Disclaimer: I don't own anything belonging to Code: Geass or Naruto.
"Zero!" Kallen shouted as she and Tamaki knelt down next to their knocked out leader.
Lelouch seemed to be in reasonable condition but Kallen's eyes widened when she saw a crack slowly forming on Lelouch's mask.
'Oh crap!' Kallen's eyes widened in fear.
She accepted Lelouch for who he was because she had seen him, seen the hatred for Britannia for what they had done to him and his sister but she wasn't sure if Tamaki or the others were ready for it. They weren't racist or prejudiced towards Britannians as much as some other Japanese soldiers and or groups but that didn't mean it wouldn't cause trouble in the Black Knights.
"What do we do?" Tamaki asked.
"We check for any injuries first and then we get to a safe place." Kallen looked at the open doors of the empty elevator shaft. "So far there are no cannibals trying to kill us."
"Don't jinx us!" Tamaki whispered harshly.
Kallen rolled her eyes as she slipped Lelouch's arm over her shoulder and stood up, thankful that Lelouch wasn't so heavy. That was probably the only good thing about his poor physique despite Naruto's attempts to make Lelouch exercise more back at the academy.
"Tamaki, keep an eye open for an infirmary of some kind. We don't have anything to treat Zero if he's badly hurt." Kallen said quickly.
"Okay. Do you think we'll have to…" Tamaki looked at Zero's cracked mask.
"Only if we have to." Kallen answered.
She needed to try and keep Lelouch's secret for as long as possible. There was no telling what would happen if the Black Knights found out their leader was actually an exiled Britannian prince with a power to control people.
CRACK!
Kallen stopped upon hearing a cracking sound and her eyes widened as part of Lelouch's mask broke off, showing his dark hair and soon enough the entire mask split off, falling onto the ground.
Tamaki gasped, seeing Lelouch's face which had a facemask covering the bottom half of his face . "His mask… Is that… Zero… He's just a kid!"
"Oh crap." Kallen whispered.
Nunnally honestly had no idea what to expect when she touched C.C.'s hand but the moment she did she overwhelmed with images of places and people she had never seen before in her life.
'What-What is this?' Nunnally wondered as her mind tried to process everything.
'An interesting question.' C.C.'s voice supposedly whispered into her ear.
'Tsunade?'
'That is a name I've used as a disguise at Ashford. The name I use with your brother is C.C.' The strange girl replied.
'What's going on?' Nunnally asked as the visions kept on flashing, threatening to blind her.
'What you are seeing are images of places in the world long forgotten by humanity but not by its will. It is part of the collective… The sea of transmigration… The World of C.'
'World of C?'
'Yes and from that world comes two powers that will allow you to crush Britannia…'
Nunnally's vision was clouded with darkness as a copy of herself appeared in front of her but Nunnally gasped when her duplicate's left eye flashed red with a bird like crest shining around the pupil.
'The first is Geass, the Power of the King…'
Another Nunnally copy appeared next to the first one only both of her eyes had a purple sclera with multiple black rings surrounding a black dot that was the pupil.
'And the second is the Rinnegan, the Eyes of God.'
'Geass? Rinnegan?' Nunnally repeated.
'Your brother was given Geass because he lacked the physical strength needed to handle the Rinnegan. The power of Geass is focused on mentality while the Rinnegan's power requires physical strength and endurance.' C.C. explained, appearing behind Nunnally. 'The power of Geass manifests differently with each person. Your brother's manifested as the Power of Absolute Obedience, giving him the ability to compel anyone who makes eye contact with him obey any command he gives them.'
'That is brother's power?' Nunnally's widened in shock.
'Yes. Another person's Geass, the Power of Absolute Vision allows them to see with a longer and enhanced vision and can paralyze anyone she makes eye contact with while another had the Power of Absolute Mind Hearing which allowed them to hear anyone's thoughts over a small distance. As for the Rinnegan… There are only six people I can grant this power to.' C.C. said as she walked around Nunnally. 'Deva, Asura, Animal, Human, Preta, and Naraka. These are the six paths and I can make anyone who I grant the Rinnegan to one of these paths. Right now I have only three paths, leaving three more open. They are Deva, Preta, and Naraka.'
'Paths?' Nunnally said, trying to process everything.
'Yes but be warned as each power comes with a price. If you accept Geass than it'll eventually be permanently active, leaving you unable to turn it off and thus you will be isolated. If you accept the Rinnegan than you will share your vision with five others who are my paths and you will need to learn to control this power or everyone around you will be in constant danger from you.' C.C. stopped behind Nunnally. 'The question now is which power will you choose?'
The two Nunnallys held out their hands to the real Nunnally who stared at them. 'I have to choose which power.'
'Yes.' C.C. nodded. 'It is your choice, Nunnally Vi Britannia.'
'… I only have one more question.' Nunnally turned and faced C.C. 'Is my brother doing all of this for me? Did he kill our brother Clovis for me?'
C.C. raised an eyebrow. 'That is a question I cannot answer for Lelouch. I can only say that there is more to what happened with Clovis than you currently know. If you wish to understand you must ask Lelouch that question yourself.'
Nunnally frowned but restrained herself.
Even though Tsunade or C.C. as she preferred to call herself did not answer her question she did have a point. If she wanted answers she needed to ask her brother herself instead of asking his friends behind his back.
