The hotel was breathtaking. It was long and tall, they typical type of hotel, with millions of shimmering windows that probably took forever to clean, and had a grand front entrance, with flashing smiling vacationers and stiff business suit type kind of guys. But here's the catch, the hotel was on top of a lake! Millie stood to the side, admiring her work with a proud grin on her face. Shirley's green eyes were bugging out of her head, her mouth falling down into a wide O shape.
"This is amazing!" She shrieked, casing everyone to wince. It's not that it annoyed anyone, we were just all kind of tired and worn from that stuffy monorail ride. "A hotel on a lake! You're amazing for finding this place Millie!"
"I know! Praise me more!" Millie laughed eagerly. She really outdid herself this time.
"Great job with the place Millie. . .it looks like a lot of fun." I smiled shyly and she walked over, throwing her arms around my head and pulling me in towards her chest.
"Oh thank you sweetheart! I'm so glad you were able to come and that silly little illness didn't keep you all locked up." She gushed, giving my head a finally squeeze before finally letting me go to breathe. My cheeks were the color of cherries as we all filed up towards the main entrance of the hotel, off to find our rooms. The girls all decided it would be appropriate to have the same suite, there was enough rooms for everyone to have a bed and privacy if it was needed, so there wasn't much argument. The guys chose a room across the hall from us, so it's not like we were completely separated and wouldn't ever see each other.
While me and Mimi were unpacking in the room we decided on sharing, a soft knock echoed through our room. It was literally the quietest room in this suite. Mimi was in the bathroom filling the medicine cabinet with all her stuff, so I got up off the edge of my bed and opened the door. Lelouch stood there, filling up the doorframe.
"Momo. .. Would you like to come with us to grab some snacks?" I glanced over my shoulder, wondering if Mimi heard his voice. I know that she'd much rather go with him, plus I was still a little ticked about what he'd said at the last meeting.
"Um. . .I guess." I shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant, like this little outing didn't matter to me at all. "Let me tell Mimi so she wont worry."
Running to the bathroom, I found her happily humming to herself while she set shampoo bottles down in the bathtub. Her head bobbed side to side in tune with the little melody she was humming away and when she finally turned, she screamed in surprise. I guess she wasn't expecting me.
"MOMO! God, you scared me! Did you need the bathroom?" She asked, pointing towards the shower. I shook my head, even though a bath did sound fantastic right now.
"I'm going out to grab some snacks. Is there anything you wanted?" I watched as she lifted her finger to her chin in a thoughtful stance. Her purple curls had been pulled back away from her face and she'd changed into some easy white shorts and a bright green top. It was cute, and looked a lot more comfortable than my heavy jeans.
"Just some chips! I have the money, just let me get it out." While she went to dig in her pockets I glanced over at Lelouch who was steadily becoming impatient.
"You know what, I got this! Don't worry about it!" I smiled and she stopped her frantic search.
"Are you sure, I have the money, I just need to find it." I waved my hand, shaking my head.
"Don't worry, I got it. It's only a few bucks. You can pay me back some other time." I smiled and she perked up.
"Thanks Momo! Your great!" I laughed softly before turning back to Lelouch, following him out the door and out of the suite. Yeah I felt bad not telling Mimi that her crush was there, and probably wanted to see her instead of me, but I missed my friend. I just wanted to see if he was okay. I heard from Shirley that he'd had a nasty nightmare on the monorail. But before I had the chance to ask, another person joined out group, instantly making me fall back behind Lelouch.
"Hello Mrs. Franklin. . .I mean Momo." Suzaku smiled brightly, his stiff, forced behavior seemed a little bit softer than normal. Something had happened to him. . .but what?
"You don't mind if Momo comes with us do you?" Lelouch asked, even though I knew it wouldn't matter to him if it bothered Suzaku or not, I was still gonna go either way.
"Yeah that's great!" I flushed as Suzaku smiled bright at me once again, shrinking even more behind Lelouch.
On our trip back, I hung back from the guys, giving them space to talk. They didn't seem to notice. Lelouch was caught up in all his thoughts, typical of him, and Suzaku seemed to be a little distracted by everything that was going on around him. Everything, the store, the people, the scenery, was so amazing to him. The littlest things in life seemed to make him happiest.
"Sheesh, Euphie is so spontaneous." Lulu mumbled under his breath. He'd been talking about this girl named Euphie on and off the whole trip, making snip comments here, but the praising here there. I had no idea who he was talking about. I couldn't remember if we'd ever hung around a Euphie when we were kids. I was pretty sure we didn't. But then again it was hard to play with Lelouch because I was always so sick all the time.
