Yo all, just posting this t clear up some memory space in the old noodle.
FYI, this is Another Kamen Rider x Code Geass x Sailor Moon Crossover. However, I'm trying something a little different with this one.
Continue at your discretion.
Prologue: Kingdom Come V Begins Night.
The sound of battle raged around her, the clashing of forged steel, the cries of men, women and beast melding into an ungodly clamour that should've been deafening, but for some reason, she seemed oddly detached, as if it were happening to someone else, and in a sense it was, for this was not the first time she'd dreamt this scene, where countless men in armour charged through a beautiful city that seemed too fantastic to be real, composed of buildings of brilliant marble and crystal, resplendent gardens filled with fresh, crystal clear waters, which reflected not the moon, but the resplendent Planet Earth that hung above them in the night sky.
'I'm on the moon…' she noted, and it was proof enough that this was a dream, for she highly doubted she'd be so accepting of this fact were she awake 'The earth looks so beautiful…like a sapphire in the night…'
"Prince Endymion!" she called out, or rather the woman who bore her face and voice did, bloody sword held in one hand, while the other supported a shield, dented and slick with blood from her allies and foes alike "Where are you, Prince Endymion?"
'That name again…' she muttered, a sense of wonderment, of longing washing over her at the mention of that auspicious name. It was not the first time she'd heard it, there had been many dreams before this one, and not all of them had been so violent, so desperate, more often than not they consisted of little more than a fleeting glance from the shadows, or gazing into the depths of a cauldron, but regardless of the setting, the mentioning of that name brought forth a wave of contradicting emotions within the dreamer.
There was love, first and foremost, the kind of love that could mobilize armies and move mountains, evidenced, in fact, by the very army she was leading through the marvellous palace, rising to a crescendo when she came upon the object of her quest, standing tall and proud, sword and hand, his black armour untouched by sword nor blood.
"Prince Endymion!" The woman that was, and at the same time, wasn't her called out, joy and relief at finding her beloved unharmed in this carnage evident as she stepped forward to greet him, followed closely by four men in matching uniform, only to freeze as the black clad knight levelled his sword at them, her eyes widening as she espied the silver haired figure cowering behind him.
"You highness…" one of the men behind her called out, his tanned, regal features, like those of an Arabian king, marred with a frown of confusion and contempt which caused the silver haired girl behind the prince to recoil as if struck "What is the meaning of this?"
"Sheathe your sword, Kunzite!" Endymion commanded, his tone brooking no argument as he turned his gaze towards the rest of the men "And that goes for you too, Malachite, Jadeite, Zoicite, unless you mean to face me I combat!"
"We would never raise our swords to you, your Highness." Kunzite assured the prince, though he did not sheathe his weapon, to do so on the battlefield was suicide after all "But please, tell me why it is you are here? As the Prince of Earth, it should be YOU leading the charge against the forces of the Moon Kingdom…" he scowled at the silver haired girl cowering behind his prince's back "Why then, do we find you here, behind enemy lines, and protecting the Moon Princess?"
"I protect her because I love her, Kunzite!" Endymion declared, and though his words were directed at the man, they still sent waves of agony through her heart, as if he'd stabbed her with his sword "Now lay down your weapons and call off this attack!"
"But you Highness!" she called out, her heart threatening to shatter under the pain "You are the Prince of Earth! Do you mean to betray your people, when our victory is so close at hand?"
"Beryl…" the prince spoke, and here his tone turned soft, almost pitying, as he regarded the woman before him "You are being deceived, the Earth Kingdom has nothing to gain from waging war against the Moon, all this will accomplish is depleting our forces for when the TRUE enemy, Metallia, makes her move."
At the mention of that name, the woman froze, a shiver racing down her spine, the very blood in her veins threatening to freeze, even as something dark grasped at her heart, stealing her breath away. She was not alone in her reaction either, for Kunzite and the other generals seemed equally rattled by the mentioning of the name, though nowhere NEAR as badly as she had been.
"Be that as it may…" Kunzite muttered, still looking shaken by the name, though he covered it admirably with the dignity one would expect from a man of his stature "Deception or not, it does not excuse your fraternizing with the Moon Princess."
The girl in question flinched and lowered her gaze, moving to hide behind Endymion only for the prince to send her a look that radiated comfort and concern. Immediately, a wave of hatred and jealousy washed over the woman, clearly emanating from Beryl, whose prior discomfort was replaced with a glare that could melt steel as she grit her teeth in anger.