'Very well.' Nunnally turned and faced her duplicates. 'I have made my decision.'
She reached out and touched a hand…
And screamed when she felt the power travel through her body.
"They are in the facility." Rolo stated through the phone.
" Good. Sierra's Geass is working perfectly, I assume. "
"Yes sir." Rolo nodded.
" Good. We can keep Zero and his Black Knights contained until we have them cornered. Have you located C.C.? "
"Negative. She is not with Zero or any of the Black Knight groups that have scattered throughout the facility."
" … I see. Continue the plan. She will come soon enough. "
"Yes sir." Rolo nodded and hung up.
He looked at the multiple monitors showing the Black Knights in the abandoned facility.
"Your time will come soon, Zero." Rolo whispered as his right eye flashed red. "You and your allies will fail and C.C. will be back with us."
Lelouch felt like his head had cracked open like an eggshell when he finally regained consciousness and when he opened his eyes he saw Kallen and Tamaki looking down at him. Kallen looked concerned and Tamaki looked like he was ready to freak out for some odd reason. Lelouch put a hand to his face-
Wait, his face?
Eyes widening Lelouch looked around and saw the broken half of his mask in Kallen's hands and realized what must have happened. 'My mask must have broken during my fall. Damn it, I never made a plan if my identity was compromised this soon.'
"Kallen, this is Zero… He's just a kid… And he's a Britannian!" Tamaki realized upon finding his voice again. "Holy crap Zero is a Britannian!"
"So am I, Tamaki! Does that make me the enemy?!" Kallen snapped.
That caused Tamaki to pause. "Uh… no… But you are Japanese too."
"Yeah but remember I'm also half Britannian no matter how much I hate to admit it." Kallen said dully, not liking the little reminder.
"Uh…." Tamaki seemed lost for words.
"Let's not forget it's understandable that Tamaki would be confused by the fact that a Britannian, even a full blooded one would be rebelling against his nation." Lelouch stood up and rubbed his head. "Considering that you discovered who I was and didn't kill me I probably should have seen this coming. Even though we could have used their help it's actually good that Seizan and Shinryoku aren't here or they would have never let me hear the end of it."
"Kallen knows who you are?!" Tamaki blurted out.
"Not at first but I found him at the school I go to and after some hard negotiating I agreed not to tell everyone who he was immediately but I asked him to consider sharing his identity with some of the others sooner or later." Kallen sighed and looked back at Lelouch. "I didn't like it but I agreed as he was the best chance we had."
"But why help us?" Tamaki questioned.
"Why indeed." Lelouch grunted and a scowl on his face. "Why would a Britannian rebel and wage war with his own people?"
"Lelouch, your eye." Kallen pointed at Lelouch's left eye.
"Oh right." Lelouch closed his left eye and tore off a piece of his face mask, wrapping it around his eye as a patch. "Just so you don't think I'm using my Geass on you. With my eye covered I can't use my Geass to make you obey any command I might make. You also have those visors I gave you in case I remove the cloth."
"Wow… Thanks." Tamaki had almost completely forgotten about Zero's Geass. "I didn't think about that."
"In the meantime the reason I'm fighting against Britannia is simple: they've taken from me as much as they've taken from your people." Lelouch continued. "In fact they've probably taken more since I lost two homes to them and I was forced to carry my sister who was blind and crippled at the time of the invasion through a field of corpses and lied to her about the smell."
Kallen flinched at that while Tamaki's face turned slightly green as they both saw the rage and anger in Lelouch's eyes. It was what convinced her that Lelouch was on their side despite lying to them from the beginning. Actually he didn't really lie, they just all assumed he was Japanese and that he was just fighting to free Japan which wasn't far from the truth. Everyone had built up their own ideas and believes of what Zero was and though he hadn't denied it he didn't confirm it either.
"My sister and I came to Japan along with a number of Britannians before the war and we had no idea of the invasion that happened several months later. In fact I believe the plans for the invasion were kept secret to most of the empire until the time was right because I doubt there wouldn't have been any Britannians in Japan when the invasion started." Lelouch continued. "Knowing the Emperor I believe it was his intention to not allow anyone in Japan, his own people included, know about the invasion and if any Britannians were caught up in the war and killed they were just written off as weaklings who couldn't survive."
"Jeez, that's harsh." Tamaki admitted. "So that's why your fighting with us? They killed your family in the invasion?"
"Something like that." Lelouch admitted. While he didn't want to tell the whole truth he could tell enough to hopefully get Tamaki to trust him. "My sister was left blind and crippled and she only recently recovered but it was long enough for the pain of being betrayed to sink in. Needless to say I haven't been proud of my own nation or people for a very long time now and recently I decided that it was time for a change."
"By helping us take back Japan?" Tamaki asked.
"It's a start." Lelouch said with a small smile. "If Britannia loses Japan they lose a large amount of sakuradite and word of their defeat would reach the E.U. and the Chinese Federation who would take it as a sign that Britannia is weakening and it would embolden them to attack and other Areas would suffer as their own resistance groups would be galvanized by the loss of Japan. And if that happens than the Japanese will have a chance to rebuild and not worry about Britannia launching a massive counter attack to take back a country that defied them."
"… Wow." Was all Tamaki could say.
"Not the word I was expecting but I'll accept that. The only people who even know my secret aside from Kallen are my knights and the heads of Kyoto." Lelouch continued.
