Hallucinations at Narita
After a lengthy conversation regarding Sayoko's proficiency with knives, or rather her excellence with knives, Suzaku was beginning to feel more comfortable with his decision to head out to Narita. He would feel better if Lulu wasn't so shifty when answering his questions. Her response that if she did leave school campus, she wouldn't be without protection sent off warning bells in his mind. There seemed to be a thin line between his role as her knight, and his role as her lover. The girl didn't hesitate to point out that being possessive might be a character trait of the first, but wouldn't win him any brownie points as the latter.
"Everything all right, Suzaku? You've been unusually quite today." Cecile inquired from where she was sitting at her desk running simulations for the new float system.
It was still far from completion, but with Suzaku's assistance the timeframe could be significantly shortened. His compatibility with the Lancelot allowed for more cumbersome pieces, meant to help the pilot control the Knightmare easier could be removed or downgraded. This allowed for more operating, and battery space to be allotted towards enhancements. The project was similar to the development of smaller cellphones. As technology progressed, the once laptop sized devices became handheld and able to do much more than simply dial a phone number.
"Oh. Yes. I'm just thinking." The teen responded from his location within the Lancelot's cockpit.
"Obviously not about work, considering your response times have been significantly lower than average today." She playfully chided.
"Sorry." Suzaku mumbled and looked at the display screen as if it was the first time he noticed the list of commands on them. He didn't really understand what Cecile was trying to accomplish, only that if he could remember a more complicated series of instructions for non-combat tasks he might be able to fly soon. Needless to say, that sounded pretty cool.
"It's alright. We are way ahead of schedule anyway. Are you thinking about that girl from school? Did she go to Kyoto with you and the rest of your friends?"
Over the past month, the two had become more than colleagues. Suzaku thought of Cecile as his friend and slowly began asking her advice in regards to his plans to confess to Lelouch. He obviously couldn't give any details like names, or the fact that she was a cross dresser, but many other things seemed to be universal. In fact, it was Cecile who argued with Lloyd to allow him the last two days off, saying that young love should not be pushed aside for the scientists' academic ambitions.
"Yes, she was."
In a stroke of terrible luck, this happened to be the exact moment that Lloyd approached the Lancelot with the last person Suzaku wished to see. If it weren't for the blind spots that coincided with the location of the walkway, he would have changed his answer. He didn't think that his girlfriend's warning would come to pass so soon. Didn't the purist faction have preparations that needed to be made before the ambush of the JLF also? The infamous 'Orange' should be working on rebuilding his soiled reputation now, not gallivanting around different departments.
"Warrant Officer Kururugi." Jeremiah said with a sneer when the two made eye contact.
Suzaku resisted the urge to call the former Margrave with his current title, which was of similar ranking to his own. He knew the reason for the man's distain was due to the fact that Suzaku was a honary Britannian, and also that as he was quietly shoved off his location of success. Suzaku was building a name for himself within those ranks, despite the Purists' desire to be rid of him. There was no one else who fit the Lancelot as well as he did. Perhaps if that wasn't the case, then he would have been put to death even with Zero's confession.
"I'll give you two some time alone." Lloyd said with an uncharacteristically attuned response.
"What can I do for you?" Suzaku asked finally breaking the staring match between them. It would do no good to act on edge with the other man.
"That girl you were with yesterday."
"What about her?"
"Tell me about her."
"Well she eats more than I do, favorite color is chartreuse, which apparently is different than the greedy and maddening hue of lime green, oh and she's a little less than half your age." The last part was a bit of an exaggeration. Considering Suzaku didn't know the exact age of Gottwald, he could only go by appearances and the guy seemed to have ripened a few years recently.
"That's not what I meant." Jeremiah scowled, wishing he were still in the position to punish the cheeky teen for his audacity. "You may think that you can protect her better than me, but you're wrong."
Suzaku regretted his inability to guard his expressions as he gaped at Jeremiah. Protect? That statement didn't make any sense based on the conclusions that Lulu came to last night. It was possibly that he was being goaded into revealing information. He tried to remember his experience with the man as an interrogator, but Suzaku was too exhausted at the time to really remember much of those conversations sans the monotony of the same questions over and over again.
"You're useless to me. I already have enough information thanks to your friendly conversation with Cecile." Jeremiah smiled and waved at the women, who because of her proximity could not hear the hushed conversation, before walking away.
