Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion

R-eset

Part 4: Divergence

"You should know what this badass mother can do!" –Kallen Kouzuki

Stage 20: Curse of Geass

Lelouch opened his eyes to a sight he'd never thought he see again. It was a familiar place of nostalgia, represented in a clear crystal lake without a shore, his feet standing against the water with flowers colored white and black floating aimlessly, pristine white pillars sprouting up from the water and reaching up towards the azure sky.

"The World of C?"

He frowned. What was he doing back here?

"Ah, you've arrived."

Unlike the last time when he heard this voice, Lelouch did not allow his Geass to surface, and calmly turned around to face the entity that had granted him a second chance. The collective subconscious' appearance had changed from a reverse Zero to a carbon copy of Lelouch with white hair and dark blue eyes. The outfit of Zero remained, however.

"The collective subconscious... You've changed again."

The collective subconscious chuckled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. His voice was no longer that of Lelouch, Suzaku, and C.C. speaking altogether, but rather a singular voice: his own.

"Forgive me, but what with your recent accomplishments, this form seemed to be most appropriate. And speaking of accomplishments, I must say, you've done better than what you had last time when you declared war upon Britannia for its crimes against you and your sister."

At this, Lelouch smirked in victory, his arms folded over his chest.

"And I intend to do much more."

The collective subconscious laughed heartedly, smiling all the while.

"As expected from the one who destroyed the world, and remade it anew. However, you must not be so conceited in your recent victories. After all, he is already waiting for you."

Lelouch frowned. He was about to ask who the being known as God was talking about before the water beneath him gave away, and fell into the ocean. He did, however, hear his benefactor's last message.

"You know him was the one who bears the curse of the King."

Shirley groaned, rubbing her aching shoulders while she watched Lulu's sleeping form, his Zero garb folded neatly with the mask resting atop of it. It was much lighter than she thought it would be, almost like a paperweight. The metal was smooth, like glass, and even when her fingers brushed against the face, she felt as if she were stroking Lulu's face.

Whatever he was dreaming about, it was not good. She heard him mumble things in his sleep, mentioning people such as Rolo, Euphemia, and a few others. He was even apologizing. His face was caked with sweat, and his forehead was hot. It was obvious that he had a fever, and that he was having a nightmare.

"Lulu... What are you dreaming about right now?"

Shirley muttered as her hand touched his. To her surprise, Lulu's fingers gingerly and slowly wrapped around hers. However, what shocked her, more than anything, was the tear that streamed down Lulu's pale cheek.

"I'm sorry... I'm so, so sorry... Shirley..."

Shirley didn't know what to think, but it seemed that whatever he was dreaming about, she was in it. Normally, she would be flattered or embarrassed, but Lulu was in pain, and the more he mentioned her name, the tighter his grip became, and the more freely the tears flowed from his cheeks.

"Oh, Lulu..."

It was decided then. She wouldn't leave his side, no matter what.

"Hey, where's Zero?"

Rai looked up from what he was working on to see Tamaki staring at him in confusion, looking around the area.

The Knights of the Round were much stronger than what he had given them credit for. The pilot of that white Knightmare, the Lancelot, had matched him measure for measure, but Rai could anticipate his moves and counter them accordingly. It was the Club that had him working up a sweat. No matter how hard he tried, the damned Knightmare was moving too fast, and he could barely keep his guard up. It didn't help matters that the Lancelot used these opportunities to its advantage, and nearly blasted him to hell.

Kallen had her fair share of problems, or so she said. According to Yoshi, Kallen was practically kicking the Knight of Three's ass like there was no tomorrow, delivering powerful strikes and quickly and precise blasts that could make even the Devicer inside tussle around. He was pretty sure that the Knight of the Round was likely dealing with a massive headache right about now.

"Gah... my head is killing me! It feels like Kallen did a right hook to my face!"

However, his battle was anything but as easy. Dealing with two Knightmares was hard enough, especially ones that even Kallen had trouble with, but the problem lied with the Lancelot Club, as well as the pilot. The attacks weren't meant to kill him, he knew that from the way it moved and from the location of its attacks... it wanted to cripple the machine, to leave him vulnerable and easily killed with but a singe pull of the trigger.

And then came the conversation.

"Shit!"

The Pre-Production Gekka had taken a beating, and yet it responded to the will of its Devicer, continuing to struggle against the two white Knightmares that had caused so much trouble for the Black Knights. The white and blue one, the Lancelot Club, was the one that truly earned his ire, having taken the offensive role while its brother attacked in a support-like fashion, though the blasts were meant to be crippling, enough to either knock him out or debilitate him.

Either way, he had to find a way out of this, and fast. If he could hook up with Kallen and take out one of the Knights of the Round, then they would be on the easy straight. They could take out the Lancelots in no time... or so he hoped.