"They knew who you were the whole time?" Tamaki remembered the encounter with Taizo Kirihara.
"They knew I was in Japan at the time of the invasion but they didn't know I was Zero until I unmasked myself before Kirihara." Lelouch answered. "That's why he placed all of Kyoto's resources at our disposal. He knows just how much I despise Britannia and he knows just how dangerous I can be."
Tamaki and Kallen both shivered when they saw Lelouch's eyes flare again with anger, hate, and determination.
"Wow… I didn't think it was possible for Britannia to screw its own citizens over." Tamaki finally said after a moment of silence.
"Believe it. More than one person has suffered because of Britannia's cruelty and their social Darwinist attitude but none of them had the courage to speak up. Speaking out against the Empire is a death sentence not just for you but your family and anyone who knows you. I did that and for that my blind and crippled sister and I were shipped off to Japan as political hostages and left to die in the war zone when the invasion started." Lelouch explained reluctantly. "That's how things are run in Britannia, strength and obedience is the only way to live. I've suffered as much as the Japanese have but I knew that I wouldn't gain any trust if anyone knew Zero was a Britannian, at least not yet. I had considered revealing myself at a later time, when I proved myself with my promise of taking back Japan and showing the entire world that Britannia can be defeated. So, Tamaki let me be direct before you suddenly decide to tell Ohgi and the others about me."
Tamaki almost gulped when he saw Lelouch's eyes narrow at him while Kallen put a hand on Tamaki's shoulder to help him stay calm.
"I swear if it's the last thing I ever do I will obliterate Britannia!"
Nunnally gritted her teeth from the pain as the power she chose seemingly embedded itself into her. Her body felt like it was on fire but slowly the pain faded away and what was left was a feeling of…
Invincibility.
She felt like she was strong enough to take on the entire Britannian Empire by herself even though she was left gasping for breath as she fell on her knees.
"Lady Nunnally?" Sayoko asked as she knelt down in front of her young charge, watching as the young girl lifted her head…
And Sayoko was greeted with a secondary vision added to her own, showing her own shocked face as Nunnally's eyes, now having a purple sclera and multiple black rings stared at her.
Nunnally had become one C.C.'s Paths like her and gained the Rinnegan!
"Sayoko?" Nunnally asked as she slowly lifted her hand to touch Sayoko's cheek and the maid brought her hand up to Nunnally's with a smile.
"It's all right, my lady." Sayoko closed her eyes and when she opened them Nunnally had two pairs of vision, one staring at Sayoko and the other staring at…
Herself?
"Your eyes…" Nunnally whispered seeing both herself and Sayoko with the same kind of eyes that were different than anything she had ever seen before.
"Yes, my lady. I too have the Rinnegan." Sayoko nodded. "I gained these eyes after I promised to help your brother in his rebellion."
"You knew?" Nunnally asked with slightly widened eyes.
Sayoko nodded with a regretful look on her face. "Forgive me, my lady. Master Lelouch made me swear not to tell you. He did not want you to know that he embarked on a quest of vengeance against his former homeland or that he was prepared to stain his hands in blood."
Nunnally had a small frown on her face but smiled. "Don't be sad, Sayoko. I do not blame you. I know you would protect my brother from anything."
Sayoko smiled. "You are too kind, Lady Nunnally."
Nunnally stood up, staggering a bit as she found herself feeling that her body was a little different and harder to move. "I feel lightheaded."
"It'll take a few minutes to get used to, Lady Nunnally. I was the same when I gained this power." Sayoko put a hand on Nunnally's shoulder to help steady her. "The Rinnegan does not just change your eyes it changes your body. It'll take some time to get use to as the Rinnegan forces the body to create a circulatory system to channel the energy properly and it leaves you light headed."
"I definitely feel lightheaded." Nunnally rubbed her head. "These eyes… I remember Tsunade, no I think her name is C.C."
"You can still call me Tsunade when we're in the company of others." C.C. said with a grin. "But you can actually call me Sensei since I will be helping to train you."
"C.C.? Why do you call yourself that?" Nunnally questioned.
"That my dear is my little secret." C.C. remarked with her usual grin that she liked to use when she was annoying anyone. "All you need to know is that I gave this power and it was used to cure you of your blindness."
"You cured me of my blindness?" Nunnally asked, her mind suddenly filled with images of…
She remembered waking up in a hospital bed, unable to move her legs
She remembered her father coming to see her and she saw his eyes flash red, saying something that caused her to close her eyes, never to open them again.
Nunnally cried out as she fell onto her knees, causing Sayoko to kneel next to her. "Are you all right my lady?"
"I remember… my father….I woke up… I couldn't feel or move my legs and my father came… He said something and I saw my mother's body on top of me… She was all bloody and I… I closed my eyes and never opened them…" Nunnally's Rinnegan eyes began to tear up as she looked up at C.C. "Those red crests… They were the same eyes you showed me when you… He has those other eyes…"
"Geass." C.C. finished, looking slightly sympathetic. "Though it is not as powerful as the Rinnegan it has the power to bring entire countries to their knees. It is a power that a few in this world have and one of them is Charles zi Britannia. His Geass is the Power of Mental Manipulation which allows him to suppress or alter the memories of anyone he sees."
"He altered my memories?" Nunnally looked up. "Did he do the same thing to Lelouch?"
