Lordban: I addressed these points in my message to you so there's no need to repeat that. However, the points will be resolved/ explained in this chapter.
Randomname3064: Thanks...
SakuraDreamerz: *^_^*
"Did you know about Rai's geass?!"
Dash and Cecaniah looked back at Lelouch as he yelled at them both. They were in his main room after Dash had gotten back. Nina meanwhile was in one of the guestrooms and Angie was being confined to a cell for the time-being.
"I knew- she didn't," Dash answered before his expression became serious. "If you need to be angry at someone, it's me."
"Are you his contractor? I know about you giving Mariel her geass!"
"It's true that I gave Mariel her geass of Absolute Restoration, but Rai has had his geass long before I ever met him."
"And you didn't think to tell me this why?!" Lelouch spat, grabbing the older man by the collar of his black trench coat which he had yet to take off.
Dash at the very least had the grace to look a little ashamed before he asked sternly, "What would you have done if you knew about their powers? Would you have made them use their geasses at your whim, not theirs? Rai and Mariel both have had geass for longer than you, Lelouch- they know when and when not to use it. Besides, how would Suzaku feel if you put his wife and brother-in-law under your control?"
Lelouch looked stricken at that and Dash went on, saying, "He's hate you- he'd hate you with every fiber of his being."
The younger man gave a harsh, barking snort of laughter. "And I wasted the one chance to keep the others safe from that bastard-!"
"Did you not hear what I just said?!" Dash snapped. "Rai would never use his geass on the others! I know him a hell of a lot better than you do, Lelouch!"
"Oh don't give me that!" Lelouch sneered. "He all but said it out loud the last meeting we had- he said if it won him battles, he'd willingly take someone's will away!"
"If you're so scared of him, then you shouldn't have let him go into battle, but kept him under your thumb as much as possible," Cecaniah remarked. "With the way he's injured right now, that wouldn't be much of a problem."
"I didn't have any choice but to use him- no one else can pilot like he can save for Kallen," Lelouch said angrily. "If Suzaku were to get out of there alive, I needed my best to aid him."
He sent the greenette an angry scowl. "If I knew that you could pilot Guren like that then I would have sent you there by yourself, but since I didn't know-"
"You really shouldn't have wasted your geass on me during that meeting- that's the only way you'll get my secrets now."
Lelouch stared down at Rai as he said this, his body shaking with fury and dread. A power like his that could be used via auditory and he had missing the chance to take it under his control-!
"Geass isn't my only means of insuring discipline," he said, his voice icy. "Maybe you've forgotten the fact that I command a force that rivals Britannia-"
"That I helped spearhead," Rai spat.
"Pilots can be replaced- I am more than capable of finding another pilot for the Seiso."
"Good luck with that then."
"He's one of my best soldiers and close to Suzaku- if he's absent, it'll hurt the Black Knights and my friends far worse. The fact the pros of him being free outweigh the cons makes me sick," Lelouch growled before turning to Dash. "As for you, how the hell did you know I'd be in Shinjuku? How long have you been watching me?"
Dash frowned at that- he couldn't tell Lelouch the truth obviously, but he'd know when he was lying. He had already ousted Mariel and Rai as people not to trust and he knew that Lelouch didn't trust him either.
"I haven't been watching you and the only time I met before now was in Ashford Academy. I should also mention that the one who made Seiso in the first place was Mariel."
As soon as the first part of the sentence left Dash's mouth, he knew he had fucked up as Lelouch's eyes widened with epiphany. "You were the one who stole Suzaku's satchel, and the one who made sure Rai would become a devicer!" he exclaimed.
The term "Refuge in Audacity" was reserved for criminals who had nothing left. For Dash, this was all he could rely on now as he said, "Yup."
"I don't need you fucking clarification!" Lelouch yelled, his body was shaking in fury and it seemed all Lelouch could do not to scream in anger and frustration at the two immortals for this bullshitery. "You need to calm down- neither of them have done anything to hinder you- they've given you victory and support when you needed it," Cecaniah told him. "Besides their crypticness, which is no different from mine-"
Her reply was cut off as Lelouch's hand shot forward to her face only for her to stop the blow by gripping his wrist. Her concern stopped there and a cold look flashed on her face. "If you're going to hit me, at the very least make it hurt and for the right reasons."
An ugly scowl crossed Lelouch's face and her jerked his hand away from her. "We're entering a delicate stage in this war- I can't afford to have traitors and I certainly can't afford them to be one of my best fighters. Having him fight in the Seiso worked out in the end- we were able to establish the Black Knight's presence and give Rai a viable excuse to stay where he is due to how he aggravated his injuries further."
"So what do you plan to do with him now?" Cecaniah asked.
"I won't let him out of my sight- I'm going to keep Rai locked up here until further notice. He'll be allowed to come out for battle but only to battle- I'll deal with the personal repercussions."
Dash looked startled at that. "Lelouch-!" he began to protest.
"If there's nothing for me to fear or suspect from him as you said, then there shouldn't be a problem," the ravenet said with forced coolness. "I'll even send a doctor's note and bring him his homework- it's more than he deserves from me at this point."
"And your classmate?" Cecaniah inquired.
"I've made arrangements to send her back to Ashford Academy- officially, she'll act as a spy for the Black Knights, supposedly gathering information on their weapons research," Lelouch answered. "I'll be the one actually getting the information and feeding it to them with her as a figurehead. At the very least, it'll keep her safe from them. On that topic, she mentioned something interesting to me."
