plain and average man that didn't stick out in the crowd, there was nothing interesting about his past. Most of all however, was that he was a man of few words.
This was a mask.
The man who walked in Lelouch Lamperouge's shoes was not that sort of person. He was a man of dark and foreboding spirit, his world was tinted grey in a state of constant depression and paranoia. He was cunning and intelligent, that much was true, however it was tainted by his sly fox type attitude. He was the type who rarely ever made friends or acquaintances, most of his 'friends' were merely covers to fit in. If it required it, he would do anything to achieve his goal, even betraying comrades.
This man…. was Lelouch Vi Britannia.
He was the eleventh prince of Britannia, the seventeenth in line for the throne to be a fact. Originally, he had lived a rich and pompous life like that of the other princes and princesses, but something happened. In 2010 his mother, Empress Marianne Vi Britannia, was killed; most likely through assassination. She was not popular to say the least; being born a commoner and a half breed, she rose up through the ranks of the military until she became the emperor's knight. For some reason they both fell in love with each other and the rest was history, this however caused great annoyance with many consorts and nobles who were either jealous or angry that traditions were broken. It's possible that these people were responsible for her death, however, Lelouch had a more likely theory; it was 'him'.
After being thrown into despair at the death of his mother and the injuries his sister Nunnally, who was in the attack, had received. He went straight to his father, the emperor, and demanded justice. Did he give it… no. Instead he had already moved on, forgotten about him, his sister and his mother and simply didn't care. In his outrage he lashed out at the old man, this angered him and lead to him and his sibling being out-casted before being sent to Japan as a political tool. Not long after the war began, he guessed that his father had planned to have him and Nunnally killed at this point however it backfired due to the assistance of the Ashford family, old friends of his mother. In their care he took the guise of Lamperouge, his mothers maiden name, and lived a somewhat normal life.
He was never happy though, in those cold seven years he had been burning on the inside. He wanted revenge, he wanted to make that man as well as all the other pompous fools feel pain, pain that he himself had felt. He also wanted to undo the world that had been built around him, in the brief time he spent in free Japan he had come to love the country. But those greedy pigs just had to lay their claws on it. Finally, he wanted to build a world… a peaceful world where people could live in harmony. A world for Nunnally…
There was one solution to all these problems; rebellion… revolution… rising up and overthrowing the pre-built establishment. This is what he had been planning these seven years, today was merely the start of it. With his new found power, the terrorist force and… Kallen, he could make his dream come true.
He laughed lightly to himself as he continued walking in the night.
"MY LANCELOT NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
In an advanced, Britannian engineering workshop a grown man lay on the floor crying. With his arms and legs tucked into his chest, he was currently rolling around in circles while crying out for his precious creation.
"Oh please grow up" Cecile said in a disappointed tone.
"H…How can I 'grow up' when t..this-" he pointed over to a heap of distorted metal.
Over in the corner of the workshop lay the now destroyed Lancelot. It was only a few hours ago that it was up and fully operational, both Lloyd and Cecile were ecstatic to see their pride and joy take its first 'test run'. That 'run' was actually an emergency mission to destroy the Eleven terrorist forces, and it was going well. Countless terrorists fell to the ultimate weapon, the readings on the scanners were some of the most remarkable data they had ever seen in their careers. However, right at the last moment something terrible happened. At first they weren't sure what it was, their devicer, Suzaku, suddenly went no-contact and the Lancelot stopped sending signals. They only arrived two hours later once they had secured military approval and support, they were too late however, the knightmare was in ruins. All they could do was recover the scraps and Suzaku before quickly retreating.
"Lancelot… five years of my life…. Only to be crushed the first day…" Lloyd cried in despair.
"It's alright, it's possible that we could rebuild it" she reassured.
"…YOU'RE RIGHT!" Lloyd suddenly exploded in determination.
"Cecile, looking at the data, how long would you say it would take to repair our baby!"
"Hmm….-" she typed into a tablet console "-going by the damage sustained…. Never"
"EH! What do you mean!" he cried out again.
"I mean the damage is so severe that it would be faster and cheaper to build a new one"
"AH, Right then how long will that take!" his emotions perked up again.
"Due to the fact we've only been given maintenance funding because of the Z-01's completion…. 7 years" she finalised.