He barely managed to evade a strike from its crimson blade, an MVS Sword, before he countered with a swift strike to the abdomen. Once again, it moved with impossible speed, easily dodging it and placing some distance between them. He quickly took out the chainsaw-blade katana equipped to his shoulder, and placed the Pre-Production Gekka in a combat stance fitting a warrior.

There was only silence. Even the original Lancelot did not make a move. It was a battle between warriors with a bone to pick with each other. Once the first made the move, the second will follow, and the third will strike. Two on one seemed hardly fair in this situation, but Rai wanted the challenge. He wanted to prove himself to Zero, to make himself useful despite his lost memories.

At this point, fighting for people who suffered because of Britannia was more important than who he was.

"You're quite skilled..."

Rai's eyes widened when he heard the voice of the Club's pilot. It was a girl's voice... and a young one at that! 'She sounds like she's the same age as Nunnally...'he thought, teeth grinding while anger appeared in his cold blue eyes. 'So what? Now they force children to do their fighting?! What a bunch of goddamn cowards!'

"Then again, if you are who I think you are, then this is no surprise..."

The opposing pilot's words made Rai falter. It took him a while to digest what she was talking about before realization dawned on him, and the grip on the controls loosened a bit.

She knew him.

"Who are you?"

There was a tone of desperation in his voice, that long lost desire to regain identity resurfacing in him, but the tension of battle did not leave him. In the back of his mind, he knew that the girl seemed familiar... but where?

"My name is Alice."

His opponent introduced herself before the Club became tense, its legs spreading apart and the MVS falling into one hand.

"And I've come to take my prince back."

'Her prince...' Rai thought in confusion after he told Tamaki that he wasn't sure where their leader was. 'What did she mean by that? Am I some kind of noble? Or a member of the Imperial Family?' Once he realized what the latter meant, he shuddered. 'I hope it's the former, and not the later.'

"You doing okay, Rai?"

Said amnesiac turned to see Kallen walking toward him, her Black Knight's jacket tied around her waist, thus revealing her attire back when she was a member of the Kouzuki resistance. He saw traces of satisfaction and untold happiness in her eyes as she approached him.

He nodded back at her, gingerly stepping down the Pre-Production Gekka's frame.

"Yeah, just a bit shaken up is all. Dealing with two Lancelots is harder than you'd think."

He tried to lighten the tension with a joke, laughing sheepishly and rubbing the back of his head. It worked, as Kallen smiled a bit. Her body seemed to lose what little tension she had earlier.

"That's good. By the way, what were you and the pilot of the Lancelot Club talking about?"

"Oh, that? Well... I think the pilot knew me."

Kallen's eyes widened, looking around to see if anyone was listening before leaning in. He frowned, but realized that this conversation was meant to be private. If any of the Black Knights learned that he had a connection with the pilot of one of the enemy Knightmares, it would cause suspicious and doubts, and thus leading to a witch hunt.

"You're serious?"

"Yeah. She mentioned something about getting her prince back. Any idea what she was talking about?"

"Wait, hold on, did you just say she?"

"Yeah, she sounded young. I think she's just as old as Nunnally!"

Disgust filled her features, a scowl marring her graceful features. It was obvious that the thought of children partaking in war was not a pleasant thought for her.

"Sick bastards..."

"Tell me about it. Anyway, where's Zero at?"

"He has other business to attend. Contrary to what we think, I'm sure Zero has a life of his own other than leading a rebellion."

Rai chuckled, finding logic in that before he looked back at the Pre-Production Gekka, which sat on its knees with its blade sitting in its lap, the silver craw in front of it. To the Japanese, this posture was a sign of respect towards a better, a superior, a lord.

Once he recalled the battle with the Lancelot Club, Rai walked over to his Knightmare and placed a hand over the claw. A feeling washed over him, a sense of camaraderie between a horse and a rider. It seemed that his partner shared his sentiments.

"Next time."

He promised with a smile. He could have sworn he saw the machine's singlular yellow eye glow.

When Lelouch awoke, he saw autumn-burned hair falling gracefully over his face, and a pair of soft eyes looking at him in worry. It took him a moment to remember who this face belonged to, and his eyes widened.

"S-Shirley-Ah!"

Once he tried to sit up, his side erupted in pain, causing him to hiss through his teeth and his hand reaching towards his ribs. 'I must have broken a few from the impact of the hadron cannon...' he realized with a scowl. 'And it wasn't even aimed directly at us.'

"Lulu, are you okay?"

Lelouch nodded, and laid back down per his friend's suggestion. He was wearing the purple pilot suit that came with the cape and mask, but his bare torso was exposed with bandages wrapped around the abdomen and his right shoulder.

"Does it... still hurt?"

"Y-yeah, a bit..."

