Chapter 25
Kallen stared at the text message on her phone again for probably the hundredth time in the last hour.
Pack for a week. Bring something to do. Will pick you up in an hour.
She poked the heavy duffel bag at her feet with the toe of her boot and checked the time. It was an hour and fifteen minutes since he'd sent that message, but Naoto wasn't usually the most punctual unless the matter was of vital importance.
What the hell was going on? Was he sending her into hiding? Had something gone wrong? Or was this her new mission? Some kind of undercover reconnaissance?
She grinned at the thought. Finally she'd get to do something of importance. She'd get to pull her own weight. To make a difference.
She heard a horn honk through her opened window – a conspicuous sound in this upscale community – and swept her bag up onto her shoulders before clambering down the trellis beneath her window. She could have simply gone out the door, but she didn't feel like running the risk of bumping into Lady Stadtfeld and trying to explain where she was going at this hour of night. Especially since she'd already had an explosive fight with the woman earlier that day and she was 'sulking' in her room as a result.
She descended the trellis into Lady Stadtfeld's treasured rose garden as she had so many times in the past and may have deliberately tromped on one of the bushes before running full tilt across the yard, through a hole she had carved in the hedge, and out onto the road where Ohgi's car was waiting for her.
She stuffed her pack in the back seat before taking her place in the empty passenger seat and smirking at her brother, who was wearing a ridiculous fedora-type hat pulled down low to cast a shadow over his face. "You look like an idiot." She laughed.
"Well, thanks. I love you too." Naoto replied sarcastically as he pulled away from the curb.
"Where are we going?" She asked. "What going on with Code-R?"
"We're getting ready to move." Naoto said, taking one hand off the steering wheel to rummage in his jacket pocket for a moment. What he pulled out made Kallen's heart skip a beat. There, dangling on an old shoe lace, was the key to the Glasgow Kazane had put back together. He gestured for her to take it, when she didn't immediately snatch it from his hand.
"The Glasgow?" She breathed, taking the key from him and examining it closely. Oh yes, she knew this key. How many times had she handled it in the past, without his knowing? How many times had she run her fingers over it's smooth surface and dreamed of liberating Japan?
"Yeah. You told me you were the best damned pilot we had, didn't you?" Naoto asked.
"Yeah, but then you told me you never wanted to hear of me going near a Knightmare again." She argued, but took the key and stuffed it in her pocket just in case he changed his mind.
Naoto snorted. "I can't believe you're arguing with me about this." He shook his head disbelievingly. "But don't worry, I'm not going to take that key away, Kallen." He promised, giving her a sly look. "You don't have a choice. You wanted to join the resistance so that means you have to follow my orders. And I'm ordering you to pilot that machine if the shit hits the fan."
"If?"
"You're going to be our safety net. You're only going to be called on if things go severely wrong. We don't really want them knowing that we have a Knightmare, but if things go badly, we wont have a choice but to reveal our full strength to the Britannians." Naoto explained.
Kallen frowned and glanced away disappointedly. So then, she probably wouldn't actually get to do anything. Just sit in hiding somewhere with the Glasgow while others did all the work. Naoto always meticulously planned things out before he ordered his people to move. The likelihood of something going wrong was slim.
"Hey." Naoto chided. "Listen, I'm trying to explain things to you as we go." He grumbled, before handing her a map that had been stuffed between the seats. "Ohgi and the team he's put together will be stationed at that red 'x' on the map to cover our escape. They're already set up there and are keeping an eye on the place for any last minute changes to their schedules or unexpected developments." Naoto explained, pointing in the map's general direction without taking his eyes off the road.
"I'm going to be leading the team that infiltrates the lab and actually steals the gas. There's going to be two more teams on the roofs of the buildings next to the lab, there. We're not exactly sharpshooters, but I'm sure they'll be able to take down a few guards if we don't get out quietly enough."
"And me?" She asked nonplussed.
"Do you remember Jin Nakata?" Naoto asked.
"Yeah." She answered warily. "The guy who left to join the Blood of the Samurai?"
"Yeah, that one." Naoto agreed. "He's going to be helping us out on this. He's got a ship and runs a little import-export business in his free time. Well, actually, it's how a lot of the resistance groups in the area have been getting their weapons from China. Anyway, we've already loaded the Glasgow onto the ship and they're just waiting for you before they take off.
