Nothing Left - Ch.10

Author's Note: Ok ok, I get it guys. You don't want Kallen ugly. Ok, i'll make her all better. OOH! and while i'm at it, i'll put Kallen and Lelouch in the magical land of fairy dreams where Unicorns prance around and nothing bad ever happens. No? You don't want me to do that? Then deal with it! Wait...you do want me to do that? NO!

P.S: Somehow, this chapter didn't come out the way I wanted it to, the sentence structures just didn't mesh, and I couldn't fix em, you'll see what I mean if you look closely. Also to Aurora, your the only one out of all my reviews who told me what was wrong with my story (BESIDES Kallen's banging up), and also gave me a fair review. 7.9 out of 10 ain't bad, especially with the way I mix around character feelings and personality to fit my plot. So, in order not to lose your fair reviewing, i'll do you a little favor (see note below)

Note Below: Ok ok, just for the sake of your whining selves, i'll fix up Kallen a little. A LITTLE. Read on.

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Ashford Academy, Lelouch's room, 7:30 A.M

"Will I ever leave?"

"I don't know."

Kallen grudgingly allowed Lelouch to bring the toasted bread to her mouth, on account that she couldn't move her hands.

Rolo's reaction upon seeing Kallen the last night was haunting him as he dribbled around his breakfast. He had actually shrieked upon seeing her, but, to be honest, noone blamed him for being disgusted. He had opened the door and been face-to-face with Kallen on her wheelchair. C.C, however, didn't react upon seeing Kallen. All she did was take Lelouch aside and tell him to "continue his mission."

Witch...

Lelouch supposed C.C wouldn't care in the slightest about Kallen's condition, but would care that Lelouch had the will to complete his contract. C.C actually appeared to dislike Kallen's survival, even if it was the slightest bit. For her to be dead might have been more devastating to Lelouch, but C.C was sure Lelouch wouldn't take his own life (she knew nothing of the refrain incident), and that he would gradually recover and seek vengeance. This way, Lelouch was to feel eternally guilty. It wasn't that C.C didn't care about Lelouch, she had kissed him twice, but that he was insignificant compared to her own goals.

Kallen herself was actually taking it better than Lelouch did. She supposed the hair would grow back, and the scars might fade over time. The bones could do nothing else but heal, and she already felt movement coming back. Her body had recovered a little during her coma, but not enough for her to be able to breath without the immense pain blazing across her chest.

Her right eye however, had a nasty condition. To the casual observer, the scar appeared to be a small cut over a closed eye, but to the doctor, it appeared to be a gouging of the eye. At least she hadn't ended up blind in both eyes. It was still an unpleasent and permanent effect

She cracked a sardonic smile, earning her two questioning glances (not C.C's). Suzaku was handicapped, and she had nearly been blind. It seemed that Nunally's imp was plaguing them all.

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The Avalon, 8:00 A.M

He was still getting used to the wheelchair. Suzaku Kururugi used to be one of the most physically active Knightmare pilots in the Britannian fleet, and although he tried to get his heart pumping from the actions of moving his chair around, there was no. Also, it became a little embarrassing at times for people to see him panting and sweating from the actions of wheeling himself around.

Lloyd had been utterly ecstatic to see Suzaku alive, and had no qualms about making a specialized model of the Lancelot prepped for him. Though this was more for the reason that Suzaku had the top synchronization percentage with Lancelot than for any bond of affection.

It was strange though, he knew he should be feeling miserable for his own losses...and yet, he felt as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders (funny that it had happened now that he had no knees to lift it with). Lelouch had given up being Zero, not just forgotten. They were friends again, working for a common goal.

The new Lancelot would take only a few more weeks to complete, since it had to be carefully manned and designed because of the delicate and potentially dangerous parts. Also, the reactor was always a threat, despite the fact it wasn't even on. Lloyd's handicap modification made it harder for Suzaku to navigate, due to the fact that acceleration was usually done with the feet, and now Suzaku had to do it with his hands. But it would be ready nonetheless, and that was all that mattered.

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Schneizel's Air Fortress, 10:00 A.M

Nagisa checked to see if the hall was clear. It wasn't.

There were three guards around the door entrance, and they carried high-powered rifles that weren't standard issue. Even if her small, outdated Japanese handgun could take them, it would attract too many people.

'Damn...if only this were a spy movie, I could use the vents.'