"No. He prefers not to use his Geass on his family but he chose you to make you Lelouch's greatest weakness. He knew Lelouch would seek justice for his mother's murder and decided that you would be used to keep him grounded." C.C. explained, knowing that Nunnally was more concerned about the possibility that Charles had used his Geass on her brother than the fact that he had intentionally blind and crippled her.
"He… He did this…" C.C. could see fury rising in Nunnally's eyes. "He made me weak… He made me dependent on my brother… He made me helpless… WHY?! WHY DID HE DO THIS TO US?! WHY DID HE CRIPPLE ME AND EXHILE US?!"
C.C. actually took a step back as Nunnally's new Rinnegan flared, highlighting her fury. "I cannot say why he did it. All I know is that he needed the two of you out of the way."
"… I hate him. I hate him. I HATE HIM!" Nunnally shouted as she stood up, looking at C.C. with absolute hate in her ringed eyes that seemed to glow eerily, as if manifesting her rage for all the world to see. "HE STOLE MY LEGS AND MY SIGHT TO MAKE ME A BURDEN TO MY BROTHER! Well he's not going to get away with this! Now I understand… Why my brother became Zero… It's because of our bastard father and what he's done to us… He's not going to get away with this… From this day forward I swear if it's the last thing I ever do I will obliterate Britannia!"
Sayoko and even C.C. were shocked to see the fury in Nunnally's eyes, seeing the same kind of fury before in Lelouch's and realized that Nunnally was exactly the same as her brother: a lost child of royalty that harbored enough hate and rage that would destroy everything in their way.
'If only Charles and Marianne could see this now. I can't even imagine how they'd react to this.' C.C. thought as Nunnally looked at her. 'Perhaps the one thing more dangerous than Lelouch was in fact his little sister, their daughter.'
"C.C… I believe it's time for my training to begin." Nunnally said, looking C.C. in the eye. "I have a rebellion of my own to plan."
"Well…" C.C. slowly grinned, interested in what she had started. "Let's get started."
Both Lelouch and Kallen were relieved that Tamaki agreed to keep Zero's identity secret for now. The last thing they needed was the rest of the Black Knights reacting badly to the idea of a former prince of Britannia leading them, even if it was the son of a Britannian commoner that had become a member of the Knights of the Round and than an Empress Consort. Kallen didn't want to admit but back when she was… proud of her Britannian heritage she looked like to Empress Marianne along with a great many other commoners and nobles for reaching the top of the Britannian Empire with her skills as a pilot. Kallen had read up on Marianne during her research on Lelouch and Nunnally and remembered her as the woman who piloted the prototype of the Knightmare Frames: the Ganymede and becoming known as the 'Flash'.
It was then Kallen remembered attending a few parties as a little girl with her father and she remembered seeing the Ganymede in action which left her shaking with awe. She knew the Ganymede was at Ashford Academy since Milly's family designed it and she remembered thinking about how much she wanted to learn how to pilot a Knightmare when she saw the Ganymede in action. Of course when Britannia invaded and enslaved Japan she put all those thoughts to the back of her head and pretended they never existed. But now she was fighting Britannia with the son of the woman who had been her idol for a time which almost made her want to laugh.
Of course Lelouch obviously didn't have any of his mother's skills but she had seen his intellect in action and knew he was dangerous in his own way.
'He sure has a way with words.' Kallen thought in her head. 'If not for Naruto to keep things honest I'd honestly be more irritated with him and possibly C.C.'
She realized that she knew less about Naruto and C.C. than she did about Lelouch and they were the ones who gave her and Lelouch their powers while they had powers of their own that was even greater and more dangerous. Kallen shook her head to get back on track as she heard growling sounds and knew that the monsters in the facility were getting close.
"Oh. We gotta get moving!" Tamaki yelled as they started running through the hall again.
At the end of hall was a door that led into an office and they quickly barricaded the door with a few chairs and a desk.
"Great, now what?" Kallen rubbed her forehead.
"I guess since, as they say, the jig is up I can go ahead and reveal a few more tricks." Lelouch said as he pulled out a tri-pronged kunai. "Tamaki, get ready to have your mind blown away."
"Uh?" Was all Tamaki said as Lelouch threw the kunai onto the ground.
There was a flash of yellow light and standing in front of Lelouch was Naruto, dressed in simple blue pants, a black T-shirt, and a dark jacket with orange highlights.
"Hey, Lelouch. It's about time you called me…" Naruto looked around and saw Kallen and a startled Tamaki behind him. "Oh… Hey, Kallen. Tamaki, you're here too? Lelouch actually showed his face to you? Guess working on those trust issues paid off."
"Not now, Naruto." Lelouch sighed and closed his eyes. "We're in a bit of a situation."
"I noticed. You didn't make it back and Nunnally was getting worried." Naruto remarked. "C.C.'s with her and keeping her distracted. So what happened? That tip said there was something here that had to do with whatever Clovis was up to."
"It seems this place was a set up. We were attacked by people who were affected by Geass, turning them into rabid monsters." Lelouch explained.
Naruto scowled. "The Geass Order? I'm not surprised. We've been kicking Britannia's collective assess for months now. Those bastards must be getting pretty steamed to set up something like this."
"Uh… Who is this guy?" Tamaki asked out of the blue.
