Code Geass: The Realm of God
Chapter 14: Rain of a thousand flames
Writer: Asheron Karuma
Don't own
Chapter 14 enjoy!
I wrote this yesterday but I didn't had a flashback part yet, that's why I wrote the first small part this morning
-The fate of destruction is also the joy of rebirth-
Under the rain of a thousand flames
We face real pain, falling in vain
While the dark angel screams for vengeance
In the dead shadow of falling stars
Chapter 14A: At night the wolf cries
The three children crept closer to each other in the dark of night.
One pulled up the covers and looked through his tired, half open eyes to see if the younger girl was covered up enough so that she wouldn't feel cold during the night.
He looked over the girl and stared at his brown haired friend who was already in a deep slumber, he smiled as he lay down on his back and stared at the ceiling, at first he looked pleased and delighted but within several seconds did the smile fade and his eyes bore sadness, he gulped a few times in a quiet tone before the tears ran down his face, his rose his arm to cover them and to hide the uncontrolled tears as he turned around and buried himself further in the small cotton pillow that was below him
He sobbed quietly, not wanting to wake the other two up... the young Lelouch did so every now and then when they would sleep together in the small storage house they owned... only when the other two were asleep did he cry, cry for the happy memories he had with when he slept in the same bed as his mother and of the times they stayed at Euphemia's palace where they would also sleep in the same bed, much like the situation now...
He kept a strong face for his younger sister, because he had to be strong, he had to be a big brother and he had to take care of her now... for that reason would he cry in the shadows for her while all others slept... he would cry for her and himself...
Chapter 14B: Rain of a thousand flames
He steadied his position as he looked for any possible attack, Lancelot was useless in a situation as this especially when it couldn't fly...
Lelouch looked at one of the small screens that opened up on his side showing Lancelot that was standing behind him, he smiled slightly at the force that this Knightmare had and tightened his grip around one of the handles
"2 ships left... load time, 20 seconds and counting... this is going to be easy"
Lelouch looked up when an alarm went off and quickly raised one of Astraeus's arms to develop a particle shield, he laughed when the bullets had no effect and looked at the counter once again, his smile growing wickeder when the counter hit zero and he laughed as he pressed the fire button
Instantly the hatches surrounding the two cannons slid back once more and the red dots started glowing up, a second later a rain of falling stars were fired from them and made their way to the two ships, explosions occurred whenever the star rain would hit their target and within seconds there was nothing left of the two ships
Suzaku stared at the Knightmare in terror amazed by the force it had, it reminded him of the Gawain unit and he was glad that he didn't have to fight this Knightmare, he looked up when a screen opened
Text only Astraeus:
Kururugi, are you alright?
He frowned at the message and wondered why the pilot was sending him a message like that, he opened a com link to the pilot but found out that he was only able to send messages and wasn't able to receive them from the other Knightmare
"Why don't you talk?"
The text in the screen changed
Text only Astraeus:
I would if I was allowed to, but that comes later. What is your status?
"The wings are damaged, I can't fly. The damage is at a minimum but I hate to admit it I can't really do anything in a situation like this"
Text only Astraeus:
That's alright, I'll take us back to Avalon. I'm glad I was able to do something in return Suzaku.
He looked at the message for a moment and realisation hit him, his eyes widened as he recognised the way in which the pilot was communicating to him... not because of the text messages but because of the way he would use his words... could this pilot be... Lelouch? He had to know.
"Is it possible... Lelouch?!"
Text only Astraeus – communication link closed
"Lelouch!"
He clenched his teeth and cursed under his breath, it had to be Lelouch... no one else would do something like that...
But he wasn't able to communicate with the pilot anymore, Astraeus turned around and walked up to the Lancelot. Its arms wrapped around the waist connection of the other Knightmare and Suzaku looked at the head, Lelouch did the same and smiled as he activated his boosters to soar upwards towards the Avalon which still resided above them
Inside the control room Prince Schneizel was amazed by the power of Astraeus, he smiled as the two units made their way back into the hangar through the launch bay and he closed his eyes for a moment realising that his father was right after all, Lelouch was the key... or at leased one of the two keys, but he was stronger and better... he stood up from his thrown and walked out of the control room
Once he was ready he opened his hatch and jumped out of the cockpit, Lloyd and Cecil stared at him strangely when he passed them at great speed as he ran towards the other unit, the hatch was opening and it first moved upwards before heading forward, the pilot stood up still wearing his helm and looked at Suzaku as he ran towards the unit
'It has to be him!"
