Hey Everybody! How's it going!
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OK, I understand I took way too long with this chapter. My initial plan was to get this done before Thanksgiving (I think), but thanks to a combination of exams, illnesses, writer's block, and my own laziness prevented this story from being updated. To all of you who followed and favorited this story (especially those of you who did it whilst waiting for this chapter), I thank you for your (near) infinite patience. I won't promise that I'll get the next chapter out sooner, but I'll promise to try! I won't bother with any of the usual legal malarkey, so let's get on with the story!
Chapter 9: The Apocalyptic, The Elegiac, and The Carnival
I'd rather die happy than not die at all – The Band
The future's uncertain, the end is always near – The Doors
Kallen had been through some intense things during her lifetime. She had fought in multiple battles, faced down tyrannical emperors, been interrogated under threat of torture, even been nearly executed. Yet what faced her now seemed to terrify her more than any those.
Tonight, she was going on a date.
She must have tried on every article of clothing in her closet at least three different times, and that wasn't counting the different combinations that were experimented with. This took about an hour; and when she picked her outfit, she then spent another hour obsessing over all the other details. When they had been dealt with, she turned to the final piece: the perfume. After agonizing over which fragrance to choose, she moved to apply it when she heard a voice from behind her.
"Don't spray the perfume directly on yourself" Hori said, with a knowing smile. "Spray into the room and walk into the mist. That way, you won't overwhelm him with the scent."
Kallen gave her mother a grateful grin. "Thanks" she said, before proceeding to follow her mother's advice.
Soon enough she heard the doorbell. Her first response was to fret one more time about her outfit. After finally calming herself down, she headed out of her room. Walking to the staircase, she saw what she had fervently hoped wouldn't happen: Lelouch and her stepmother standing in the foyer, in the midst of an angry staring contest. The current Mrs. Stadtfeld then turned up to look at Kallen. "Ah, Kallen" she said "I've just met your …boyfriend. I must say, it's rare that I'm stunned, but you've out done yourself: You've managed to be even more pathetic than …the help."
"Mrs. Stadtfeld, do you think you could please treat Kallen and her mother with more respect?" Lelouch said, twisting Mrs. Statdfeld towards him and lacing his words with a Geass command.
"Sure" said the geassed stepmother. She then turned to Kallen. "Have a nice time, dear" she said before leaving the room.
The two finally looked each other, and each felt a warm feeling blossom in their heart. "Hello" Lelouch said to Kallen, kissing her on the cheek as she walked down the stairs and embraced him. "May I say you look lovely tonight?"
"Thank you" Kallen replied with a smile. "Shall we?"
"My pleasure." And with that, they headed out of the house and into the night.
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The night was serene. Spring was in full bloom, and traces of summer could be felt upon the wind. There were the bare traces of a clouds, so the light that came from the half-moon shown through the sky with a muted light. And as it was a Friday night, people were out in force; they were celebrating the oncoming weekend, fostering memories with loved ones, looking for a good time. Lelouch and Kallen were such people, and their plans for making memories involved going the carnival that had popped up in the area of the Tokyo Settlement known as Takashimadaira. As they got on the Victoria Line, Kallen noticed that something was bothering Lelouch. "Lelouch" she said in a concerned tone, "what's on your mind?"
Lelouch looked at Kallen, coming out of his meditations. "Sorry" he said with a sheepish look, "I was just thinking about some stuff with the Black Knights, like meeting with Todoh yesterday."
"Why are you worried about Todoh? I know that he was really outspoken about killing you last time, but you haven't killed Katase this time around, so –"
"Look" Lelouch said, taking Kallen's hand. "I…I don't want to talk to you about this tonight. It's not that I don't trust you with the matter, far from it. It's just…I wanted to have this night to ourselves. I've lived my last life completely for revenge; and because I did that, I got to miss out on a lot of things that makes life…enjoyable. So tonight, could we just be ourselves?"
"Alright" said Kallen, thankful that Lelouch wasn't just thinking about the revolution. "Tonight, we're not Black Knights, we're not commander and ace, we're not a prince and a rebel hiding out in a school. We're Kallen and Lelouch."
Lelouch beamed at her, replying "Perfect."