"He's got to make a run to pick something up in Osaka, but he'll be back the day we're planning on moving. So he'll have an excuse to be in the water around here. And he'll be close enough for you to use your slash harkens to get onto the road to cut off any pursuit if we need you." He said, pointing to the pale blue expanse on the map next to where Ohgi's group was positioned.
"So I have to go with him to Osaka?" She asked, quirking an eyebrow. "What's the catch? Why's he even helping us?"
Naoto shifted uncomfortably and glared out the windshield. "He'll be making a transaction with some sketchy characters. He wanted a little extra protection. It shouldn't be anything you can't handle, Kallen. I wouldn't send you if I thought it wouldn't be safe for you."
"Quit babying me." She snapped. "All you needed to say was that I was supposed to play body guard for him in return for letting us use the boat. Do the other guys have Knightmares?"
"They shouldn't." Naoto answered.
"Then it's not a problem so long as we're back in time for me to support our operation." Kallen huffed before leaning back in her seat and crossing her arms over her chest. "I hate when you do that. You treat me like I'm made of glass or something."
"I just want to protect you, Kallen." Naoto said quietly. "I don't really like the situation Jin put me in, or the one he's going to be putting you in. But I don't really have a choice at the moment and moving a KMF around in secret isn't all that easy."
Kallen sighed before relaxing her posture and turning to look at him. He looked tired, but at least he'd learned his lesson about looking like a vagrant. "Hey, it's fine. I'll be just fine." She promised. "I'm sure I can take anything Nakata's shady characters can throw at me. It's not easy to take down a Glasgow."
"I know. But he kind of strong armed me into this. I needed a boat and I knew he had one. At least we know he wont rat us out to the Britannians." Naoto sighed. "By the way, I hope you don't get sea sick."
Kallen rolled her eyes. "I'm a KMF pilot, Naoto. I can take anything the sea has to throw at me."
"Sure. Just don't come crying to me if you end up spending the next week puking your guts out." Naoto teased.
"I promise you I wont." She huffed. "And anyway, I don't have a choice, remember? So even if I do end up sick there's no helping it."
"You don't have to, if you don't want to, Kallen. You always have a choice." Naoto said, suddenly very serious. "No one can force you to do something you don't want to do. Please, tell me if I'm pushing you too far."
"I want to help, Naoto." She answered passionately after a moment of quiet consideration. "I've always wanted to help. I want to help you protect Japan."
"To protect Japan, huh?" Naoto mused, quirking his eyebrow at her. Kallen felt her face grow hot in embarrassment. The jerk was trying to embarrass her after her impassioned outburst.
"What?" She glared.
Naoto smiled at her. "Nothing. I just liked hearing you say it like that. To protect Japan, not to avenge it."
"So maybe you've rubbed off on me." She grumbled as she looked away out the window. She did still want revenge for what Britannia had done to Japan, but right now, with Code-R looming over their heads, it was more about protecting Japan's people than avenging past transgressions. "Don't let it go to your head."
"You are in a charming mood tonight." Naoto chided, turning the car into a seedy looking port.
"You try being locked up with Lady Statdfeld for a couple weeks and see how charming you are." She grumbled.
"At least you had the lady to break up the monotony." Naoto pointed out with a smirk as he slowed the car to a stop.
"You've really forgotten what it was like living with her, haven't you? Or have you deluded yourself into thinking it wasn't that bad?" Kallen inquired.
"Maybe." Naoto admitted before reaching into the glove box and pulling out an old walkie-talkie. "We'll be using preset frequency eight, but I don't want you using it until the operation begins."
"Right." She nodded, taking the device from him.
"That's Jin's ship." Naoto pointed out the window to where the vessel was bathed in the light of the car's headlights. "Make sure you're in position by the morning of the twenty ninth. I don't care if you have to hijack the ship to get here in time. Make sure you're here, okay? Don't let them hold you up."
"I will be." She promised. "No matter what."
Naoto nodded. "Be careful." He said softly and she could see the worry in his eyes.
"Naoto . . ." She hesitated. "Maybe I should go with you? Should I be on your team?"
He shook his head slightly. "No. You'll be more useful in the Glasgow. Just remember, it's not only the faceless Japanese masses you'll be protecting. You'll be protecting all of us resistance members too."
"Are you that worried about it? I've never heard you talk like this before. Are you going to be in that much danger?" She asked, holding her breath and hoping he was going to reassure her.