"I'll see you at Narita!" Suzaku yelled out, hoping that would incite Jeremiah to give some indication of the severity of his torn alliances over the next couple days. Should he ditch out on the battle in order to stay by Lulu? She said not to act suspicious and not showing up for work tomorrow would probably fall under that category. She was listed everywhere as a male student, and had Sayoko as a maid and bodyguard. He chewed on the inside of his cheek as he crawled back into the Lancelot cockpit. He had to trust Lulu.
Lelouch was feeling surprisingly relaxed considering what was about to unfold. She spent the better part of yesterday writing up a strategy, and enlisting new recruits to implement it. The day that she would get her hands on Cornelia had come at last. Everything was factored in. There was nothing that slipped past her observations, besides, possibly, the sponger witch tagging along. They were high in the Narita Mountains, and unless the other woman had super human speed in addition to whatever else mysterious powers; there was no possible way for her to be there. Yet somehow C.C. was present, staring at the scenic view as if she were merely on holiday.
"What are you doing here?" Lelouch scolded as she walked towards the other woman.
"Didn't I say I would protect you?"
"That won't be necessary."
"Oh? Because you have your White Knight for that now?" C.C. mocked in an unsettling show of emotions. It was a mixture of ridicule and what could only be described as pity.
"How do you know about that?"
"You were acting like a schoolgirl yesterday."
Before Lelouch could retort that was in fact a schoolgirl, and also able to put together the best damn plan to capture Cornelia; C.C. changed the subject.
"Lelouch, why are you 'Lelouch'?"
"I have no time to discuss philosophy."
"You changed your family name to 'Lamerouge,' but you kept your Christian name, 'Lelouch.' You simply could not let go of your past, could you?"
"That's funny coming from you. Don't you think that 'C.C.' is a little much? It's not even a person's name."
Lelouch was caught off guard by the look of sadness in the witch's eyes. An unappealing feeling of guilt shot through her for saying something insensitive. It was silly, since C.C. was always insensitive; it would appear the conversation went deeper than simple banter. Whatever reasons the BDSM costume loving woman had to start the discussion, it was more than to hear her response regarding a last name.
"Do you know why snow is white? Because it's forgotten what color it once was."
"If you say so, C.C.; however, at the moment I have more pressing matters to attend to." Lelouch turned to leave but stopped before she was out of normal hearing range. "Just be careful while you are up here."
"Are you worried about me, Lelouch?"
"Why would I worry for someone who can't die? I'm more concerned that you will make some impulsive decision that will jeopardize my whole plan."
"Like order pizza?"
"Yes, like ordering pizza."
"You have nothing to worry about. Pizzahut doesn't deliver out here."
Lelouch smiled and placed the Zero mask over her head, sensing a familiar adrenaline rush as the helmet clicked in place. She needed to shed her personal emotions concerning the upcoming battle, and portray the role of a champion of justice. It was unfortunate that the masked phantom had no intentions of saving anyone that day. Perhaps if the Japanese Liberation Front could control their subordinates enough to prevent that childish stunt at Kawaguchi Lake Convention Center, she would be merciful. Whatever was left of once mighty resistance at the end of the day would most likely be assimilated into the Black Knights; providing the persons could follow her command.
In which army is there greater constancy, both in reward and punishment? She doubted that this was what Sun Tzu had in mind when he wrote those words. Still, it was what inspired her to do this little trust exercise. Those wonderful words of wisdom and a love of theatrics caused her to compare Zero to the Messiah: salvation and damnation in one according to some fundamentalists.
Briefly she feared that the bold statement wouldn't have the desired effect, considering most Japanese continued to adopt traditional belief system. It was of little consequence, because when she pointed her side arm towards herself and dared anyone to kill her; the message was clear. The Black Knights would either live with her, or die with her. Only Zero could deliver them out of the blocked situation she orchestrated. Now if that wasn't enough of a punishment or reward system, she didn't know what could top it.
"Do whatever you want, you're our leader." Tamaki said finally, effectively breaking the tension.
That was what she wanted to hear. Kallen made haste setting the radiation devices while Zero divided up the meager troops into several units. The landslide would take out over half the Knightmares and isolate Cornelia's regiment, evening out the numbers. The only area of hesitation was where Suzaku would be located. She hoped that because of his unusual status, he wouldn't be in the front lines. It felt odd wishing for her enemy's safety but he could never, and would never be considered such.
