Code Geass: Mosaic of Memories
R1: Rebellion

A/N: I'm gonna try to make as few author's notes as possible in my chapters, but I'll make one here. This story has been in the works since late in 2017, even though it was published on August 10th, 2019. A lot of thinking has gone into this story, so it's going to be a long journey going forward. This story will use elements from most canon material, such as "Lelouch of the Rebellion", "Akito the Exiled", "Oz the Reflection" and bits and pieces from "Renya of Darkness", the light novels and other manga. There will be original characters, but don't worry, you're gonna love them.

I just wanna give a shout out to all my friends on CGA for supporting this story since 6 months before it was published. Without them, this story wouldn't be possible. Now, without further ado...

Memory 1
Descent Into Darkness

As the sun began to set over the snow capped peak of Mount Fuji, C.C. sighed with nostalgia. For nearly seven centuries, she'd witnessed the same event take place more times than she could possibly remember. When she watched this one in particular, she had to admit that it felt somewhat different. Given her perspective, it was without a doubt one of the most beautiful sunsets that she'd ever seen.

From where the immortal girl stood, within the penthouse suite of Babel Tower, all of Tokyo and the surrounding decimated landscape glowed like a sea of fire in her golden eyes. Every viewable surface reflected the blood red color of the setting sun, giving off an otherworldly and enticing aura to all who witnessed it. It was majestic, and was well worth what she spent for the immaculate home.

From inside the penthouse, the artificial lighting prevented the illusory spectacle from affecting the furniture and walls. Rather than a deep red, the shaggy carpet and marble walls were a pristine white, accented by golden decorations. They matched her attire; a fluffy white robe stitched together with golden silk, accompanied by fluffy white slippers. The wall that separated the apartment from the outside was made of insulated glass, allowing a spectacular view for any occupants while preventing a fall from 3000 feet.

The extravagant home was awe inspiring, but if she was completely honest with herself, she didn't really care for it. Over the years, she had grown tired of waiting for something miraculous to show up in her life to give it meaning. Mundane material things, such as this home and the clothes she wore were appreciated, but they were never truly satisfying. The only two things that she wanted in life were exciting new experiences and the savory deliciousness of pizza.

She couldn't imagine a world without pizza. For as long as she could remember, nothing else could make her smile as much as a slice of pizza could. The way that the cheese melted in her mouth, coupled with the crispy crust and spice of the pepperoni, and not to mention the unique flavor of the olives; it was a delicious marriage of flavors made in heaven.

As she stood before the window while petting her long, bright green hair, the thought of her future dinner had flooded her senses, causing her stomach to growl. "What's taking them so long? I swear, it better not be cold by the time they arrive," she complained in a silky voice as she spoke to her reflection in the window. It was not a moment after the words left her mouth, however, that the doorbell finally rang.

With a quick dash across the room, almost tripping herself as she passed the coffee table, she violently opened the door. "Well it took you long enough. It's been longer than 30 minutes, so I get it for free," she complained to the delivery boy, who just stared at her in a mixture of awe and disbelief, due to her gorgeous appearance, sultry voice and less than proper demeanor.

"Ma'am, we… stopped that policy years ago. Pizza Hut doesn't sell pizzas for free anymore," he said with a shaken voice as he handed over the box and receipt. C.C. pouted, "Really now? Well, that's disappointing, but you really ought to hurry it up from now on. Pizza gets cold quickly, and I hate cold pizza."

After C.C. signed and returned the receipt, she proceeded to close the door in his face, still frozen with infatuation. As soon as she turned back towards the room, her cold mood immediately changed for the better. She quickly hopped onto the large leather couch in the center of the room before opened the box. After gently taking out a slice, which fortunately was still hot, she tossed the box onto the glass coffee table in front of her.

Just as she imagined, the first bite was intoxicating. She kicked her feet up onto the table and grabbed the TV remote with her free hand. When she turned on the massive flat screen television that stood across the room, it was already tuned to the news.

"Hello everyone, and welcome back to our daily program! Today is August 10th, 2017, and the seventh anniversary of Area 11 becoming a colony for our glorious empire. I hope you all had fun with your celebrations!" the news caster said. C.C. sighed before taking another bite. She knew that over the course of time, it doesn't matter who owns the land; they always lose it in the end.