"No. We wont be in any danger at all. Unless something goes wrong. If that happens, we'll be in worlds of shit." Naoto shrugged nonchalantly. "But that wont happen. It's just that we've never attempted anything this big before. But it's worth it and it needs to be done."
"Yeah." She agreed quietly.
"Go. They're waiting for you." Naoto urged, pointing to where a man was warily approaching the vehicle.
"Don't worry about a thing." She said confidently, trying to lighten the mood and reassure him at the same time as she stepped out of the car and retrieved her bag. "Never thought I'd have to say it, but I'll protect you."
She heard the short bark of his laughter before she slammed the door shut and approached the ship. However ridiculous her last statement sounded, she meant every word of it.
"So?" Lelouch asked, holding out a half-frozen water bottle to his mechanic. "What do you think of them?"
Von Hoffman took the water bottle gratefully and pressed it against his still swollen cheek. "Thanks. These devices are almost pathetically simple, your highness. They run on simple magnetism. High powered magnets positioned here in the skid buoy the KMF up so it doesn't actually touch the ground. They'll probably take some getting used to for you devicers, but once you've got the hang of it, I don't see why they cant be just as effective, if not more so, than landspinners on pavement." His mechanic explained. "I suppose I should have been working on something like these sand panels instead of that KMF cleaner."
"I'm sure that other device is useful." Lelouch said, "But with these we'll be able to crush the local resistance. KMF mobility is our biggest opponent in this war. Can you recreate them?"
Von Hoffman sent him a prideful grin. "I've already begun. This one here is one of my own designs. The Eighteens may have been this gadget's inventors, but they were working with substandard materials."
Which made sense, considering the majority of their country had been taken from them and all traffic between the enemy's hold out and the rest of Area Eighteen had been cut off. Cornelia had laid siege to their last bastions of strength and would starve them out if she had to. The Eighteens were at war and they were losing, even despite the secret support the E.U. was sending them to prolong the altercation. The longer Britannia was occupied with the MEF, the less likely they were to begin hostilities with the E.U.
"Their magnets were weaker, so it held the Knightmare closer to the ground and they probably had issues traveling over rocky or uneven terrain – really only good over sand. Ours, however, will be more powerful and allow greater mobility over all types of terrain. With time, they might even replace the landspinner." He boasted.
Lelouch gave a feral grin. "Excellent. How soon until you can outfit the entire squad? I'll be approved to return to active duty in a day or two and I'd like to show the Eighteens that they're not the only ones who can effectively fight in the desert." He'd been given notice that, in recognition of the skill they'd shown during their last engagement, his squad was going to be reassigned to the front lines directly under Cornelia's command.
"I'll have them ready for you, your highness. Even if I have to stay up all night." Von Hoffman promised.
"Good. I'll buy you a beer if you meet the deadline." Lelouch pledged and turned away. There were still things he needed to attend to before he could go to the mess for dinner. He may not have been approved for field work due to his injury, but he certainly hadn't been idle. Sifting through the personnel profiles of all of the soldiers on site was a long, brain-melting task, but he was determined to find the real person who had betrayed him.
"Sir . . ." Von Hoffman hesitatingly called after him.
Lelouch paused and turned back, quirking a questioning eyebrow.
"I . . . wanted to thank you again. For believing me. For believing that I didn't betray you." Von Hoffman said haltingly.
"You were wrongly accused. Your thanks are hardly necessary."
"But anyone else. . ." Von Hoffman said awkwardly.
"Let me make one thing abundantly clear to you, Von Hoffman. I am not anyone else. I do not follow the guiding thought patterns and ideology of 'anyone else' either. But I told you that already, didn't I?" Lelouch explained firmly.
"Yes, sir." Von Hoffman answered immediately, then stiffened as his gaze was drawn to the door of their hangar.
Lelouch turned back and found that Cornelia and Guilford had decided to pay a visit. He hid the grimace his face wanted to make and gave them a stiff salute instead. He hadn't actually spoken to Cornelia since they'd parted ways in the medical center, but she had to have heard by now about his forcing the release of Von Hoffman. And she probably wasn't happy about it. This whole debacle would have been so much tidier if Von Hoffman had been the traitor.
"Chief General li Britannia." He greeted. "Lord Guilford."
"I see the rumors were true." Cornelia said, foregoing a greeting to send a scathing look at Von Hoffman.