"WAHHHHHH!" upon hearing it Lloyd proceeded to jump onto the floor and began rolling around again.
Cecile merely sighed when looking at here partners behaviour.
"Um, Miss Cecile…" suddenly a quiet voice echoed from the doorway.
She immediately turned her eyes around and was filled with a sense of relief. Over there, Suzaku Kururugi stood in good health. When they found him in the wreck, not only was he unconscious but he had also suffered possible head injuries. The past few hours she was worried, unlike Lloyd, that he may be permanently injured. However due to the fact he was standing there fine it would appear she was worried for nothing.
"Oh, are you alright Suzaku?"
"Yes I'm good, thank you. The nurse said I should be fine so they let me out of the room."
"I'm glad to hear it, no injuries?"
"No, I was very lucky…. I lived without a scratch…." He voice suddenly got cold.
"But, I'm more worried about what happened back then…" he quickly reverted.
"Don't you remember?" she asked confused.
"…no… I'm sorry. The Lancelot will be alright…. Won't in?" he said, disappointed in himself.
"I'm afraid we won't be able to use this model anymore, but please don't blame yourself."
She tried to reassure him but it seemed to have little effect. They were interrupted by an obnoxious shout.
"I TOO WANT TO KNOW!" Lloyd said while picking himself of the floor.
"I want to know what monster did this to my poor Lancelot" he said with comically teary eyes.
Cecile nodded before looking at her tablet. After a few moments of clicking and searching she confirmed something before making her way to a computer module, she beckoned for the others to follow. Once they gathered she began typing something while speaking.
"As the machine was a prototype, we had many different camera systems to record footage and data. While the Lancelot was sent into a shutdown mode due to 'something', there were chest mounted cameras that were independent systems-" she explained.
"When we searched the wreck we found that one of these cameras was still operational and had captured footage of the event."
"Oh my, amazing work as usual Cecile" Lloyd said in an intrigued voice.
"Right, I'm afraid there's no sound so I apologise. Here we go" she began playing the video.
It started with the launch, as they already had video and data on this part they skipped through to right when Suzaku finished off the last terrorist. They watched as he located another Sutherland, Suzaku recognised this after a few seconds and tried to explain what happened next, however they could already see it happening. The Sutherland that he attacked exploded dramatically, sending the Lancelot flying out of the apartment and to the ground. Cecile paused it here.
"So from this I think we can all come to the conclusion that this was some type of trap" she said.
"I think so too" Suzaku agreed.
"Ahhh, who could do something like that? To set it up in that amount of time and the fact it actually worked…. They must be intelligent" Lloyd angrily pondered.
"Funnily enough, had this been the end of the attack the Lancelot would have been fine-" Suzaku looked confused at this comment "-although it knocked you out and sent the knightmare into shutdown mode, the Lancelot would have been protected from the blast and would have survived had we recovered it" She explained to him.
"Yet, it did get wrecked" Lloyd pouted.
"I imagine that's due to what's about to happen" she pressed play again.
For about a minute, nothing happened. Suddenly however the camera started to shake as if a giant was walking close by, that 'giant' appeared soon after. A mere Sutherland, though this one was different. Unlike the others a strange symbol was spray painted onto its face, a red bird sigil. Their confused states were broken when the unknown knightmare began firing and destroying the defenceless Lancelot. After that everything became obvious, she paused the video after the enemy ejected leaving the frame behind.
"Well, that was certainly unexpected" Cecile commented.
"I was beaten… by a terrorist… Mr Lloyd, Miss Cecile… I'm sorry, I've failed you…" Suzaku muttered.
"Oh don't worry about it. It seems we were outmatched here, somehow." She said.
"…."
"Huh, Lloyd. What's wrong? I thought you would be crying about being beaten by a five year old system" she asked when she noticed Lloyd was silent.
He was staring intently at the screen, the enemy Sutherland to be exact. His face wasn't contorted in anger though, instead he looked both confused and worried.
"That symbol…" he said.
"Yes, what about it?"
"I've heard a bit about it… well warned anyway…" he stated mysteriously.
"What do you mean Lloyd?"
"Nothing, it doesn't matter-" he muttered quietly.
"-But still, I AM angry. How could my Lancelot lose to a puny KMT machine. Agrrrr, I wish I could capture that devicer and then…"
Suddenly as if to break the ice, the door burst open.
