I own neither Code Geass nor High School DxD.
It was the culmination of a life's ambition, a perfectly scripted play, carried out to perfection in a fashion that would make Shakespeare weak at the knees.
There was no pain, unsurprising really, as the blade piercing through his chest had been thrust through expertly, severing both muscle and bone in a single fluid movement, rendering him numb from the chest down.
He could hear the shock from the crowd, despite the eerie silence that had fallen over them all. He almost wished he could see their faces, looking on in awe as the Demon Emperor Lelouch vi Britannia, who had attempted to conquer the world by taking the EU hostage, was silenced by the renegade Zero, the masked revolutionary that had stirred the nation of Japan against the empire.
Only the captive members of the rebellion, the former Black Knights, looked on in confusion, though he suspected that several had a dawning understanding of what was going on. They, after all, knew his true identity, that HE was in fact Zero, and had 'used' them to pave his path to the throne.
All a lie, all a means to an end, to ensure that the world no longer deteriorated into a never-ending cycle of hatred and bloodshed, where people like his beloved sister would no longer live in fear.
'Nunnally…' he wondered, even as he spoke with Suzaku, his closest friend, and now his executioner, bloody fingertips trailing against the mask he himself had once worn, which shielded the Japanese Knight's face, a smile on his face as he bestowed his last instructions on the teen, even as he stumbled away.
He never felt the pain as he fell, his back hitting the walkway, leaving a bloody smear across the Britannian flag displayed there. He slid all the way, under the watchful eyes of the world, coming to a rest at the foot of the pagoda, broken, bloody, an oppressor dethroned before the oppressed.
A shadow moved in the corner of his waning vision, Nunnally, his precious little sister, the one that had first denounced him as a demon, now looking on in disbelief as he lay there, a smile on his face. 'It's over…Nunnally…' he wanted to tell her, but he couldn't even turn his eyes to look at her, no more than he could draw air into his ruptured lungs, nor move his leaden arms and legs.
"Big Brother, I love you!"
Those words, four simple words that, to the dying Emperor, carried with them a greater power than if God himself had spoken them. His lips parted, eyes turning upwards into the growing light, a smile on his lips as he tightened numb fingers around her own "I know…" he whispered, smiling all the while, even as the light gradually faded "I…destroyed world… and created…anew…"
And with that, Lelouch vi Britannia, 99th emperor of Britannia, passed away, his eyes shutting beneath the shining sun of his homeland.
Just before the monarch's eyes closed though, a brief image, a vaguely bird-shaped crest, shone red against his purple eyes…
Sunlight pierced through the stained-glass windows that lined the left side of the hallway, casting a kaleidoscopic mural of colours onto the white tile floor beneath her feet. The floor was almost completely silent, locked to all but a select few, and the air had a heavy weight to it, stagnant and deep. It was a hall of endless history, where kings had been crowned and heroes immortalized. It was the room in which the world was ruled.
Gabriel placed a hand against the cold surface of the golden door, her fingers consciously tracing the grooves in the ancient piece. Slowly she took a deep breath, pushing everything deep down that threatened to rise to the surface like a crashing wave, before letting the breath escape her lips slowly. Gabriel knew what she was stepping into, any sign of weakness and she would be eaten alive.
Glancing downward to take one final look at herself, Gabriel brushed off a little bit of dust she imagined she saw on the fine white material of her simple dress. Flipping her golden blonde hair which had been elaborately braided earlier that day back over her shoulder, Gabriel looked forward with serious emerald green eyes before pushing open the door.
Her wings unfolded with the sound of a thunderclap as soon as she stepped into the room, almost as if announcing her presence as one of the Great Seraphs. Each wing was beautiful, a flawless aerodynamic piece of art that glowed bright amongst the purest white in the universe and seemed to only further the opinion that God's gift to the angels was the appearance of perfection. Sparking to life like a star above Gabriel's head was her halo, a golden ethereal ring that burned the eyes of anyone with impure thoughts or soul.