After switching over to the weatherman to give the weekly forecast, the screen eventually returned to the news caster. "Now, on to our top story. As everyone knows, Princess Cornelia has been steadily paving her way through the Middle East since February. According to our sources, Her Highness's campaign is expected to come to an end sometime this fall, establishing Area 18 as a new colony."

As the words left the newscasters mouth, C.C. sat up in attention. She remembered that not too long ago, the emperor, Charles zi Britannia, had set his sights on the area. Since she knew the emperor on a personal level many years prior, she had a vested interest in his actions. Despite their former relationship, she considered everything he did as interesting, so she watched closely.

"Of course Her Highness has been met with resistance in every area she's conquered, but reports in the military have revealed something rather odd as of late. For more on this, we head on over to our Middle Eastern correspondent," the newscaster continued, before the screen switched over to a woman at a military base in a desert.

"That's right Bill, apparently there have been sightings of an enemy Knightmare that we've never seen before. During negotiations attempts for their surrender, led by the Prime Minister Prince Schneizel, the Middle Eastern Federation has denied any relation to this enemy unit. Whether the foreign ambassadors have told the truth or not on this matter is up to debate," she said, before the screen switched over to a video. "As you can see in this video, taken from one of our own Sutherland's Factsphere sensors as they approached Her Highness during a night raid on a compound, it appears that the lone enemy Knightmare has been targeting Her Highness directly."

As the correspondent spoke, the screen began to show Cornelia's signature horned purple Gloucester, staunchly holding its ground against the enemy, which was clearly, yet unbelievably, superior. With the limited coloration of the night vision setting, the frame was dark, possibly black, and the cockpit appeared to be either white or silver. The unknown assailant was mercilessly attacking with two large dark knives, while rapidly launching and retracting a slash harken harpoon from its chest.

From C.C.'s point of view, the fight was enticing. The enemy used a style of fighting that she'd never seen before, relentlessly attacking the enemy while expertly dodging every counterattack with blinding speed. No matter what Cornelia tried, her lance and rifle could never hit their mark.

Almost as soon as it had began, the duel was over when the reinforcements had finally arrived. Seeing as how they were outnumbered 8 to 1, the obsidian KMF quickly disappeared into the desert, blending in with the darkness of the moonless night. Had the reinforcements not shown up, it's questionable if the "Goddess of Victory" would've survived.

As the video ended, the broadcast switched to a split screen between the newscaster and the correspondent. "Well, it appears that our princess held her own! No matter what the enemy threw her way, Her Highness showed the true strength of Britannia!" the newscaster exclaimed with confidence.

"Absolutely Bill, the enemy was a coward for fleeing from the fight. Our empire's strength is truly unstoppable! All hail Britannia!" the correspondent beckoned, throwing her fist up as a salute. Once the report ended, C.C. couldn't help but scoff. If she had been the one running the news, she wouldn't have even ran the story in the first place. It was such an obvious show of weakness, yet the media still attempted to spin the story that Cornelia was stronger than she actually was compared to her potential killer.

C.C. honestly couldn't say why she bothered to watch the news anymore. They were always spreading fake propaganda, pandering to the nobility and nationalist ideals of the empire. Instead of subjecting herself to any more lies, she quickly changed the channel.

As the screen started to show Knightmares fighting each other in a competitive league of sorts, C.C. collapsed onto the couch and groaned. She tried to entertain herself as best as she could, but after living for so long, most things lost their meaning. If it wasn't pizza, it had to be something unique if it was to satisfy her; something temporary and rarely seen, like a sunset, or something brand new and fun.

Inevitably, the hands of the clock on the wall continued to turn, just as her hands went around the pie, picking off one slice at a time. Ever since she started living in Tokyo, her life had become a circle, going around and around without change. Instead of fighting the lack of meaning in her life, she had learned to accept it, rather than desperately pursue those fleeting gems of satisfaction. The effort just wasn't worth it in the end.