"Yes, Ma'am. I determined my mechanic was not at fault for the leak of information." Lelouch said firmly.
"And yet he's still a Number." Cornelia said, pursing her lips.
"He can hardly help that." Lelouch said irritably.
"It's unacceptable having a Number working on your machine, Lelouch. He could easily betray you, in fact I believe he already has."
Lelouch frowned. "I wonder why it is you're so determined to accuse my mechanic of foul play. You can't provide any evidence of wrongdoing and yet you're determined to stick to your convictions. It makes me wonder why you're not more devoted to finding the real culprit."
"Just what are you implying?" She demanded, her eyes narrowing dangerously.
Ah, he was treading a dangerously thin and treacherous line here. But the concern was real. Cornelia's determination to see Von Hoffman guilty – even if he was a Number – worried him.
"Just what I said. Why aren't you more concerned with finding the real traitor? A member of the Imperial family was almost kidnapped and you insist on playing the blame game and setting up an innocent man for treason. Have you even questioned anyone else? Are there any other suspects?" Lelouch demanded despite knowing the answers. Von Hoffman was the only person she was willing to blame. "Or am I supposed to interpret this reluctance to pursue the truth as that you don't care who it was so long as you get to make an example out of someone? Or, even worse, are you protecting the leak or the leak yourself?"
Behind him, Von Hoffman sucked in a shocked gasp as Guilford stepped in front of Cornelia. Protecting her as though his words were hurled daggers. "How dare you." Guilford growled.
Behind him, Cornelia's face had gone white with fury and her lips pressed into a thin line. "Even I am not above your suspicion, brother?" She demanded, her eyes boring angrily into him.
Sighing, Lelouch glanced away. He'd gone too far. He needed to be careful – he'd made mistakes like this in the past and had resolved not to make them again in the future. He couldn't let his temper get the better of him. And in any case, he didn't really suspect Cornelia of being the one behind the betrayal. If she wanted him dead, there were far easier ways for her to accomplish it. After all, people died every day in a war zone and it would only have been too easy for her to have sent him to his death instead of tucking him safely away in some little-used corner of the Sahara.
"I apologize." Lelouch said after a moment of tense silence. "My frustration with the situation got the better of me. Forgive me, sister." He explained, swallowing his pride to salvage the situation. He wasn't in a position to make an enemy of Cornelia yet. Though no doubt the day would come. "However, I believe Von Hoffman is innocent of the crime you've accused him of and that he has been nothing but a loyal servant to me. Isn't that right, Von Hoffman?"
"Uh, y-yes, my prince." Von Hoffman stuttered suddenly.
"Based on what evidence, Lelouch?" Cornelia demanded, withholding her forgiveness for the time being.
"Base solely on the fact that it's in his best interest to remain loyal to me." Lelouch said with a dangerous grin. "He's useful to me. I'd appreciate if you didn't fight me on this. But I'll help you to find the real culprit, and then, my dear sister, I certainly wont stop you from reaping just reparations for his or her wrongdoing. Why, I believe I'll even help you."
Cornelia frowned and scrutinized him for a long moment before finally stepping around Guilford to confront him. "Fine. I believe you. You're not the type of person to grant asylum to someone who's betrayed you. We'll have to look for someone else."
"Thank you." Lelouch said, bowing slightly. "Now," He said, gallantly offering his arm to her, "I'd like to show you something, if you're not in a hurry."
"Oh?" She asked, ignoring his offered hand but following him nonetheless to the workbench Von Hoffman was standing next to.
"This is what the Eighteeens we encountered were using to move so quickly." He explained, pointing to the sand panel Von Hoffman had been working on. "Well, this particular one is a modified, improved model, but the idea is the same. It negates the need for landspinners and allows the Knightmares to traverse any terrain. I've been having my mechanic make some for you and your Knights."
"Hmm, is that right?" Cornelia mused, running a gloved finger over the device. Lelouch could already see the gears turning in her mind and the sudden new look of determination and inspiration that entered her eyes.
"Yes. I'll send them to you within the next two or three days." Lelouch promised, hiding his regret. He had originally wanted to be the first squad equipped with the experimental devices, but his pride would have to take another hit for the time being to appease his sister. It wouldn't really matter in the long run, anyway. Before long, all of the Knightmares out here would be equipped with the sand panels.