The pure amount of holy light coursing through the walls of the large auditorium-sized chamber and radiating off of the single object in the centre would have been enough to blind a lesser being. Seven large thrones were arranged in a circular formation, each equally distant from the glowing book in the centre of the room that seemed to hum gently. A small sad smile appeared reflexively on Gabriel's face as soon as her eyes landed on the book which chronically recorded the final words of her father.
The smile soon disappeared as she glanced at the other occupants in the room, half of which were standing and shouting at each other over the book itself as if trying to purposefully add to the disrespect. Uncharacteristically, Gabriel felt her hands tighten into loose fists and it was only by taking another deep breath did she manage to unclench her fingers once more. More than half of her brothers were at each other's throats, the anger looking strange on their beautiful angelic faces as light weapons threatened to burn to life at any moment.
The loudest of the group was Raphael who also happened to be the largest of the Seraphim, densely packed muscle covering every inch of his body as his twelve white wings flared to life behind him. Long red hair tied back into a ponytail, Raphael's face was contorted with rage although his eyes were hidden behind the pitch-black sunglasses he wore and had one of his giant hands wrapped around the collar of his brother, Metatron who seemed just as enraged. Metatron was tall just like Raphael, both angels standing at around six foot four, but was not quite as muscular, having always been a more benevolent angel in comparison. That did not stop the platinum blonde angel from glaring at his brother with glowing eyes, his own twelve white wings erupting from his back in retaliation.
"You asshole!" Growled Metatron, his hands clenching into white-knuckled fists. The instant before he was about to swing, Gabriel had seen enough.
Eyes clenched shut, Gabriel's voice pierced through the room. "Stop it!" That silenced everyone.
Eighteen eyes glanced over to where she was standing and Gabriel suddenly found herself at the center of attention. "What's happening?"
One of the youngest Seraphs and perhaps the most feminine looking of the almost all-male group, Raziel was the first to respond. "Raphael and Sandalphon are having an argument. Can't you tell?" The purple-haired angel commented rather sarcastically as he lounged lazily across the armrests of his golden throne, a little smirk on his face that went away when Gabriel leveled a glare at him.
Sitting up and swallowing from the strangely terrifying look from the usually nice angel, Raziel lifted his hands to display his innocence. "Raphael wants to up the training levels of the exorcist schools in the Church and lower the recruitment age."
"What? Why?" Gabriel gasped, her eyes whipping around to land on her younger brothers who all flinched. Even Raphael and Metatron separated, silent as they both tried not to look at their sister's ashamed face.
Azrael, one of the youngest angels with wavy pitch-black hair, was the one to answer. "These Devils are getting stronger and stronger and they must be kept in check!" His voice softened a little, trying to get a little sympathy from his only older sister. "Their new Evil Pieces have too much power Gabriel, they're planning for war against us! It's obvious!"
"The Devils are not trying to start a war with us. They are still recovering from their civil war. Their people are divided and strife still lingers amongst their people," commented another voice nonchalantly. Shaggy purple hair covered his eyes and the way he slouched on his chair only seem to add to the lazy look of the youngest but also brightest of the angels. "These Satans still haven't proven themselves and they wouldn't make a move until they settle their affairs."
"Shut up Raziel!" Raphael snapped back but only received a yawn from his younger brother.
Gabriel crossed her arms, her emerald green eyes practically glowing in frustration. "We can't have child soldiers Raphael! That goes against Father's teachings!"
"Father's teachings are going to be wiped out at this rate if we don't do something soon…" Commented another voice.
Gabriel whipped around to see who said it and her eyes widened in surprise. "Uriel...you don't honestly believe that do you?"
One of the eldest and strongest Seraphim, Uriel appeared as a young man in his early twenties with jaw-length blue hair and pupil-less eyes that glowed with heavenly power. Hands folded in front of him, Uriel let out a sigh. "The Devils have found a way to replenish their numbers since the end of the Devil Civil War with their Evil Piece System, assimilating other powerful species into their own. It is said that they can even recruit and reanimate humans with the Sacred Gears, a power given meant solely for the use of Humanity." Uriel's voice was cool and silky, with a light cadence that was almost as persuasive as Michael's own. "The Fallen Angels grow larger every day, even if they are the smallest faction, by tempting our pure brethren with offers of lust and wealth while we can no longer produce angels"
Cold blue met emerald green and Gabriel visibly flinched. "Father is gone, Gabriel. It may take decades, centuries, or perhaps even an eon but soon, there will be no more Heavenly Host."