They were about to kiss, when they heard the loudspeaker announce "Arriving at Takashimadaira" and dashed off the train before the doors closed.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
There was only one way to describe the carnival: Alive. It was a place where the cares and pains of the world were set to the side, and the patrons lost themselves in a whirlwind of amusement and fried foods. It's a place where the air was electric, where the lights flashed as bright as the stars, and where all sense of time was lost, only regained when the exhausted patron left the carnival and felt the cold sting of reality sink back in.
For Kallen, that wouldn't be any time soon as she was having the time of her life. She couldn't remember a time when she had had this much, certainly not before the invasion. It was if she was a little girl again; every candy, every game, every ride seemed be one the best one of her life. The only thing that was hampering her joy was the fact she wasn't moving fast enough, and that was because Lelouch had insisted that he'd be the one to carry around the giant teddy bear that they had won in a game of darts.
"You sure you don't want me to carry that?" Kallen asked, turning to see Lelouch lugging the huge stuffed animal as if it were a bag of bricks.
"No…I'm good" Lelouch grunted.
Kallen sighed amusedly. Lelouch had many qualities which she adored and admired; his physical strength was not one of them. "Here," she said, taking the large bear from Lelouch. "You think with all the military things you do, you'd have gained some muscles along the way."
Lelouch smiled. "Sorry. What I have in brains, I lack in muscles."
Kallen smiled back. "I know."
They were about to give each other a small kiss, when they heard a "Hey!" from across the way. Lelouch and Kallen turned to see a disguised Euphemia, followed by Suzaku carrying his own giant stuffed animal, waving at them. The four of them met in the middle of the fairgrounds, with the other passing patrons ignorant of the importance of the group.
"It's good to see you again, Lelouch" Euphie said, pulling him into a hug.
"It's good to see you too, Eu-" Lelouch began.
"Lilian" Euphemia responded, looking around quickly to make sure no one had overheard that misstep.
"So, Lilian, what brings you here?" Kallen asked.
"I honestly wanted to get out of the palace. All the quiet worry that no one wants to openly talk about…it gets oppressive at times. So, I talked Suzaku here into taking to the fair that was in town. What brings you two here?"
"Just date night" Lelouch responded, hoping that nothing too ridiculous would happen.
"I wasn't planning on running into you tonight," Euphie said, "but I'm glad that I did. Kallen, do you mind if I borrow my dear cousin for a bit?"
"Not at all" Kallen said, as Euphemia and Lelouch went off to the side. Meanwhile, Kallen and Suzaku, each clutching a giant stuffed animal, leaned against the guard-fence while the merry-go-round spun behind them.
"Congratulations on your knighthood" Kallen said warmly, to which Suzaku gave a noncommittal thanks. After a minute or two of silence, she realized that Suzaku had no intention of continuing that conversation, Kallen decided to try another line of discussion. "What do you think they're talking about?" she asked.
"If it's about what I think it is," Suzaku responded in a troubled tone, "I'm not sure I'm allowed to talk about it."
"Why so glum?" Kallen asked as she noticed the sullen look on Suzaku's face. "Are things going poorly between you and- …Lilian?"
"No, things are fine" Suzaku answered. "Things are great actually. I'm just…worried about her being around Lelouch."
"Why? You two are best friends! Are you worried that Lelouch will steal Lilian from you?"
"In a way, yes. But probably not in the way that you're thinking."
"Well", Kallen said with a huff, "if he steals her in any sort of way, he'll have to contend with me."
"Now that," Suzaku said with a smile, "is something I think even Lelouch would be scared of."
Xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Whilst that conversation was going on, another was being tended to on a pathway at the edge of the Arakawa river, between the two most powerful people in the Area. Not that anyone could tell; to the average passerby, it just seemed like it was two teenagers having a conversation about anything.
"So," Lelouch began, "What did you want to talk about?"
"How the conflict between our two forces are going to end" Euphemia replied.
"What do you mean?" Lelouch said with a false chuckle. "I'm only a high school –"
"Quit the routine, Lelouch" Euphie interrupted, with an edge of irritation creeping into her voice. "I know that you're the Zero, leader of the Black Knights".