"Your Highness," the second oldest of the remaining three generals spoke up, casting an almost pitying look towards the star crossed lovers "while I can understand your…attraction, to the Princess, I am afraid General Kunzite speaks the truth. Since time immemorial, it has been forbidden for any Earthling to enter into relations with those of the Moon Kingdom, even here, on the Moon, that law has never been disputed."
"I do not care." Endymion declared standing tall, his arm held to the side as if to shield the princes with his body "The law is wrong, just as this war is wrong, and I intend to stop it." He narrowed his eyes at the group "If you wish to stop me, then you will have to kill me."
The Generals fell silent, the troubled looks on their faces making it clear that they had no desire to raise their swords against their prince. Not out of fear, no, for they outmatched him four to one and he would be hard pressed to defend the princess from their assaults, no, it was their loyalty to the man that stayed their hands, for even if he was standing against him, he was still their prince, whom they had sworn to serve to the death, and beyond if necessary.
Beryl too, had fallen silent, but it was not out of confusion or loyalty, but because somewhere inside her a gaping void had appeared, a surge of emptiness that was growing ever deeper, filled only by the worst possible emotions one could feel for another.
Rage. Anger, Betrayal, Hatred, Jealousy, all these negative emotions and many more that escaped the human minds ability to comprehend rose within her, all of it aimed squarely at the silver haired harlot that was even now gazing up at Endymion with affection, affection that the prince returned, willingly.
In that instant, that moment where Endymion's eyes met those of the girl before her, Beryl's heart shattered, and something else surged in to fill the void, a sense of weightlessness, detachment, not quite euphoria, yet not entirely madness either.
"Then die with your beloved whore, Traitor!" she shrieked, in a voice that was not entirely her own, rushing past the startled Generals, sword held high, intending to bring it down on the princess' head, only for Endymion, noble, courageous Endymion, to put himself between the blade and his beloved, the princess and the Generals crying out in horrified union as the blade pierced the prince's back, running him through.
"Don't look so sad…" Beryl taunted, in that eerie, two-tone voice, smiling down at the weeping princess even as she raised her sword over her head once more "You'll be with him soon enough!"
"PRINCESS SERENITY!" a voice called out, Beryl whipping round just in time to have the business end of a sword slice her in two from shoulder to hip, the image of an enraged pair of tear-filled blue eyes and a flash of blond hair the last thing she saw as she fell backwards, the faces of the Generals peering down at her in a circle.
"Kuroki-sensei…" the youngest called out, his voice possessing an echoing quality, as if he were speaking from a tunnel "Kuroki-sensei, are you awake?"
"Zoi…" she stammered, peering up at that youthful, almost effeminate face of the General in confusion, only to blink as common sense returned in a burst of lucidity "Ah, Mifune-kun! Was I asleep?"
"Like the dead." A snide voice noted, drawing her attention to the older blonde, 'Jadeite' from the dream, though now he seemed to be dressed in clothes designed for extreme temperatures, all of them were in fact "Honestly, I thought a bear had snuck onto the place with the snores you were making."
"That's enough, Taitou-kun…" the brunette, 'Nephrite', admonished, his expression firm even if his lips quirked at the edges "A gentlemen should know better than to mention a lady's flaws in public."
"Yeah, whatever Masato…" the blonde muttered, crossing his arms with a scowl, clearly not liking to be lectured, earning a sigh from the older male, who shook his heads in exasperation.
"Don't mind Taitou-kun, Kuroki-sensei." The younger blonde, Zoicite, assured her with a smile "He's just feeling a little cooped up in here."
"Excuse me for not liking the idea of flying through a snowstorm in this medieval death trap, Mifune." Taitou muttered, glaring at the younger blonde, only to look up as the door to the cabin opened, revealing the tall, regal form of Kunzite "Yo, Saitou, tell me we're almost there?"
"The pilot says we're set to arrive in two minutes, actually." Saitou-san declared, earning a whoop of joy from the younger man "We picked up the signal to Professor Ashford's base camp, they're guiding us in now."
"About freaking time…" Taitou muttered, though there was an excited look in his eyes as he sat up in his seat "Can't wait to get out there, how old did the old man say that cavern was?"
"He didn't, that's what we're here to find out." Saitou reminded him with a smile, before turning to face her, his eyes laced with cordial concern "Another dream, Kuroki-sensei?"