Gabriel took a step back, a hand on her chest where her heart clenched in shock. "Raphael...Azrael...Uriel…" It took all the woman had to avoid letting her eyes water. "Have you no faith? No faith that Father had a plan to help us one day?"
Uriel rubbed his forehead to dull its throbbing. "Father is gone Gabriel. We are all that is left. We must make decisions for ourselves."
"What of the Brave Saints?" Metatron asked, a hand to his chin.
All eyes turned to look at Raziel who sighed, somehow leaning back even further into his chair. "Nowhere near ready. The magical complexity required to reanimate another species and combine their genetic code with our own is incredibly difficult." The purple-haired genius shook his head in disbelief. "As much as I hate to admit, the Devil's strongest resource is not their raw power but the intellect of that man. Loathe as I am to admit it, Ajuka Beelzebub is a genius of the highest caliber."
Gabriel covered her mouth with her hand, her eyes cast downward in disbelief. "So we have no chance? No options? We have to resort to harming children and forcing them to fight instead of enjoying their childhood?"
The room was silent for a minute, the gravity of the choice sinking into every single heavenly soul in the room. Had they really fallen this far, was the collective thought that passed through every single mind.
One man stood up, having been silent almost the entire debate. He could have been Gabriel's twin, as they both shared the same shade of golden blonde hair and their green eyes both sparkled like deep unexplored forests, although hers always made her look happy while his were curved in such a way that he looked perpetually sad. Garbed in ceremonial golden robes rather than the white casual wear that his siblings wore, that only accentuated the other thing that separated him from the rest of them and marked him as a leader. The twelve golden wings sprouted from his back and seemed to glow in the orange afternoon sun.
Michael clapped his hands together softly and his voice washed over the group like a gentle wave, soothing their worries. "We will save this debate for another day. Sunset approaches and it is time for us to rest and return with fresh minds and ideas."
Glancing out the window, Gabriel was surprised to see her older brother was right. Despite getting there around noon, an orange sunset was painted against the horizon. Michael was met with nine nods as his siblings slowly walked out of the room, only now realizing how emotionally draining their debate had been. Gabriel, perhaps the most tired out of the group, brushed off her dress once more before carefully changing direction on the balls of her white sandaled feet.
"Gabriel, please stay for a moment."
She stopped in her tracks, her eyes closing briefly as she took in a deep breath. Slowly she turned back around and walked over to her eldest brother, who had turned his chair to face out toward one of the large windows to catch as much of the sunset as possible. A small smile crossed Gabriel's face. She had always been closest to Michael as he was the closest to her in terms of age as well as the only member of the remaining Seraphim that was older than her. The eldest children of God, they were called, and because of that, they held a majority of the responsibility to see that his legacy lived on.
Walking past the nine other stone thrones, she stopped beside the one at the head and placed a hand on the shoulder of the slim individual sitting in it. "Yes Michael?"
He didn't look up at her, his eyes focused on the setting sun and the hundreds of millions of people living their lives in the Heavenly City beneath them. "Do you think Father would be disappointed in me?"
Gabriel shook her head softly. "No, he would see that you are trying your hardest. That is all that he would ask for." Her face hardened for a moment before she let out a sigh. "The rest of us must try harder as well if we want to protect his message."
Seeing her brother nod, Gabriel smiled before turning around and walking out of the room. The moment before the door closed behind her, she heard her brother's melodic voice carry through the room barely above a whisper. "Thank you Gabriel."
The last thing he remembered was cold steel as the sword pierced his body and ended his life. Lelouch vi Britannia opened his eyes and looked around.