Lelouch was about to refute this when he saw the steeliness in the princess's eyes; apparently, this wouldn't be a discussion. He sighed and said, "What gave me away?"
"When I got that letter saying that Zero was protecting Nunnally. You're the only person that you would trust with her protection."
"Fair enough" Lelouch said with a real chuckle this time, inwardly cursing himself for making such a careless mistake. "What did you want to discuss first?"
"First? First, what of my sister? How is she? Where is she? What-"
"To answer your first question, Cornelia is doing fine. I have her in a confined somewhere secure, with her needs being attended to. As for location, do you really think I would just give you that information freely?"
"True" Euphie said with a sigh. "As to the reason I asked you aside, I wanted to tell you about on how we are going to end this war."
"Really? You sure you should be revealing your strategy to the enemy?" Lelouch said, raising an eyebrow.
"This isn't strategy, this is fact. We both know that neither of us can really pull off a complete victory at this point. Currently, I can't beat you and the Black Knights without resorting to methods that I consider…unsavory. I also can't maintain the current tactics of our siblings of wearing down resistance as our resources are nearly at an end, as is our father's patience. And you know that your own resources are probably at an end, plus you couldn't stand up to anything that the Empire would send your way should they see you as a legitimate threat."
Lelouch nodded. After all, what she had said was true. And he would have enormous problems when the updated versions of Gino's and Anya's Knightmares came in. They had only just seized the Gawain just a few days ago, so there was no telling how soon anyone would have flying Kightmares ready. Peace would certainly give him time to prepare his next moves against the Emperor. "So, what do you have in mind?"
Euphie's eyes gleamed with an ambitious hope. "I'm proposing a place where the Japanese can live as Japanese instead of as Elevens. A place where everyone can enjoy equal rights.
"And what is the place?" Lelouch asked, already knowing the answer.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"The Special Administration Zone? What the hell is that supposed to be?" Tamaki blurted out in his usual tone of voice, which is to say loudly.
"If you ever watched the news, Tamaki" Ohgi said with a sigh, "you would have gotten an explanation"
It was a week following Lelouch's encounter with Euphemia, and the SAZ had just been announced the night before. Princesses Euphemia had declared that a special region would be declared where Elevens would be allowed to enjoy the rights of full citizenship and call themselves Japanese again. In exchange, all she asked was that her sister, 2nd Princess Cornelia li Britannia, be returned unharmed and unmolested. In response, Zero had summoned the key personnel in order to discuss how to respond to this situation.
"I don't think we should give Cornelia up" Yoshida said. "I feel that she is too valuable to give up for something so small."
"So, small?" Mao said with a chuckle. "Trust me, this is the best that we are going to get. If your goal is to get full independence, you might as well be taking Refrain like your roommate's sister."
Yoshida looked like was about to start throwing punches, but he was stopped by a motion from Zero, who then proceeded to look in Mao's direction. Though no words were apparently said, Mao said "Hey, don't blame me Z-man. It wouldn't be such an issue if everyone here wasn't so touchy."
"Regardless about what insults are being thrown around, Mao is right about one thing: This may be the best offer we'll ever get. That is why I will accept this deal."
This resulted in a number of surprised gasps.
"Are you serious?" Tamaki said. "You're giving in, right when we've been on a winning streak."
"Look, that's exactly why we need to take this deal" Zero responded. "We've achieved great victories these past few months, but they've come with high costs. Our resources and luck can bear us out forever. I feel that we should take this, rather than push for something more and losing this for good."
"Besides," Kurohime added, "Kyoto is also in favor in taking this deal."
This caused another round of surprised gasps. "Really?" said someone in the room. "Why?"
"I'm not entirely sure" Zero said, who still wondered at why Kirihara had been willing to go along with Euphie's plans. "Nevertheless, we were told to go along with the unveiling of the Special Administration Zone. I know that most of you have already signed up for the opening ceremony; if anyone else wants to do so, I won't stop you."
"How do we know that the Brits won't double-cross us?" Chiba, Todoh's lieutenant asked.
"Princess Euphemia is not like most of the royalty" Zero said "She is far too kind and too well intentioned to attempt to pull any sort of trickery."