"I didn't know you were friends with her." Suzaku smiled and I glanced away so they wouldn't know I was listening in. If I kept looking at his smile, they'd know for sure. But they had to know anyway. . .I was quiet. . .maybe if I act like I'm daydreaming they won't be able to tell. So that's what I did, I suddenly became extremely interested in watching all the cracks in the sidewalk.
"You either. When did you meet her?" Lulu asked. I felt his eyes darting over his shoulder to make sure I was still following behind. I stepped on a crack, then another. I knew I was walking kind of weird from doing this, but as long as it made them believe I wasn't paying them any mind, I was okay with looking weird.
"I showed her around campus." My heart slammed in my chest for a second and I faltered a little, catching their attention. I clutched my chest, my heart hammering wildly. Did Suzaku already have a girlfriend? Was that who Euphie was, Suzaku's girlfriend? So I really had no chance at all with him!
"Are you alright Momo?" Lulu asked, looking worried, but I smiled, waving my hands in front of my face, casing Mimi's bag of chips to crinkle loudly in protest.
"I'm fine! I just remembered that old saying, step on a crack, break your mothers back!" I giggled nervously.
"Come on then! Let's hurry back! Everyone's probably waiting!" Suzaku cheered energetically and Lulu snapped out of the hard stare he was giving me and back towards the task at hand. What was he thinking just then? Did he know I was listening in? Of course he did. . .Lelouch isn't stupid.
As we drew closer to the front entrance, a crowd of people came rushing out of the front doors, screaming and carrying on. All their voices, wild and frantic, mixing together made it almost impossible to be able to figure out what was going on. There was to much commotion. I stood planted in my spot next to Lelouch while Suzaku jumped into action. He raced at the crowed, his eyes wide but his posture calm so not to upset them anymore than they already were.
"I'm a solider. Did something happen?" He called over to a man in a suit who looked completely freaked.
"Some guys calling themselves the Japan Liberation front. They took hostages and shut themselves inside!" I could feel the color in my face drain almost instantly at the shrill crack of a gun being fired. I dropped Mimi's bag of chips, I could always go back and get more, but if she happened to get killed, I wouldn't be able to go to a store and buy another Mimi.
My body worked ahead of my mind as I launched into action. In long swift strides I raced towards the front entrance, having to struggle past wild and crazed people to get in. A man grabbed my arm, begging me not to go in there, but I wiggled out of his grip, pushing him away. He just called me insane and kept running. Insane. I was far from insane. I was a solider, and I had a job to do. I had to protect these people.
I heard my name called a couple of times, I couldn't tell who it was, but I ignored it. Pushing my way in, I quickly darted through the lobby and around to the back of the main front. If they were keep hostages, they wouldn't be keeping them up any of the levels, they'd keep them close to the ground incase they needed a clean break, so I headed towards storage. At the sound of raised voice I slowed down, walking as quietly as I possibly could. They were instructing all the prisoners to stay quiet and no one would get hurt, typical kidnapper behavior. I reached down into my pocketbook, slipping out the gun I was authorized to carry with me at all times. My fingers fell into the right place like it was second nature for me to hold a gun. Pressing my back against the wall, I got ready to bust into the door when voices started to come closer and closer. I lowered my gun, sliding back into the shadows as a couple of guards ushered a young girl with pink hair out. She was pretty, and thin, and had wide purple eyes that made me think of Lelouch. Her eyes met mine and I raised my gun just enough for her to see to be quiet, that was a good guy. She smiled kindly at me and that's when I realized. . .this was Euphie. This was the girl that Suzaku liked. . .
My heart started to hammer, my head spinning wildly. No wonder he wanted to come out here, he could be with her alone, and they could enjoy a vacation together. That's why he was so eager to jump into action. I was never going to be able to be with Suzaku, even if I wanted to. Swallowing hard I clicked off the safety of my gun and slid out from the shadows, moving towards the door one more time. It was left open a crack, carelessness, and I could easily see inside. Familiar faces stared up at men with large machine guns, there's no way I will be able to just run in there and try to take control. Not unless I wanted to be filled with bullets.
Something warm and wet dribbled onto the top of my hand. Glancing down, three little red dots stared back up at me. My hand shot to my nose, finding a tiny stream running it's way down my upper lip. I cursed under my breath, and that's all it took.
"What was that?" A man's voice asked. There was movement and suddenly a face filled the crack I was peeking through. "It's a girl! One got loose!"
