Hubris: Dream
Disclaimer: I don't own the Code Geass characters so please don't sue me for borrowing them
A thin film of dust gathered atop the furniture, the smell of stale air clung to every corner of the room as her hand brushed against the top of a dresser. It was obvious this place hadn't been lived in in a very long time, although it was still being somewhat taken care of by someone. There was still furniture throughout the entire home, and picture frames still decorated the walls though dust made them impossible to make out. The floor was swept, and the wooden boards obviously replaced when necessary, still…the echo of her footsteps left an eerie feeling coursing through her body. Lelouch sighed as she brushed the dust off her hand, her eyes straying towards a dusty picture frame resting atop the dresser. She lifted the frame, using her hand to brush the dust from the glass to reveal a faded picture of a father and son standing side by side in traditional Japanese garb. The happy look on the boy's face and the look of pride on the man's made her smile slightly.
"Do you really want to remember?"
Lelouch sighed as she put the photo back down and turned to see Gaius standing in the entry way watching her.
She took a deep breath to calm the anger boiling deep inside of her, staring at the two standing in front of her. If she reacted rashly then that would solve nothing, she had to remain calm if she wanted answers. She forced herself to recall everything that had happened the night before, the attack, Ms. Villetta and Rolo's death, Suzaku's attack against her and Gaius saving her. She just didn't have enough information about why it had happened.
"If I say 'no', will you tell me what's going on?" She finally whispered.
For the first time since she had met him, Gaius looked somewhat uncomfortable with the notion and C.C just looked bored.
"The memories would make explaining things easier…but, yes I will tell you what you want to know if I have the answers." Gaius replied.
"And if I just ask for specific memories, just the ones that will make your explanation easier will you be able to do that?" She asked looking at C.C.
The woman shrugged a slight frown on her face, "I've never actually tried it before but…maybe I can with Gaius's help."
"Then that's what I choose. Make me remember whatever it is you need to explain but let me keep the ones I have now."
The jumble of memories came with one other thing, her left eye held the same distinct image as Gaius's two eyes. Geass, the Power of Kings – the ability to change the world and the cause of much grief, her Geass had returned and with it, the knowledge of how to use it and what it could do. Lelouch reached up to touch the left side of her face, luckily Gaius and C.C were immune to her Geass although they did not explain how or why only that they were. Gaius had also told her that Suzaku was also immune, although he did not tell her why she had a feeling that she had used her Geass on him once. It made her chest tighten to think of what could have caused her to use her power against him but she had refused to remember that past.
"Tell me again, why did we come here of all places?" She asked looking back at the photo. Although it was old, she could tell that it was Suzaku in the picture. This was Suzaku's home, or at least it had been back when he was still a kid. It had once been a shrine but now stood empty except for the three of them.
"Suzaku will be looking for you, I figured this was the last place he would think to look." Gaius replied with a shrug. "Besides, after tonight it shouldn't be a problem where we stay."
The sound of the shower running caught her attention as she stepped into the room carrying the tray of food. Cecile sighed as she spotted Suzaku's discarded clothes strewn across the floor, the normally well-kempt room was in need of a cleaning although given recent events she did not blame him. Placing the food on a nearby table she bent to pick the clothes up just as the water shut off. Luckily, Suzaku was already dressed when he walked back into his room from the shower. He looked surprised to see her standing there and flushed slightly when he realized she was holding his dirty clothes.
"I can do – "
She shook her head as she ducked past him putting them in the hamper before he could finish whatever he was about to say.
"I brought breakfast and a list of the tasks you've been asked to handle after the attack. Also the latest news regarding the whereabouts of the Black Knights." She called over her shoulder as she stepped into the other room.
"What about Lelouch and Gaius?" He asked reaching for the pile of papers she'd brought him. She muttered something he couldn't hear as he stared dubiously at the food wondering if she had prepared it or not. "What?"
She stepped back into the room a frown on her face, "Who?"
"Lelouch and Gaius, is there any news about where they might be?" He repeated looking at her for the first time. The confused look on her face made the hair on the back of his neck stand up as he thanked her for the food before dashing out of the room.
He slumped onto a nearby bench beneath the shade of a large oak tree. People walked by busy with the task of cleaning the grounds their eyes devoid of emotion. Many were students just trying to make sense of the world through menial labor and others were soldiers who had been in combat and understood the severity of it. No matter where he went he was greeted with the same response no one, not even Gino or Lloyd remembered Lelouch or Gaius. When asked about why they were here, Lloyd had responded that they were here to investigate the attack on Ashford but he could not explain why they had shown up a few days before the attack. People were starting to look at him funny but it wasn't like he could tell them what was happening or why he seemed so frantic. Geass, the thought of it had briefly brushed against his mind and now things were starting to make sense. Why was there so little information about Gaius? Why was it that no one could remember who he was or what had happened to him? Why had the world forgotten that the Knight of Five existed?