He thought as he passed the few onlookers and as Lelouch stepped down from the unit on the ground Suzaku launched himself at him and both landed on the ground, Suzaku sat on top of the pilot as he roughly removed his helmet however the helm dropped out of his hands instantly when he recognized the purple eyed youth below him
"It was you! I knew it! Why are you piloting?!"
"Because father has ordered him to do so"
Suzaku looked up and frowned deeper when Prince Schneizel walked through the crowd that had now formed itself around the two pilots, several tried to intervene but were stopped by the Prince
"You must fight... you will fight..."
That is what the Emperor had said...
"Kururugi Suzaku, are you going to disobey a direct order from the Emperor?"
Suzaku said nothing and turned his gaze to Lelouch, however he flinched when he saw his eyes.
Lelouch stared at him with a sad and silent gaze as he shook is head in a no like fashion, was Lelouch going to go through with this? Was he going to fight?
"If you disobey the Emperor then you are not fit to be a Knight either, Kururugi..."
"I won't!"
He loosened the hand around Lelouch's collar and stood up to look at Prince Schneizel properly as he responded in a vast and steady tone
"I am sorry for my response..."
Schneizel smiled
"Good..."
With his hand stretched out he helped Lelouch stand up, he couldn't help but feel like something was wrong because Lelouch was looking paler than he did before, he apologized to him for his behaviour with a bow because Lelouch was still of higher standard than him and Lelouch smiled back at him and said that it was alright...
They both looked at the unit for a moment and Prince Schneizel put his hand on Lelouch's shoulder as he asked
"And what did you think?"
Lelouch frowned and raised his hand, Suzaku stared at him as well as Schneizel as Lelouch grips the hand to a fist
"It is strange... it is a lot different from any other Knightmare I have used..."
"Different"
Lelouch looked at Suzaku and smiled at him, Suzaku knew nothing about the unit and he would probably think that it was pilot able like any other Knightmare
"It hardly has any controls, I put my hands on the handles and imagined myself moving... I'm not exactly sure how but it worked..."
Suzaku looked back at the unit and wondered what this Knightmare was made of, it uses no controls and so it had to be something entirely different
"Mother used to pilot it as well"
"Your mother?"
Lelouch nodded and wanted to say more but he was interrupted by his brother
"We will start testing tomorrow if you're up for it, Kururugi you will make a battle report bring it to my desk tomorrow as well"
He quickly saluted and responded
"Yes, my lord"
Lelouch laughed at him as Schneizel walked out, Suzaku looked at him strangely and spoke in an annoyed tone
"Shut up, you never have to do things like that!"
"Would you do it for me?"
"Of course!"
Lelouch laughed again and looked at Suzaku
"I'm glad I was able to do something..."
Suzaku frowned and put a hand on Lelouch shoulder
"I know... but I'd rather not have you on the battlefield... you know how dangerous it can be..."
"I know, but I can't sit back and watch you fight..."
"Suzaku!"
Suzaku looked over his shoulder and saw Cecil run up to him, as he looked at her Lelouch collapsed forward and fell against him, he quickly turned his gaze forward again when he felt him fall against him and quickly wrapped an arm around him as he went down to his knees, he shook the boy but he got no response in return
"Lelouch?"
Lelouch had his eyes closed and sweat dripped down the side of his face, he was unconscious for some reason, Suzaku was right that something was wrong when he saw the paleness on Lelouch's face...
"What's wrong? Lelouch!"
Chapter 14C: The two snakes drinking tea
"Second Prince, Schneizel el Britannia... it is a pleasure to meet you"
Prince Schneizel smiled back to the chairman that was visible on the large screen in front of him
"Chairman Xao Sheng Ling, my old dear friend"
The Chinese man smiled back and a tense atmosphere was visible between the two, like old rivals drinking tea. They both smiled and remained calm but like snakes they waited, they waited for each other to make a move so that they could strike back with their poison
"That machine, Astraeus... I didn't know they improved it"
The Chinese man asked and Schneizel smiled at his question
"So it was you after all..."
Xao frowned and stared at him with a vicious look, he hated the way his questions were being answered, he hated the Britannian citizens because they lacked respect, especially the royalties...