Of course, the vents were out of the question. Her slender form could fit inside them, but it was a complicated maze of up and down, not to mention that the clanging and scraping of her knees against the metal would ensure her a slow and painful death when a guard discovered it.

Schneizel's quarters were hopelessly guarded. It was so much easier when Zero -a kid!- had given everyone orders to follow. Her mission however, had not been planned or ordered by anyone else. It was her own suicide mission.

Hope had been crushed for the Black Knights after the battle, and then Zero destroyed what was left. He was nothing more than a Britannian student with a master tactician's mind. Even if the whole population of terrorists were to overlook the fact, Zero would not continue with his "holy war".

'The result of the battle has left our forces decimated, and the weapon residing in the warehouse destroyed. I had a dream to beat back this greedy empire who take lands and call them their own, spitting on the inhabitants and calling them "Elevens". It is clear now that hope is lost. The Kyoto group's supply route has been cut, refrain usage among Elevens has risen astronomically in the space of a year, and the Euphemia slaughter has annihilated many of the Japanese population. I resign my battle not out of fear, but in realization. There are simply things people cannot change through force. But rest assured, I will still strive toward the new world, and even if it takes until my last breath to see it realized, I will give you back Japan.'

He gave up? Zero, the almighty terrorist leader had gave up? If someone like him couldn't do it, then who could? Practically the next day, half of the knights had registered to be Honorary Britannians, and the other half left in disgust. The ghetto areas were openly using Refrain, and the Britannian police force in the area did nothing. Toudou, Nagisa, and Shogo hadn't been in either 'half'. They left the few Burai in the Black Knight's base behind and left with only the clothes on their backs.

And then came the most disgusting part of it all: Zero had meant to do it. He had meant to crush their hope and dream. Toudou had told her only two days before, and now, here she was, about to throw her life away in a last ditch effort to bring back the spirit of the Elevens. If she could kill Second Prince Schneizel, the Elevens might feel as if they had a chance again. Britannia's strategic military without Schneizel would be like the Black Knights living without Zero...impossible.

She gave up on hoping that the guards would move. There was simply no way into Schneizel's quarters, and getting around the air ship without being spotted had been difficult...getting on had been much easier. That was thanks to an insane coincidence involving a change in commanding officers...

Schneizel's Air Fortress Docking Bay Area, The hour before.

Nagisa leapt on the feminine guard investigating the suspicious noises in the alley she had just been passing. The young recruit tried to raise her gun, but the former Holy Blade merely snapped her neck before the poor girl squeezed off a round. A few drops of blood escaped the recruit's mouth before she fell on the smooth cement. Ignoring the fallen rifle, Nagisa took the girl's clothes, I.D, and papers. The only visible difference between Nagisa and the girl facial wise were the eyes and the hair color. She hoped noone would notice the eyes. Nagisa hid her own clothes and the corpse inside a military locker that held supplies.

She came out with her disguise, paper's and I.D hid inside the pockets. The reason she hadn't taken the rifle was that she only needed to get past one guard, and the rifle, unlike her pistol, did not have a silencer equipped. The security checkpoint leading to Schneizel's Air Fortress had a single old man as the "guard", though he was less a guard and more a toll booth man. Nagisa had timed it perfectly, if she killed the old man with the silenced pistol, noone would know until after the Air Fortress had taken off. The unsuspecting man asked for her papers. She answered by raising her weapon and shooting his head, catching him as he fell, and hiding him on the floor of the booth he had been in.

So far so good. Nagisa only needed to board the airship and then reach Schneizel's quarters. In her rush, she walked out without checking the area. An officer -captain of the guards!- marched up to her, only feet away from the dead old man.

"Where the hell have you been? Is this any way to please your new commanding officer. Damn! I hate this job, why did they demote me from the warehouse...."

Nagisa blinked in surprise. NEW commanding officer? Had fate been on her side that day? She read the name on the officer's chest.

"My apologies, Captain....Simon Cutting."

"That's Captain Cutting to you! Stupid little child,"he sighed unhappily and ranted to himself again,"I mean, sure, I hated the warehouse job, but that payed a hell of a lot better than this. I didn't even do anything! Now i'm stuck as captain of a handful of guards..."

"Sir, shouldn't we be boarding?"

"Ah...yes, yes. Come on, at least now I have a complete headcount."