"What?" Dash couldn't help asking.
"When she had trailed after Angie, Nina had overheard some Black Knights at our original hideout wondering what to do about me in light of my identity and my geass," Lelouch explained. "I know for certain that Renya, Angie, Shiori, Asahina and Chiba are among them when I talked with Nina. To be honest, Renya, Asahina and Chiba being wary of me isn't unexpected- for now, I'm keeping tabs on all of them."
Rai looked up from where he was inside the cell- this wasn't wholly unexpected but he still hadn't seen it coming.
Earlier that day, two Black Knights had come over to the medical bay and moved him into the cell he was in now. He would still receive attention from the doctor regarding his injuries as his exertion in the Seiso had pushed his healing back a bit, but he was a prisoner now- a prisoner in his own group.
Is Dash all right? I wonder if Mariel or Suzaku know about this, Rai thought with a frown.
Just then, the cell door opened and Tamaki came in with a tray of food. "Here- thought you might be hungry," he said, his voice softer than normal.
"Thanks," Rai said as he accepted the offering, sitting up so he wouldn't spill anything- the meal included miso soup, a side of rice and a single roll with a cup of coffee. Even if he wasn't fond of Asian food, Rai was too hungry to care about the taste or texture.
"I- I don't like this," Tamaki admitted after a minute of silence. "Even though you've got geass too and even if this might be the best option, you've been helping us out a ton of times and you've never used it on us either, just like Lelouch- even that one time, he made sure that it was only a little thing like sitting down for thirty seconds and now he can't use it on us anymore..."
The silver-haired boy could only give him a sad smile. "It can't be helped- I'm still a member of the Black Knights at the end of the day, though."
"But it's wrong, you know? You've been fighting just as hard as we have even if it hasn't been for as long," he went on. "I get why Lelouch would do this but doesn't he understand that you wouldn't use it on us? Why would he freak out about you when you've done nothing but help us?"
Rai couldn't answer that question, not in the state the raven-haired teenager was in. Doubting those closest to him must have hurt him so badly, especially when the event that would have changed him forever was coming up so fast, this was not what he needed to go through. With him jailed, Kallen captured and Dash and Cecaniah no longer trustworthy in his eyes, Lelouch was slowly losing support for his mental and emotional well-being.
In this case, his well-being is a big factor and we've let that escape us.
"W-well, I'm here if you need anyone to talk to, okay?" Tamaki said with a smile, gripping Rai's shoulder to reassure him. "And I'm not the only one who doesn't agree with what's being done to you- you've got the Senior Black Knight's support, kiddo!"
"... thanks, Tamaki- you're a really good friend," he said with a grateful smile before he left.
"So in summation... you're Zero and Rai and Kallen are working for you, but Kallen was captured and Rai's injured. Then to protect Nina when she followed Angie, you made her into a fake spy."
Milly, Shirley, Rivalz and Nina were gathered around the student council table from where they were sitting opposite of Lelouch, Nunnally and Sayoko having finished explaining the entire thing to them all. By the time they had finished, the afternoon had faded into evening.
The blonde heaved in a breath before exhaling it with a sigh through her nose, a stern look on her face. "And this power you have- geass- lets you mind-control people?"
"I haven't used it on any of you and I don't intend to either," Lelouch said immediately.
"We knew that," Rivalz said with a nervous laugh while Nina averted her eyes.
"We'd know because parts of our memory would be missing, right?" Shirley asked to which he nodded the confirmation.
"There's nothing any of us can say that would dissuade you from being Zero?" Milly asked.
"No."
There was a pungent silence in the room as the four students absorbed this information with varying emotions and opinions.
Milly was worried and angry about the entire situation because she understood that her friend's anger and desire for justice was founded but she didn't want to risk his or his sister's life when she could keep them safe.
Rivalz still couldn't wrap his mind around it- to think that Zero was so close to them all this time! He was both awed and terrified, amazed and scared.
Nina was still reeling from learning the truth and was terrified of what could happen but at the same time she held great trust for Lelouch and knew that his actions weren't without reason or thought.
Shirley had known before any of them but hearing Lelouch's motivation for fighting had left her speechless with horror for the two siblings and anger at the circumstances and people that had hurt them so much. "So... are you really going to war?"
"We've already gone to war," Lelouch answered. "I can't stop it anymore than you can."
"But you're Zero!" Nina rasped out. "You command them, you can make them stop before anyone else has to die!"
"People have died before Zero appeared and they'll continue to die long after he dies. The only difference between those deaths was how they were inflicted and the consequences of them."
"B- the whole reason you're fighting is to give Are- er, I mean Ja-"
"As long as Britannia occupies this land, it's name is Area 11, Rivalz. Once the soldiers and any influence from the royal family has been cleared out, can it regain the name Japan."
"Can't you just talk it out? I mean, you could make it so neither side can fight, I know you can!"
"At this moment, they'd sooner put a bullet through my skull than negotiate with me," came Lelouch's reply, making him, Shirley and Nina flinch while Milly's eyes closed in assent- she knew he was right.
"You're still a prince, though..."
"Lelouch and Nunnally vi Britannia were killed in the Invasion of Japan seven years ago to be used as a cause to rally soldiers to fight and take the country and strip it of everything that made Japan Japan. What do you think that they would believe is a more likely thought-process?"
"... they'd assume you captured him and tortured the information out of him before using plastic surgery to look the part," Milly answered.