"Yes it was, now tell me who is your pilot?"
"That is classified information my friend, you know I can't bring that in our conversation"
"Do you have another witch to do your foul work?"
No answer came back and a moment of silent followed Xao Sheng Li sighed and calmed his mind as he looked at the still smiling Prince and with a faint smile told him
"Never mind that, I apologize for my rudeness Prince"
"We are friends not enemies, you can speak as you wish in my presence"
"Now what will we do with that Area 11 of yours... tell me what are your plans for it?"
"It will be given independence after it is rebuild"
"That isn't good for business... you know that right?"
"Ooh I do"
"Then you know what I want right?"
"Good business... as a friend you should understand why"
"Ooh yes I do and that is why you will never have it"
"Ooh I will, you'll see... and I will stop you my friend, I can't allow you to recreate it, I will destroy that Astraeus and the new witch you have, I will make sure that the witch dies by my own hands"
His hate was visible but even with the most sinister look that the snake was giving its prey, the prey remained unmoving like a rock and ignored the protective hissing sounds that were emitted to him, instead he merely smiled back and responded
"I guess that is a challenge... how does your board think about it?"
"They agree, as usual"
"Never change do we..."
"We never do"
"I have nothing else to tell you, I am a busy man"
"I hope to see you on the battlefield"
"So do I, dear friend, so do I... farewell"
"Goodbye"
With that the screen closed and Prince Schneizel leaned forward on his desk, a sigh escaped his lips as he rested his head on his arms, hanging over his desk like a tired man... indeed he was tired but he had no time to sleep, the enemy was moving... and he was soon to be on his doorstep unless he would make his arrival first
Xao Sheng Li, the chairman of the Chinese Federation was a dangerous man that was known for his business like ruling... if something was bad for his country he would execute it... if something was good then he would grasp it in his hands and if he could do both then he would grasp it and crush it between his fingers...
He closed his eyes for a moment as he thought of their conversation, Xao wouldn't stop them... they would win and change this world... even Xao wouldn't be able to stop them in time for they had Astraeus, titan of the stars at their side...
The Doctor smiled as she looked at the boy on the linen bed, he was resting with a peaceful face and she bend over with one hand to pull the covers further up as she looked at a clipboard that she held in her other hand
She turned around and grabbed her empty coffee cup, prepared to fill it up for another full night of report making for the stupid Prince that made sure she had some kind of income...
She sighed as the door slid open, she was getting paid far too little...
She stepped forward and noticed someone on the other side of the door, she recognised the youth that was sitting against the wall on the floor
"Are you still here?"
The boy looked up and stared at her for a moment before asking
"How is he doing? Is he alright?!"
The Doctor smiled as she looked down at him
"Your friend collapsed from exhaustion, it happens when you use the nerve system for a first time and not have enough sleep before using it... I told him to get more rest but I guess he didn't listen"
"Then..."
"He will be fine! He just needs a good nights rest and I think you should too"
"I can't leave him..."
"There is another bed inside, you can rest there and not be disturbed... go ahead, I am all done for tonight with the Prince, right now all he needs is sleep nothing more"
Suzaku slowly got up from the ground and smiled at the woman
"Thanks"
With that the door was opened for him and he stepped inside, the room was nearly dark, only a small light above the entrance remained and glowed in a white colour, Suzaku stepped forward and passed the desks at his sides, in the back there was a bed surrounded by metallic covers that were build in the wall, the beds were next to each other with a space in between and he walked forward...
Lelouch was lying still and Suzaku sat down on the side of the bed as he looked at him, he didn't want to disturb him and for this reason decided not to touch him... He sighed as he was relieved from his stress that the situation had brought upon his shoulders, he stood up and stretched before lying down on the other bed... it had truly been stressful, even at this time he was still wearing his piloting suit because when Lelouch collapsed he never left his side, he opened the top zipper of the costume and retrieved the metallic box that he carried inside, he opened it and stared at the blue vials inside... there was no reason for them after all, when Lelouch collapsed his heart skipped a beat in the fear that he would act strange again like before...
"Such... a strange... feeling..."
"If Lelouch starts showing the same symptoms as he did before I want you to inject one of those vials into his neck"
He sighed again as he placed the metallic box on the small table that stood against the wall between the beds and looked at Lelouch once again, he smiled and slowly closed his eyes as his gaze turned upwards to the ceiling