"All right! Everything is in place! Black Knights, prepare for battle! The Order of the Black Knights will now execute a surprise attack on the Britannian forces!"
The Nuclear Pulse Emitter was more fearsome than she imagined. As Kallen transferred the energy into the unground waterways, the whole mountain range began to quake. The 'natural' disaster didn't ebb as Lelouch originally predicted, and continued on its gruesome course into the [hopefully] evacuated city. She would have to ask her physics professor regarding her error in calculations.
No, Nina would be a better fit. She had been looking for an excuse to make conversation with the awkward girl after freaking out on her after the 'bell tower kissing incident.' They could throw in some probability theory in too and make a nerdy night of it.
Classical tactics from over two thousand years were apparently highly effective against Cornelia's brilliant, yet extremely predictable, strategy. This paired with the amazing power of the Guren Mk-II, caused taking out the disorganized rear troops to be mere child's play. Zero couldn't help but smile at the results, especially Kallen's name for her finishing move: Shining Finger. It was enough to take out most of the inferior Knightmare frames by itself. Zero headed towards the king piece with the rest of the brigade. The causalities were multiplying, and if they lived through this fight; the survivors would truly be warriors.
Zero was beginning to worry that she overestimated the esteemed Toudou by including reinforcements into her plan. Granted, his assistance was the wild card (because who doesn't combine chess and Uno in these situations); however it made her current location, being pinned down by bloody Purists, less humiliating. It's about time, she thought. The JLF could take care of the Honor Guard. So long as she could use geass on her half-sister, minimizing causalities to her own pieces outweighed the glory.
Personal space seemed to be another basic mannerism that Lloyd was lacking. Suzaku shifted as far as possible in the cramped space within the Lancelot cockpit to allow the mad scientist access to the communicator. Originally he offered to simply move to give the man more space; that proposal was denied. His boss seemed to believe that the request for action would be more effective if Euphemia got a good look at all of them, particularly the pilot, when making the call.
"Hello, hello!" Lloyd cheerfully said into the intercom. "Special research and development group reporting! We're getting rather bored down here."
Suzaku glanced over at Lloyd wondering if the guy was seriously deranged or just had a strange sense of humor. "Deputy Vicereine Euphemia," He began believing a different method would be more effective. "I beg of you! Give us the order to deploy!"
The faint blush when he mouthed 'Euphie' wasn't really what he was going for, although Suzaku decided to take the opportunity. He softened his features and stared into the young woman's lavender eyes, which were so similar to Lulu's. This observation didn't make his subtle flirting any less indecent. Somehow he knew his girlfriend would understand. Probably. It wasn't like he was giving the Deputy Vicereine false hope or anything; she already knew he was in love with someone else.
"Very well. Take care of it." Euphemia responded in a voice that was a tone higher pitched than her previous words.
"Yes, I will!" Suzaku responded, once again hardening his gaze as Lloyd and Cecile excitedly thanked Euphie.
He couldn't think about Lulu right now otherwise his mind would wander down a road of 'what ifs.' She was safe at home with Nunnally and Sayoko. She was writing up expense reports for the student council, or more likely, procrastinating on that as long as possible. She was probably making paper cranes even though she told him her wishes had already been granted. I promise I'll come back safe, but I cannot abandon those in need in order to assure that safety.
He listened to the instructions Cecile was giving him on how to use the sandboards as the engines fired up. This mission wasn't just about protecting his fellow soldiers; he was also driven by his selfish ambition. His answer to Lloyd's question regarding his presence in the military was only half-truth. He didn't want to let anyone die, and in order to do that he had become powerful enough to control outcomes. Hopefully the scientist was wrong in his assessment; the contradiction will be the death of him one day.
"Lancelot deploying."
The Lancelot was off like a rocket, being pushed to max speed. Suzaku didn't think this path would be fast enough to reach the Vicereine Cornelia in time. Using the VARIS to break through the rock, Suzaku created a tunnel through to the other side of the mountain. He let out his arm Slash Harkens and thrust himself into the air to get a better vantage point of the situation through the rubble. The Gloucester's arms were dismembered and Burai and one Knightmare that he was unfamiliar with surrounded the unit. He heard talk on the communicator regarding a new Japanese model and this must be it.
"Vicereine, are you all right?" He asked once the Lancelot was back on the ground near his commander. "I have come to your aid!"
"The special R&D unit? Under whose orders?" Cornelia asked in a surprisingly calm voice considering her situation.