"Get her!"
I slung my arm forward hard, the end of my gun smacking between the guys eyes. I watched as he staggered back, stunned for a moment before he hit the ground, out cold. Slipping through, I started to dart away from the free fire of the men's machine guns, racing around the startled and screaming kids, making sure to be careful that they don't wind up getting hit. As soon as their bullet cases were empty, I jumped into action. Racing towards them head on, ignoring the small trickle of blood falling from my nose, I fired at them. One guy went down, gripping his shoulder tightly, out, while the other continued to stand, bracing himself of a fight. Tackling him, we wrestled for a couple of minutes until I managed to press my gun to his shoulder, firing and taking him out as well.
For a long moment, it was still and silent except for the two men who were groaning in pain. I sat on the guys chest, my nose streaming blood, my hands shaking. They didn't hit me, not one of their bullets hit me. Standing, I clicked the safety back on before turning to face the crowd. Millie jumped up, racing towards me and engulfing me in a hug. I couldn't feel my arms, they were to numb, so I didn't hug her back. Instead I let her try and clean the mess off my face while she ordered people over her shoulder to evacuate the building as quickly and safely as possible.
"Where is Mimi?" I finally asked once she managed to stunt most of the bloods flow. It was still bleeding badly, but that would have to stop on its own.
"She got out when she heard about what was happening below. She wanted to go find you guys so she could warn you not to come back to the hotel." Millie shrugged her shoulders, turning on her heel and marching out the door. I swallowed a few times, putting my gun into my back pocket. Thank god she got out in enough time.
When I emerged from the hotel, I found Suzaku rushing towards the hotel in a winded haste. I guess he wanted to save everybody to, but I got there before him. Everyone started to hug and laugh about how brave he was, but they assured him I had it all under control. I stood off to the side, not really wanting to be apart of the celebration. My whole body was in pain, my head spinning, and my legs were growing weaker by the second. I touched my nose, finding the small stream of blood coming back and sighed. I knew in a couple of seconds I'd pass out. My foggy eyes trailed over towards Suzaku who was smiling with everyone, looking relived and regretful at the same time. He went to go save that Eupihe girl, I know he did. I could see it in the flush of his cheeks. My heart squeezed in pain, my eyes burned and my nose let out a small gush of blood. I covered my mouth and nose, knowing it didn't hide anything, but I still tried. When I caught sight of the media, I tired to duck behind a tree, but Suzaku jogged over, catching my arm before I had the chance.
"Momo, I just wanted to say you did a great job back there with how you handled. . .are you alright?" He asked, noticing the blood stains on my shirt.
"Yeah, I'm fine. . ." My voice trailed off along with my thought as my knees slowly sank to the ground. The hand that was holding onto my arm tightened and Suzaku tried to pull me back up, but I fell anyway. "I need to give you something. . ."
"What is it?" His eyebrows furrowed together in concern as I reached around and took my gun out of my pocket.
"Please keep this safe for me?" I smiled weakly, not because I was too tired to, but because I didn't want to smile at him. I didn't want his girlfriend to think bad of me.
"Yeah, of course." He took the gun, instantly depositing it in his pocket before he reached over, trying to smear some of the blood off my face. It wouldn't work or help. It was everywhere at this point.
"Thanks. . .my dad can't find out about all of this. . .so please tell them that you saved everyone? Please?" Before I had a chance to get his response, a camera was shoved in my face and horrified photographers were busily snapping pictures of my bloodied face. Great. . .dad was going to have a fit when he saw this in the news tonight. My head lolled to the side and I fell heavy against Suzaku's chest, not remembering anything that happened after that.
I didn't go to school the next, I really couldn't. I woke up in intensive care, with doctors in my face asking me if I knew what had happened to me. I said I did, and gave a brief description of the day before, but they all gave me skeptic looks when I told them that Suzaku was the one who saved me. They knew better, they'd seen the news, but they didn't push it and told me I could leave when I was ready. I wasn't ready though, because the second I left the hospital, dodged all the media and their thousands of questions, and slid into the black limbo, I was attacked by the wrath of father. The second the door was closed I was struck hard across the face, my head hitting the window. From there it was just constant screams and hits. Probably one of the worst beatings I'd ever been given so far. The whole time though, the limo driver never turned his head. He just continued to pretend like this wasn't all happening, like I'd been trying to do for years. The next day at school was the worst. Standing in the middle of the student council meeting room, I was asked a million questions.
"How on earth did that happen Momo?" Millie pointed at my eye her mouth falling up. "I don't remember seeing anyone hit you."