"I'm fine." She assured him, returning his smile, only to sigh as he returned to his seat, her eyes glancing out the window of the plane, gazing out at the arctic tundra before her "It was just a dream…"
That's right, it was all just a dream, there couldn't have been a kingdom on the moon, hadn't scientists already proven there was no air up there? And even if there was, how would people back then have gotten to the moon, when it took modern day astronauts three days to do so?
Shaking her head at the ludicrousness of the redheaded woman turned her attention back to her handbag as the pilots warned them that they were coming in for a landing.
There was no Moon kingdom, no generals, and certainly no Beryl. She was no sorceress or warrior maiden, she was simply Kuroki Mio, an archaeology and geology instructor at the prestigious Tokyo University, leading several of her finest students on an expedition to explore a recently discovered chasm in the arctic at the invitation of an old friend.
Now if only she could convince herself that was the case.
Later...
"Buddha's balls it's freezing out here!" Taitou swore, the older blonde shivering in his parka as they huddled in the back of the transport that was escorting them from Svalbard airport, Longyear, to their final destination, his breath rising as a hot cloud before him "Dammit, should've worn another layer."
"Oh please, it's never hot enough for you." Mifune teased, the effeminate younger blonde looking decidedly pink cheeked as he ducked behind Saitou, who simply sighed at the pairs antics "I bet you'd say the same thing if we set you alight."
"I'd take being burnt alive to freezing at the moment." Taitou muttered bitterly, earning a sigh from the others, as this was not the first time he'd complained about the cold. For some reason, Taitou simply couldn't take the cold at all, though as a result, he could handle HEAT the best out of all of them, whereas Mifune just wilted in the heat like a flower. "So who's this guy we're supposed to be meeting with anyways?"
"Professor Reuben Ashford." Saitou replied, his tone calm and regal as ever as he sat next to Kuroki-sensei, arms folded across his chest "He was a part time lecturer of ancient history at Tokyo University a few years back, he's also famous for several archaeological discoveries."
"Huh," Taitou muttered, looking impressed despite himself "Guess that explains why Noriyasu bitched so much about not being allowed to tag along."
"I think it had more to do with the fact he crashed that van of his into the Dean's Cresta again." Masato countered, the group chuckling to themselves at the memory of the balding man's shrieks as he stood over the totalled remains of his beloved car "Though officially, it was because they don't want him embarrassing the university in front of such a prominent figure."
"Can't say I blame them." Taitou snorted, the group sweatdropping at the memory of the antics the man in question could get up to if left to his own devices "I hear he's still banned from the lecture halls after hijacking that last seminar to give that whacked out presentation of his."
"Turtle Civilisation INDEED." Saitou scoffed, shaking his head in disgust, and a hint of pity, at what he perceived to be another man's folly "Personally, I don't see what Urashima-san sees in him."
"You and everyone else on campus." Masato snorted, smirking at the elder teen even as Taitou shivered, and for good reason. With her good looks and killer body, Urashima Haruka could have been one of the most popular girls at Tokyo University, were it not for the fact she was anti-social and had all the warmth and affection of a sledgehammer to the groin. Now to be fair, she wasn't that bad ALL the time, just usually whenever someone tried to chat her up, which happened a fair deal for aforementioned reasons.
The only person who seemed to get anywhere with the brooding, smoking hot young woman was the bane of the archaeological department and road safety authorities the world over, Noriyasu Seta, a man so dense it was a wonder small objects didn't gravitate around his head.
To be fair, Noriyasu had a decent head on his shoulders, when he wasn't ranting on about his so-called 'Turtle Nation' or patching it up after a particularly violent road accident, but the man simply couldn't comprehend that there were some things you just aren't supposed to do, like crash your van repeatedly into the Dean's Cresta, for instance, or go around digging up lost relics in people's back yards without permission.
That was actually another thing that made Noriyasu weird, for some reason, no matter where he was, he always seemed to stumble upon some sort of relic or artefact, usually pottery, despite there being no way for them to be in that specific location. Case in point, he once dug up an entire collection of ancient Grecian clay plates in one of the University's flowerbeds.
'If it weren't for the fact he was suspended for damaging university property, I'd call him a genius…' Masato snorted, shaking his head in amusement at the man's antics, only to look up as the sound of the engine stilled, signalling they'd arrived at their destination "Looks like we're here."
"Great…" Taitou muttered, shivering bitterly inside his parka as he pulled it tighter around him even as the doors opened, revealing a steep cliff of ice and snow, at the base of which lay an encampment, men in parkas running about making sure everything was working properly.
"Impressive…" Saitou noted, one silver brow arching in approval as he watched the professional air with which the men carried themselves "It's almost like a military operation, rather than a research team."