Naruto smacked himself on the head. "Dumbass! I can't believe I forgot!" He reached into his jacket and pulled out his fox mask. "Recognize me now, Tamaki-san?"
"You're Seizan?!" Tamaki exclaimed, pointing incredulously at Naruto. "You're a kid like Zero!"
"But I am also more badass than Zero." Naruto chuckled as Lelouch rolled his eyes. "Oh come on, Lelouch. Get a sense of humor."
"I'll consider if we make it out of here alive." Lelouch retorted. "But we have bigger problems. We got separated from the others, into groups of three. We don't know if they're still alive or not."
"No problem." Naruto said as he looked around the office. "They're still alive. They're moving through the facility but Ohgi's team is on the far end while Todoh's moving down the middle."
"How can you tell?" Tamaki asked.
"Oh, Lelouch and Kallen didn't tell you. I got a few gifts of my own that is different from their Geass and one of them is that I can sense the life force of the rest of your team." Naruto explained casually, ignoring the gobsmacked look on Tamaki's face. "Lelouch did say that Shinryoku and I have the ability to block his Geass."
"How the hell do you have a power like that?" Tamaki asked.
"I found a lamp with a magic inside that granted me three wishes." Naruto said with smile, ignoring Lelouch and Kallen's eyes twitching at the obvious lie.
"Really?" Tamaki's jaw nearly dropped.
"No, but I tell people that story anyways." Naruto laughed. "I'm actually a ninja who uses a secret art created by a priest thousands of years ago as a way to promote piece. Funny thing about that, it didn't work out so well."
"… You made that up too, didn't you?" Tamaki accused.
Before Naruto could answer Lelouch decided to speak up. "Putting aside the levity, Naruto we need your help. We need a way out of the facility and find the others before we're all killed."
"Well, finding the others isn't going to be an issue, Lelouch. It's getting out of here and making sure nothing here gets out onto the streets and making sure that no one's recording us. The last thing you need is Britannian soldiers showing up at Ashord Academy, right?" Naruto threw a kunai at a security camera.
Lelouch winced as he forgot that one detail. "Right. In our haste to find shelter I forgot about disposing of any evidence. I hadn't even taken into consideration that the fact that my mask was destroyed that I'd be recognized if the footage was found by Cornelia."
"Relax, boss. We'll take care of that before we leave." Naruto waved it off. "Right now we just need to focus on meeting up with the others." He tossed his mask at Lelouch. "Here, you can use my mask for cover."
"What about you?" Lelouch asked, catching the mask.
"Don't worry about me. Focus on staying alive." Naruto answered. "At the very least if the others do see me they won't think I'm a Britannian." He walked over the door, pulling out a kunai. "So there are people acting like cannibals because of Geass? I'm sensing feelings of unrestrained blood lust from the other side of the door."
"Essentially, yes." Lelouch nodded as he put on the mask.
"Can you stop them?" Kallen asked.
"Hell yeah." Naruto nodded with a grin. "I just need to get a better look at them."
With that said he kicked the door open and in rushed a crowd of Geassed cannibals at Naruto who took out his kunai as the Henge around his Rinnegan vanished and he looked each of them in the eye. There was a flash from the Geass crest in eyes and the cannibals froze and then collapsed onto the ground.
Naruto walked over and put his hands on their heads, closing his eyes. "The Geass that made them like this has been cancelled and I just erased their memories so they won't be scared for life for what they did while they were controlled."
He pulled out a small scroll and in a quick puff of smoke he sealed them all into the scroll. It was a small comfort to save a few people who were the victims of a dangerous power and a cruel mind that used them as pawns for some twisted plot, just so that they could try and capture Cera for their insane plans. Naruto also made note of the figure he saw in their minds, a shadow figure with a red glowing Geass crest on the left eye. This was the monster who had turned the people in this complex into monsters and set them loose, killing anyone who was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The three behind him watched as Naruto made quick work of the cannibals with little time and effort without actually killing them.
"Whoa…" Tamaki gaped as Naruto turned and faced them. "How'd you-Those eyes!"
"Oh." Naruto realized that he didn't cover his Rinnegan back up. "Sorry about that. I forgot you didn't know. Well, you know how Zero said Shinryoku and I could counter his Geass. Well, these eyes," Naruto pointed his ringed eyes. "Can counter and remove any form of Geass that exists. It is called the Rinnegan."
"Rinnegan?" Tamaki repeated in confusion.
"Anyways the Geass seems to drive them mad to the point that disabling the effect does little does stop them. I guess it doesn't affect memory like Lelouch's does." Naruto frowned. "They are driven to such madness that cancelling the Geass doesn't work."
"That's unsettling." Lelouch stated. "A Geass that causes madness and cannibalism is something that could endanger the entire country."
"Yep. This screams 'set-up.' Someone wanted us here." Naruto looked around with a wary look. "If they didn't want any knowledge of Geass falling into the wrongs hands they would have killed everyone here."
"A set up? How? Why?" Kallen asked.
"Was it for us or someone else?" Lelouch questioned, quickly catching on.
"Probably both. They wanted the Black Knights to find this place because they suspect someone they're looking for us with us. With all of these Geassed cannibals around they probably thought that the Black Knights would be wiped out with only the person they are looking for left alive. Too bad she's not around." Naruto said, wondering if that brat V.V. was behind this.