"Sir Lloyd Asplund?!" several military men shouted out.
"Ah, yes. Here gentlemen, what is it."
"There is currently an emergency situation going on within the government."
"What do you mean?" Cecile asked.
"Prince Clovis had been murdered."
By the time Lelouch had made his way back home it was already past 11PM. Walking through the Ashford Academy he arrived at the large building separated off to the side of the institute. Originally this was the student council house, a lush setup for the several prestigious students to use a base of operations as well as a place for dances and other events. However a few years ago he was fortunate to be gifted the entire building as a home, having no-where else to go after all. He reached into his pocket and drew out the familiar key before placing it into the old lock, upon turning it he was greeted with a satisfying 'click' while the door opened.
He sighed as he walked through the dark hallway, if he was not careful he might hit a table or something so he was cautious. He eventually got to the stairs before making his way to the first floor, this was where he primarily lived in the massive mansion. As he made his way through the labyrinth of doors and rooms, he began to hear the voices of those closest to him. Walking into one of the lit up areas, he found himself in his dining room that was occupied by two other people.
Standing to the side of the table was a Japanese woman in her early twenties. She had short black hair and loving hazel eyes that gave her a warm motherly look. An expensive maid's uniform adorned her body as a show of her profession. Her name was Sayoko Shinozaki, a private maid hired by the Ashford Family to look after the small girl sitting next to her. Even though she was Japanese, Lelouch still respected her for her good work unlike other more pathetic Britannians.
With her acknowledged he looked down slightly to the other occupant. In a wheelchair at the end of the dining table, a small frail girl sat. After looking at her for the first time, anyone would be stunned. She was the epitome of beauty and purity with her soft, peaceful face as well as the light brown hair that flowed from her head to her hips. Her eyes were currently shut giving the illusion that she was sleeping peacefully, this, as stated, however was an illusion. The girl was actually blind and had been for seven years, her legs too, had been injured at that time leaving her unable to walk. Nevertheless, this girl was Lelouch's world. The single most important person in his life…
"Oh, is that you Lelouch?" she called out.
"Yes, I'm home Nunnally."
Nunnally, his precious little sister. Many years ago there was a time where she was as capable as any other people, but after the assassination of his mother the trauma of the event had made her blind. The damn killers even shot out her legs, it disgusted him. He would keep her safe though, just like these past seven years he would continue to keep her safe from any danger…
"Master Lelouch, you were out quite late today" Sayoko commented.
"I apologise, something important came up. I'm sorry Nunnally, you shouldn't have waited for me."
"It's okay, I wanted to wait. I wouldn't have slept anyway, I was too scared" she said in sad tone.
"Scared? What's wrong?" he suddenly became protective.
"Oh, it's just that… there was a big terrorist attack earlier. You didn't come home so… I thought something happened to you…" even though her eyes were closed, it looked like she was about to cry.
"It's okay, I'm here now. Don't worry Nunna" he gently hugged his sister.
"Hmm, what's this" he said as he noticed something on the table.
"Ah yes, it's an origami. Sayoko was teaching me how to make one" she then held up a small bird crafted out of folded paper.
"That is cool, don't you make a wish using them?"
"That is correct" Sayoko answered.
"I see, what did you wish for Nunnally."
"Well… I wish for a gentler world" she said in a happy tone.
Lelouch reached out and placed his hand over hers.
"When the time comes for you to open your eyes, it will be. I promise."
The remark appeared to make her incredibly happy, she reached up for another hug. After that he proceeded to help Sayoko move Nunnally to her room before putting her to bed. With that taken care of he realised he hadn't had a drink since this morning, he decided to get a glass of water from the kitchen in order to parch his dry throat. As the cool liquid made its way down his throat he made another sigh. Today certainly had been tough, now all he wished for was the embrace of sleep and a good night's rest.
*Ring*
Suddenly his cellphone rang. Due to forgetting about it and also not expecting a call this late at night, it made him jump slightly. He quickly regained composure before answering the call.
"Hello?"
"Sweet dreams Lulu-".
He then heard beeping as the call was cut off by the caller. With the small and innocent call over, he was once again left in silence. The only difference was that now it was deafening, his paranoia had skyrocketed as a result of the call. In another scenario he would be on the phone with the police due to the creepy, stalker type call he just received. However, this was not necessary; he already knew who the caller was…. 'Kallen'.
