Author's Note 1: And now I'm waiting for Gold!
Author's Note 2: I assume that someone has a better nickname for Lelouch than 'Black Mamba'? Well, it will have to do for awhile. Hehe, be patient Guest. Oh and RedHerring142, thanks for giving me a word to describe Lelouch's different colored eyes! Ah, and thanks for enlightening me about Saber, The Richmaster!
Chapter Three: Bits of Wanderlust
"The smallest grain of sand that disrupts the balance
can be both a blessing and a curse.
Which one are you?"
If anything, sailing through Paradise was shockingly opposite to sailing through the harsh waves of the New World – even though the name 'Paradise' didn't really match with the reality that was the first half of the Grand Line, Lelouch truly had no difficulty sensing the climatic changes in the weather since he had become very sensible to it; their first storm had caught them just two hours after leaving Sabaody Archipelago and Lelouch, who had been out to check their position, had felt the change in the atmospheric pressure as if he'd been shocked by an electric current. This storm, while wild, had nothing on those he'd endured in the New World during his time with Vergo's unit (he'll never admit it, but some tornados almost made Lelouch shit his pants. But Saber? The marsupial was laughing his head off!), and with the advanced knowledge and experience he had acquired, the navigator could have said that it would be a piece of cake to travel safely all the way to Alabasta. Encountering Sea Kings was fun as well, especially for Lelouch's hybrid friend who ended up cutting one to pieces after playing with it (trust monkeys to turn something highly dangerous to something extremely hilarious: watching Saber use a Sea King that looked like a giant flamingo as a waterslide had cracked Lelouch's usually cool behaviour, and he'd been chuckling uncontrollably for minutes before calming down.). Ferret, who was the navigator of the Freesia Pirates, had asked for advice with twitching features and had been unable to conceal the burning jealousy on his face when a smirking Lelouch had flat out refused to give out any tips about navigation. Messing with them was another hobby the pair liked to do on daily basis.
But as Lelouch was told, the Grand Line was full of surprises. So he had to be careful; even though the Freesia Pirates wouldn't dare to mutiny – and even if they did, Saber still could cut their ship into pieces after throwing them into the ocean –, they still had them outnumbered. Not that it actually was a problem. As for the weather, while the sudden changes in temperature didn't surprise him anymore as he's learnt that in his books, it still fascinated him beyond wonder. And there was also the fact that each island had its own climate (winter islands, summer ones, autumnal ones and spring ones were incredible to study. This world would never cease to amaze me, he'd told himself one day, his heterochromatic eyes twinkling in awe.) in Paradise, very much like in the New World. When Vergo came to take Lelouch away from the desert kingdom years ago, he'd had his units sail them directly to Sabaody – even though they had stop by two islands or three to restock their supplies – and so, the boy hadn't been able to fully enjoy and study their climate. If anything, it just spurred him to become a navigator so that he'd be the only one to decide his destination – and hijacking a pirate ship was just as fun as he thought it would be. He and Saber had never tried on a bounty hunter's before, but it might be a little more challenging and dangerous (not that the marksman and treasurer actually minded that...).
Lelouch took a breath, then exhaled softly to watch it appear in front of him. It was rather chilly that night. We must be nearby a winter island, he thought as he put his fluffy hood on. Saber will be ecstatic; as Zaran Island was a winter island in the New World, he grew up training and playing in the snow (and mostly during hellish snowstorms!), so there was a high chance the monkey would come out of his cabin screaming enthusiastically, beaming and going mad with joy. Even Lelouch couldn't help but feel nostalgic as he looked at the grey, cloudy sky; wintry days at the Aries Villa before the dreaded tragedy had been full of joy and laughs, and Nunnally had always been so beautiful with her eyes twinkling in mirth and awe at the snow. Even recalling Euphemia and Cornelia when they'd come by to spend time with them made him want to smile.