"Then plant a bullet into my skull."
"Did you have to repeat that in such a way?!" Shirley exclaimed, upset at the nonchalant tone he had taken with both statements.
"I'm only speaking the truth."
The amber-haired girl turned to Nunnally at this. "You're all right with letting him do this?!"
The brunette met Shirley's gaze steadily. "I understand how you feel about this and why you do, but this has to happen- Japan needs to become free again and someone must stand up and tell Britannia 'No'."
"But- but what can you hope to do?!" Nina exclaimed, standing up at that. "Even if you do succeed, they won't just lie down and let you get away with liberating Japan!"
"Which is why when Japan is liberated and it has become an independent nation with whatever's within it secured, I will take the war to Britannia's doorsteps."
Silence fell onto the company as they heard this. "You're... you're going to wage war on Britannia?" Shirley choked.
"And you want to make Japan an independent nation on top of it all," Milly said softly.
"I am."
"That's insane!" Nina all but shrieked. "How can you even think of doing something like that?! Liberation is one thing but full-out war and revolution?! You can't-"
"The rulers covered up his mother's murder as a terrorist attack- the same one that crippled and blinded Nunnally and then his dad, the most powerful man in Britannia, threw them away like they weren't anything more than garbage! He can't not fight them!"
The group stared at Rivalz as he yelled this out, his eyes wide and his expression twisted into anger and upset before he realized what he blurted and his face turned red. "I-I didn't mean-"
"It's all right, Rivalz," Nunnally told him with a gentle but serious voice before turning to the others. "I have decided to support Lelouch- but I want to know what you will do with this information."
There was a long silence following after as three of the four mulled over the ultimatum. A few students footsteps clacked by the room and a bird's chirping could b heard faintly from outside of the window.
"... I knew you wouldn't let things keep going like this, no matter how much I wished for you to move on," Milly finally said, her eyes opening to reveal her eyes shimmering with tears. "There's nothing I can do to stop you."
"I'm sorry."
"But you can't expect us to just stay to the sidelines and let you deal with this alone."
Lelouch grimaced and began to speak but Milly cut him off, "Whether you like it or not, we're involved in this now- eventually, there will be war and we'll be caught in it as much as anyone else. The best we can do now is prepare for it as best we can with the time we have left."
"... I'm begging all of you to keep out of this however you can," Lelouch said in a low voice. "I told you this to make sure you'd be able to keep yourselves safe when the time comes.
At that, he got out of his chair and knelt down on the floor, his head bowed and his hands clutching his pantlegs. "Please all of you, protect yourselves!"
So Nunnally has been alive all these years after all, Schenizal mused, remembering the footage of the camera. And wherever she is, undoubtedly is...
So far, there had been little absences in Ashford Academy due to injuries or sickness- there was one in particular that caught his attention, though. A silver-haired student with blue eyes that went by the name Ansel Lubie who claimed to be the younger brother of Mariel Lubie. After contacting her parents and asking if their daughter had any contact with them, Leonard Lubie had revealed that her being in Area 11 was news to him and his wife and that they had never even heard of an Ansel in their family.
His behavior is rather mechanical- a bit formal and rather awkward, he thought. That's to be expected if he is a new student, but there must be something more.
The main problem with finding out just who Ansel was the fact that there didn't seem to be anything on him whatsoever in their databanks. He had even broken into other country databanks and hadn't managed to find even one person that matched his description or even a relative to go by.
But he would have to think of it later as he walked the rest of the way to greet Cornelia. She had returned from Area 18 where another rebel faction had all but sprung up overnight and she had it obliterated in less time than she took to return to Area 11. "Hello, sister," he greeted her.
"Schneizal," she said with a nod of her head.
"It's good to see you're doing well again- I'm amazed that it took so little time for you to return to here from Area 18- you haven't lost your touch, Cornelia."
"Not at all- it's largely thanks to how rapid your deployment was. Now with the Glaston Knights and the Zattel Guffin for my Gloucester at my disposal, my army is complete."
Schneizal nodded in acknowledgement. "If you wish, I can bring this up in the negotiations with China."
"Thank you."
The blond smiled. "What an honor to have Cornelia the Warrior praise me."
She looked surprised at that and her eyes averted down slightly. "Don't patronize me, brother..."
"I'm completely serious," he said, before his expression became serious. "Being taken off guard can happen to the best of us and since you've returned, you've done nothing but fight and give your soldiers pride in serving you and defending Britannia. I beg of you to ignore anyone who says otherwise."
Guilford and Dalton sent a silent thanks to the blond- ever since she had returned, they had seen that Cornelia had lost some of her confidence, even though she fought to hide it as best she could and build it back up again. "Speaking of, how is Bartley's experiment going?" the blond asked.
"It's going- but is he really going to be of any use?"
Schneizal's eyes glinted as he remembered the orange-haired man floating in the chemical tube. "I believe so."
Cornelia looked pensive at that before wondering, "Where's Euphie? She should be here soon..."
Kallen was certain that her ribs were going to break at this rate. Her wrists were chained to the ceiling and her toes were barely making contact with the floor in the cell. Three Britannian guards surrounded her, either kicking of punching her in succession. After refrain was determined to have little to no effect in interrogation, they switched tactics.
While the red-haired half breed was relieved for this, her body was screaming in protest from her previous wounds that were still on the mend and the new bruises and possible fractures she had accumulated.