"Are you talking about C-I mean Shinryoku?" Kallen asked, quickly covering up her mistake.
"Yep."
"Why would they be after her?" Tamaki asked.
"Because she's the one who gave Zero his Geass in the first place." Naruto answered, ignoring Lelouch's glare. "Britannia can't afford her running around and granting Geass to anyone who is not under their control."
"So they're after her." Kallen grunted. "And we fell for it."
"Not entirely. You guys are still breathing which counts for something." Naruto pointed out. "All we have to do is find the others and get out of here."
Lelouch nodded. "He's right. The sooner we get out of here the better."
With everyone in agreement they followed Naruto out of the room and back down the hall with Naruto quickly disposing of any cannibals that were in the way.
"So why couldn't C.C. show up?" Kallen asked. "She could have simply left Nunnally with someone to make sure she didn't suspect anything."
"Yeah… About that." Naruto rubbed the back of his head while making sure to avoid eye contact with Lelouch, not that Lelouch's Geass could have done anything.
"Naruto…" Lelouch spoke calm and low but it was enough for Kallen and Tamaki's spines to have a sudden chill. "What happened?"
"Nunnally… tried to sneak out and look for you." Naruto answered, omitting a few details.
"She what?" Lelouch's eyes widened. "Why the hell would she do that?"
"Maybe because she's starting to suspect you. It's not like she's still blind and crippled anymore. She's up and running around and she's starting to put two and two together. You didn't actually think she'd sit still and wait for you, did she?" Naruto retorted.
"What did you do?" Lelouch harshly questioned.
Naruto rolled his eyes. "We took her out for pizza. It was either that or tell her to go to her room and wait for her to sneak out because that's what kids do when they got a feeling something is going on and when they are told to not do something. They get curious and then sneak away when the gullible grownups aren't looking."
"I don't believe it…" Lelouch shook his head. "I can't believe she would do that. Doesn't she realize how dangerous that is? How could she act so irresponsible and reckless? Doesn't she realize the danger she would be in?"
"Well she's not blind and crippled anymore and she's not falling for the 'working late' crap anymore either. She either knows you're up to something or she thinks you might be in trouble and actually she'd be right on both those things." Naruto retorted and then smirked. "Face it, Lelouch, Nunnally may act the sweet little sister but she can be as smart as you are and just as observant and that was before she got her sight back. Giving her back her sight and legs has made her determined to make up for the last seven years of being immobile and completely dependent on you and you obviously weren't expecting this."
Lelouch grunted. "And you were?"
"The fact that she ran laps around the academy with you puking your lungs out was proof enough for me. Come on, you can't say you weren't expecting things to be a little different? Boy you are in for a big surprise then." Naruto chuckled.
"Can we please get back on track? We're kind of in the middle of a situation right now." Kallen cut in, slightly annoyed that the two were easily distracted by something as simple as Lelouch's little sister rebelling against her big brother.
'Like you were any better. How many times did you argue with your big brother when he was trying to protect you from getting involved in the fighting?' A traitorous little voice in Kallen's head pointed out, reminding of how protective Naoto had been towards her and how she argued with him over almost every little thing.
Naoto had naturally been against letting Kallen join the resistance, believing it was too dangerous for her and had only relented when Kallen agreed to have an education which meant she had to go to school, a school full of stuck up Britannians. It hadn't been an easy compromise but in the Kallen had grudgingly relented but had only gone to school when she had no choice and made a quick cover of acting sick and feeble so she would have a legitimate excuse to skip school for an uncertain amount of time without drawing suspicion from anyone, even from her bitch of a step mother who neither cared about Kallen of what she did when she was out. In Kallen's mind going to school was a waste of her time since all she did was listen to a biased Britannian history of how they were great while everyone else, the Japanese included, were not worth the dirt on their shoes. Of course if it wasn't for her going to school she wouldn't have met Lelouch, Naruto or C.C. or gained her Geass which she knew was a benefit but she now knew more than almost anyone how dangerous it was in the wrong hands.
Many times she thought she was seeing herself and her brother when she watched Lelouch and Nunnally, seeing how protective Lelouch was of her, remembering how protective Naoto was of her when she was little. It was eerie of how similar the two were when Naoto had joined the Japanese resistance, rejecting his Britannian heritage and Lelouch was actually a Britannian prince. Well technically he was a former Britannian prince but to some Japanese resistance groups it wouldn't matter. They'd either try to kill him or use him and Nunnally as hostages to try and force Britannia out of Japan but Kallen knew it wouldn't work if the Emperor himself had thrown his own children away as political hostages.
And no matter how much Kallen hated Britannians she would never think of doing something like that, especially to someone who didn't deserve it.
"She's right. I don't know the whole story but we got to move." Tamaki agreed with Kallen who quickly shook her head to get rid of her distracting thoughts.
"Fine but we'll talk about this later, Naruto." Lelouch added with a glare that Naruto shrugged off. "Now we need to regroup with the others and find a way out of here."
"Got that covered." Naruto held up a tri-pronged kunai. "I didn't mark any of the others but I can find them in a flash. We just need to move and be quick about it."
"You have a plan, Naruto?" Kallen asked.
"I got a few ideas." Naruto answered with a grin.
"He's here." Rolo said to his cell phone, watching the image of Naruto taking out the security camera on the monitor before him.