Even though she was incapable of doing so, she felt like she was slowly dying with every second that passed. Her ultimate wish was to die, and she knew how, but for now she was just too tired to even try. Each time she did try, she always came close, but the cost of death was far too great for her. The thought of condemning another person to a fate such as her own tore her up inside, and since she was essentially ending her own life in the process, the fear of actually dying scared her even more. After living for so long, she had become annoyingly attached to her pitiful life.

As she closed her eyes, tuning out the world around her to clear her head, her attempt at finding peace was interrupted by an ethereal woman's voice. "C.C., get up!" they exclaimed. C.C. sat up as was ordered and exhaled, before casting her gaze upon the ghostly figure of her best friend. She was standing on the other side of the table with her hands on her waist in a disapproving pose.

"It's good to see you too Marianne. I was just lying down, I'm tired...," C.C. groaned. Marianne was the favorite consort of Emperor Charles from when C.C. knew the man, and the two women had been best friends ever since the day they met. Unfortunately, Marianne wouldn't accept her response. "No C.C., I've seen you like this before. You're depressed… you should meet new people. Go attend Ashford Academy with Lelouch and Nunnally!" the ghost suggested with a small amount of glee.

C.C. shook her head. "I'm only here to spy on them. I'm not going to get to know your children personally," she said in refusal. Ashford Academy was a Britannian private school that was only a short drive away from the tower she was living in. Marianne's children, the exiled Prince Lelouch and Princess Nunnally, lived there on their own, completely unaware of the fact that C.C. occasionally watched over them.

Marianne crossed her arms. "Don't call it spying. You're just making sure they're okay, that's all," she said with a pout. C.C. stood up and approached the ghost. "Marianne, listen to me. I'm only looking after them because you told me to, but it's not worth it. I can't protect them from V.V…. nobody can. Just be thankful that Lelouch has been smart enough and lucky enough to hide himself and Nunnally from the world."

While she spoke, C.C. attempted to hold the ghost's shoulders, but her hands went straight through them. C.C. stared at her hands, thinking to herself that she was an idiot; she knew that she couldn't actually touch Marianne. After C.C. attempted to touch her, Marianne frowned. "I suppose you're right, he has done a good job of hiding himself and his sister, but you can still give him Geass. Give him a better chance to defend himself if they're ever found!"

As Marianne said this, C.C. glared at her. "You know what Geass can do to a person. He's your son… do really want to put him through that?" she asked with a dark and judgmental tone, but the ghost remained still. "I do know that, but it's like I said, he needs a fighting chance. If V.V.'s followers go after my children, what happens if you're not there to stop them? He can't hide himself and his sister forever you know."

To what Marianne said, C.C. understood her point. Even though C.C. was capable of giving Lelouch Geass, she couldn't go through with it. The power of Geass brings solitude, and is the first step towards allowing a person to take her immortal life. Either the Geass user went mad, lost control, or actually managed to take her Code and live forever, which in itself was a curse.

Immortality wasn't the only thing that C.C. possessed. It was an aspect of having Code, a force of nature capable of giving her immortality, along with the ability to bestow the power of Geass unto others, as well as the ability to communicate with Marianne. Code was mysterious, as unknown to her as the meaning of life itself. She received it from a woman who had it centuries prior, but as for where it originated before that, she had no clue.

Code and Geass were either gifts or curses, depending on a person's perspective. Each person she gave Geass to had a different ability, and either died because of it or lost their mind. She never wanted to see either of those fates fall upon a person because of her ever again, so she refused to bestow it upon others. "I'm not giving him Geass, Marianne. That's final," C.C. answered with a glare. With that, Marianne gave up. "Fine, be that way. All I'll say is that I appreciate the Geass that you gave me, and I haven't lost my mind at all. It saved my life."

C.C. sneered. "Yeah, now you're just a parasitic soul, sharing the body of a young girl without her consent. How is Anya by the way?" she asked, to which Marianne scowled deeply. "I am not a parasite! I mean sure, she suffers from a bit of memory loss because of me, but I've done my best to give Anya the best life possible. She's doing quite well because of me, if I do say so myself."

C.C. sighed at her friend. Marianne lost her physical body after being assassinated by V.V., and ever since then, her soul had latched onto a young girl named Anya Alstreim, who had witnessed the assassination take place. Marianne's Geass, which she had received from C.C., gave her the unique ability to turn another person's body into a host for her soul. In short, she was a spiritual parasite.