"Good times, my beloved Nunnally," he mused as he put his hands in his pockets. His white and black winter outfit was both comfy and warm, allowing him to move as he pleases. Then he smiled softly, his eyes drifting in the distance. "I do hope that the world I left is to your liking and, most of all, peaceful."
Even though it might be too hopeful, it still made him want to believe that everything he did had been worth dying for during the Zero Requiem by Suzaku's hands. Tapping the heel of his boot on the wooden deck, he looked up just in time to see the first snowflake fall right in front of him. Lelouch extended his gloved hand to catch it, waited until it fell right into his palm, then watched it melt slowly. Just as fleeting as life was. He closed his heterochromatic eyes, smiling slightly.
As he predicted, he heard the sound of rushed footsteps on the wooden deck and, sure enough, Lelouch's marsupial friend came skidding; the white-haired hybrid had an ear-splitting grin on his face, wore a greenish coat (which made the navigator frown in confusion, because Saber was born on a winter island, had always been surrounded by snow and winter all his life until now. Why the heck was he wearing a coat when he didn't need one?), dark pants and dark boots. And if Lelouch wasn't wrong, there was an excited gleam in his eyes.
"What's wrong? You sound damn excited for some reason. Am I to believe that you have a request?" Lelouch asked him, blinking.
"Damn right! And because of several reasons I was forced to agree to, I need to ask you something!" Saber exclaimed, still smiling and skidding to a halt right beside Lelouch. He nimbly leapt onto the railing, coiled his long tail around the metallic bar to prevent himself from falling stupidly into the water and looked at his friend with large, green eyes. "I can tell we're approaching a winter island because of the colder climate, my tail wouldn't stop wriggling and my tuft is growing. Look!"
He was right: the black and white tuft on Saber's tail, that was always small when visiting islands with warmer climates, had slightly grown bigger. And though it didn't require him much to lift and use it freely, the navigator could tell it bothered him. Lelouch snorted, amused, and shook his head. Those little things about Quarin Sabertooth and his hybridity truly were something else.
He checked the Log Pose on his wrist. The needle was pointing slightly on their left, while the one in the Eternal Pose still pointed ahead.
"Ah, that's right: I remember you telling me that nearing a freezing area would prompt your tail to absorb the cold and stuff it so your body can withstand hot temperatures for awhile," Lelouch said, looking back at Saber's swishing tail. Then he remembered Alabasta's harsh desert and its nearly unbearable hot temperature, making him wince in distate. "You'd be helpless and useless if you end up unable to walk under the sun, but you'd be fully energized at night because it's colder."
The hybrid scowled, displeased and annoyed. "Lelouch, do you really have to remind me of my weakness?"
"And if someone in the desert tries to attack us, how will you fare on your own? I'd hate to be you, just so you know," the dark-haired navigator chuckled, shaking his head. Soon, his body even started trembling due to his building laughter in his chest, making Saber snarl in anger. "Remember that time when we went into a resort and you ended up with such a bad sunburn?"
"Damn it, Lelouch!" Saber yelled out, flailing. "Don't push it, man!"
The navigator didn't seem to heed his warning as he continued to laugh harder, almost bent in two. His face was flushed and tears were beginning to appear in his closed eyes – now that was a rare thing Lelouch had been able to do; laughing like this felt amazing! He hadn't allowed himself to laugh freely and genuinely during his rebellion against the Holy Britannian Empire, let alone in the presence of Nunnally and his friends (he really had become cold and somehow devoid of positive emotions when he was gifted with the power of the Kings, hadn't he? Unable to see beyond the thrill of his new power, using it to such great lengths to take down powerful enemies – and take innocent lives at the same time – and straying from his path... Lelouch Lamperouge gave the word 'demon' a new definition with his actions.). And boy did it feel so good.