Her train of thought was cut off as another punch went to her jaw and she felt a tooth tear into the flesh of her mouth and draw blood before it was clunked against the ground. A rough hand grabbed her chin and forced her head up to look at the sneering expression of the man. "Geez, you're resilient aren't you? I feel like I'm hitting a tree or something."
She spat the blood in her mouth onto his face, sneering right back. The man's eyebrow twitched and his grin showed more teeth as he raised his other hand up-
"Unhand that woman this instant!" a bark came from outside of the cell, making the man freeze. Kallen's eyes widened in surprise as she recognized Euphemia's voice and the pink-haired princess entered the room, barely even minding the blood that was soaking into the fringes of her dress before stopping in front of Kallen.
"Your highness-" the man began before Euphemia cut him off with a bark of "Leave us!" and made all three quickly skedaddle. That was when Kallen realized she was holding bucket of water and a cloth. Euphemia set it into the liquid before squeezing the excess out and gently setting it against the blood and spit on Kallen's face- she couldn't help leaning into it, the coolness felt so relieving.
"There will be a medical team on their way soon," she said, wiping away at her face gently.
"What's going on?" Kallen tried to say but her throat felt like it was stuffed full of sandpaper.
"I will explain when you have recovered a bit more- for now..."
"How is he?"
Tamaki sat down in the messhall where Yoshida, Minami, Sugiyama, Inoue and Ohgi were waiting for him. Most of the other soldiers had turned in for the night while the few that were still up did their best not to disturb anyone.
"Rai's getting the treatment he needs right now and he was doing pretty well when I brought him his food," the red-haired man answered, pulling up a chair by Yoshida and sitting down.
"So not only does Lelouch have mind-control powers, but Rai does too?" Minami said with a scowl. "Now we have to deal with two people who could potentially turn the lot of us into obedient droids!"
"But you have to remember that Lelouch can only use his power once per person and he already demonstrated it to us," Yoshida pointed out. "Not only that but Rai hasn't used his either- if either of them used it, we wouldn't be questioning them right now."
"Except for all we know, Lelouch could have lied about those conditions and he can use that evil power of his however many times he wants to," Sugiyama put in.
"He hasn't led us astray yet and if he wanted droids, he could have gotten them when we met him," Inoue interjected.
The four debating turned to Ohgi at this. "What do you think?" Yoshida asked.
Ohgi frowned as he mulled over the points before finally saying, "We can't draw a real conclusion of Lelouch just yet. Now I understand everyone's apprehension and it's completely justified- this isn't a power you can play around with lightly. His reaction to Rai's geass is justified as well, as it's a power to take away people's wills and he can still use it on us, assuming he can only use it once per person."
"But that's-" Inoue protested.
"As far as I can see, there's no difference," Minami cut her off. "We've got two people who could take away our wills as easily as a child steals a toy."
"I can't help but agree," Sugiyama admitted. "It could be for the best that Rai's locked up now- he's just taking precautions so Rai doesn't get the chance to use his power on anyone-"
"How can you two say that?!" Tamaki yelled indignantly. "Rai's been helping us out just as much as anyone- he put himself through hell and back so Lelouch'd be safe and that's how you're thanking him?! You're disgusting!"
"Tamaki, we're just trying to explore every angle of the argument," Ohgi said, trying to calm him down before turning to Minami and Sugiyama. "What you're ultimately saying is that with that power those two hold, they're no longer trustworthy?"
The violet and blue-haired soldiers looked taken back at this and Sugiyama said, "Well, it's not that exactly..."
"Look, I know it makes it harder for us to actually trust him, but we can't just backstab Lelouch right now," Inoue said sternly. "Maybe he is lying to us, maybe he does plan on using his geass. All I'm asking is that you take a look around you for just a moment."
The others obeyed and glanced around the room. The messhall looked the same as before with tables and chairs and a bar counter and stool in the back. "It's a messhall," Minami said. "What's your point?"
"What her point is is that before we met Zero, we couldn't even dream of eating good food in a safe space," Yoshida interjected. "Before, it was all we could do to get a hold of guns, ammunition, even a motorcycle. Now, we have knightmare frames like Seiso and Guren, food that's warm and nutritious- we even have a submarine! Her point is without Zero, there's no way we could have gotten all of this."
"But even so-" Sugiyama protested.
"Even so, that won't stop him from using it on us is he has that power- for all we know, he could get Rai to use it on us instead," Minami said.
"Rai'd never agree to something like that!" Tamaki yelled.
"Remember when Lelouch took us in for that meeting and Rai legitimately said that if it was to win the war, he'd willingly take someone's will away?" Sugiyama asked in a low voice, grimacing at the memory of how cold the silver-haired teen had looked. "That's him basically confessing that he would be willing to use geass to get what he wants. It's just a matter of time and circumstances."
Ohgi frowned when he remembered that. Even so... "I understand both arguments and emphasize with your worries and concerns. But the fact is even if we don't trust him, we've come too far to discard him like that and we have to keep in mind that he hasn't tried to make us do anything against our wills yet- even that example was as harmless an order can get. But if he does intend to use geass on us, whether his own or Rai's, then we'll defend ourselves however possible. But if anyone tries to do anything with him and divides the Black Knights up, then Britannia will have already won."
Sugiyama looked upset but nodded nevertheless. "This discussion isn't over- not by a long shot, Kaname," Minami said sternly. "I've already had enough taken away from me- I won't lose my free will too."
"Rai is still gone?"