" Good. Sanitize the complex and capture the bodies. "
"Understood."
The halls suddenly lit up with red lights as klaxons rang throughout the underground facility, earning the group's attention.
"Now what?" Lelouch muttered.
"SANITATION SEQUENCE ACTIVATED RELEASING NERVE GAS." A female electronic voice spoke through the speakers.
"Nerve Gas?!" Kallen and Tamaki shouted.
"Damn it!" Lelouch cursed himself for not seeing this coming.
"Everyone stay close to me." Naruto said as the vents began to release the gas.
"But what can you do?!" Tamaki shouted, becoming hysterical.
"JUST DO IT!" Naruto shouted, his Rinnegan blazing as he made a hand sign.
Just as the gas almost engulfed them it was pushed back by a blast of wind that spun around the four, keeping them safe from breathing in the toxic gas. Acting on reflex Kallen activated her Geass when she was sure Tamaki wasn't looking and saw that Naruto was manipulating the air molecules around them, spinning the molecules like some kind of…
Whirlpool.
It was spinning but it was repelling the gas instead of sucking it in, forming a protective barrier around them.
'He keeps on doing these things and I don't even think it's even half of what he can do. Just where on the Earth could he have gotten this?' Kallen thought as she looked at Naruto, wondering where in the universe he got this power.
Lelouch had realized what Naruto was doing but unlike Kallen he didn't need his Geass to figure out what Naruto had done. 'This power… I see more of it every day and I know that not even Naruto knows the limits of it. I could have used it but according to him and C.C. I don't have the physical training to fully use the Rinnegan's powers but my Geass is still a valuable weapon.'
"Everyone all right?" Naruto asked, continuing to keep the nerve gas away.
"We're fine." Lelouch answered, ignoring the shell-shocked Tamaki. "It's a good thing you are here now or we would be dead."
"But what about the others? Ohgi and Todoh will be killed." Kallen said, concerned for the others who were separated from them.
"Don't worry, Kallen. I wouldn't let any of you guys go into any dangerous hell hole without some kind of protection." Naruto said with a reassuring smile. "After all as my sensei used to say 'Those who break the rules are trash but those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash'."
"Wow. That sounds pretty cool." Tamaki admitted.
"I can't believe we actually agreed to come down to this hell hole." Minami said as they barricaded the door, keeping the cannibals from getting into the cargo room. "Whose bright idea was it to come down here anyway-Oh right it was Zero!"
"I didn't see you arguing with him at the time!" Yoshida retorted.
"I was outvoted! Even Todoh and the Four Holy Swords agreed to come down here!" Minami exclaimed. "And look where it got us!"
"Yeah, you bitching every two minutes about it." Inoue grumbled. "Come on, it's not like Zero knew what was going on down here and we all agreed to come down so we're not exactly in a position to complain about it."
"Will you guys knock it off and check our ammo?" Ohgi said, looking at his pistol. "I got five rounds left."
"Twenty rounds left for me." Inoue said, inspecting her rifle.
"We all got around twenty to forty rounds left." Yoshida said once everyone checked their weapons. "We're going to run out soon and it'll be after we either starve to death or those cannibals knock the door down and eat us alive."
"It won't happen. We're going to make it out of here alive." Ohgi said, looking at everyone he was charged with protecting. "Zero won't let us die."
"There it is again. The whole 'Zero will save us' crap. Come on, Ohgi, you got to admit he dragged is down here. Who cares about this whole 'Geass' shit? We're just fighting to take back our home from those Britannian bastards. What does he fight for?" Minami asked.
"If he didn't fight for us he wouldn't have bothered to help us all." Ohgi reasoned. "He saved us and he even informed us of his Geass when he didn't have to. That was a big risk, especially if we ever thought he could be controlling us but our thoughts are our own. We chose to follow him and look at what we've accomplished since then."
No one could argue with that, considering the victories the Black Knights have gained since Zero appeared.
"So we wait for him to come and save us?" Minami questioned.
Before Ohgi answered the group heard roaring and fighting sounds on the other side of the barricaded door followed by bodies collapsing with loud thudding sounds.
"What was that?" Yoshida asked, looking at the door.
"Don't open it! We'll be killed!" Minami whispered harshly.
"Hello?" A voice said, knocking on the other end of the door. "Are you guys still alive?"
Ohgi's eyes widened in shock. "Seizan?"
The group carefully cleared out the barricade and slowly opened the door to see one of Zero's personal bodyguards standing on the other side of the door, waiting for them like they were late for an important appointment or something.
"Hey guys." Seizan said casually.
"Seizan, when did you get here?" Ohgi asked, pushing the door open. "How did you get here?"
"Oh I had Zero bugged just in case he got into bigger trouble than he thought. Despite how good he is we usually keep a backup plan ready for shit like this." Seizan shrugged. "I'm glad to see I wasn't too late."
"You and me both." Ohgi smiled in agreement before frowning. "What about the others? Is Kallen all right?"
"She's safe. Right now we're combing this place for everyone and then we are getting out of here. I've set explosives to blow this hellhole sky high." Seizan explained, gesturing them to follow. "Come on, the others will be waiting."
"All right. We're finally getting out of here." Inoue sighed in relief.
"What about the cannibals?" Ohgi asked as they followed their cloaked ally.
"Got it covered." Seizan answered simply.