"I wouldn't say that near Professor Ashford if I were you," a voice opined in, the youths looking up to see a tall, dark haired teen walking towards them, his regal features betraying his European ancestry, though his lavender eyes drew quite a few looks "He HATES the military."
"You must be the professor's assistant." Kuroki-sensei noted, smiling politely as she held out a hand to the teen "Lelouch-kun, wasn't it?"
"Lelouch Lamperouge, at your service." The teen offered, accepting the hand whilst bowing politely at the waist "And I'm not the Professor's assistant, if anything you could call me his ward."
"Nonsense," the redhead countered, waving a hand dismissively "The Professor's always talking about you, the last time he spoke he told me you were already set to graduate from University."
"It's nothing to brag about." Lelouch countered, though he had the modesty to appear flustered by her praise "I simply apply myself a little more than most others when it comes to studying, that' all."
"Still, finishing early is no small feat." Saitou insisted, eyeing the younger man with a look of respect and approval "Tell me, what field were you thinking of entering?"
"Politics probably." Lelouch replied, though his tone was dismissive, as if he hadn't fully made up his mind yet "In truth I haven't decided, the Professor seems set to have me take over his philanthropic work, but 'm afraid I just don't see the value in revisiting the past outside a textbook."
"And just where would your precious textbooks be if it weren't for people going out and exploring the unknown, Lelouch?" an amused voice noted, the group turning to see a tall, older gentleman in his late fifties, dressed in an impressive great coat and walking with a cane "Don't believe him, Kuroki-kun, despite what he says, Lelouch is quite passionate about preserving our precious history."
"I only said that we should preserve so as to avoid making the same mistakes." Lelouch countered, looking flustered at being caught out, which only served to amuse the older man all the more.
"Professor Reuben Ashford I presume." Masato greeted, bowing his head to the older gentleman, though he didn't bother to hide his smile at Lelouch's embarrassment "Kuroki-sensei's told us all about you."
"Nothing goof I hope." Reuben chuckled, his blue eyes twinkling with an energy that would've better suited a man half his age, chuckling warmly as he shook them all by the hand, before turning to admire the silent form of Kuroki Mio "Ah, Kuroki-kun, it seems only yesterday you were taking notes in class, and yet here you are with students of your own."
"All thanks to your guidance, Professor Ashford." Mio assured the older gentleman, a slight flush adorning her cheeks, as despite the age difference, and the fact he was happily married, Reuben Ashford was still a very handsome man, well loved by both the staff at Tokyo University AND his former students "Is your wife here?"
"My Elsa? Come to a place like this?" Reuben chortled, shaking his head with a fond smile at the mention of his wife "No, she's currently touring the south of France with our Granddaughter and Lelouch's little sister. I do believe she mentioned taking them to her old alma mater while they were there." He clapped his hands together "But enough about that, you didn't drag these fine young men out here to freeze their balls off listening to an old man ramble on, let's get inside and I'll fill you in on what we've discovered so far."
Several Minutes later...
Inside the heated walls of the main lab facility, Mio and her students were being treated to cups of sinfully delicious hot cocoa prepared by Lelouch, who was currently manning the overhead projector.
"From what information we've gathered from soil samples and preliminary studies into the surrounding area, it would appear this site predates even the Hanging gardens of Babylon." Professor Ashford revealed, the older gentleman's genial nature replaced with a mask of professional calm, well befitting his status as a lecturer "However, as you can see from these pictures, the architecture involved is closer to early Grecian, what with the marbled pillaring and such." He gestured to another slide, which depicted what appeared to be several celestial bodies surrounding a painting of the earth "To further confound matters, most of the painting on the wall use the Roman symbols for the planets of the solar system."
"And you believe this to be the basis for the 'Gaia Library' you spoke of in your reports?" Masato asked, clearly intrigued by the depth of the man's research, even as the slideshow came to an end "Do you really believe it exists?"
"I've no reason not to." Professor Ashford admitted, his tone serious "There have been references throughout history to a Library, a font of knowledge that outstripped all others." He gestured to several images behind him "And not limited to one hemisphere either, from the pyramids of Egypt to ancient Babylon itself, there have been signs that indicate the library not only exists, but has been the source of many of the innovations of the ancient world."
"You mean like how the Egyptians built the pyramids and all that?" Taitou asked, his tone sceptical as he snorted into his cocoa "No offence professor, but I'll believe it when I see it."