He gave Saber his consent to change their course toward the winter island with great difficulty and between uncontrollable chuckles, grimaced when the hybrid literally yelled for the pirate navigator, Ferret, to change the course (with some vile insults thrown at each other. Who knew that Saber had such a sassy mouth?). The ship shifted slightly to the left, following Lelouch's directions, and the expert navigator finally calmed down a little bit as he sighed delightfully, wiping his eyes. He was still smiling widely.
"You laughed as if you hadn't for a long time," the hybrid said as he looked at his friend, eyes searching. "And here I originally thought you were immune to positive reactions and emotions. Was there something terrible that happened to you before we met, Lelouch?"
"Maybe. But like I said, now isn't the time to tell you," Lelouch replied, straightening himself up. His smile slowly faded from his face, expression turning back to being serious. "But jokes aside, we need to discuss about what we've learnt so far in my case."
Saber gave a grunt, nodding. "Yeah. But not onboard: there are way too many eavesdroppers I might be tempted to shoot and wasting precious bullets on worthless targets is stupid," he scowled unhappily at the small bunch of pirates present on deck.
"Agreed. Let's land and find some place private enough to talk."
It was only a matter of time before both Lelouch and Saber would discuss the subject – Lelouch's files. And that blacklist of Devil Fruits that shouldn't fall in any hands. Discovering this made the navigator realize that their 'peaceful' days had abruptly come to an end as they were now, kind of, on the run from an enemy they didn't know anything about...yet. The World Government was too many things that went beyond inhumanity and even if there already was the Revolutionary Army to fight it back, it still wasn't enough to overtake it. Lelouch scowled in annoyance, glaring in the distance. Powerful people within the World Government with thousands of connections in the Marine corps and the Cipher Pol were now after them, seriously intent on finding out if he truly was the one who now wielded the Terror-Terror Fruit (and if they did discover the truth, there was a high chance he'd be ruthlessly killed or imprisoned in Impel Down. They could keep him in the lowest level of the underwater prison until he died, but the safest solution would be to kill Lelouch and recover his Devil Fruit once it grew back somewhere in the Grand Line. And even if they did recover his power, it was an unending cycle; the chances of it being stolen might be near zero, but Vergo still managed to get it and made Lelouch swallow it. So it could likely happen once again.). Sixteen years of learning about this world to its roots, all the organizations, the people who had the power to obliterate the dangers – people deemed 'evil' by Admiral Akainu, for example –, those who were doing everything to escape from a fate they hadn't chosen from the beginning and trying to figure out what his next goal would be were worth going through madness, after all. If sacrificing half or more of his mind to a blacklisted Devil Fruit could 'help' him...
"You could try by fully trusting Saber, you know. He's so willing to follow you, Lelouch."
He almost snorted out loud. Ah. How long had it been since he last heard her voice? He felt like it's been years. And he had now all the pain in the world to refrain himself from glaring at her, because that wouldn't go unnoticed by Saber; Lelouch found out the hard way how to master his Devil Fruit before it could consume him, and he certainly hadn't expected it to come with such... consequences. Firstly, his mind lost to madness. Secondly, uncover people's most secret and terrifying fears to make them an illusion so close to reality that you'd become brain dead if you didn't figure out that you were seeing illusions. And thirdly, this damn shit.
It was bad enough that Vergo took advantage of his sleepy state to make him swallow the fruit, but not even him could have known about that. The Terror-Terror Fruit was also a promise of eternal mental torture to its wielder; when Lelouch managed to master the dreadful power in his eightienth year in this world, he found out that he'd forever be damned to see the people he'd killed. And also talk to them, only to discover that he'd be the only one to actually see them since they'd become part of him. It was as if their very presence had been implanted into his mind; they had the same voice, the same personality, the same face, the same age... exactly when they died by his hand. However, the only ones who never stopped appearing used to belong in his past life, and they'd made it clear that they would always remain in his mind until he died. Even a second chance in another world couldn't be enough to atone for his sins. That was beyond twisted and he knew twisted, but he felt he truly deserved it. He would be a fool to think that he would come back to life 'unscathed' and 'fixed' – Lelouch had to admit it, his Geass had fucked him up so bad that not even a miracle would work. What had been broken in his mind would never be repaired. And somehow, that worked with his Devil Fruit; only a mind twisted by madness could wield and master Fear itself.