"Well this is a fine little mess we got ourselves into. Guess all that Geass-shit that Zero warned us about was real." Urabe said, smirking as usual despite the situation.
"Are you seriously joking in a time like this? We are in the middle of hiding from an army of cannibals because of this…'Geass' and because Zero brought us down here." Chiba scowled as she leaned against the wall.
"That's not true, Chiba. We agreed to come down here to see this Geass power with our own eyes. We all had our doubts and we needed to see it to understand that it was real." Todoh said, quickly preventing the potential argument that was about to break out.
"Colonel…" Chiba whispered, looking at Todoh with a surprised look.
"Zero warned us about his Geass and why he would always wear his mask around us and he even warned us about the Emperor having a Geass of his own, something he could have chosen to keep hidden but he told us anyway. He must known that some would regard him with mistrust and suspicion if he told us this but he warned us that his Geass only works through eye contact and even gave the Black Knights special protection in case something went wrong. This is not the actions of someone who would seek to us for his own gain." Todoh said, looking at the Four Holy Swords. "This is the action of someone who has given up any hope of a normal life and dedicated solely to one purpose and one purpose only ."
No one argued with him about that but then again it wasn't like they expected him to. They looked to him as their leader and their source of strength and wisdom.
It perhaps was the price to be paid for being known as 'Todoh of Miracles'.
" Well said, Todoh-san ." A voice on the radio said, causing the Holy Swords and their leader to jump in surprise. " Didn't expect that did you ."
"That voice, isn't that the guy who wears the fox mask who is one of Zero's bodyguards?" Urabe asked out loud.
" Glad to see you remember me. " Seizan said dryly.
"Where are you? Are you aware of the present situation?" Todoh asked, holding the radio.
" I am and I'm moving to rescue you all. I've already rescued Zero, Kallen, and Tamaki followed by Ohgi's group. I'm just getting to you guys now. "
"Seizan, you must be cautious. These people-" Todoh started.
" I know, Todoh-san. I recognize Geass when I see it but don't worry. It has no effect on me and if you forgot Shinryoku and I can cancel its effect. " Seizan said to calm him and the Holy Swords down.
Todoh narrowed his eyes as he remembered Zero saying that his personal knights were capable of blocking and canceling his Geass's effect as another incentive to avoid being accused of controlling the Black Knights or any allies. "Are you saying you cancelled its effect on the people in this facility?"
" For the most part, yes. I'm cancelling the effect on anyone I see but I still haven't found who did this but you can bet I'm going after the bastard that did this next. This is horrific. What they did to the people here is just despicable. "
Todoh nodded in agreement. "We can help you."
" Thank you but no. You do not have the experience in dealing with people who have Geass and we don't know how exactly it is used. " Seizan said before a knocking sound was heard at the door to the room the Holy Swords had barricaded themselves in. " Oh and that's me knocking on the door right now. Can you open it up? "
The group exchanged an uneasy look as they slowly pulled away whatever they used to barricade the door and slowly opened it to peek outside.
On the other side of the door was Zero's knight, Seizan who was lazily waving at them. "Hi, how are you guys doing?"
Most the Holy Swords were put off by his casual attitude but put aside as they stepped out to greet him and thank him for saving them.
Urabe was a possible exception. "I like this guy."
"Thanks." Seizan nodded with a chuckle. "Come on, I'm getting you guys out of here."
"What about the Geass? We can help you." Todoh asked.
"Don't worry. I won't let it touch you." Seizan tapped the eyeholes in his mask. "I'll take care of the Geass and then I'm blowing this place to hell."
"Are you sure you don't need help?" Todoh asked again, not wanting to leave a comrade alone in a dangerous situation.
"Thank you, Todoh-san but I will be fine. I've been in more dangerous situations than this and I came out just fine. It's you and the others I'm worried about. They tried to flood the place with nerve gas but I stopped it just in time." Seizan explained, patting himself on the back for his, or rather the real Naruto's quick thinking.
The instant the facility was beginning to be flooded with nerve gas Naruto used his shadow clones to track down the other members of the Black Knights and appeared via C.C.'s new technique which he could use as well, Takamagahara. He then used another special power the Rinnegan gave him, the ability to create clones in some kind of shadow world that could move through solid objects and quickly saved everyone from the nerve gas the same way he had saved Lelouch, Kallen, and Tamaki. Once he had saved them he forced the gas back into the vents and sealed them.
"We heard the computer saying it would start flooding the area with nerve gas but nothing happened. That was you?"
"In a manner of speaking. I barely had the time to shut it all down and make sure it wouldn't open up again. Look I don't have a lot of time to explain. You five have to hurry now because I stirred the hornet's nest. Those bastards will do everything they can to stop us from leaving." Seizan quickly changed the subject.
Todoh reluctantly nodded. "Very well. We're meet up with the others and leave."
Seizan nodded back. "And I'll catch up."
" He stopped the nerve gas and he's somehow in three places at once? How is this possible? What kind of Geass does this intruder have? "
"Unknown." Rolo reported, watching the security monitors showing Seizan or rather Naruto appearing in different locations at once. "What do we do?"
" We do whatever it takes to capture him and find out where C.C. is hiding. I will not tolerate anymore failures. We will stop him here and now. "
"Understood." Rolo nodded and stood up.
Time to capture one the Empire's most annoying enemies as of late.