"...You really are Zero, huh?"

Lelouch said nothing, for all he felt was regret and dread. He had hoped that Shirley wouldn't learn about this secret again, but despite his efforts, they failed. She knew, but unlike last time, she had chosen to save him. What had happened to Villetta? Had Shirley shot her like she had last time and brought him here for safety?

"...I'm sorry you had to find out like this."

"N-no, it's fine... I'm just so shocked that I don't know what to think."

Lelouch grimaced until he realized that his right hand felt warm. Looking down, he saw that it was being by Shirley's own digits carefully as if it were frail.

"I won't ask why you became Zero, but... Lulu... do you really have to fight Britannia?"

He wanted to tell her that there was no other way, that this was the only path available for him at this point. But...

"I don't have a choice."

"But why?!"

He cringed at Shirley yelling at him. She was desperate, he knew. She didn't want to see him dead, or worse, executed in front of everyone, including Nunnally.

"Because... if I don't continue being Zero, then people will know the same sort of pain that me and Nunnally felt."

His answer made her fall silent, as her bangs hid her eyes. The grip on his hand tightened a bit, but it was still so gentle. How ironic that it was her to look after him, when he had seen her die when he tried to look after her. How much pain and suffering had she been forced to endure because of him? How much had she lost because of his so-called 'revenge'?

"I knew it was pointless trying to convince you to stop, but... I guess that's another reason why I love you."

Lelouch's eyes widened in sync with hers, cheeks burning bright red as she shook her head vehemetly.

"N-no, that wasn't what I meant! W-what I meant to say was that-"

"I knew."

"W-huh?"

Lelouch gave a sad smile as he supported his body with his other arm, griping in pain as he did so.

"I knew that you loved me... and that was why I pushed you away."

Shirley stared at him in confusion, hurt beginning to form when she saw his eyes look so pitiful, so dead and full of regret that she almost let go of his cold hand.

"You deserve so much better than me, Shirley."

He didn't expect her to pull him towards her and wrap her arms around his frame, skinny as it was. He blushed a new shade of red when he felt his bare chest come into contact with her large assets, the same sort of feeling he got when he restored Kallen's memories in the shower.

"Lulu, you're the only person I can love."

His eyes widened again. This was starting to become a habit.

"You see... at first, I didn't really like you at all. You always distanced yourself from others, never tried to make friends, and didn't put any effort into school at all. But, one day, I saw you helping out an old couple who was getting blamed for a car accident. You resolved the whole thing, and the guy's car got towed off instead. And yet, you did all of that with the same bored expression."

'Wait, she saw that?' he thought in surprise. 'The old couple... car accident... is she talking about what happened during our first year in high school?'

"The more I wondered about you, the more I came to love you... So, why do you try to push people away when you know how they feel about you?"

"Because I'm scared."

He couldn't stop them. He didn't want to.

"Scared that... if I let someone get close... they'll die. I lost someone dear to me already, and I never want to feel that way again... I don't want to be responsible for the death of someone I care about. That's why... I can't return your feelings, Shirley."

When they pulled away, he expected her to be in tears, but instead, he saw a strained smile, and yet understanding of his decision.

"I get it... But, when you do find someone to make you happy... make sure she's the happiest girl in the world, okay Lulu?"

He couldn't meet her in the eye, but he put on a small smile as he nodded. After deciding to change the conversation towards other things, Lelouch placed his suit back on completely and put on the cloak. Shirley gave him the mask, but as soon as their fingers brushed against one another, Lelouch pulled the mask away from her hands while she recoiled, both of their faces red.

'Oh, good grief, Lelouch...' the late Demon Emperor thought in self-annoyance. 'When did this turn into a soap opera?'

"When indeed?!"

Lelouch froze. His face went pale, and his blood went cold. The voice came from the door leading into the side of the warehouse. Shirley looked worried, taking refuge behind him while Lelouch was frozen in place. 'No... no, not now! Why is he here?!'

"So you know about me already?! That's flattering!"

Lelouch scowled, and anger resurfaced in his purple eyes. 'Hard not to hear about you, you son of a bitch!'

"Oh, now that's just cold, Lulu~ Why don't you open the door? It's kind of rude to not greet your guest!"

Lelouch turned to Shirley.

"Shirley, go for the south entrance when I tell you."

She nodded, not questioning him. Mao sighed dramatically, though this made Lelouch more worried.

"Fine, in that case, we'll break it down. Miss, if you'd be so kind!"

Lelouch tossed Shirley to the floor as bullets went flying through the door, small holes forming and allowing small beams of light to pierce through the darkness of the warehouse. Mao entered with a deranged grin, and with him was...

'Villetta?!' Lelouch's eyes widened in shock. 'Don't tell me he used his Geass to convince her?!' Mao grinned further at Lelouch's thoughts, cracking up as a result.