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The reason Nagisa had to sneak around now was that she overheard two female soldiers complaining that one Simon Cutting had demanded that they show him their papers due to a corpse found in a lonely military locker. Even so, it was still remarkable that she barely met up with anyone on the way. All she had to do was steer clear of 'Captain Cutting' and she'd be fine. The last goal of her life was to find Schneizel...then it didn't matter what happened. Nagisa tried to stay calm. There could still be hope...there was a chance Schneizel wasn't in his quarters in the light of morning. He could be in one of the Knightmare hangars. She walked calmly away from the three guards at the door, all the while searching the white walls, as if hoping to find a directory.

Amazingly, she found one. There were three hangars, one of them off-limits. If Schneizel wasn't in his quarters, he would be there. She made her way there, not allowing fear to cloud her last moments.

Sure enough, the door to the restriced hangar required a passkey. It was lucky that she had had the foresight to swipe the old security guard's key cards. Nagisa inserted the card that said "RESTRICTED" and watched the door open with a hiss. She slowly walked in and surveyed the magnificent scene in front of her. A dozen Sutherlands lined the left and right walls, and the hangar exit for Knightmares were open, revealing the Britannian city and sparkling ocean behind it. She herself was standing on a huge metallic balcony, which was as high as the top of the Sutherland's heads. This must have been the emergency response room, where in the case of an attack, the pilots would leap into the ready and mobilized Sutherlands (that had float system modifications) to combat the enemy. Spiraling stairs to her left lead to the ground level.

As if fate had lended her aid again, there was Schneizel, surrounded by two guards and a dozen technicians running maintenance on the float system. There was absolutely no way she could snipe Schneizel with a handgun equipped with a bulky silencer from far range. If she were to come close to Schneizel, perhaps she could attack whilst she was being questioned. But if she were to miss...

The best option was to wait behind one of the two support columns beside the access door she had just come through. So she did. She lay crouched for hours, and she was rewarded by hearing the technicians leave one by one. Another hour of waiting, and one of the armed guards left as well, none of them taking care to notice her. She came out and peered over the balcony again. Schneizel was still there, talking to one guard and two technicians. It was time.

She cooly descended the stairs, and was noticed by the few people left in the hangar. Noone payed attention to the pretty, innocent looking girl, walking naturally down the stairs.

Nagisa realized she was now standing eye to eye to Second Prince Schneizel, only seperated by a few meters.

"Yes? What is it? You must be one of the tech-"

The guard cried in alarm,"She's concealing a weapon, my lord!"

Nagisa cursed and brought up her pistol, shooting for Schneizel's head. The loyal guard got in the way, dying instantly as his brains exploded. The technicians screamed and ran, leaving Nagisa with an unarmed Schneizel.

"And so it ends,"said Nagisa. She had won.

Little did she know Schneizel wasn't finished. Out of nowhere, he whipped out his rapier and made a jab at Nagisa, the calm, sincere look from before gone. Nagisa stepped back, despite her alarm, and fired. Unfortunately, the bulky silencer made her fire too low and the bullet whizzed straight past Schneizel's shoulder and into the ground. Schneizel went into a fencing position and skillfully jabbed at his assailant, not allowing her to aim.

Nagisa crouched and fired, all the while rolling to the left, making it impossible for Schneizel to predict her movement. The bullet missed Schneizel, but it momentarily shocked him, as was intended, and Nagisa ran towards him, firing wildly. Schneizel's right arm suddenly became riddled with three bullet holes, but his left arm was the one holding the rapier, so he ignored the pain and jabbed Nagisa. He missed because of the sudden imbalance from his other arm, but succeeded in thoroughly impaling her shoulder. Ironically, her weapon arm wasn't the one hit either. Nagisa raised her gun to his head, and Schneizel raised his sword to her neck.

They paused, suddenly realizing their positions.

Nagisa panted, "Your staring down the barrel of my gun, and i'm staring at the point of your sword. I never thought that something like that would happen."

"I find it amusing that in this kind of standstill, the other person is too scared to take the opponent's life because they fear their opponent will take their's first."

"And that all the two can do is exchange words."

"Lay down your arms and i'll yet let you live."

"This is my suicide mission. I hope you understand that I didn't intend to keep my life. I also hope you understand it's nothing personal."

"Yet, you are too scared to kill me, because your mind is confused. Human emotion is telling you now that it is wrong to take a life, and that it is wrong to throw away your own."

Nagisa sighed,"Your men will come and relieve you if I don't finish you off..."