Before he could respond there was an onslaught of gunshots directed towards the Gloucester that he moved to block with his Blaze Luminous, while keeping his VARIS pointed towards the mysterious Knightmare. A drop of sweat fell from his chin due to the stress of the awkward stalemate. Besides the rapid fire of the automatic rifles that caused no damage, nothing seemed to move. Suzaku's body began to cramp from keeping his controls in the same position for what seemed like an eternity, even though the barely a minute had passed in reality. What was Zero thinking?
Damnit! It would be a lie to say that Zero, or rather, Lelouch was surprised to see Suzaku in battle. She was expecting it, but since everything seemed to be going her way; she became cocksure. Of course that showy bastard had to show up now right when she was about to claim victory. She knew Kallen was waiting for her signal to attack. The introduction of the Lancelot put her in an even weaker position than Zero could admit. She hated herself for the series of possibilities that ran through her mind.
She could order him to stand down over the speaker. Was that possible without giving up her identity? She could call him. She could just pick up the cellphone from her pocket and dial that idiot's number assuming he would answer. If not, then the speaker was an acceptable backup. It's not that simple. She would be forcing his hand; drawing a line in the sand for all to see where his loyalties truly lied. In spite of her previous exuberance and confidence, that idea frightened her.
She had to attack. When the Guren took down the Lancelot Suzaku would be fine. He would eject and the only damage that would be done would be to the mecha and possibly some minor injuries. She could not falter now, lest give up everything she was building towards. If she wasn't going to test her knight's loyalty here, then she needed to get rid of him as an obstacle.
"Guren, disable the white-head!" She said after what felt like an eternity of indecision. "His speed is a hindrance."
Suzaku's reflexes were unnaturally quick considering that most people would have become too rigid to anticipate the timing of an attack by now. The sole of the Lancelot's foot came blocked Kallen's Guren before it could administer a Radiant Wave Surger a.k.a Shining Finger to the headpiece. He fought the urge to voice over the speaker that the original wording was 'God Finger', before deciding against it. He didn't want to resort to shock value to attain victory, even if the red mecha seemed to be as fast as the Lancelot. That shouldn't be possible. No wonder it was able to take out so many of the Sutherlands.
He fired several shots with the VARIS before the long-range weapon became obsolete. The two state-of-the-arm Knightmares were locked in a dance, fighting with arms and legs as if they were both seasoned martial artists. After several moments, the Lancelot was able to jump and release the lower Slash Harkens, andeven those made little difference. That hand disintegrated the ropes. Suzaku felt a fresh wave of adrenaline overpower him at the thought of finally meeting his match.
He wanted this to be over quickly, but at the same time he had to admit a primal sense of satisfaction. Even though the Lancelot was equipped with both close and long range weapons, the only way to fight was whatever was the Knightmare equivalent of hand-to-hand (or sword to hand) combat. He drove forward with his MVS as the hand reached out again, feeling as if he were using the Debana-waza technique in kendo. The hand somehow crushed the sword and bubbles seemed to appear from within the weapon. Suzaku used the moment to fire another shot with the VARIS but that too was deflected. It stopped it? Their fight was too much and the ground gave way, sending the red machine over the side of a cliff. For a moment Suzaku contemplated chasing after it even if those weren't his vague instructions. Now wasn't the time to interpret his position; he needed to get back to the Vicereine. The two Knightmares were equally matched and he thanked his lucky stars for the anti-climatic end of the duel.
"Vicerine!" Suzaku called out over the speaker once he was back at his starting position.
"Go after Zero!" Cornelia yelled back. "My energy filler has just run out. GO!"
To say this was fucking ridiculous would be a gross understatement. Zero's attempts to slow down the Lancelot by firing her rifle were having the opposite effect. Suzaku proceeded to draw near, as if the bullets were mere bugs on a windshield. Her Burai, on the other hand, was significantly slower in reverse than forward facing. If she survived, she was definitely going to demand better resources from the Kyoto group. Her costume was becoming damp by the amount of cold sweat perspiring from her glands.
"Suzaku!" She tried again to hail him over the speaker but the voice was drowned out by gunshots.
Either that or the asshole just didn't care. She fumbled for her cellphone, doubting that he would answer in the middle of chasing down his supposed enemy. She should have just used him to capture Cornelia. Then the only thing she would have had to deal with was a possibly pissed off lover, and she would have won. Whatever feelings of shame she spared him with that decision would be infinity worse if he accidently killed her.