Suzaku nodded with a frown from where he was doing his homework by Mariel's side- Lelouch, the real one, had come back to school at last but he could see that he was struggling. The wound from the bullet was causing him pain and the decompression sickness clearly affected him in school and he wasn't the only one who saw it. Milly and Shirley were both staying by his side to help with homework, Rivalz was often driving back and forth from stores to bring in medicine and whenever he saw Nina on her laptop, it showcased the different treatments and time spans of long-term decompression sickness.
It wasn't just that, though- Suzaku saw the rift between him and the student council now. They were all aware of Lelouch being Zero but they didn't know that the brunet knew as well. He understood why the rift appeared though- they were Lelouch's friends, they wouldn't abandon him like this. Even timid Nina had come to his side.
"He should be fine if his only concern are his injuries from the Gawain," Mariel said from where she laid on on the bed. "From how Dash described it, he doesn't seem to have the sickness long-term. Lelouch though..."
Suzaku grimaced as he remembered the conversation from last night.
"Lelouch is deteriorating worse than I thought," was what Dash said first.
"What do you mean?"
"He found out about Rai's geass- he's locked him up for the time being even though he still receives medical attention and is given homework and only allowed outside to train and fight- he uh, also found out I was the one to take your satchel," the immortal said. "But he's not taking the news well, not one bit."
"Haven't you or CC tried to talk to him about it?"
"Yeah, but now he won't even tolerate Cecaniah at this point. With his paranoia of Rai, Mariel and I, along with the decompression sickness' toll on his mind, I'm sorry to say we won't be able to predict his responses for much longer."
His grip on the phone tightened even more.
"I'm scared for Lelouch, Suzaku," Dash said softly, his voice wavering. "He's my sis' son, he's my nephew and even though he's arrogant and rash and manipulative... I- I think I love him, and it hurts to see him like this so much..."
Of course Dash loves him- even though Marianne vi Britannia was supporting such a project, she was still Dash's sister and the only family he had, Suzaku thought sadly. Now, he's projected that love onto Lelouch and Nunnally, but especially towards Lelouch in this case- the two of them look so much alike, he can't help but cling onto that now, even if he doesn't know it.
His grip on his pencil tightened even more and it snapped in half and Suzaku fought to keep the anger off of his face as he picked up the two halves of the writing tool. He's already got another willing pawn under his belt and he doesn't even know it- not to mention I doubt he'd even care that Dash loves him.
"Ngh-!"
Suzaku shot up as he heard Mariel wince in pain before she gave a soft gasp. "They kicked- I think the little one just kicked!"
He scrambled to her side at that, careful not to hurt her as he gazed at her protruding belly before she took his hands and placed them onto the skin. The two waited with bated breath before Suzaku felt a pressure against his left hand and Mariel gave a tiny wince. His eyes were wider than dinner plates as he beheld this.
Our baby- our child- he thought in sheer awe, tears clouding his vision and his throat becoming constricted.
"Yeah," Mariel whispered in soft awe, her eyes misted. "Our child."
"Elle- I-"
His hands moved from her belly to clasp her hands, fingers entwining tightly. "I'm going to protect you and our baby, no matter what happens," Suzaku declared, emerald boring into golden-brown.
"Suzaku..." she murmured with a tiny smile, squeezing back.
They stayed like that for a few minutes before a series of dull explosions were heard above them and Suzaku recognized them as the festival fireworks. He looked back at Elle and her hand came to cup his face gently. "Go get 'em, tiger," she said affectionately.
Suzaku smiled back and gave her had one last squeeze before leaving.
Ohgi looked up at the academy. This is where he and Kallen go to school- it's enormous...
He had been given a break from his duties and he had decided to see the academy where the red-haired teen was going to after properly disguising himself. His insides twisted with worry for her sake- Ohgi could only hope that Kallen wasn't in too much pain and that they could formulate a plan to rescue her as soon as possible.
At that moment, he saw someone out of the corner of his eyes and Ohgi turned to see the same woman he saw in that vision he had near the docks. He froze where he was, hardly daring to believe his eyes.
"What're you looking at?" the woman asked, though her tone was lacking the sneering venom that the statement towards him would usually pack.
"My apologies, please forgive me miss," he said quickly but the woman didn't bite back and just looked up at the school with flat eyes.
"Why're you looking at a Britannian school like that?" she asked.
Ohgi looked startled as the woman addressed him and he answered, "I used to be a teacher, so this brought back some memories-"
What am I doing, talking so casually with a Britannian woman right now?
"Hey, you two wanna come in right?" one of the students asked from the entrence, promtping the others to look over at the two.
"Oh no- I'm not-" Ohgi began.
"It doesn't matter if you're an eleven or Britannian- Ashford Academy is open ground!" another student said brightly. "You and your girlfriend can come in no problem!"
Ohgi and the woman looked startled at this before they both began protesting at once as they were being shown in.
"She's not my girlfriend-"
"I literally just met him right now-"
"Exactly, that's right!"
"Why would I even think of dating someone like him?!"
Bartly was nervous. While this wasn't a foreign emotion to him, the sweat that was constantly bead on his forehead and back was beginning to get annoying at this point. He wiped the liquid off with another cloth as he went down the hall, following VV. "How soon will these two be ready?" he asked.
"Both are still under intense emotional stress so it's been going a bit slower than we had hoped- not to mention we didn't expect to have two subjects in the first place," he answered.