Schneizel shakily rose his bullet-ridden arm and touched it to his heart,"I swear on my life that I will lay down my blade and allow you to leave this ship unscathed, despite your transgressions, if only you put down your arms and swear not to pick them up again. You do realize I have never done anything other than protect my country, I am not biased towards the Japanese people at all. You have no reason to hate me, or distrust me."

"It is true..if anything, you are the most 'helpful' of Britannia towards the Elevens. And the fact that you used the word Japanese...I swear to lay down my arms and not pick them up again."

Second Prince Schneizel nodded and counted to three. He dropped his rapier, and was surprised to to see Nagisa drop her weapon as well. That had been his last resort, and it had worked? If Nagisa had not dropped her weapon, he would try to pick up his sword again and hit her. But now, his opponent was...surrendering?

"As promised, I will allow your leave. But...if the Japanese are as honorable as you, maybe I have a reason to aid Elevens with my career, I-"

"I truly apologize for what I am about to do, Schneizel."

Before the Prince could react, Nagisa picked up the fallen rapier and thrust the weapon into his heart. Schneizel gaped and started coughing up blood, and with his dying breath uttered his last words:

"Clever...you didn't...pick up...your weapon at all..."

Nagisa allowed the Second Prince to drop to the ground, and he became still. She knew Schneizel probably meant as he said, but this act might give Elevens hope...that was good enough. The technicians had probably called for guards by now, they would be in the hangar in seconds. She took out her cell phone and made her last call, not allowing a teardrop of fear to escape her.

Second Prince Schneizel had thoroughly underestimated his assassin. A frail looking and pretty Japanese girl seemed like someone he could talk to, or manipulate. He'd also known she had no personal reasons to kill him, and that was his mistake. It wasn't hatred for him that led her to kill him, it was love for Japan, and what such a loss for Britannia would mean to them.

The other side of the phone answered.

"Nagisa? I was worried, where were you all this time?"

"Toudou. Prince Schneizel is dead. I..."

"What? Schneizel?"

"I...have to go."

Nagisa slammed down the phone and broke it in two. She had wanted to say that she had loved him...but couldn't. She decided to keep her unrequited love secret to the very end. She picked up the bloodied rapier, and thrust it into her heart. She could've used her own weapon, but she'd promised not to pick it up.

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Ashford Academy, Lelouch's room. 3:00 P.M.

"Toudou, are you certain?"

"Nagisa called and told me that Schneizel was dead. Zero, this could mean hopeful uprisings for the people."

Lelouch held the phone away from his mouth and openly cursed, shocking Rolo and Kallen,"What will Suzaku think when this gets out? What if Japan is lost because the people believe that the loss of Schneizel is means for hope?"

"The second question's answer is massacre. I expect you'll be finding out the first in a matter of minutes. Perhaps this is for the best, after all, your 'plan' suggests you will somehow rise to the top of the military."

"Believe me Toudou, I have means, -he fingered his Geass eye- ,to accomplish that."

"I have little reason to distrust you. Your probably the second person in all of Britannia to know the details of the assassin. Which reminds me, I still must tell Shogo. Goodbye."

The phone clicked off.

And then it rang again. The caller I.D read "Suzaku". Lelouch answered it after letting it ring a few times.

"Lelouch, i'm sure you know."

"About Schneizel's death? Toudou just called and told me."

"Did you order it? I wish you'd be truthful with me."

What could Lelouch possibly say to prove he hadn't ordered the assassination?

"No, killing Schneizel would be a step backwards. Why would I kill the only compassionate leader of Britannia?"

"Because he is of the family that you've all but exterminated. Euphemia, Clovis, Cornelia, and now Prince Schneizel." Suzaku could not bear to mention Nunally's name.

Lelouch stood rigid. He'd never explained what had happened between him and Euphie.

"Suzaku, about Euphemia, it was-"

"This isn't about Euphemia. It's about Schneizel."

"Why would I give the order for a one-woman assassination on a high Britannian official?"

"Because she was someone you could spare."

"I...don't know what to tell you."

"I know what your mind can do, Lelouch, i've seen it at work. In fact, I wonder if you used Geass on the assassin."

Lelouch tried answering, but before he had gotten out little more than a gasp, Suzaku cut him off.

"I owe you my life on many occasions, so I will not come against you for this. I only hope that you aren't lying, simply manipulating me again."

He hung up.

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Sorry that there isn't much Kallen x Lelouch in this chapter, this was the set-up for a big scene between them later, so I hope you forgive me.