At least he wasn't aiming to assassinate. As the Lancelot's Slash Harkens dismembered her Burai and a well-aimed shot to the leg prompted her auto-eject; that became obvious. There was still a chance out of this situation. She wasn't going to be Murphy's bitch anymore. As long as he didn't call in that he captured Zero, she could use him to aid in her escape. Taking several deep breaths, she reached behind her head to the latch at the nape of her neck.
"It would appear that you require my protection after all." The witch said as she calmly walked out from the woods. "Funny how things end up."
"C.C.!" Zero pulled her hand away and watched in amazement as the strange women strolled up to the Lancelot. "What are you doing? You're up against a Knightmare!"
"I can't have you becoming even more distracted." C.C. stated and placed the palm of her hand on the chilled metal of the Lancelot's leg. "I can't get to him directly, but this is worth a try."
Suzaku had no clue what was going on. One second he was watching a strange interaction between Zero and the woman in Shinjuku, who apparently was in league with the masked phantom, and the next he was thrown into a world of white. He watched as a giant sandglass materialized, noting that the granules on the top bulb were almost completely depleted. Before he could attempt to interpret the meaning, his vision changed an abstract 'V' shaped carved into stone, and then the same symbol on a mass of tribal looking childrens' foreheads.
This too only stayed for a second, and was replaced with the sensation that he was floating in outer space. A feeling of panic washed over him as his whole body grew frigid and stiff. In super speed he watched the planets of the solar system orbited around the sun in awe. He struggled to flee as a solar flare rushed towards him, and thankfully was transferred just in the knick of time. He was being pulled through space, out of a single granule of sand, through the timepiece and back into the world of white.
The previous sensation of frostbite was replaced with electrical charges firing off in his brain. The world was still white except lines of black created shapes and the change of appearance notwithstanding; Suzaku felt that he was back in his childhood home. There was even the vase that he smashed in order to get his father's attention during the beginning of the invasion. The one that he destroyed directly prior to - but it can't be. His father materialized with a stern expression on his face
"Dad?" He called out feeling his whole body tingle in fear. "It can't be. You're dead."
"And why is that?"
He felt, rather than heard those words being spoken to him. Was there sound in this world? The answer to that question was yes: Suzaku could hear his rapid heart beating out of sync with the loud ticking of the hallway grandfather clock.
"I didn't mean it! I… I…."
Before he could finish that sentence, he was swept away. The winged 'V' symbol was back again; only this time the stone in which it was carved into was a medieval looking church, whereas the first seemed to be a primitive cave etching. A crowd of people were throwing rocks at the design and shouting profanities in a language he didn't understand. From within the church, he could see a nun with that same symbol on her forehead praying.
The next scene showed a torii and a beautiful mountainside. The Shinjuku woman was bathing in a stream and staring at a gruesome looking scar under her breast. If he were breathing, his airways would have restricted with the surge of emotions that invaded his heart. They weren't his, yet they overwhelmed everything else. Fear, remorse, and hated directed towards the self and many others.
Then everything vanished. It was as if the previous visions never happened and Suzaku was back in the white world with his father. His body was tingling in fear and he was struggling to avoid admittance for his mistake. He was a kid he didn't know what he was doing. All he wanted was for the war to stop, and more so wanted to protect Lulu.
Lulu? As he silently voiced her name, color began trickling into the white world. He was no longer in his old home, but a brilliantly decorated Western style villa. His father was still present but so was another woman dressed in royal blue. Even though she had flowing black hair and advanced age, the visage was uncanny. His eyes told him that he was looking at an older version of the third princess, but intuitively he knew that wasn't true. It was someone else staring down at him with a Mona Lisa smile.
"I had to do it!" He yelled so forcefully the whole hallucination shook and disappeared.
"Suzaku?"
No. She was here. Lulu was here in the white world, which was overpowered by blue and purple electrical charges. It was his nervous system. Suzaku didn't know why or how he knew this irrelevant piece of information but it popped into his mind anyway, as if he were sharing thoughts with another. None of this mattered; however, what mattered was that she was here and looking at him with that expression. It wasn't disgust, loathing, or even indifference. The emotion that filled those beautiful eyes was sympathy. Suzaku couldn't just see it; he felt it also. The intense trepidation was dueling with soft warmth that he didn't deserve after what he had done.