"Where am I?" He was in the middle of a forest, surrounded by trees as the light of the moon illuminated the area around him. The Demon Emperor looked at himself, still wearing his royal garb but with a visible bloody hole in the place where the red sword entered his body and killed him. Or at least he thought that's what would happen on that day. "How? What is going on?!"
Suzaku should have killed him! Did it mean Zero Requiem didn't succeed?! Where was he and who brought him here? Lelouch's mind was filled with dozens of questions and he didn't know where to get answers for them. However, all of his thoughts were stopped as he felt a strange presence, almost as if something was calling him. The raven-haired boy rose from the ground, as green light started to form a strange being.
"Lelouch vi Britannia."
It was a strange voice as if dozens of people were talking at the same time. Lelouch could only note that the male voice was the loudest among them. He didn't know why he froze at one place, unable to move or even utter a word at that moment.
"I have an offer for you."
Gabriel frowned in annoyance as she carefully tried to squirm her way through the seas of people in the lakeside marketplace. While she always tried to be a nice person, thousands of people all trying to manoeuvre in the relatively small fresh produce area of the farmer's market was enough to even begin to grate on her nerves. Not to mention how angry her brothers had her today. The female Seraph glanced down at the basket hanging from the crook of her arm, checking to see if she had everything for tonight's stew when she felt a small tug on her arm.
"Ms. Gabriel?" A high-pitched voice from behind her said, barely audible above the chatter of the crowd. Gabriel turned around to look at the little European girl standing behind her, blonde hair tied into braids and blue eyes glancing downward in embarrassment at her inward-facing feet. The little girl turned around quickly to look at two adults who looked a lot like her, likely her parents or guardians, who gave her a nod of encouragement.
Gabriel smiled as she saw this, one of her few genuine smiles of the day. "Oh, hello darling." Gabriel kneeled down a little, so she was at eye height with the girl. "How can I help you?"
"I'm sorry if I'm bothering you and I don't want to be a hassle, but can I please get an autograph please...sorry." The girl managed to mumble out, her face practically scarlet as she patted down her pockets rapidly before finding a small notebook in her back pocket along with a black marker.
Gabriel had to suppress a giggle at the number of times the girl said 'sorry' and 'please'. "No problem at all." Taking the pad and pen, the Seraph made eye contact with the girl. "May I ask you your name?"
"Emily." Was the girl's answer with a happy nod.
Brushing a strand of hair behind her ear, Gabriel put pen against paper. "To Emily…" She quickly wrote a kind message before closing the notebook and handing it back. "There you go."
Eyes wide as saucers, Jessica hugged the book to her chest. "Thank you so much, Ms. Gabriel!" Instinctively the little girl lunged forward and wrapped Gabriel up in a hug before the seraph could react. "You're so pretty and amazing. I'm gonna be just like you!"
"You're going to grow up to be so strong and beautiful, Emily," Gabriel said with a smile, giving the girl a small hug back.
It was then she noticed it. At first, it was faint, a small streak in the sky looking as if it originated from the sun that slowly began to grow and grow until it was a blazing golden comet. Gabriel's emerald eyes squinted a little bit before widening as she realized it was coming straight for this sector of heaven.
Frantically, Gabriel lifted Emily back onto her feet before giving her a light push toward the two adults from earlier. "Go back to your parents and follow the angels out. Stay safe!"
Emily, having turned around to see the accelerating object as well, nodded frighteningly before chasing after her parents who had been trying to wait for her despite the rushing crowd of people heading toward the exits. Gabriel looked toward the sky once more, although now finding a few fellow angels that partook in the voluntary police force had begun to take action.
"Everyone evacuate calmly and orderly! Don't push or shove!" came their collective amplified voices, shepherding the thousands of people out of the exposed marketplace.
Gabriel let out a small sigh of relief, at least she didn't have to worry about the civilians now. Her twelve white wings exploded from her back, unfurling to their full glory in a fraction of a second as she took to the sky herself to face this glowing projectile. None of the other Seraphs were likely nearby, as the meeting had ended over an hour ago, and most had long since returned home. The average angel wouldn't be able to help in this situation, their magical power was too weak to be able to handle a... whatever this thing was. The object was growing closer and closer, having long since passed the artificial clouds that floated in the area above Heaven and was now mere seconds away from impact. Gabriel had seconds left. She had to do something now. High above the city herself, Gabriel's hands glowed with yellow light as a magical circle appeared above the area. It was massive, easily over three hundred meters across, and was enough to cover the entire evacuating civilian population as well as a majority of the marketplace.