"Excellent work, Lelouch." Cornelia said with a sudden adoring smile that was too much like Euphemia's. Apparently the sand panels were enough to earn her forgiveness. "I'll be expecting them."
She left soon afterward with Lelouch scowling at her turned back. He waited until she was out the door and out of ears reach before sighing regretfully and looking back at the sand panels.
"Cornelia is rabid when she's provoked," Lelouch explained to Von Hoffman who was still standing nervously rooted to the spot. "But like any dog, she can be calmed if you throw her a bone. I've added more work to your schedule, but make sure you have enough of these sand panels for Cornelia, Guilford and the Glaston Knights. They'll have to take the first wave you make. Our squad will have to be content with seconds."
"I . . . yes, your highness." Von Hoffman answered quickly, bowing his head.
"Um . . ." Nina said shyly. She couldn't believe how hard it had been to catch the Student Council President alone. She'd always known that Milly was popular, but she'd never really realized just how popular. Or rather, she'd never really noticed.
But then again, she'd never had a reason to have to consult Milly alone where others couldn't overhear her. But now she did, and even then she couldn't just open up and spill what the problem was. She wasn't supposed to speak about Nunnally and even if it didn't look like anyone was listening, Milly had become internationally famous thanks to all of the tabloids and she couldn't be sure that she wasn't being watched.
That thought almost made Nina change her mind. If someone was watching Milly, it meant that she'd be leading them right to Nunnally. But on the other hand, Nunnally's health was more important, wasn't it?
"What's up, Nina?" Milly asked as she walked purposefully towards the clubhouse, a folder of what was probably student club budget reports under her arm. "We haven't been seeing much of you lately."
"Ah . . . well, you see . . ." Nina mumbled, "Um, I was wondering if you'd like to see the lab I bought with my grant money?"
"Well, it's about time you decided to share your new haven with us." Milly teased. "You've been spending almost all of your time there. Honestly, Shirley and I were just talking the other day about breaking in there to surprise you."
"You were?" Nina asked hesitantly. "And . . . when you say 'us'?"
Further questioning was interrupted when Rivalz hailed them from nearby. He ran up and greeted them both warmly, before brushing a kiss against Milly's cheek. Nina's eyebrows shot up to her hairline – especially when Milly actually blushed. When had that happened? Granted, it had always been painfully obvious that Rivalz was infatuated with their President, but she'd never thought he'd have the guts to actually do something about it. And the last time she'd taken notice of the situation, their friendship seemed to have been strained. Maybe she was spending too much time at the lab.
But Nunnally needed her. Honestly, she'd been spending most of her time there keeping Lelouch's sister company rather than actually working. And Nunnally needed Milly, too.
"Great news, Rivalz. Nina's finally decided to let us see her lab." Milly said happily.
She opened her mouth to protest, but what could she really say? 'Sorry, Rivalz, you're not invited'? Or 'actually, I only meant to invite Milly'? They were all Lelouch's friends. In fact, Rivalz was Lelouch's best friend. There was no way he'd betray Lelouch's trust. And Nunnally had always seemed to like him.
"Ah, yeah." She said softly, glancing away.
"Great. Just let me call Shirley. She should be done with the swim club by now." Milly said, fishing her cellphone out of her pocket and dialing Shirley's number before Nina could protest to the addition of yet another person to the list of people that would soon know Nunnally vi Britannia's location.
But Shirley wouldn't betray Lelouch or Nunnally either. Even if Lelouch had gone off and married someone else, leaving her love for him unrequited, Shirley and Nunnally were close friends. And really, they'd all already been trusted with the secret of Nunnally's survival. How much worse was the secret of her location?
Still, she felt hopelessly anxious about bringing them there. She'd felt bad enough about the prospect of revealing the secret just to Milly. Now, with the entire Student Council involved, she felt even worse.
She felt like she was betraying Lelouch.
He had trusted her above all the others to keep Nunnally secret and safe. He had given her the task because he had believed in her and trusted her. Because he had deemed her worthy.
No, maybe it wasn't betrayal she was feeling. Maybe it was inadequacy. Lelouch had put so much faith in her, but she simply wasn't up to the task. She couldn't keep Nunnally safe and happy and it shamed her. It shamed her that she had to ask for help. If Lelouch had known she was so useless, she'd never have been trusted with this task.
"I'm trusting you with the most important thing in my life."