"I wouldn't ask you to do anything else." Reuben assured him, his tone amused "In fact, I'd consider you a fool if you did, NEVER place all your eggs in one basket, gentlemen, you never know when the bottom might fall out of it." He chuckled at Taitou's look of embarrassment "Now then, that's enough rambling from this old man, Lelouch, show them to their rooms would you? We'll need to be up early tomorrow if we hope to get any work done."
"Very well, follow me please." Lelouch instructed, leading Mio and her students out of the briefing room towards the residential quarters, passing several members of the research team along the way, "The rooms are laid out so that there's two people to a room, so I'll leave to you who bunks with whom." He explained as they walked "Kuroki-san, out of deference to your position you've been afforded a private room, across the hall from your students."
"Thank you, Lelouch-san." The redhead offered, smiling at the boy even as an argument broke out between Taitou and Mifune over who got to bunk with Masato and Saitou, only to blink as she spotted something through the window.
At first she thought it was a trick of the light, her eyes playing tricks after the long flight over. But no, standing against the white backdrop was a slender figure, dressed in white, her long green hair blowing in the wind as the snow whirled around her.
"Kuroki-sensei?" Lelouch called out, startling the woman out of her daze, his lavender eyes laced with polite concern "Is everything alright?"
"Y-Yes, just fine…" Mio assured the youth, though she took a moment to compose herself nonetheless, before pointing out the window "Who's that woman out in the snow?" she asked carefully "Is she a member of the research team?"
"Woman?" Lelouch repeated, his brows rising in confusion as he blinked at her "There aren't any women on the research team, what on earth are you talking about?"
"Then who's that out there in the snow?" Mio demanded, pointing out the window, only to blink as nothing but the barren arctic wasteland stretched out before her "But…I saw…"
"It's probably jet lag." Lelouch assured her, his tone laced with concern as he directed her towards the door to her room "Get some rest, I'll bring you something to eat later."
"Yes…thank you…" Mio offered, the redhead allowing herself to be led to her room, deciding to follow Lelouch's advice and hit the sack early, as it was clear she was still suffering from the jet lag. After all, people certainly didn't go around vanishing into thin air, not in real life.
That Night...
'Come…'
Mio's eyes snapped open, her breath hitching in her chest as she lay there beneath the thick woollen blanket she'd been provided with. She been deep asleep, a dreamless sleep thankfully, when that strange, tempting voice had called out to her, the feeling of another mind, alien and yet inexplicably familiar, brushing against her own jarring her back into consciousness.
'Come…'
As if in a trance, she rose from her bed, pulling on her hastily discarded clothing and outer protection with an urgency that would've been alarming had she been in her right mind, some distant part of her noting that it was dark outside, a covered plate of sandwiches and a canteen resting against her nightstand.
None of these things mattered to the redhead however, the only thing that held her attention was the voice, the voice that was at the same time both terrifying and enticing, like the whisper of the serpent from the garden of Eden.
Pulling on her boots, the redheaded professor slipped out into the darkened halls of the residential quarters, moving swiftly and silently, with a grace she never recalled possessing, though that hardly stopped her from using it to its fullest as she slipped out into the night, the icy bite of the air causing her cheeks to redden as she made her way towards the entrance of the cave in the rock face where Professor Ashford had been planning to take them come the dawn.
Had she been in her right state of mind, she might have wondered why there was no-one guarding the entrance, or why the barrier which should have impeded her path was down, but she wasn't and so did not hesitate to cross it, climbing up the roughly hewn path, slipping occasionally on the ice, making her way slowly up to the cavern in the rock face.
'I can't see a thing…' she muttered, grimacing as she made her way deeper into the cavern, never thinking for a moment how stupid she was being. Had she been in her right mind, she might have at least stopped to pick up a rope and a light, or even leave a message telling them where she'd gone, but the voice was growing stronger now, stronger and more insistent, as if she were drawing closer with each step, each passing breath.
'This way…' it beckoned, as sweet as honey, as hot as a kiss, as deadly as a viper's venom, the words guiding her through the darkness better than her eyes ever could, until finally, with one last stumbling step, she stepped into a massive chamber, her eyes widening at the sight that lay before her.
It was a palace, perfectly preserved against time by the mass of frozen rock that surrounded it on all sides, its walls and pillars fashioned from a material that even in the gloom of the cavern seemed to emit some trace of light.
"I know this place…" she whispered, shivering at the sound of her own voice even as she ran a tentative finger over the stonework, ignoring the biting cold at her fingertips as she moved deeper into the palace, moving instinctively, as if she'd been here her whole life "This is…!"