The object flew by, smashing into the lake beside Gabriel and the people with an earth-shattering shockwave that threatened to send the twelve-winged Seraph flying backwards. The light barrier she had quickly constructed bent and cracked, but remained intact, saving the people from the blast that would have likely resulted in a few injuries even despite their distance. The hurricane-force gust of wind subsided after a moment and Gabriel let her barrier dissolve, ignoring the loud cheers and clapping of the people below her who she had saved. Instead, Gabriel was focused on floating downward with control, fixing the strap of her white dress as she carefully lowered herself into the dried-up lake.
A boy laid in the centre, a glowing cloak of golden energy around him that must have saved him from his re-entry slowly dissolving away to leave him exposed. He was shirtless, burned, and injured, although the angel couldn't tell if they were prior wounds or from his descent.
A strange aura glowed around him, covering the boy in its protective embrace. It was bright and overwhelming, almost forcing Gabriel, a Seraph to shield her eyes as she tried to gaze upon the strange boy. But the intensity of the aura wasn't what prompted Gabriel to come closer, it was its familiarity.
The aura felt familiar, frighteningly so.
Gabriel slowly lowered herself into the mud on the bottom of the lake, not caring if her white clothing was getting dirty, as she carefully moved closer to the boy. At first, she thought he was dead as not many people could survive a fall from the upper atmosphere but once Gabriel was a mere five steps away, the boy's deep amethyst eyes shot open. The sudden movement was enough to shock the angel, who almost fell back into the mud in surprise.
Slowly, as if every slight movement was going to kill him, the boy turned to look at her with a slightly dazed expression. "I always thought that angels didn't exist but I know better now. You're as beautiful as they say."
Gabriel startled in surprise, placing a hand over her chest in shock.
"That shouldn't be possible. Angels can understand every language ever…Why can't I understand you?"
The boy didn't respond, having closed his eyes with that same dazed expression on his face as if he couldn't believe what was happening. Gabriel watched in shock as the chest which he was clutching with his hands stopped rising. She stood frozen for a few seconds before, she hastily strode over and knelt beside him in the mud, her hands once more aglow with white light. "Don't give up on me…"
The magic she had learned as a child came back to her, memories of sitting beside her father as he watched her struggle her hardest to revive a recently deceased puppy she had found. The magic none of her brothers had wanted to learn and had fallen upon her as the only girl in their family. Gabriel didn't know how long she was there for but out of the corner of her eye, she could see a crowd had started to form around the edge of the dried-up lake. She could hear their whispers to one enough and could see everyone once in a while, someone would point at either her or the boy she was healing. They didn't matter at the moment, all her attention was focused on the raven-haired boy in front of her.
Finally, after more than half of her magic was gone and she was almost positive this was a lost cause, Gabriel finally felt a small thump beneath her hands. Then the boy's chest rose again, and again, and again.
He let out a groan before opening his eyes one more time to look at her with no hidden surprise. "Healing powers…" The boy let out a mirthless chuckle, a hard wheezing laugh that made her heart clench. "Is this... my punishment?"
Gabriel frowned. She didn't understand what he said but that haunting sadness in his tone...
The boy's eyes closed again and this time, Gabriel leaped to her feet to grab the attention of the hundreds of angels who had begun to surround the crater with light spears at the ready. Her hands clenched into white-knuckled fists and with a loud voice that carried throughout all of Heaven, she shouted an order that would save the boy's life a second time. "Put your weapons down! We need a Medic! Get this boy to the hospital!"
AN: This is a story that was created through a collaboration of me and a dear of friend mine and inspired by a Naruto crossover called His Guardian Angel, please check it out. This is our first story and I hope you all enjoy it.
Thank You.