Disclaimer: I do not own in any part Code Geass or any of it's Characters.
It is the year 2028 it has been ten years since Britannia's tyrant 99th emperor Lelouch died at Zero's hands. The progress of the world has gone from one of grudging hate between peoples of different nationalities, races, and religions to one that has new found respect between people with great differences and works around them. This great age is led by Britannia's Empress Nunnally "The Innocent", Zero, the leader of the Black Knights, Prince Schneizle of Britannia, and Empress Tianzi of the Chinese Federation among others.
Hannah sat in the driver's seat of a stolen vehicle as Aaron sat in the passenger seat. She had slowly watched as the boy fell into unconsciousness after swallowing some aspirin dry. They had not stayed at Jeremiah's home long and had left the two tied in their living room chairs. Jeremiah had been kept sedated the entire time in fear that if he woke he would use his anti-geass again and cause Aaron to go comatose. Anya assured them that someone would come looking for them in a few hours if they did not show up in the fields and by that time the two fugitives would be far enough away.
Hannah relaxed with Anya's assurances and Aaron just grunted, although he disliked killing especially by the use of his hands. Memories of a multiple people were enough that he did not need the memories of death. Hannah also could not abide killing anyone and Aaron respected her wish. They had taken their commandeered vehicle they had taken from the airport's long term parking assured they had two weeks on the vehicle until it was reported stolen.
Hannah was glad that Aaron had fallen into a natural sleep she was not an expert on psychology but knew that the boy had a great deal of mental stress. Plus in sleep was the only time he looked like a truly normal teenager. His black hair had been braided and it hung over his shoulder. The shirt he wore was a little big but it clung to his slim chest showing that he was truly a guy and his jeans were ragged.
Hannah turned on the radio finding a nice classical channel that would hopefully not wake the boy beside her.
Sighing she just drove them east along the highway. Right now she was a regular person driving down the road traveling to some unknown destination with a boy that could easily be her little brother.; A road trip into the unknown. Yes, just leaving behind the past and looking forward to the future, at least for a few hours until the harsh bite of reality returned.
Hannah had not gotten much out of Aaron after he sent his messages to various people around the globe all of which she was sure were about to receive a shock unless they knew about Lelouch already but then Aaron assured her that not many people knew of Lelouch. She had managed to create a lunch box for them and borrowed some of Anya's clothes and some other clothes from a guest closet that Aaron laughed at but would not share the joke. Anya told her that there was some camping gear in the closet under the stairs that she could take. Anya did not blame her for anything and just settled in asking for the tv remote so she would not be too bored waiting for help to come.
It was nighttime before Aaron woke up looking about in the darkness trying to figure out where they were. "Where are we?" he asked yawning and surprised when Hannah handed him a bottle of water and Excedrin which he accepted both gladely but left the medicine unopened on his lap and just drained the bottle of water.
"We are in Northern Arizona near the Grand Canyon. Pendragon Memorial is about five hours drive from here," she said as Aaron just gazed out at the dark landscape.
"Wow, you must have flown to come so far," he said but Hannah shrugged as she eased off the highway at a rest area. She figured that Aaron would need to stretch her legs and she knew that she needed one and some good food too.
"No, you were just out of it, Imperial Burger sound good?" she asked, "Or do you want McCliff?" she added as she saw the other restaurant, its neon lights blaring through the darkness.
"Your choice, I do not care," he said as he turned in his seat looking for another bottle of water turning as he cracked another seal and drained the second bottle as she pulled up into a parking space. Turning off the engine, she stepped out of the vehicle stretching and yawning. Glad to be out of the car, she glanced back in and saw Aaron yawning; he had a bag in his lap she recognized as the cosmetic bag. Aaron was brushing his hair and pulling it back into two high ponytails giving him that more effeminate look that she had first seen him with. Smiling to herself she straightened as he glanced over zipping the bag close and taking out two Excedrin and popping the pills before exiting the car. Hannah closed her door just before Aaron closed his and hitting a button on the electronic lock locked the car and they went in to order.
In minutes they had ordered, Hannah did not need much especially since she had snacked along the way on the now non-existent granola bars; though her eyes went wide when Aaron ordered a huge amount, three very large burgers, a large fry, a large drink, and dessert.
"Are you sure you are going to eat all of that?" she asked as she handed over the cash.
"yes, I need the caloric intake and plus I am still growing," Aaron said throwing his long locks back over his shoulder as the male order taker raked his eyes down Aaron.
"Back up bucko, I am a guy," Aaron said to the man whose own eyes bugged at Aaron's statement and with hushed apologies went to fill the order as the two travelers took a step back waiting. They had their food quickly and they went to sit outside.
"You know, if you are annoyed about people mistaking you for a girl, why don't you cut your hair?" Hannah asked just as Aaron took a massive bite from his first hamburger. He paused thinking, then he quickly chewed and sat back as Hannah slowly ate her own food.