Lelouch grounded his jaws together, glaring at the winter island they were bound to visit for Saber's sake. She wasn't making it easier by talking now and trying to reason with him, and her appearance always managed to make his insides clench with crushing guilt. Even weirder, her violet eyes were never accusing and full of hatred.
"I was beyond happy to see that you'd seized this chance to start over in this strange world," she said, her voice angelic. Her silky, pink locks flew around her bloody self as it was gently swerved by the chilly breeze. "We watched all your steps, all your decisions and actions, even though we've disapproved of some."
Not now. Shut up.
That blood around her lovely face never matched with her princely looks, and the awful nickname she'd been given after the massacre she'd created by his fault at the Nippon ceremony sullied her angelic personality. Why Euphemia would appear to him while wearing the ruined and bloodstained attire she doned during the massacre was a complete mystery to Lelouch (and a torture. Remembering that he had to kill the first girl he ever loved in order to stop the bloodshed he had accidentally caused was his first torture and challenge when she made her very first appearance to him.). There was not a single moment during which he didn't regret killing her, but Clovis... Clovis deserved it.
When the pirate ship finally anchored, the monkey man jumped high in the air, screaming a 'YAHOOOOOOOO!' before promptly diving into the snow. The only thing they could see about Saber was his long tail swishing madly, its tuft still absorbing the cold air. Lelouch, who wasn't in the mood to talk to the ghost of his late sister, proceeded to follow after his friend and walked past her. He even ignored Euphemia's pleading look, who could sway everyone.
"Please, Lelouch..."
Shut. Up. Don't talk to me, I'm not in the mood right now.
The best thing to do would be to ignore her, but the late princess always wanted to remain by his side no matter what: she'd speak her mind about any situation Lelouch and Saber were in, standing on the side and watching the events unfold. And all this blood from the Elevens she had killed just wouldn't leave...not that he wouldn't have liked to see his dear sister again, but the fact that the only way to talk to Euphemia was through his god-forsaken Devil Fruit abilities was damn twisted. Clovis could stay and rot in hell for all he cared, but his second favorite sister was another story and he didn't know where to begin – apologize for killing her to stop the horrible slaughter she had caused under the control his Geass? No, that would be far too useless and not enough to make up for her death, especially when Euphemia could have lived a far better life if she hadn't figured out he was Zero in the first place. In fact, he really shouldn't have underestimated her – she was smarter than that.
Captain Wen, who had come up to get a glimpse of the island they were now set to visit (thanks to a hexing, screaming hybrid.), glanced at the New World navigator.
"Aren't you in a hurry to go to Alabasta?" he asked, careful not to show his displeasure. "I thought you wanted to get there as fast as possible."
"And when did you hear me say such things, Captain?" Lelouch retorted back, lacing his boots tightly. He didn't turn back to see the confused frown on the man's face. "I only said we needed to get there, not that it was absolutely urgent. I don't like being rushed. Are you this desperate to get rid of us? What's the rush? I thought we had become friends."
"Don't even think about something I wouldn't dream of, you bastard!"
Lelouch waved him off as he stood and crossed his arms, smirking mockingly. "Fine, not that it would matter to me anyway. But since you started this conversation, then let's continue it to the end: once Saber and I are done with you, what will you do? Will you go back to being whatever you were before becoming pirates?" At this question, he lifted his mismatched eyes to stare unblinkingly at the captain, who now wore a confused frown once again. "Because it takes a lot to decide to sail the Grand Line and become someone in this messed up world; whether I'm right or wrong, you might have sacrificed a good life and left a family to pursue a dream..." Lelouch's eyes gave an eerie glow as they stared Captain Wen down. The pupils even dilated slowly until the mismatched colours could barely still be visible. "...and all this went up in flames the second you all let the fear overcome your mind."