The name escaped her, literally dancing on the very tip of her tongue, the redhead struggling to remember even as she came upon a set of massive stone doors, the carving in their centre almost obscured by the dust of ages, though she could make out the general shape of the earth in the background. Reaching forward, she brushed her hand against the carving, as if searching for some means of opening the doors, only to jerk back as they opened of their own accord, her eyes widening as the darkness beyond surged out to meet her.
Men's Quarters, Ashford base...
Saitou awoke with a jolt, the silver haired teen's brow adorned with a cold sweat as he stared around the room he shared with Mifune, Masato having opted to bunk with Taitou in order to ensure they got SOME measure of peace.
"Did you feel it too?" Mifune called out, the younger blond eyeing the elder with a look of concern, his features unnervingly pale in the moonlight , though Saitou was certain his own weren't much better off "That surge of dark power…"
"I did…" the elder blonde muttered, looking up just as the door to their room opened, admitting a pale, grim faced Masato and an equally troubled Taitou "You two as well?"
"So I wasn't imagining things…" Masato muttered, the sole brunet looking troubled as he closed the door behind them "I had a bad feeling about this trip for some time now…"
"Tell me about it…" Taitou muttered, rubbing his hair in frustration "I mean, humans suddenly stumbling across the Gaia Library after so many centuries? It would just figure something would go wrong, wouldn't it?"
"Calm yourselves." Saitou ordered, his tone commanding, meant more for Mifune and Taitou than Masato, though the brunet clearly took it to heart anyway "Regardless of the situation, this is the closest lead we have to finding HIM, since we all awoke in this timeline. Threat or not, I will not sacrifice that lead for anything."
The others nodded solemnly, their features lined with the same look of determination that adorned his own, understandable really, when you considered the importance of their task, the sheer magnitude of the responsibility resting on their shoulders, which would have broken the hearts of lesser men.
A knock on the door caused them to tense, Masato gesturing for the others to take cover while he crossed to the portal, crouching near it, ready to assault whoever tried to break in, only to blink as the door opened to reveal a worried looking Lelouch Lamperouge "Lelouch-san? What's the matter?"
"Masato-san? What're you doing here?" the younger brunet stammered, only to shake his head, deciding to put the fours presence together to the side for now "Never mind that for now, have you seen Kuroki-sensei? She's not in her room and the sentries at the cavern have gone missing."
Masato barely had time to send a look of alarm towards Saitou when a wave of unopposed malice washed over them, followed swiftly by the sound of explosions cutting through the air, the group dashing to the window just in time to see one of other buildings go up in a blaze of glory.
"That's Professor Ashford's lab!" Lelouch yelled, the teen racing out into the hall before Masato could stop him, the brunet looking over his shoulder at Saitou for confirmation before following after the distraught teen, the other three hot on his heels, racing out of the residential building and into the orange lit night sky.
It was a massacre, all around pieces of building and vehicles lay everywhere, as if someone had set off a bomb in the centre of the building. In the darkness, they could hear the roar of the flames, the hissing of the snow as it melted, the howls of the men as they were burned alive and the dying echo of the blast.
"Good God…" Lelouch stammered, looking sick to his stomach at the sight of the destruction before him "Who…WHAT could have done this?"
"I did." A voice called out from above, it's tone sharp and mocking, filled with dark amusement that sent a shiver down the teen's spine just before something rammed into him with the force of a freight train, his body bent in a sickening shape as he was flung into the darkness and out of sight.
"LELOUCH-SAN!" Mifune called out, his eyes wide with alarm even as the rest of the group went on their guard, looking up at the sound of mocking laughter to see a figure hovering above them.
It was a woman, made obviously clear by the fact she was dressed in a tight blue dress that left little to the imagination, hugging her body in all the right places, leaving her shoulders bare, save for two strange little spikes, whilst drawing particular attention to her considerable bust. In one hand, she carried a massive clawed sceptre, and a strange black grown adorned her head resting atop a mane of fiery red hair that trailed behind her like a wave.
It was her face, however, that captivated the men, not for its beauty, for she was certainly rather comely, nor for the madness that shone from it, and it was quite offsetting let me tell you, but for its familiarity, for despite the manic leer that adorned it, and the inhuman eyes that gaze out past it, it was clearly the face the group knew all too well.