"It is not that I do not want to, but I made a promise to someone that I never would. I do not remember who it was, not my sister, she always hated that my hair was always so pretty but someone else and I can never remember who it was," Aaron said and Hannah read a note of sadness from him as for all his gift, all the lives he had overtaken he could not recall this one person who had made him promise to never cut his hair.
"So it must have been someone very close to you for you to follow her advice," Hannah commented watching the boy as he ate through his tray of food. Slowly chewing her own she watched as he had finished off his final burger just as she had gone through half of hers.
"How can you eat all that and still be so graceful? Not to mention stay so thin?" she asked amazed as Aaron began to eat his fries after drinking a draft of his drink.
"You forget I have the memories of hundreds of people and their experiences. Plus I have a fast metabolism, not to mention I am a guy," he said after swallowing and then began to attack his fries again.
"Why is it so unfair, that guys can eat so much and stay so thin," Hannah cursed beneath her breath out of annoyance before finishing off her burger in silence.
"I have a great deal of knowledge but I do not even know the answer to that question, just as I do not know how Geass came about," he said making Hannah to roll her eyes at the now familiar phrase. It seemed whenever she had a question that he could not answer that is what she told her when it would have been easier for him to say 'I don't know'.
"So where to after we get to the park?" she asked as he stretched and stood to throw away his trash as she just finished her own dinner.
"I am not sure, I need someplace to hook up to the internet so that I can track to see if there were any hits on the search. Thanks to the reward and bulletin on the news the Britannian's have made it easier for me to keep track of them, though it is also a trap for us that must be careful not to walk into," Aaron cautioned as he came back and took her tray and Hannah managed to rescue her drink before he stole that too. Standing and finishing off the drink Aaron raided her jacket pocket for the car keys and before she could protest walked away to the car unlocking it.
Rolling her eyes she threw the ice and cup away and got into the passenger side of the car, "Are you even allowed to drive yet?" she asked buckling up.
"I have the knowledge of…" Aaron began but was promptly cut off by Hannah who unfolded a map and turned on the light as she finished his sentence, "hundreds of people, the majority of which know how to drive. I know, I know but still it is odd to see a fifteen year old kid driving a car."
"By the way do you even need me to navigate, don't you have maps of the area downloaded into your brain?" she asked. In the wane light she saw him stiffen and turn red as he pulled out into traffic and then back on the highway.
" What, you do have an effective gps map in you brain, right?" she asked looking at him but he did not respond.
"I knew it, you do not know everything, you do not know how to navigate worth a damn do you?" she said laughing.
"Shut up, just because I cannot make sense of a map does not mean I cannot find my way around," he said his face beat red.
"So if the Black Knights ever want to take you down I just have to tell them to give you a map," she said teasing as she folded up the map and turning off the light. She felt smug that there was one thing that she could do better than him.
"I do not know why, only with directions, that are the only thing that is far beyond my grasp of understanding," he said shame in his voice.
"Don't worry about it, to be honest many people can't navigate, it isn't their fault it takes a bit of logic to it and not everyone can do it. If you were Einstein this would be your two colored socks," Hannah said reassuringly and she knew Aaron would feel better being compared to Einstein.
"Thank you," he said after a while. She had settled into her seat falling asleep so she almost missed it but she still answered, "Your welcome."
"Kallen, how are you?" Suzaku asked from across the cockpit, the red headed Japanese woman staring intently at him.
"I do not know, pissed, happy, mad, pissed, excited, pissed, oh did I mention pissed," she said her corner of the transport was covered in clouds of malevolence so that the other passengers shifted away from her. Their escort made a small squad of twelve and Suzaku was commander of it, though they did not know him as Suzaku, or Zero. His code name often times was Major Shinji Kenshin, it was obvious that it was not his real name but the soldiers were aware that they should not ask questions beyond their orders and they knew that Kallen Kouzuki knew Suzaku well enough that they knew what they were discussing. After eight hours trapped aboard the transport Suzaku could only spend so much time in the cargo hold with Lloyd fine tuning his Knightmare and when Lloyd turned his eyes to Kallen's machine he had sighed and retired to the flight section where he could get something to eat and maybe catch a nap but Kallen was sitting fuming in a corner over the report that Suzaku had passed out to the squad though Kallen was privy to the more intimate details as her clearance was only second to Suzaku's.
"I hope I never made you mad," he said sipping his tea relaxing into the chair wishing he had a pillow.
"No, it is this Aaron kid, C.C., and Lel…. Um, ah, L.L.," she corrected herself before she spoke Lelouch's name; it was a state secret that Lelouch was still alive though no one would believe that the young man on the wanted news reports of the past day or two was the same Lelouch Vi Britannia that almost ruled the world with an iron fist and died at Zero's hands.
"The kid because he walked into my home, ate My leftovers, ruined MY sleep, and STOLE MY KNIGHTMARE," Kallen said with ever increasing passion, "Then I am SUPREMELY mad at the OTHER TWO because they never had the decency to let me know they HAD NOT been killed ten years ago, FORCING ME to mourn for them when in reality they were probably just next to me," Kallen said her voice raising as she made her points and Suzaku flinched, he remembered that Kallen could get violent in fits of rage.