The immortal boy stopped before the two vats filled with orange chemical. Inside of each of them were two figures. The first was a man with hair the same shade as the chemical and sharp eyebrows and the other was a younger man with pure white long hair and eyes twitched beneath the eyelids rather violently.
He grinned.
"You've got some nerve pulling a stunt like this!"
Lelouch glared at Cecaniah in anger. she had snuck onto campus because she had heard of Milly's next attempt to create the world's largest pizza- even when he told her time and time again it was all but impossible.
"So, this woman is apart of the Black Knights as well...?" Nina asked.
"Yeah," Lelouch said with a nod before turning back to her. "Go back right now."
"You're making the world's largest pizza and I wanted to eat it fresh-"
"WHO THE HELL MAKES A CONTRAPTION LIKE THIS ANYWAYS?!" Villeta Nu's voice yelled, startling Lelouch and Nina and punctuating by a hard-sounding kick.
"Ow..." came Rivalz's groan of pain.
"Here, are you okay?" another voice asked and Lelouch paled as he recoginzed it as Ohgi's
"I'm good- I had worse," Rivalz said back. "Just- can your girlfriend tone it down a notch?"
"We're not a couple!" Both of them exclaimed.
"... are you sure?"
"YES!"
Kamina- no, no! That's Kaname Ohgi, leader of Naoto Kouzuki's team! Lelouch snapped in his head. And Villeta Nu?! What are those two doing here and why would Rivalz mistake them as a couple?!
"Geez, where's that gas tank?" Suzaku's voice came around the bend, followed by Shirley remarking, "Perhaps we can check the back?"
"What do we do?" Nina asked worriedly. Shirley knew of Lelouch's secret with the rest of them- the only one who didn't know was Suzaku and the Britannian woman with Ohgi couldn't know either!
Wasting no more time, Lelouch quickly made his way over to where the fog machine was and turned it on full blast, the cloudy stuff filling the building before a familiar pain throbbed in his head. Not again-
As smoke wafted around the two of them, Villeta coughed slightly at the smell-
"Well what do you know- so Zero's a highschool student."
A pale face with black hair- rather pretty if she would admit so. But this- this was the opportunity of a lifetime- the revolutionary Zero was just a schoolboy and he was unconscious right in front of her! If she were to bring him before Princess Cornelia, she wouldn't just become a knight of honor, she could become royalty!
"Of course you'll be rewarded handsomely-" Villeta began to address the student before the click of a gun came on behind her and she looked behind- how stupid was she, Zero was her boyfriend-
A scream rent the air and Villeta fell to the floor, clutching at her belly. She couldn't breath, she couldn't think, everything hurt-
Villeta could barely process being cradled in gentle arms. "It's okay, it's okay," his voice kept repeating gently, rubbing a hand on her back. She didn't even care, her fingers clutched at his jacket and she buried her head into his chest, struggling to catch her breath.
Lelouch's mind went blank. He couldn't recognize where he was. Amethyst eyes became wide in confusion and fear and he didn't get far as his foot collided with a box and sent him sprawling. He scrambled against the floor but was unable to get back up, his leg was throbbing and his mind was on full panic.
Then, arms wrapped around him, hands gently rubbing his back and head. "Shh, shh, it's okay- you're okay," a gentle voice murmured. Lelouch didn't recognize it but he felt safe in the embrace and he hid his face in the chest as his arms came around the torso.
"Are you all all right?!" Suzaku yelled as he came around. The scene of Shirley holding Lelouch and Ohgi cradling Villeta made him stop. "Someone get in here, HURRY!"
"It's been a while Euphie," Nunnally said with a smile, not even having to hide the tears in her eyes as she embraced her.
When she had gone onto the grounds, just like before Euphie had been stopped by Sayoko and just like before, they were sitting back in her dorm.
"I'm so glad that you're all right," Euphie said with a tearful smile. "I'm so glad that- that-"
"I'm glad too," Nunnally said empathetically, her lavender eyes locked into Euphie's soft blue irises. After so long, she could see how her half sister truly looked instead of relying on photographs and video footage. "But... you know that you can't tell anyone about brother and I, right?"
Euphie nodded. "Yes..."
Nunnally gently put her hand on Euphie's. "So long as I'm by my brother's side, I'll be fine."
The pinkette frowned at this as she sipped at her tea. She didn't know whether or not Nunnally knew Lelouch was Zero- either answer the brunette would give would only make her feel worse. "Do you want to see Lelouch?" Nunnally asked gently.
"Would that be all right?"
She nodded.
"Okay then."
Euphie set back on her hat and sunglasses before wheeling her out of the room. Sayoko and the two guards that accompanied her still stood outside. They followed the two of them seamlessly through the building until they came outside. They soon spotted a small crowd around the maintenance booth and Euphie wondered what was going on.
"Nunnally!"
Nina ran up to her from where she had been standing. "I was just about to come get you- you need to come with me right now, it's Lelouch!"
Nunnally's eyes widened and she nodded- Euphie quickly wheeled her over to the booth and inside of it. Shirley was hugging a shaking Lelouch to her, still rubbing his back gently. A little ways away, she saw Ohgi still trying to comfort Villeta, the latter clutching the former like he'd disappear if she let go.
"What's wrong with him?!" euphie exclaimed. "What's going on?!"
Nunnally didn't answer but she gripped the handles of her wheelchair and struggled to push herself up only for her legs to fail her and she fell onto her stomach. Euphie and Nina both went to help her but Nunnally pushed them off and actually pulled herself to Lelouch's side and hugged him tightly. "Brother, it's me," she said gently. "It's Nunna. Everything's all right."