Jeremiah was currently at his desk. Papers were scattered everywhere, multiple computers were on facing him and several different phones were out with individual calls being handled at the same time. The reason for this absolute chaos was one of the worse things imaginable for a hierarchical type government; the Viceroy was assassinated. No-one knew how it happened or when, but during the colossal failure of the Shinjuku Ghetto siege 'someone' managed to gain access to the prince and took his life. It was just like back then…
Frustrated, his flicked through new reports that were popping up every few minutes before letting out an anguished moan. The day had been one of the worst he had even seen in his career. Due to the stolen gas, successful uprising, failed assault, assassination, failure of the new weapon and other smaller things; it was impossible for the situation to get any worse, it seemed almost impossible for the scenario to happen in the first place. That was one thing that bothered him, there were too many 'things'. Tiny, small details in the events and stories he had heard, things that didn't add up right in his head. How did the terrorists get knightmares, how did they fight back the assault, how did they sneak through the guards to get to the prince… There was most definitely something going on here, and for some reason he felt that maybe it had something to do with the encounter he had with the terrorist earlier; the one that defeated him.
As he thought, another officer came in.
"Lord Jeremiah, I have important news that I have been told to report to you."
"What's it about" he breathed out in relief of the small break he was getting.
"Sgt Villetta Nu was found several minutes ago, sir." He raised his brow at the strangely vague wording.
"Villetta? Can I talk to her, there are things I need to-"
"I'm sorry my Lord but… she's dead. She was found, brutally murdered in an Eleven warehouse."
"THE HELL, there is no way she would go down so easily. Tell me how she was killed?" he pounded on the desk.
"She… it would seem she was knocked unconscious… before her throat and neck was crushed by something…" the officer said in a disgusted manner.
"…."
"Is that all, my Lord."
"Yes, that should be fine…"
As the officer left the room, Jeremiah began rubbing his brow in a mix of emotions. He was incredibly sad to hear of the death of his long-time partner, there was no doubt. This didn't temper his confusion and anger though, why was this happening? Why did any of this happen…
23rd January, 2017 A.T.B
The sun shined through the window of the classroom. The rain from last night had cleared up well into the night leading to clear weather for the next day. In his desk at the back, lelouch sat contemplating life like he usually did, the new difference being the incredible experience he had the day before. In all honesty it felt quite strange for him to return to such a simple setting after that.
*tap tap*
It was perfectly fine though, from here he could experience a more normal life. Here, he could have his friends and acquaintances. It was sort of like a separate world from the harsh reality on the outside.
*tap tap*
Here, he didn't have to worry about certain dangers. He could leave those on the outside while he was safe in this space.
*tap tap*
The point he was trying to make was that the harsh reality of life and the false constructed security of the Academy never overlapped. His fights would never reach this school, here he could continue to live a normal life while-
*tap tap*
He had to exit his thoughts as the annoying tapping sound of school girl shoes walking across the floor only increased in sound. Obviously someone was coming over to talk with him and therefore he couldn't stay in his thinking mode no matter how much he hated talking to common fools. He slowly raised his eyes up to meet the person halfway when he stopped…
"Good morning Lelouch, I told you we'd meet again soon."
Amethyst met Sapphire.
AN: It would appear that I completely ruined expections, again. I should apologise, from now on I won't say "ChX will include this episode or this content" as I seem to be greatly underestimating the amount of content I want for each section or chapter. From here on out a single episode will likely take up 2-3 chapters (each about 5k words).
Anyway as for my splitting 5 into 5&6. I wanted this to be an "aftermath" type chapter since, let's be honest, a crap tonne of stuff happened over the past few chapters. With that out of the way, I can now plow ahead with the wacky school stuff (and don't worry, IT WILL be wacky lol).
Comment Answers;
NathenHale2- although I haven't written it just yet. There will be big consequences for the Lancelots failure.
Akuma-Heika- ಠ_ಠ… I… did not know that… I think I won't go into detail on the incest thing since… uh yeah.
Yanidavi- I actually completely forgot about Mao, that is going to be interesting to write about.
Anyway, I shall see you in the next chapter with real school antics, yandere stuff and an 18+ shower scene… maybe…