"It must of happened when I passed out." I shrugged and smiled weakly, catching Mimi's eye. She was staring long and hard at the blacked circle around my eye.
"But you didn't hit your head on anything. I held you until the paramedics came." Suzaku pointed out, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion. He held me? For how long? And why did I have to be passed out for that?
"Maybe it happened when they took me away. They were too rough or something." I held up my hands in defeat. "It's not really that big of a deal."
"Not that big of a deal? Momo you have a black eye and you don't know how you got it. That is a big deal." Mimi sounded irritated, almost like she wanted me to say what happened. I couldn't say my dad found out I passed out and the news got pictures of it, embarrassing him in front of everyone, so he knocked me upside the head when I got out of the hospital. They'd shun me for sure.
"Look it's nothing. Just a bruise. It could of happened anywhere. I'm not worried about it. I'm fine." I shrugged my shoulders, turning towards the papers on the desk and started to stack them neatly. "Besides, it'll go away in a few days. It's not like I'm missing an arm or anything."
I laughed nervously but no one else laughed back. They were all watching me, concern and confusion etched on their faces. I really wish they wouldn't worry about this. It's nothing, just a bruise. I've dealt with worse, and it's nothing in comparison to what's left along my body. At least I could hide those though.
"An arm or an eye, it's still the same thing Momo. You can't remember how you got that huge shiner, but it's there. If your not telling us something you really need to. We are here for you." Millie reached out, touching my arm and I fought back hard to not let her see me flinch. She'd grabbed one of the hand sized bruises that dad had given me when I tried to run away but couldn't make it to the stairs.
"Yeah Momo, if someone did this to you, please tell us." Shirley offered kindly, her cheeks flushing like she was almost embarrassed to be dealing with this.
"Who gave you that black eye? Was it a boy? Do you have a boyfriend whose hurting you Momo?" Rizal slowly stepped forward, his teal eyebrows drawing together in concern.
"No, I don't have a boyfriend." I mumbled, my cheeks flaring up as I glanced over at Suzaku, wondering if he might of heard that. My head started to feel kind of heavy and I self-consciously reached up to touch my nose.
"Then who did this to you Momo? Please, trust us to help you, when can get you help and make sure you are safe." Millie reached out to take my other arm but I jerked back. That arm had a huge cut on it from when Father got mad and slung me into a nightstand. My arm had caught the sharp edge and dragged, raking a nice gash into my skin. It still stung and I knew I would flinch if she squeezed that. Her eyes narrowed and she got ready to reach out and take my sleeve in her hand when a calm voice stopped her.
"Leave her alone. She doesn't want to talk about it, it's none of our business." My eyes darted over to find Lelouch standing back away from the crowd that had gathered around me. Mimi wasn't standing to far behind him. She didn't bother hiding the fact that she was openly staring at the huge bruise. I smiled weakly at them before reverting in on myself, hiding from everyone like normal.
They quickly got over the whole black eye fiasco and moved onto more important matters. Like dressing up like cats to celebrate Author's arrival. I quickly hid away from the group while they tackled Lelouch into a chair, tying him up with his hands behind his back. I didn't bother to watch them transform him, instead I stared out at the sky, wondering what kind of hellish nightmare I'd have to go through next. I wasn't planning on going home today, but I had no where to go. Lloyd was starting to become more and more concerned with my shaky health, I couldn't put him through this to. I sighed, turning when the sound of Shirley's phone drew me out of my thoughts. I watched as she excitedly ran out of the room to the balcony, clutching the phone to her ear. Apparently it was her dad.
It must be nice to have a dad who loves you.
I watched in horror as all the Britannian Fleets surrounding the Japan Liberation Front went up in flames. Sitting in my Nightmare, my head swimming, my nose dripping, I watched as millions of soldiers were killed, murdered by that sick monster Zero. I could hear Lloyd screaming at me to stay focused, but I couldn't, all I could see was the bright orange and red flames licking up across the ocean water. There was a loud roar, and then a scream from the ship as it slowly tipped back, sinking down into the ocean.
Slowly, I pressed the release button and the hood popped off. Sliding out of my nightmare, I slowly lifted my helmet off, my face being smacked by a scolding rush of air coming off of the burning ship. I ignored the blood that was running down my chin and the tears that streamed from my eyes, and focused on the great amount of anger I felt towards that man. He crossed a line that night. From trying to change a nation to turning it into a genocide.
Clenching my fists, I vowed I would find Zero and put all his madness to an end.
Even if it meant risking my life to do so.