There were so many surprises before Euphie now- Nunnally having her eyesight back, whatever was happening to Lelouch, and the fact that those two were so close with Suzaku.
A few moments later, Villeta seemed to have calmed down some and she withdrew a bit from Ohgi. "Are you okay? Do you need anything?" Ohgi asked before he was fully aware of what he was saying and how deathly concerned he had been for this woman.
"No..." she mumbled beforeVilleta seemed to realize what she was doing and looked up at Ohgi before pushing him away. "D-don't think that meant anything," Villeta got out, her face burning. "And if you tell anyone of what you saw..."
Lelouch's breathing was slowly evening out and he raised his head. Shirley smiled with relief before wiping away the tears that had beaded in her eyes. "Are you okay, Lelouch? Do you remember?"
"Shirley..." he said slowly, amethyst locked on olive. Nunnally smiled softly- it looked like she wasn't needed. I know you love me brother, but you need to branch out- you have so much love in you, it's not right to project everything on one person.
Suzaku cracked his knuckles and neck in preparation. He remembered how making the world's biggest pizza had gone the last two times and he vaguely wondered if he would be able to actually make it this time around. He still worried for Lelouch and Villeta (not as much) but he knew that they were both in good hands and he would be able to concentrate on the pizza while they were being tended to.
"Erm, Suzaku?"
The brunet glanced behind to see where Nina had approached him. "Do you need me for something?" he asked.
"Well, um- I just wanted to say this... because I never got to..."
She held out her hand, hardly trembling, to Suzaku and looked him straight in the eye. "Welcome to Ashford Academy, Suzaku."
Suzaku's eyes widened in surprise- it had taken years for Nina to be able to smile and speak with other Japanese that were outside of their circle and for her to do this-
He couldn't help the honest-to-God smile that overtook his face and he shook her hand earnestly. "That means a lot to me, Nina- thank you."
She struggled not to shake and smile back, her head lurching forward in a nod before running out of the way of the Ganymede. Nina stopped running as she stopped near where Milly was standing. "How's Lelouch?" she asked in a soft voice.
"Better- Shirley's still with him," the blonde answered before a worried look creased her face and her hand rubbed at her forehead. "Geez, we shouldn't be worrying about so much- we should be enjoying the festival."
"We are, and so was Lelouch," Nina assured her before gesturing to the students. "They all look so happy even though we were being threatened by the Chinese and with the presence of the Black Knights-"
"I wouldn't think you'd be so scared of your own clique, especially with your knight in shinning armor as a colleague," Milly chuckled, making Nina fidget a bit.
"I don't like him like that, but I do care for him," she admitted. "He's very smart and very compassionate and he sees a lot of things that not many other people can."
"Sounds like Lelouch," Milly mused before looking confused. "But I thought that-"
"I-I find either spectrum worthy of- of admiration," Nina got out, looking flustered and Milly's grin was about to get wider when she saw the upset look on Nina's face. "I was just beginning to like Suzaku too and now we have to be enemies- why?"
"I don't know," the blonde answered truthfully. "But all we can do right now is to keep going."
"Brother, do you feel any better?"
Lelouch winced from where he was sitting against the wall, Nunnally curled up by his side. Shirley was called out to help oversee the final preparations, leaving the two of them with Euphie. "Yeah," he said, rubbing at his head even while he was hitting himself inside- how could he had reacted like that over something so small?! Would he ever get better?
He felt Euphie's concerned gaze on him and he said, "Decompression sickness- it'll go away soon."
Her gaze remained on him and her worry was evident. At that moment, the door was opened and Euphie's bodyguards appeared. "Sub-Viceroy, we need to leave this area," the female bodyguard said.
Euphie grimaced but Nunnally shook her head. "I'll watch after him- my brother is in good hands."
The pinkette nodded reluctantly and followed them out while Nunnally continued to hold Lelouch to her. "You know something? Euphie likes Suzaku."
Lelouch's eyes widened at this revelation. "But she felt so awful for pining for him when he's with Mariel and going to have a child with her so she promised him that she would support them both and any more kids they might have," the brunette went on.
Euphie...
Why couldn't have Suzaku been with her instead? He'd prefer it to a woman he couldn't trust and had his best friend bound to her so tightly.
"Brother, when will Rai come back to school?"
She didn't miss how her brother froze for just a moment, her grip on her hand tightening but he smoothed out immediately and said gently, "I'm afraid Rai still needs to recover- after that fight, he reopened some of his wounds so he's being kept back by the medics."
From the years of politics she had buried herself into, from the dinners to the meetings to the parties, Nunnally's ability to detect lies had been increased tenfold- able to recognize the slightest hints of lies in the voice's volume and tone, the facial ticks, the movements and pressure put on objects.
He's upset at what I asked- more because it has to do with Rai and because I asked about him, more than anything.
"How long will it take him to recover?"
"The doctors say that it should be soon- we have the medicine and materials that'll make sure he's fit."
Nunally froze as Lelouch clutched at her shoulders in a vice grip, his forehead and face buried in her chest. "Brother...?"
"I'm glad..." he said softly. "I'm just glad- that's all. I love you, little sister."
The brunette forced back the shiver down her spine and hugged him to her, her hands buried in his hair and resting on his back. "I love you too, big brother."
She prayed- she prayed with all of her might that her brother wouldn't realize just how much he was being lied to and by whom.