"Besides" Kurohime added, "my source within the Britannian government tells me that there is no indication that any sort of betrayal is being set up."
"Nor has the media stations been sent any prepackaged materials that would suggest anything similar" said Diethard.
"That doesn't mean we'll be trusting the Empire completely" Zero said. "A task force will be set up around the perimeter of the SAZ in case anything goes down. This force will be led by Todoh and Ohgi. Any further questions?"
For a short period of time, it looked like no one had anything to ask. Suddenly, Mao spoke up, saying "One last thing Zero. The representative from Kyoto said that you were a true enemy of Britannia. Are you simply going to lay down your arms and forgo your fights with the Empire?"
Zero sighed, and responded in a voice that sounded much older. "I have enough quarrels with Britannia to see it obliterated to dust. However, I will not continue that fight at the expense of Japan. I will stay here long enough to see that Princess Euphemia keeps her word. After that, I will leave Japan and take my fight for justice elsewhere. If anyone here wishes to accompany me, they are welcome to do so."
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Though it looked like the conversation had ended back at the Black Knight's HQ, it continued amongst Lelouch and Kallen in the Ashford Academy's student council room. They held this conversation discreetly, as they did not want to draw attention to themselves; this was easy enough to do, as the rest of the council's attention was focused on Milly, who wanted to see how the gown she was going to wear at the Spring Ball was going to look and had decided that Gino was going to be the model as a dressmaker's dummy wasn't available. So, while Milly (with the help of a reluctant Rivalz and Shirley) forced her outfit onto Gino, Lelouch and Kallen whispered to each other in serious tones whilst they kept bemused looks on their faces.
"Do you really plan to let the SAZ to go through?" Kallen said quietly.
"I do" Lelouch replied.
"Why though? Last time, the SAZ descended into chaos and you shot the princess."
"That was mostly mistakes on my part. I'll see to it that it doesn't happen again."
"But the battle plans you've given are the same –"
"That's just in case someone else, say the Emperor, tries something."
"Fine. Say the SAZ goes through and everyone is happy. What happens then?"
"Like I said, I'll lie low for a while, then I'll plan my next move against the emperor."
There was a moment of silence, then Kallen asked suddenly "Aren't you tired of fighting? Do you really need to keep up your fight with the Emperor? He thinks you're dead, and we can get the princesses to keep silent, or geass them."
"Believe me," Lelouch said, "I would love nothing better than to just retire and live in peace for the rest of my life. But as long as the Emperor is still on the throne, none of us will ever be truly safe. Not only that, but there are those close to him that would that would try to get at us and see his mad schemes."
"What do you mean?" Kallen kept the bemused look on her face as Milly had now decided to use Gino as her makeup model as well, but Lelouch could hear the confused fear in her voice.
Lelouch was about to respond, when he saw out the corner of his eye that Suzaku was trying to subtly catch his attention. Subtly shifting his head towards him to acknowledge, he saw a hand quietly move up and tug a collar. With that, Suzaku rose up and left the room. "I'll explain later" Lelouch said ambiguously, and with that he left the room as well.
As he made his way up to the roof, Lelouch wondered what Suzaku wanted to talk about. Did he figure out that he was Zero? Had Euphie told him? She hadn't in the previous timeline, but what if she this time around? What if Suzaku had figured it out on his own? He had never been terribly good at strategy, but when he put his mind to it, Suzaku could be a problematic enemy.
As he opened the door to the roof, he looked around for his old friend, but Suzaku was nowhere to be seen. As he stepped out further, Lelouch wondered where-
Suddenly, he felt his throat constrict and his knees buckle. Lelouch knew that he was being choked from behind, but he couldn't seem to pry…the arm… off…
Just as suddenly, the stranglehold was relieved and Lelouch gasped for air. As he caught his breath, he could hear two people struggling behind him. Turning around, he saw Suzaku being restrained by Kallen with a chokehold similar to what Lelouch believed had just been used on him. Both had looks on their face that could only described as pure fury. "What's going on here?" Lelouch asked, trying to figure out was going on.
"I got suspicious when you both left at the same time" Kallen spat out, her voice soaked in fury. "I followed you both, and saw this motherfucker trying to kill you! I knew I should've killed him at Narita!"