As the last words left Lelouch's mouth, a very disturbing picture suddenly flashed in Wen's mind. One that immediately spread fear in every fiber of his body, from his mind to his heart. And if he were still shocked about his defeat in the New World, then he wouldn't know how to describe what he was seeing right now.
"Peek-a-boo... I saw you..."
Now this was a sentence he hadn't heard in many, many years – mainly because he had run away from the cause of his most feared nightmare after escaping a bloodbath, terror-filled. It used to amuse Wen and make him smile and laugh in mirth, but after the terrible tragedy, it just chilled him to the bone. The 'cause', being someone he once loved with all his might, had fallen into madness and slaughtered everyone in his path – friends, neighbours, parents. Even animals weren't spared.
It really was amazingly devastating how something, even seemingly meaningless, could disrupt anything; peace and love, for example, used to reign in the village Wen was born in. And it was gone, bloodied and destroyed by his once loving brother.
When he looked down, Wen couldn't hold the shocked shriek that almost tore his throat. So much blood, so many corpses. All of them sporting the same terror-filled expression, mouth still hanging open in muted horror because they didn't have enough time to scream the name of their captain to warn him of the danger that was going to take their life. Some had lost limbs – head, arms, legs. And the smell – Gods, that horrid smell! The smell of decaying bodies hung in the small area, like an ominous cloud that just wouldn't leave. It made the pirate captain want to vomit whatever was in his stomach, because he couldn't bear this sight.
And vomit he did: he suddenly fell on his knees, retching loudly on the mangled body of his first mate (hell, he didn't mean to...). He wheezed, trying to suppress the bitter taste of his bile, eyes wide in disbelief and terror. How could such thing happen to his friends? To him? He was sure he had buried his past behind, refusing to talk about it so that no one would know his ultimate fear. Not even his first mate knew about this.
The tears fell long before he could feel that he was about to cry. Pitiful: he had sworn he would never shed tears after having thought that he had moved on. And though there was nothing wrong in crying, Wen still felt like a cowardly weakling – just like when he scrambled away from the New World with his crew, barely making it back to Paradise (it was only thanks to that Lelouch bastard and his hybrid of a friend that they managed to go back to the first half of the Grand Line. His navigatory skills were astounding.). Slowly, he looked down at his trembling hands and barely held back a strangled sob at the sight of the blood on his skin.
"It can't be...," Wen croaked faintly, panting.
There was a dark chuckle behind him, which paralyzed the pirate in sheer terror. He even stopped breathing, as the oh-so familiar laugh came closer to him; the sound of footsteps echoed in his ears, as eerie as the silence that hung in the air. Wen started shivering from head to toe, all of his muscles frozen in fear. His heartbeat had abruptly picked up the pace, hurting his ribcage in the process. From the corner of his eyes, he saw a lithe yet muscular figure walk gracefully past him, and stop once the person had gotten in front of his quivering form. Wen, whose will seemed to have abandoned him, slowly lifted his head to look at the monster in the eyes.
He couldn't prevent the shocked gasp that left his throat, his eyes widening in petrified shock.
That was his brother alright; he had the same blue hair, the hateful sneer he had adorned when he slaughtered their family and entire village. His outfit – no, his entire body was stained from killing Wen's crewmembers, smeared with their blood. But what actually made Wen's own blood run awfully cold was his eyes. They weren't blue, those were mismatched. Gold and purple.
Why the hell did his insane brother have the same eyes as Canterbury Lelouch?
The sneer became a wide smirk, and a hand shot up to grab Wen by his throat. The fingers tightened around the neck, slowly strangling the pirate captain.