"Easy Kallen, do not get mad at me, save everything for the chase and the eventual beating we are going to give to them for making our recent and past live miserable," Suzaku said trying to calm Kallen. Kallen took a deep breath, sighed and looked out the window. Relaxing Suzaku became better acquainted with his seat and eventually fell into a light sleep.
Kallen watched as Suzaku fell easily into a light sleep, the creases in his forehead easing and the tension that he was always wearing melting away. She was not surprised at his tension, only aware on how much more he probably had since the Geass kid had shown up a week before. Sighing she stood and went to the self service station and made herself a cup of coffee. Those in the unit paid her no mind, they knew who she was and her reputation though she recognized none of them. She had been upset that she had been uprooted halfway through the semester and her students had been reassigned to other teachers and she had left half a stack of papers for her replacement.
Not sure what else to do she wandered the transport walking in on Lloyd tinkering with her machine causing her to sigh again with exasperation. Taking a long sip of coffee, she then went to look over the man's shoulder in hopes that he would not make too many changes to her machine. Between Rakshata, Lloyd and the occasional Cecile she had the best, besides Suzaku's, Knightmare in the world and she was always ecstatic to be allowed to pilot such a marvelous machine. Most days thoug she was trapped in one of the older model Guren's as her machine was always a year ahead of the current mass production types and they only make a dozen squads worth of the latest model units. These squads were the latest recruits and the squads were expected to be in rotation for a full four years before they were reassigned and given newer machines. Kallen had been teaching at the university specifically designed for those who wished to join the Black Knights and she taught battle tactics, hand to hand combat, among other topics to new recruits. She would have never thought that she would be a teacher, but it kept her on the cutting edge of the research and a hand in the mix whenever she got tired of teaching and wanted a field assignment; Though today was not one of the perks.
"Lloyd-sensei, Rakshata will begin the nickname again if you mess around with the machine anymore. You and she have already combed the entire machine to make sure that the boy Aaron had not done anything to the machine, it is fine," She pleaded wth the eccentric blue haired ex-lord.
"But I just want to tweek this and that," Lloyd begged crying as Kallen sadly dragged him away from the hold back to the passenger cabin where several of the squad snickered at the older man wailing.
"Here, sit I will get you something to eat and you are going to take a thirty minute break," Kallen said as she buckled Lloyd into the seat and confiscated his computer placing it in the seat across from Suzaku across the aisle, out of Lloyds hands. "Shhh, be quiet, he finally got to sleep so if you wake him I will make sure you never touch another Knightmare," Kallen hissed as Lloyd began to fuss.
"Fine, if you insist I will consume some form of edible food, as long as Cecile did not concoct it," Lloyd said with exasperation and slumped into his chair unable to get out of it. As she passed Suzaku to the service station she saw him smirking so she knew he had been woken up a little.
She retrieved a meal tray from a cupboard and in seconds had it cooked and was returning it to Lloyd with some silverware and allowed the man to eat as she took her seat across from Suzaku again relaxed finally and the silent conversations overtook the silence that had settled over them.
Sighing she turned back to the file to look over it again. It briefed her on Aaron and what the Black Knights knew of him. Her first order was to find and capture the boy.
Second, was Hannah Yoshikawa, a reporter for the JPN, she was one of their youngest reporters. Half Japanese, a quarter Britannian, and a quarter French, she had a dual citizenship to France and Japan. Her father's family was from Japan and it was in recent years that she had met with them, though she was at odds with her grandmother and cousins. Her mother's side of the family was very supportive of her career and path to move to Japan. For the past two years Hannah had been researching about the early Black Knights and Princess Euphemia; thinking that something scandalous had happened during that time. She was also ordered to find and capture the young journalist.
Finally, her orders were that if she came across the Geass Bearers Lelouch and C.C. they were to be taken into protective custody.
Lastly it detailed the strategies being taken to try and locate Lelouch and C.C. They hadbeen spotted at Pendragon Memorial and then a call had come in two hours south east from a small diner. They were driving an old model car and heading south. From across the country tips about the couple were coming in from restaurants, hotels, families, and a few miscellaneous businesses about them being regular customers.
Sighing she put the report down again and looked out the window seeing only white clouds. She wished they could have taken the Knightmares and not the transport but knew they could not have the support they needed in the search.
Glancing about the cabin she saw everyone relaxed, Suzaku slept soundly and Lloyd had actually dozed off, laughing to herself she stood and from her pack on the overhead rack she pulled a battered book and sat down to read opening it half way through. She settled back to read and pass the time until they reached Cecile's shop for the final checks.
AUTHOR: Well I finally finished this chapter.
AARON: Why do I have to be bad at directions.
AUTHOR: From my experience so far most men are just bad at directions, and I am sorry, you cannot be good at everything.
AARON: Why can I not be good at directions.
HANNAH: At least I am better at one thing.
AUTHOR: Yep, that you are.