Lelouch wanted to tell Kallen to calm down, but he knew that this wasn't the time for it. Instead, he looked down at Suzaku and said "I'm curious. Why?"
Kallen eased her hold so that Suzaku could answer. In short grunts, he replied "I-can't-let-you-kill-Euphie-again."
Lelouch's eyes narrowed as he thought over Suzaku's words…Then flew open as he grasped their meaning.
"Oh hell," Lelouch groaned, "Don't tell me you time traveled too."
At that point, Kallen let Suzaku go, who just rolled over. Everyone at this point was too shocked to continue fighting.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Soon enough they were sitting around the table, in a sense of awkward silence. On side of the table, there was Lelouch and Kallen, trying to communicate non-verbally without attracting attention. On the other side, Suzaku sat alone, trying to avoid eye contact with anyone. And at one head of the table was C.C, eating a pizza and trying to figure out what had happened between everyone.
Just then, Nunnally wheeled in to the sullen scene. "Sorry I took so long" she said, "But it took me a little longer to break away…". She stopped talking as she took in the atmosphere of the room. "What's happened?" she asked.
Lelouch drew a reluctant breath. "Nunnally," he said, "we have another time traveler".
Nunnally took a look at Suzaku, whose calm and tense demeanor confirmed what her brother had said. "Fuck" she swore violently, stunning everyone but C.C (who thought that the awkward silence had been some sort of romantic misunderstanding). She then moved her wheelchair so that she was sitting next to Suzaku. "You'd better everything."
Suzaku was in half a mind to say no, but Nunnally had managed to pick up the subtle tricks of command from her brother. So Suzaku did, relating his experiences from his awakening to the current day. Whilst everyone found it interesting that Suzaku's last location as Kallen's and Nunnally's (the day after Lelouch had died), what was more interesting was the fact that Suzaku had woken up not on the day of Shinjuku, but the day after Narita. Everyone wondered why that was the case, but it seemed clear that Suzaku didn't know.
"There's one thing I would like to know," Kallen said at the end of Suazku's tale, leaning into the table. "Why were you trying to kill Lelouch?"
Suzaku felt the glares of everyone in the room, and looked slightly abashed. "I thought…that if I was able to take out Lelouch, the Black Knights would collapse, and all this fighting would end" he said. Seeing the looks of disbelief and exasperation around him, he burst out in frustration "Look, I had no choice! Nunnally, you know this! The only way to beat someone like Lelouch is to stoop down to his level!"
"Really?" Kallen said, her face slowly becoming flush with fury, "Is that what you were doing when you threatened to inject me with Refrain?"
"What?" Lelouch and Nunnally said at the same time; Nunnally's had a look of horror on her face, Lelouch had one of fury.
"Well-I-" Suzaku sputtered, caught off guard by the sudden shift. "I-I was doing what needed to be done! I was doing what Lelouch would've done."
"Suzaku, I knew you had a low opinion of me" Lelouch said, his voice becoming angrier with every word, "but didn't know that it was that low. I have done a lot of despicable things in my time, but I have never done THAT!"
"And besides, Refrain is a terrible choice for an interrogation drug. One hit, and the user is off in la-la land. There's no chance of getting anything useful out of them."
All heads turned towards to the head of the table, towards this new voice. It had come from a man that hadn't been there before. He wore a long black coat, a wide brimmed felt hat of the same color, a sword on his hip, and a mask was carved to resemble a skull; the color of the mask was the same deep black that defined the rest of the man's clothing, save the bridge, which was a violent shade of red, giving it an eerie similarity to the Geass sigil. This strange man seemed to give a relaxed air, but everyone instinctively knew that this man was dangerous.
"Who are you?" C.C said, asking the obvious question.
"I'm the man whose responsible for bringing you all back" the Geass Master said. "Now why don't we all be seated? I believe that we have a lot to discuss."
...And on that note, I'll end the chapter.
Thanks so much for reading! If you have any thoughts, be sure to leave a review! I'll try to get the next chapter out as soon as I can, but I make no promises. All I can ask for is your feedback and your patience. Until next time!