"So, you know about my Absolute Thought? That doesn't really make things all that interesting, you know?"

'Go to hell, Mao!'

Mao pouted, but it vanished just as quickly as Villetta aimed her gun at Lelouch, her eyes narrowed and steely. Fear was found in them, but also desperation. Whatever Mao said to her had really shaken her up.

"Lelouch Lamperouge... no, Lelouch vi Britannia. You are hereby under arrest for instigating a rebellion against the Holy Empire of Britannia!"

"So, what'cha gonna do you now, Lulu? You could always use your Geass, but..."

Lelouch narrowed his eyes dangerously at them, but it took him a moment to realize that Mao didn't know about his enhanced Geass. As far as he knew, it was still limited to eye contact. Once he knew Mao didn't know about that fact, the man frowned in confusion, so he ended his line of thought there. 'Dammit, if I use my Geass on Villetta, he'll shoot us down...' He tried to come up with plans of escape desperately, Mao grinning like a child as he did so. 'If I use it on Mao, Villetta will gun us down. If I use my Geass on them both, then-no, it wouldn't work. Mao would know what I'm planning and shoot me down before I even have a chance to use it!'

"Well, no shit, Sherlock!"

'Dammit, what other options do I have...?' Lelouch tried to think, but every possible way involved his Geass, and it would result in him and Shirley being shot.

...All except one.

'I don't have a choice...' he thought in defeat, wanting to use it on a later date. 'I don't have a choice!'

He instantly looked at Villetta, and his True Geass soaked into his eyes. Once Shirley saw it, her eyes widened in shock while Mao was the most surprised. He hadn't expected Lelouch to have developed a mature Geass in so short a time, but the fool had no idea that his Geass had already become like his... at least before. Before Mao had any idea what he was doing, he focused his power on Villetta, and shouted as quickly as he could.

"RememberKanameOhgiChigusa!"

The Geass sigil flew into her eyes, and the rings formed afterwards. Surprise, shock, fear filled her face, unable to make heads or tails of what was going on before the gun fell from her hands. Mao sighed, shaking his head before he aimed his own gun at her and fired.

Shirley screamed while Lelouch grinded his teeth harshly, glaring at Mao in all of his hatred as Villetta fell to the ground with a deadening thud.

"Well, I'm not sure what you did, but-"

"Don't chase after us!"

His Geass activated quickly, and before Mao had any idea what happened, he was already under the influence of True Obedience. Before Shirley had any chance to ask what he just did, Lelouch grabbed her wrist and ran past Mao.

Once a few minutes passed, the Geass faded, and Mao blinked, looking around the warehouse in confusion before he scowled in anger, tossing his sunglasses to the ground.

"What the hell?! I thought his Geass needed direct eye contact! Tch, whatever! As long as he's with C.C., I don't care what it takes! I'll find you, and I'll kill you!"

Mao glared at where Lelouch had made his escape, and yelled at the top of his lungs.

"DO YOU HEAR ME, LELOUCH VI BRITANNIA?! I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL KILL YOU, THAT BITCH, AND ALL OF YOUR FRIENDS AT SCHOOL! DO YOU HEAR ME?!"

"I'LL KILL YOU!"

"When someone wins, the fighting will end." –Lelouch vi Britannia

Aaaaaand CUT! Well, with that out of the way, we move on to the more emotional part of Code Geass, and God do I want to kill Mao. Seriously, he's more of a devil than Lelouch is, and that tells you something. Anyway, updates will be slower, but at the pace I'm going, I might be able to finish this up before the end of the year... hopefully.

Shirley fans, rest assured, she won't be left with a broken heart. Depending on public reception, Rai may end up with her, considering that she is one of Rai's love interest in Lost Colors.

I'm done for now, but I have one more thing to address. It appears that I have pissed off a lot of people because of the whole LelouchXKallen/C.C. pairing. Let me tell you that this was what the public wanted, and partially because of my mistake of overlooking a review. If you don't like it, then don't read it. Seriously.

AND WHILE ON THE SUBJECT! I have read fanfictions with great potential, and yet nearly all of them are left forgotten or dead. Know why? Flames. People practically telling authors that the pieces they wrote so hard being called 'shit' or 'it sucks balls' or the occasional 'go suck a dick' is really pissing me off. Let me address a message: "If you don't like it, then why did you read it? Moreover, why did you even leave a review?" If it sucks, then forget about it, Jesus Fucking Christ! Let me tell you in the words of Sweet Daddy D from Jeff Dunham: "I stay black, you stay white." I do not tolerate flames. I'm gonna let Luciano Bradley do whatever he wants to you. Ya understand?!

...aaaaaaaaand I am done with my rant. Thanks for listening.