"You weren't supposed to know!" He exclaimed, hoping that it would cause the scene to change again.
"Suzaku?" She said again and reached out for him.
Lelouch's eyes widened as her previously bare hand became gloved. She snapped it back and held the appendage towards her chest as clothing continued to materialize on her naked form. She didn't need to look down to know what she was wearing: the Zero costume. She would have rather stayed naked. It was ironic that she felt so vulnerable to Suzaku's strange gaze dressed in the clothing that gave her the most power. She could feel his fanatic sentiments mixing with her own causing her to become ill.
The scene changed and the connection was severed. The white world was white again and there were chilling black figures wandering through it with no direction. He could hear their moans and the chiming of the grandfather clock. Whatever was going on, it was too much for Suzaku to handle. He needed to get out now before going crazy. Ignoring the pain, he began frantically clawing at his hair and yelling bloody murder. It was what he would do when his nightmares would become lucid and he was able to escape them. This was the same thing: a nightmare except one in which all five (or were there six) senses existed.
"What the hell did you do to him?" Lelouch screamed when her mind returned to her physical body.
"You should be more concerned about yourself." C.C. hissed in response.
That was a true statement. The Lancelot had gone bezerk, firing off the VARIS at random. Whatever the witch had done, it was affecting Suzaku more due to his prolonged exposure. Lelouch felt like she was going to be violently ill like the first time that she used her geass. Ignoring the intense danger, the girl released the Zero mask and retch up more than just the contents of her stomach.
"I told you to get out of here!"
That was easier said than done considering Lelouch could barely move. She was so weak that even getting up off all floors seemed to be too much effort. Getting stabbed in the side by a projected piece of rock was decent motivation to leave though. She looked up and saw that C.C. was taking the brunt of the force. The witch was shielding her as rubble continued to accumulate. If she didn't get them out of there soon, the sponger would be stoned.
"C.C!" Lelouch shrieked and grabbed hold of the other girl's arm with the intent of pulling them both to safety.
She needed to limit C.C.'s pizza consumption. Perhaps it was due to her fatigue, but Lelouch believed that the dead weight of the other woman should not be this damn heavy. If it weren't for the nearby cave, they never would have gotten away from the danger zone of the VARIS. Lelouch feared that they would be trapped inside, and had to reason that her luck couldn't be that horrible.
In addition to C.C.'s ability to not show her true size, her healing abilities proved that she was not fully human. She was indeed shot in the head in Shinjuku, yet seeing such grotesque wounds heal before her eyes amazed Lelouch. It became obvious early on that Clovis' interests in the witch were more than sexual fantasies. He was researching her in secret, and with C.C.'s lack of care for pain, Lelouch's mind didn't have to wander far to make a guess. That wasn't a good reason to dismiss the opportunity to analyze blood samples later on, however.
"Sera.." C.C. mumbled as Lelouch brushed the damp bangs away from her forehead to reveal the geass insignia.
"Sera?"
Her face softened and she moved into the gentle touch. "You finally called my name."
Lelouch pulled back feeling as if she stumbled upon a long lost secret in the other girl's existence. So the witch did have a name. Feeling confident that there was nothing else she could do, she began to tend to her own wounds. Most were mere scrapes that would heal before becoming noticeable, except a fist size welt on her left side. She hissed as she cleaned the gash and made note that stitches would probably be required. How annoying.
"I told you to run." C.C. said and lifted herself into a sitting position. "You didn't have to save me. Why are you always so unnecessarily proud?"
"I did learn something interesting." Lelouch responded and pulled her shirt back down. "Your name."
"Easedropping is a bad habit to get into."
"It's a nice name. More human than C.C., certainly."
"Don't be stupid. Nothing about me is human. After all." C.C. fought to keep the tears from pouring out of her eyes at this intimacy of the conversation. "I forgot everything. All of it. I can't have a name. No name."
Lelouch felt her body tense at the sight of the other girl cry. She wasn't really good at this sort of thing. Should she move to comfort the witch? This probably wouldn't help the situation considering that the tears were caused by a belief that being human was unattainable. It was true that C.C. wasn't human anymore, if she ever was, but it was still an awkward thing to cry over. It was even more uncomfortable trying to find the appropriate words to say in response.
"You saved me back there, and several times before, not to mention giving me geass. So…" She paused and looked up to meet C.C.'s confused gaze. "Thank you."