Gaius has a Geass, the conclusion was frightening when faced with it at every turn but what else was he supposed to believe? Lelouch's Geass could not explain everything that had happened unless she had somehow – but no, his understanding of Lelouch's power was that she had to be within line of sight of a person. Power on this scale, the ability to completely wipe the memory of one individual from multiple minds without being near them was – horrifying. Could such a power affect the whole world? If so, then why had he been unaffected?
Ring-ring-ring-ring….The sound of his phone startled him as he reaching into his pocket to pull it out, bringing it to his ear without looking at the screen.
"This is Kururugi." He replied almost mechanically. He'd been fielding calls all morning so he assumed it was one of the countless soldiers calling to check with him about something.
"…" There was a long silence and the slight sound of someone breathing before a hesitant voice whispered, "Suzaku?"
He snapped alert, turning his head as if he might see her standing close by. "Lelouch?!"
"Oh, good…you remembered…" Her voice sounded relieved even as he ran his fingers through his hair feeling part relief, part – something else.
"So you wanted me to remember that I'm hunting you?" He wanted to yell at her but stopped himself when he realized people were starting to stare at him. Suzaku stood and walked away from everyone else his eyes scanning the faces as if he might somehow see her standing nearby.
"Well, I didn't want you to forget about me."
He stopped dead at her words, unsure if she was being sincere or malicious. "So you did this? You made everyone forget that you even existed?"
"….." Her silence answered him as he continued along the path searching for a place where no one could see or hear him. "What do you want me to do?"
"Turn yourself in, tell the Black Knights to surrender before more innocent lives are lost." He replied.
"Like Rolo?"
There was a sadness in her words that made his heart ache as he ducked through an open gate leading to a hedge garden. Most of the shrubbery was destroyed but at least there was no one else there to hear or see him. Suzaku rubbed at his eyes recalling the young boy who had stood in front of Lelouch as a spray of bullets had ended his life. The sound of her scream echoed in his memory even as he steeled himself against it. Even if you cry, I will not falter.
"He died because you think that I am your enemy." She continued.
"And are you telling me that you are not the enemy?" Suzaku sighed, "Even if you're not Zero, your very existence is the reason for all this needless death. If you would just turn yourself in."
"No one remembers me…don't you think that would make turning myself in kind of hard?" She replied. Suzaku blinked at her words beginning to see just what was happening. If no one recalled that Lelouch existed…then even if she were to walk through the front doors no one would do anything about it.
"So, this is how you win? By making everyone but me forget the atrocities you've committed?!" He couldn't help the bitter tinge in his voice as he gripped the phone tightly in his hand.
"Then let's make a deal, if you win I'll do what you want. I'll even tell the whole world that I am the infamous Zero if you want." She replied.
"And if I lose? You walk away without facing any of your crimes?" He hissed.
"No…if you lose I'll still do what you want me to do, but only after you listen to what I have to say. Do we have a deal?"
Suzaku frowned, did he really want to make a deal with her? Even if he lost she would still turn herself in and face justice but what could she possibly gain from it? If he went into this without thinking it through he might lose more than he bargained for. This was Lelouch after all, she was smart enough to manipulate the Eleven's into believing that she could liberate them. She had tricked Euphie into killing innocent people, something she would not normally have done if Lelouch had not ordered it. Could he trust her? Or was she making him into a fool?
Wasn't the truth that he wanted to trust her? He wanted to believe in the beautiful smile she had shown him the night before. He wanted to protect that smile above all else, even if it meant disregarding his duty as a Knight. Euphie had laughed at him when he'd confessed to her the truth, she had looked at him with that gentle smile and said… "Let's protect Lelouch's smile together!"
"It's a deal, what do you want me to do?" He asked steeling himself against whatever she decided to say. He was doomed if she asked for a game of chess, and he doubted she'd want to do anything physical so he really had no idea what she was planning – . Suzaku blinked, "Wait…say that again?"
"I want to go on a date with you to the park, the new one that opened up. You have to spend a whole day with me and make me believe that we're really going on a date." She repeated softly.
Author's Note: I know...a thousand apologies that I haven't updated this until now, but my computer crashed and I had to wait to get things back up and running! I hope you enjoyed the story and I will try to make regular updates thanks to everyone who has reviewed my latest story!