The pride she'd felt when he'd said that to her was now significantly diminished. His trust in her had to be placed out of desperation. They'd never been particularly close before he'd been discovered. They were members of the Student Council and while she'd always considered him a friend – if only because she had so few – she'd never really thought he'd felt the same. Because he was Lelouch, that popular heart throb of the school that all the girls lusted after and all the boys wanted to befriend. Because he was oh-so-nonchalant about everything he did – so composed. He never really showed a real interest in anything but Nunnally.
It didn't mean he wasn't kind – in fact, he was probably the nicest person she knew – but he had always been detached and distant . . . except . . . except on those rare occasions when he couldn't sleep and would leave the Lamperouge suite in search of 'an intelligent conversation'. When that happened, he would seek her out – knowing she always worked late at the computer she'd set up at the clubhouse.
When that happened, he was actually passionate. He'd demand her opinion on theories that hadn't been covered in any of their classes – theories that ranged from the obscure to the generally accepted. He'd voice his opinions and he'd actually listen when she voiced her's.
It was in these dark, secluded hours of the night that he ceased to be Lelouch – school heart throb and hero – and was someone she could actually communicate and relate to. She wondered if that Lelouch – the late night philosopher – was the real Lelouch, or if it was just another mask he wore to hide his real identity. Did she even know the real Lelouch at all? No, that had to be him. The real him – it was so much more cynical and opinionated that he face he usually presented.
"Nina?" Milly asked, then laughed. She realized that they'd somehow wound their way to where Milly kept her car while she was musing and that they were waiting for her to get in. Shirley had joined up with them somewhere along the way. "So what was it this time? Reworking the theory of gravity?" Milly teased.
"Ah, no. Sorry." Nina blushed before hastily taking her place in the backseat of the vehicle next to Shirley. There was a time when Rivalz would also have joined them in the backseat. Lelouch had always insisted on riding shotgun when they'd gone on outings together as a group. He was Vice President, so Milly allowed it and Rivalz, Nina and Shirley would all squish into the backseat as Lelouch rode in leisure in the front.
It was just another little reminder that Lelouch was no longer with them – all this extra elbow room. Just another reminder that she was letting him down. That she was betraying his trust.
Milly drove, as always, erratically and with an extra dose of speed. Where usually she would cringe at the excessive use of speed, this time Nina only sat silently staring at her hands in her lap – dreading every second that passed and brought her closer to the moment she'd have to admit her inadequacy. Dreading the moment that she'd have to admit she'd been in contact with Lelouch – the council members were just as desperate for news of Lelouch as Nunnally was. Dreading the moment she'd have to admit to keeping secrets. Dreading the moment she'd tread on the other members' feelings – between Lelouch's foster sister, his best friend and the girl who was in love with him, who was she to be the one he trusted with his secret?
No doubt they all thought they knew him best – that they were closest to him – and she wondered if she was any different. How presumptuous was she? She scoffed at her own former musings. Musings about that philosophical Lelouch who would come to her at night to engage his over-active mind with her greater than average intelligence. Who was she to think she knew him? (A prince!) Who was she to think that she alone had been granted the opportunity to see past the chinks in his armor to see facets of his true self beneath the masks and facades and acts he put on to protect himself and Nunnally.
Was she so arrogant to believe that? When it had been Milly who have grown up with him knowing his secret the entire time. Or when it was Rivalz that spent all of his time with him – a dynamic duo of troublemakers and rule breakers? Or even Shirley, who had spent years devotedly observing him, trying to crack his code and solve the puzzle he presented. How could she believe that when the others had to know him so much better than she?
So why had he chosen her then?
She wasn't surprised that Milly knew the way to her lab. If she'd planned on breaking in with Shirley, she'd probably even devised a way to get past the security coded gate. However she'd planned on doing it, Nina didn't really want to see and so quickly hopped out of the car and punched in the code before climbing back in.
"Wow, Nina!" Shirley exclaimed as the car pulled into the receiving bay. "This place is huge! Is it all yours?"
"Um, well, yes." Nina answered. Because this space, this wide open expanse that they were staring at was her space. This was her research lab and while it was mostly empty now, later, when she moved on to the next phase of her research and began doing larger scale experiments, the place would be full of equipment. Or at least that was how she imagined it.