"That's the first time anyone's thanked me for anything. Well then. Would you mind returning the favor?" She averted her eyes before continuing to speak. "Call me that again. Just once, kindly, gently, like my lover would."
Lelouch's eyes widened at the request even if she felt no reason to deny it. She walked over to where the other woman was seated and knelt down so they were the same height. "Sera." She said the name again and tucked a stray lock of hair behind the witch's ear. Her hand lingered for a few seconds and she gave a weak smile. "How was that?"
"No good." C.C. retorted and pulled away. "No good at all. It was too theatrical. You were too gentle, your pronunciation was off, and the way you said it was more like a parent than a lover to boot."
"You're such a shrew."
"Of course I am. I am C.C., after all."
"Indeed." Lelouch said and pulled her cellphone out of her pocket. "I'm assuming you can get back the way you came?"
"What makes you think I'm going back to you?"
Lelouch didn't answer and called Kallen for a ride. The two waited in silence, as C.C. begrudgingly relinquished the Zero cape. She also ventured out to find the helmet since an unmasked phantom would be no good. The piece was scuffed up but intact. The Black Knights must have been close because it was barely a minute after Zero was fully clothed again that the ace came running into the cave.
"C.C. I don't know why snow is white, but that doesn't make white snow any less inspiring within the dead of winter. I do not dislike it at all."
With her sister busy dealing with the effects of the retreat, Euphemia was left to her own devices. She didn't need to ask permission or answer to anyone and she used that advantage to check on a particular patient. He wasn't in the medical ward like everyone else. Professor Lloyd insisted that there was nothing any medic could do for 'the devicer.'
She didn't believe him, at least not at first. The brilliant scientist had a reputation of being strange, and probably thought he could fix Suzaku like one of his machines. It wasn't until she actually saw the Knightmare pilot that she understood the man's motivations. She stifled a gasp as she watched Cecile try in vain to pry Suzaku's shaking hands off the controls. His eyes were as wide as saucers, allowing her to see the whole of his emerald iris. They were clouded over, as if the he were trapped in another dimension. His skin perspired at an alarming amount and the heart rate monitor of the Lancelot was in the red.
"He's still unresponsive." Cecile called out to Lloyd, who was checking data from the main computer. "Have found anything yet that would indicate what happened?"
"Not yet." Lloyd huffed. "Oh my dear, I wouldn't go up there." He remarked somehow noticing the princess' presence without taking his eyes off the screen.
"He's probably right, your highness." Cecile responded in a tired voice. "Until we know more it might be safe to assume Suzaku is suffering from PTSD. His episode might cause him to become... Dangerous."
She didn't want to believe it. Her heart ached watching the poor teen convulse uncontrollably. Was there really nothing she could do? A feeling of guilt washed over her that so many lives were lost that day, and much more injured; yet no one else crossed her mind. Suzaku began mumbling something and before Cecile could stop her, Euphie reached out to touch one of those shaking shoulders.
"Your highness!" Cecile panicked when she saw what happened.
Suzaku had finally moved from his stiff position and practically tackled the Deputy Vicereine. His breathing was ragged, something to be expected, but feeling it up close was different. His head was buried into her chest and the grip on the fabric of her dress was so tight, his knuckles changed color. Regardless of the obvious lack of coherent understanding from the knightmare pilot, Euphemia couldn't avoid blushing at the risqué contact. Still she made no move to push him away, and instead began humming and running her fingers through his wet hair. She didn't bother trying to understand what he was saying, because even if his words had meaning; she couldn't speak Japanese.
A/N: Yes, The hallucination that Suzaku experienced when C.C. probed his mind was changed. I also had Lelouch be effected by it also because I honestly didn't understand why this didn't happen in the cannon. "He" was shown frightening images also, and to the best of my understanding, Suzaku's, C.C.'s and Lelouch's minds were connected. Lelouch wouldn't have come out of that without some sort of trauma IMHO.
I didn't feel like it made sense that "he" was uninjured while the Lancelot went bezerk too. I understand that C.C. was a shield but that's just good luck considering if you watch the episode, there were rocks flying everywhere!
According to the Code Geass Wikia, 'Sera' was the name that was first proposed for C.C. I used that as her name because writing that a water droplet blocked out the name to readers seemed strange.
R&R please! Special thanks to Terlander for helping me brainstorm!
"Shining Finger" is a reference to 'G Gundam' incase you didn't know.