"Well it's not like I can ask you to stop, now can I?" C.C. asked rhetorically. She knew that Marianne had no control of her Geass, so she was stuck with Anya for the time being. "No, I suppose you can't. Hopefully one day I'll… C.C.? What's wrong?" Marianne asked after noticing a strange look on C.C.'s face. "I don't know. I thought I heard something outside the door."

As C.C. slowly stood up, she heard a man yell. "Breach!" they exclaimed, only a second before the solid steel front door was blown off its hinges. C.C. ducked behind the couch just in time to avoid any shrapnel from the explosion, then scoped out the area once the dust had settled. She glared at the armed men who started to fill the room, all wearing mahogany colored uniforms.

She had seen them before on the news; they were the royal guard of Prince Clovis, the Viceroy of Area 11. The city she was in, the settlement of Tokyo, was the capital city of Area 11, formerly known as Japan. At the center of Tokyo, the third imperial prince, Clovis la Britannia, sat as the viceroy of the entire former nation. Apparently, for some unknown reason, he had found her.

Once all of the guards were gathered inside with their guns drawn, the last member of the group walked in. He wore a flat cap and a short black cape over his left shoulder; an officer, from the looks of it. As his boots clanked against the metal door, he started to grin. C.C. accepted the fact that she couldn't hide, so she stood up with her back to the window.

C.C. scowled as Marianne looked in the same direction. Marianne couldn't actually perceive C.C.'s surroundings, only the immortal herself, and C.C. was the only one who could see Marianne. "C.C., say something, what's going on?" the ghost asked with great concern. "So, Clovis sent his royal guard to capture me?" C.C. said, cleverly answering Marianne while addressing the officer at the same time.

"Yes, how astute of you. His Highness is quite interested in the fact that according to intelligence, you haven't aged in centuries. To be honest, I don't believe the intel, but no matter," he said as he pulled out a small device. It was an injector of some kind, attached to a vial of fluid; if she assumed correctly, it was a highly potent sedative. "Whether or not it's true, I have orders to bring you in dead or alive, preferably the latter," he continued with a devilish grin, before gesturing for two men to grab her.

As the men grasped onto her wrists and pulled her forward, she smirked at their mistake. Through skin contact, she was able to channel the power of Code to their minds, filling them with visions of suffering and pain. They came straight from her own memories, accumulated through centuries of being alive. All of the memories where she'd been hurt or killed were concentrated into a single touch. Like every rose, she had her thorns.

As the two men doubled over in agony, C.C. continued to back away until she hit the glass window again. In the corner of her eye, she could see the city below, now a midnight-black abyss glittering with lights. In this moment, she had a terrible idea. She turned around and kicked the window as hard as she could with her bare foot. With her second kick, the men tried to approach her, but they had second thoughts after seeing their fellow guards writhing on the floor. With a third kick, the officer screamed, "Stop! What do you think you're doing?!"

The officer was clearly only concerned with his mission, not her actual survival. Seeing as how her attempts weren't working, she grabbed the gun from one of the incapacitated soldiers and shot at the window several times, finally smashing through the glass. The sudden change in air pressure pulled everyone towards the hole, and as everyone fell to the floor, Marianne watched C.C. anxiously. "C.C.! What's happening?!" she cried out, to which C.C. smiled. "I'm so glad that you care Marianne. I'll see you soon," she said, before she leapt out of the window with her arms spread like wings.

As the officer yelled in rage, her body fell through the freezing cold air into the darkness of the night. If she had any other choice of how to escape, she wouldn't have picked jumping out of the window, but it was all she had. After what felt like forever, her body hit the ground like a bullet, killing her instantly and breaking every bone she had.

As the civilians in the area screamed in horror and called for help, C.C.'s body remained lifeless and broken. Her soul, on the other hand, had passed on to the other side. After hitting the ground, C.C. opened her eyes to find herself in an empty space that was completely white. She was alone, transparent and naked. She couldn't feel anything; not her own skin, the temperature, or even gravity itself. She couldn't breathe, blink or move; she was just floating in a realm without logic.