Dash walked through the base with a pensive expression, those who walked near him quickly moving out of his way. They were entering a crucial point in the rebellion- the SAZ.
This not only escalated Lelouch's plans but they also put both Suzaku and Lelouch on the path of self-destruction, he thought. The massacre can't happen again. Lelouch's geass must not affect Euphemia this time around. But will he listen to anything we say?
As he entered the recreation room, some of the knights were watching some t.v and Dash recognized Ashford Academy. ["It's done!"] Milly Ashford's voice rang out. ["The largest pizza in the world has been successfully made!"]
A loud cheer went up in the crowd and Dash caught a peak of Cecaniah making a beeline from where she had been hiding behind a tree towards the pizza and he smiled fondly. The others weren't as enthusiastic.
"Geez, Britannians report about such stupid shit."
"You know how much they could feed with the money they wasted?"
"It looks so good though- dammit..."
"Hey, isn't that...?"
Dash saw Euphemia being spotted in the crowd when her hat blew off. In seconds, she was swamped at all sides before Suzaku piloted the Ganymede and scooped her up out of harm's way. Euphemia talked to the reporter for a moment before she spoke for all to hear. ["I have an important announcement. I am the Sub-Viceroy of Area 11, Princess Euphemia li Britannia. I have something I wish to tell you all."]
"What's the puppet princess planning now?" one of the knights drawled and Dash remained silent.
["I, Euphemia li Britannia, declare the establishment of the Special Administrative Zone of Japan around Mt. Fuji! With this special district, the Elevens will be known as Japanese and retain their rights as citizens and all restrictions on their actions and special Britannian privileges will be overruled in said area."]
This made all of those in the room stop what they were doing, their eyes glued on the screen and Dash closed his eyes. He could see why so many people loved Euphemia and he could see that her intentions were only for the best of those suffering around her.
["There, Britannians and Japanese will exist as equals!"] she declared, a smile on her face and arms held wide.
But this is a fool's dream nonetheless, he thought. Over-crowding if too many come, the risk of riots on either side, meddling relatives and organizations, disease and chaos- the SAZ faced so many threats with these notwithstanding. Humans aren't angels, Euphemia- they cannot realize this the way you are no matter how much or anyone wishes it.
["Can you hear me, Zero?"] Euphemia went on. ["I won't questions your past or your motives or identity- I invite you to take part in this new Japan, along with your soldier who was captured at Kaminejima- I will return them to you with no delay once I am done here. Zero, join me and create a new future for Britannia!"]
["Long live Euphemia!"] screamed the crowd.
"What the hell is she saying?!" came the general outcry.
"If this goes through, we'll lose no matter what side we take!"
"That damned bitch!"
She even offered to give Kallen back- I give her props for negotiations. At the very least, Lelouch will attend to bring her back, Dash thought before his brow furrowed. But this is nothing but a gilded cage and you did it to relive the past, clinging to a dream. You can't bring the past back, no matter how much-
He froze at that before he burst out laughing at his own hypocrisy, garnering a few startled and weirded out looks from those who cared to pay attention.
Lelouch watched Suzaku out of the corner of his eye as he ruffled the towel over his wet hair. It was just an hour after the festival ended and he allowed Suzaku to freshen up afterwards. His mind was still reeling from Euphie's announcement- with one gesture, she had brought all of his plans to a screeching halt and would steal all of the support he had fought so hard to gain-!
"The pizza should last us for days if we ration it well enough," Suzaku was saying with a light smile. "I'm amazed it went as well as it did this year..."
What is Suzaku thinking of all of this- once upon a time, I could have predicted his response, but definitely not now, he thought, holding back a grimace.
He still remembered Renya's words, asking what set Suzaku apart from those he had geassed before- he knew the hypocrisy of his actions but he couldn't just take away his oldest friend's will.
"Would you play the hero if she had been a stranger?"
I wouldn't have- if it hadn't been Shirley that time, I would have let them die, Lelouch acknowledged. The reason I chose not to use geass on Suzaku was because he's close to me, as are my friends.
But Suzaku was also his enemy, even if he didn't know it. He couldn't have him interfere or keep working alongside Britannia any longer or else Zero would lose support and he would be forever hindered on the battlefield- afraid to give the order to take his best friend's life. At the very least, he could stop Suzaku from endangering his life needlessly.
"Lelouch, is there something wrong?" Suzaku's voice snapped him out of his thoughts and Lelouch found himself staring into his friend's emerald green eyes masked with concern.
I won't ask you for forgiveness, Lelouch sent one final thought to his dear friend and he focused his geass into his eye.
But he wasn't allowed a chance to issue a command as Suzaku suddenly tackled him to the ground, his back hitting the floor hard and making him wince in pain. Suzaku's foot dug into his palm and his other knee dug into his chest, cutting his air off while his left hand clutched at his jaw, smothering his mouth while his hand clutched at the other's wrist, pinning it down.
"You bastard!" Suzaku snarled under his breath, fury outlining every line on his face. "I really thought you wouldn't use it on me this time around!"
?!
For the longest time, I thought Minami was the one with blue hair and Sugiyama the one with purple hair...
The time has come where I can't promise up-dates like I used to. From now on, I'll just say what I hope to post before the year ends. But worry not, because Suzaku of the Remix R1 will conclude before the year ends. Afterwards, I'll be taking a hiatus in which I'll be working on a new story for the One Piece fandom: Deadman's Archiver. So you can look forward to that :)