"Kuroki…Sensei?" Saitou muttered, staring at the woman in shock, only to scowl as the woman's lips quirked mockingly, revealing pointed canine fangs "No…you're not Kuroki Mio…" he countered, his tone cold as he glared up at the redhead before him, mentally kicking himself for not recognizing her earlier "There never was one, was there?"
"As expected of the Leader of the Middle Eastern forces…" the redhead applauded, her tone laced with mocking approval as she ran her eyes over the group "It's been a long time, General Kunzite, I see you've managed to reform the Shitennou while I was asleep."
"Beryl…" Taitou snarled, his features lined with righteous anger as he made to step forwards, only Masato and Mifune's hands keeping him from doing so, though they too levelled glares of hatred at the woman "You bitch, you've got some nerve showing your face to us!"
"Oh come now, Jadeite, don't tell me you're still carrying a grudge after all this time?" she smiled coyly at the group "Really now, and after I went to all the trouble of getting spruced up for our reunion…"
"You broke Metalia's seal, didn't you." Masato muttered, his tone calm despite the anger in his eyes and his grip on the struggling Taitou "You allowed that twisted monster back into your heart, didn't you?"
"But of course," Mio, or rather, BERYL scoffed, waving a hand dismissively, as if the man had said something completely retarded "I can hardly reclaim our lost empire while I was sleeping, could I?" she smiled darkly at them "Speaking of which, I could REALLY use some help with that…"
"The only HELP you'll receive from us is in reaching the afterlife!" Saitou declared, waving a hand to the side as he glared at the woman "We will not fall for your lies a second time you witch, we did so once, to our shame, and our prince paid the price." At his words, the other three seemed to calm down, though the anger in their eyes remained constant "Rest assured Beryl, if you plan to assault the earth as you did the Moon Kingdom, then we, the Four Kings, shall stand against you!"
"Such pointless heroics…" Beryl sighed, only to raise her staff, a light shining from the crystal ball resting on the claws illuminating her features, causing a massive shadow to be cast behind her "I suppose a remedial lesson in manners is necessary!"
The group grimaced, bracing themselves for the oncoming assault, their eyes locked on the mass of darkness behind Beryl as it formed into a massive shadow, so wide it seemed to blot out the stars overhead, the sound of mocking laughter soon followed by their screams of agony.
Off to the side...
A solitary figure stood against the icy backdrop of the arctic tundra, her white clothing fluttering in the winds along with her bright green hair. She stood, solemnly, as the screams of the four young men tore through the air, her golden eyes impassive, as if their suffering meant nothing to her, and in truth, it didn't, as she had been her far longer than they had, and had long detached herself from the weaknesses of human society.
"And so once again, the Four Kings fall to the Queen of Darkness…" she muttered, her tone as impassive as if she were talking about the weather "Really, what did they expect, challenging her head on like that without their full powers?"
That being said, this left her in a bit of a quandary. Now that Beryl had awoken, it was only a matter of time before she turned her attentions towards the Earth, with it's rich, untapped sources of energy. To do that, she would need an army, and with her seizing of the Generals, she'd received the keys to obtain just that right off the bat.
"Stupid failsafe's…" she muttered, scowling in distaste as the screams died away, "I told them I could handle things myself, haven't I always? But no, they had to make it so the King and his men had direct access…as if the enemy never thought to brainwash people from time to time."
Shaking her head, the figure in white turned and began to walk away from the ruined camp. There was nothing she could do here, she lacked the power and the resources, and with the Generals captured she needed to find new allies, preferably ones with a little more resistance to being brainwashed by skanky possessed redheads."
"Hm?" she wondered, tilting her head to the side as the sound of pained breathing reached her ears. Walking towards the source, she found herself gazing down at the broken form of the boy from earlier, who had accompanied the Generals out during the initial attack.
'Ouch…' she muttered, eyeing his broken form with something akin to pity in her eyes 'I'm no doctor, but I'm fairly certain the human body was never meant to bend like that…in so many places.' She shrugged offhandedly, before reaching up, opening the segment of her outfit that covered her breasts, removing a single black, cuboid device, not unlike a memory stick, with a sticker on one side with an elaborate letter Z, only the tail and head of the letter had been lengthened and rounded so they almost touched, making it appear as if it were a slashed '0' 'Still, waste not want not…'
So saying, she knelt down, rolling the mangled corpse over so that it was lying on its back, wiping the blood from the admittedly handsome features with an almost tender expression on his face. 'So young…' she muttered, and for a moment, hesitation warred with her iron control, only to be quenched, as this was no time for sentiment, tearing open his blood-stained, tattered clothing to reveal his chest, before pressing the button on the memory stick.