She hated this place more than anywhere else. She wasn't sure if this was the afterlife, or just a place you go to before you cease to exist; purgatory, if her memory served her well. Either way, it made her feel trapped. It was this place that made her afraid of actual death. As she wondered how long it would take to resurrect, she pretended in her mind that she was curled up into a ball, protecting herself from the unfathomable reality she was now in.

Her plan was now in motion; all she had to do was resurrect before Clovis's troops collected her and then escape from the area. Code made her soul impervious to death, but not her physical body. If her physical form had died, she would have to wait for it to regenerate and reconnect with her soul; she compared it to a computer resetting itself after a crash. The process never made sense to her, but she had gathered that depending on how much damage was done to her, the length of time before resurrection could last hours. Given her cause of death, she wondered if she had enough time for her plan to even work.

The problem with this realm, which C.C. had learned from her time with Charles was called the "Collective's World", or "C's World" for short, was that it had no concept of space or time. It existed entirely for the soul, and it was lonely. She wasn't cold, but she wanted to feel warmth. She felt like she didn't exist if she couldn't feel her own body, and that felt demeaning. She felt weightless, but she couldn't fly.

After an unknown amount of time, C.C. began to feel something; a tugging sensation all over her transparent body. It was as if every molecule in her body was humming at the same frequency, resonating with reality. It was strange, but she knew what it meant; she was coming back to life. Her body was pulled straight and stiff, as though she was returning to the current shape of her corpse, and she prepared for what was to come.

After her eyelids were forced shut by the unnatural force, she regained control of herself, before proceeding to open her eyes as gasp for air, only to have a bright light shining directly into her regenerated eyes. She sat up on what appeared to be a flat metal table, then heard a loud commotion from behind her, followed by a startling thud.

She slowly turned around, only to see a group of five people huddled in a corner, along with a sixth one passed out on the floor. She assumed that they were all medical doctors, due to the white lab coats that they wore, stained with blood from her mangled corpse before she regenerated. She also noticed an immediate issue; she was completely naked.

"Hey you. In the middle," she growled, pointing at one of the doctors. "Y-Yes? W-what do you w-want?" he stuttered in terror; they clearly didn't expect her to fully regenerate and resurrect. Perhaps Clovis informed them about her eternal youth, but the prince wasn't aware of her ability to return from the dead upon her demise. C.C. sighed as she looked upon the group of misinformed doctors. "I want my clothes. Where are they?"

The one that she had pointed to, who had an ID badge clipped to his chest pocket that read "Dr. Joseph Fenette", stepped forward. "W-when you arrived, y-your clothes were r-ruined, s-so we discarded them… I'm truly sorry!" he answered, pleading for his life on his knees before what appeared to be an actual goddess. C.C. hummed in thought with a mischievous grin. "I see… I suppose we're going to have to play a little game then…"

After a few minutes of playing "Give your clothes to the angry immortal", C.C. dressed herself in whatever fit best, leaving all of the workers mostly naked. She noted that the backs of the lab coats read "Rosenberg Institute" in bold black lettering, which seemed odd for a morgue, which is where she assumed she had been taken. Rather than what she usually found in morgues, which she had resurrected inside of far too many times, there were medical devices that she'd never seen before.

"One of you, tell me what this place is. What is the Rosenberg Institute?" C.C. demanded, causing the doctors to cower in fear. They were all terrified past the ability to even respond, so instead of wasting her time with them, she left the room in search of clues. Once through the door, she was in a hallway. On the right end was an elevator, and on the left was a set of double doors.

Across from her was another door, but instead of having to enter, she looked into the room through a set of windows instead. On the inside, there was a metal chair with a crown-like device sitting on top, and there were multiple other devices of unknown use. With her curiosity piqued, instead of leaving through the elevator, she walked to the back room.

Once inside, she became even more confused. At the back of the room was a rack of white straight jackets, in the center was a large table, and on the side were three large metallic canisters. They were covered in gas pumps and various gauges, and were just big enough to hold an average person. It was clear by now that Clovis's forces had in fact captured her; just what she was afraid of.

They were going to experiment on her. That group of people weren't just doctors; they were scientists. Of course Clovis had wanted her immortality. The biggest question now was how he found out about it in the first place. As she pondered, Marianne's ghostly figure reappeared before her. "C.C., you're back! What happened, where are you?!"