She didn't say much else as she let her friends wander around the main floor to inspect her lab for a few minutes. They seemed impressed. No, they were impressed and with good reason. How many seventeen year olds could boast of having their own lab?
"I . . . wanted to show you guys something." She announced, loud enough to get their attention. She nervously pulled out her key as they joined her at the elevator and pushed it into the lock. This elevator would only open if a key was used. It was just another one of the safety precautions she'd put into place to protect Nunnally's secret. A secret she was now revealing to her friends, like some kind of braggarty show-off.
"There's a second floor?" Milly asked.
"Is it like the bat cave down there, or what? Or is this where the real research goes on? You're not performing Frankenstein-like experiments down here are you?" Rivalz teased as they rode the elevator down to the basement.
"Um, no." She answered shyly. Rivalz was nice and she knew he didn't mean any harm by his teasing, but he was loud and boisterous and had always made Nina a little . . . anxious and shy.
When the elevator door opened and they stepped out, no one said anything as they looked around the familiar-yet-unfamiliar surroundings. And she knew why. She herself would have found it more than a little odd if she'd been in their place. She wondered if they thought she'd become unhinged. Or if they thought she'd become so obsessed with Lelouch that she'd recreated this place to play host to some kind of bizarre fantasy.
"This . . . this is creepy." Rivalz finally said, staring at a painting on the wall – a copy of one hanging in the clubhouse and an unnecessary detail she'd replicated. "This is just like Lelouch's place at the clubhouse."
"Yeah." Nina agreed quietly before leading the way into the dining room, painfully conscious of the concerned glances her friends were giving her. It was okay, she told herself, it would all be explained in a moment. As soon as they saw Nunnally, they'd understand why she'd done this.
The dining room was empty, so she passed it by. She could feel herself grow more tense with every second that passed in awkward silence. Her hands curled into fists at her side and she began to sweat. Finally, when she couldn't take it a second longer, she broke down.
"It's because -"
But further explanation wasn't necessary, because she'd just opened the door to the sitting room and Nunnally was there with a book in her lap – one finger trailing lazily over the page to pick up the words.
"Nana!" Shirley exclaimed, stumbling to a halt for half a second in surprise before rushing forward to take her friend's hand. "You're okay! I've been so worried about you!"
"Shirley?" Nunnally asked. "Is it really you, Shirley?" Nunnally asked, her hand leaving Shirley's to actually touch the girl's face. Nina was surprised. She'd only ever seen Nunnally do that to Lelouch. "It is you."
"Of course it's me." Shirley exclaimed. "I can't believe you've been here the entire time. I thought that maybe Lulu had managed to smuggle you away somewhere close to where he was."
"Shirley, how did you find me? How did you get in here?" Nunnally asked.
"Oh, Nina invited us over."
"Nina?" Nunnally asked quietly, her expression inexplicably softening. "Thank you, Nina. Who else is here? You said 'us', Shirley. Come now, who else came? Don't be shy." Nunnally ordered, holding out her hands in the general direction of the door.
Milly and Rivalz wordlessly entered the room and each took one of her hands. "Rivalz." She said immediately, giving his hand a squeeze.
"Hey, Nunnally. How are you doing?" Rivalz said warmly.
But Nunnally didn't answer, because she'd moved both hands to Milly's and was squeezing tightly. "Milly." She breathed before she began to cry. "Milly."
Milly smiled sadly as she sank to her knees next to Nunnally's chair and pulled her foster sister into a hug. "There now, it'll be okay. Everything will be fine, Nana. I promise."
Nina crossed her arms over her chest and hugged herself, finally able to reassure herself that she'd done the right thing. Yes, even if she was inadequate, it was better for her to seek help than to let Nunnally suffer because of her pride. Even Lelouch would have to agree with that.
AN: Holy crap! Either you guys really liked that fight scene or my Author's Note really riled you up. In only a day, the last chapter got the most reviews of any other chapter in the story to date (57 at my last check). And so many of them were encouraging - thank you so much! So, I was going to wait a few days to release this chapter, but decided against it since I already have the first scene of the next chapter done too. Honestly, I'm not sure how long I'll be able to maintain this kind of updating pace but while my creative juices are on overdrive, I'll update as often as I can.
I hope you enjoyed this one. Personally, I found writing Nina's part the most enjoyable. There's something about her insecurities that I find endearing to write.
Thanks so much for all of your reviews and support. I appreciate it like you can't believe.
Allora