"ZERO!" it declared in a deep, masculine voice, the woman raising it above the youth's heart for a second, before jabbing it down, the memory stick embedding itself in his chest, sinking into it as a black and purple bioelectric glow covered the body.
She steppwed back, knowing instinctively that what was about to happen wasn't going to be pretty, and yet she did not look away as the youth's eyes snapped open, his lavender eyes glowing an intense red as a scream unlike anything the human vocal chords had been designed to create tore from his lips, his body, bent and battered by Beryl's assault, righting itself with a sickening crack as he contorted on the ground as if he'd been jabbed with a live wire his screams echoing across the barren landscape for sever agonizing seconds, before finally coming to a halt, the youth slowly sitting up with a grunt.
"Welcome back to the land of the living." The green haired woman offered, her tone almost amused as she watched the youth get to his feet "How do you feel, Zero?"
The youth looked up, and a wry smirk, filled with confidence, maturity, and just a hint of amusement formed on his face, a smile that was both alien and yet suited the youth's face perfectly, as if it belonged there in another life, his formerly Amber eyes now glowing a bright crimson, the pupils covered with a crest like a bird in flight.
"Reborn."
And so begins what i am tentatively calling Codename: Skull, for now anyway.
Basic plot Rundown: Beryl has broken the seal on Queen Metalia and regained her memories, seizing control of the Four Kings (Shintennou), as well as the Gaia Library, the source of all the Earth's knowledge. Fortunately, C.C, who you could technically call the Phillip of the series, managed to slip away without being seen, meaning Beryl and her Generals are forced to rely on whatever memories they can pull out of the Library and mass produce to create their army. To counter this, C.C revives Lelouch with the Zero Memory, turning him into her champion and means of battling the Dark Kingdom's Doppants.
Now to address certain plot points which may arise from all this, should this fic get written.
1. Why would Beryl need an army of Doppants? The answer, to me anyway, is quite simple: Doppants are created from Gaia Memories, which in turn are fragments of the TRUE Gaia Memory, from which all earth's knowledge is located. In other words, the True Gaia Memory, and by proxy, the mass produced memories, draw their powers from Planet Earth.
Herin lies the genius behind using a Doppant over a youma: The Senshi's powers, at their current level, are designed to take on Youma. Doppants, being powered by the planet itself (or at least a fraction of it's energies) are in the same class as a Senshi, and are in fact technically STRONGER, as unlike Mars, Mercury, or even Moon, they are actually STANDING on the source of their power, meaning it's closer to home.
Some people might nitpick this and point out that Tuxedo Kamen/Mask is still pretty weak despite being the PRINCE of earth, and possessing the Golden Crystal. I counter this by pointing out that Mamoru isn't using, at least not in this fic, his true power, which will be revealed much, MUCH later. In the meantime, rest assured that not ALL of the enemies will be Doppants, as the Senshi still need time to shine on their own, the Riders will simply be there to help out a lot more often.
2. If C.C used the Zero memory to revive Lelouch, shouldn't this be called Codename: Zero? As I said, the title is tenuous at best at the moment, it could change depending on a matter of elements, though the Zero memory plays an important role in all this, rest assured.
3. Is this going to be the same thing as your Skull/Geass/Fairy Tail crossover? Yes and No, Yes, this is a Lelouch as Skull fic, but unlike that one, Lelouch won't be using multiple Gaia Memories, (C.C's a skinflint) though he will receive several upgrades as time goes by.
4. Which season is this set during? Some of you might be asking why I would assume this is a question. Some of you might have missed the subtle little hint I left in the title. For those who didn't, give youtselves a cookie, for those who did, this is where things get a little different, as I'm starting off not in the timeline if Sailor MOON, but during the brief period when the only Senshi fighting was Sailor V.
As such, a lot of libterties will be taken with the plot, as let's face it, while entertaining, V's enemies were a little too shoujo for most people, and some were actually usedto influence the anime youma that Moon faced during her initial romp.
5. Will other Riders be making an appearance? Yes, though not until much, much later.
6. What pairings are there? Unlike GSL, I'd like to think the pairing in this one will be Lulu x Mina, but let's face it, with Lelouch's sexbeam (Copyright of all badass shounen heroes, as patented by Alucard) he's literally a walking babe magnet. So if you've got suggestions, by all means, send them through.
7. How far will this go? If it gets out? Let's just say the Sky won't be the limit...