"Marianne, I'm glad you're here…" C.C. replied, before proceeding to explain the situation to her. Marianne's face scrunched up in anger. "I can't believe that Clovis wants to experiment on you! How did he find out, that information is barely known by anyone! Did you tell anybody about it recently?!" Marianne fired off, furious at her stepson. C.C. decided it was best to escape for now; her priority was freedom.

"Marianne, I don't know anything for sure, but we'll talk later. I just have to- Gah!" C.C. exclaimed as she passed through the double doors, only to be kicked in the chest by the royal guard officer that had attacked her earlier. He had a furious look on his face, as did the rather rotund general standing next to him. "You bitch! You just had to be difficult, didn't you?!" he yelled with rage. The general pushed him out of the way, chuckling like the villain he was.

General Bartley Asprius, well known around the settlement for being Clovis's lapdog, was a cruel and spiteful man. He was infamous for treating his subordinates like cattle, frequently sacrificing their rights as citizens for efficiency. It was all for the sake of the Holy Britannian Empire, as was his excuse. "Well, at least we have you in custody now, and we've also learned that you're capable of coming back from the dead! How very interesting… I suppose the scientists can test out your ability to resurrect as well!" he said with a hearty laugh.

He turned to one of the scientists, Joseph Fenette, who had just entered with his clothes back on. "You! Don't ever let this happen again! Restrain her with the jackets, that's what they're there for!" he roared, forcing the scientist to sprint to and from the rack, now with a straight jacket in hand. As he approached C.C., the doctor shuddered in fear.

C.C. sighed in defeat. "It's okay… I give in. I won't bite," she said, before stripping herself down to put on her new wardrobe. After helping her into the jacket, the scientist nodded in thanks. She knew he would be killed for incompetence, and since there was no way out now, it wasn't worth putting a relatively innocent life at risk. He was probably a prisoner here as much as she was.

After she was strapped in, she found that it made her feel even more like herself. It reminded her of how trapped she truly was in life, doomed to exist forever in her fragile body. For some reason, it felt right to wear the jacket. One strap was placed over her mouth, preventing her from speaking. "Excellent. Now then, get to work! His Highness wants answers!" Bartley barked, before turning back towards the elevator.

Once the hallway and rooms were silent again, C.C. turned to see Joseph openly weeping. "I'm sorry… I'm so sorry, I didn't want to do this! I'm just a doctor! I pledged my life to help people, so that I can support my wife and daughter and make them proud! This isn't right!" he said, growing increasingly angry until he pounded the table in front of him. C.C. couldn't help but feel bad for him.

"Mmm," she hummed, attempting to communicate as best as she could with her eyes that he was forgiven. The doctor stared at her with widened eyes, then wiped the tears from his cheeks. "Oh God, I hope that you can forgive me… I'll try to make this process as easy on you as possible, I promise. For now though, I think we should get some rest, don't you think?"

With that, he called in the rest of the team, who all stood in awe of the marvel before them. All at once, one scientist opened one of the capsules; it folded open like a lotus flower, with four large petals revealing an empty space. Joseph and another scientist lifted her up and gently placed her inside, who appreciated the small kindness. "This will be where you'll stay most of the time. It's supposed to protect your body from harm, though I suppose that's not necessary, is it? Either way, we have to put you in here for now. We'll see you tomorrow, okay?" the doctor said with a smile.

Before pressing a button to close the petals, he whispered softly. "Goodnight, Code-R. Sleep well," he said, and as the light disappeared, C.C. looked up at him with sympathy. Not all Britannians had a moral compass. Once it was closed, she expected to be kept in complete darkness, but that wasn't the case. An array of warm lights automatically turned on, heating her like the sun in June. The canister started to filter itself, providing her with purified air. It was relatively comfortable, and not what she had expected.

As she tried to drift off to sleep, she was interrupted by a voice. "C.C., it's Marianne. I'm going to get you help, just you wait. Never forget that I'm on your side," she whispered, before returning the immortal to silence. She believed Marianne, so at least she knew that the cavalry was coming. Until then, she closed her eyes and began to fall asleep. On the bright side, this was going to be a unique experience.