"Do you remember Peek-a-boo and Hide & Seek, Wen?" his brother asked, his haunting voice echoing loudly in Wen's ears. "You used to love those games. Shame about your crewmembers, right?"
Stricken with great grief and rage at the same time, Wen roared and struck, hoping to hurt the bastard really. Bad.
Only to be easily blocked by a smirking Canterbury Lelouch, whose mismatched eyes gleamed with an eerie glee that only insane people would understand and share. The pupils were still dilated, barely leaving any space for the mismatched colours to shine. He had his hand wrapped tightly around Wen's throat and the other holding his fist, standing in front of his kneeling form – exactly like his brother. Exactly like in the vision he just had. It was the same stance. That's impossible, the pirate captain thought fearfully, panting and eyes wide in sheer terror. What the hell was that? It had been so... fucking real.
"So," Lelouch drawled, leaning in so that their faces would be close. His darkened eyes were still gleaming devilishly. "how was my illusion? I've been working hard to make them real enough for my victims to be fooled."
Captain Wen was so stunned he couldn't utter a word – they would die out in his throat, swallowed by the fear he felt creeping in like crawling spiders on his skin. He just stared dumbly at Lelouch who, judging by the mocking smirk he was giving him, must have somehow seen what the pirate just saw one way or another and was making cruel fun of it. Had Canterbury Lelouch eaten the Illusion-Illusion Fruit? For him to cast an illusion this real and being able to trap his victims by making them believe anything they'd do or had done, he must be pretty powerful – Wen himself, who was sharp enough to make the difference between reality and a dream, hadn't been able to guess that he was seeing an illusion. His fear had blinded him and clouded his mind so that his reason couldn't clear his judgement. With just that, Wen knew one thing: that man was ten thousand times more dangerous than he thought.
The navigator glanced on his right, noticing that the first mate of the Freesia Pirates had drawn his sword and was pointing it at him, and his smirk widened. Flexing the muscles along the arm that was holding the captain captive, Lelouch lifted him by his throat to look up at his fear-filled eyes (Damn, it had truly been worth going through inhuman training under crazed instructors for years, after all...).
"It's actually impressive that you managed to get this far while being afraid of your past catching up to you," he commented, his eyes now regaining their mismatched colours and their pupils their normal size. "Your darkest nightmares are like food to me, I can practically taste your fear. No wonder you all ran away with your tails between your legs when you got defeated in the New World, you all reek of terror. And you!" he called to the first mate, whose eyes burnt with hatred. "Concealing your fear behind this hatred for me and Saber is useless: I still can feel it pulsing around and from your body and mind like a halo."
The first mate, though secretly intimidated, never wavered. "Release him before I cut you to pieces," he hissed furiously, the tip of his sword dangerously close to his face.
Lelouch stared at him, expression blank as if he were thinking about letting go or not. Then he smirked mockingly. "Sure thing,"
With that, he flung the pirate captain at the first mate, watching as the duo crashed onto the wooden deck. His mismatched eyes took on the terrified expression and look on Wen and Lelouch felt a wave of satisfaction hit him. The illusion had worked! Had he decided to leave his victim into it, the pirate surely would have had his mind broken and he would have watched that with cruel sadism. The Terror-Terror Fruit really messed with my head, he mentally mused as he opened one palm, concentrating a portion of his power into this hand. Small, black and white will-o-wisps danced in his palm, spinning slowly.
Using his powers on yet another victim was dangerous; someone was after him, be it the World Government or someone else, and must be tailing them right now. Should the Freesia Pirates be interrogated about Canterbury Lelouch, their captain would undoubtedly say that he had used some kind of weird, twisted trick and had made him see a terrible illusion. Did he know that illusion could have cost his mind (and his life as well should he decide to commit suicide in order to prevent the madness from fully overcoming him.) if either he hadn't mastered his darkest fears or Lelouch hadn't lifted the horrible spell? Making his victims taste their own fears was risky, especially because he was now blacklisted. He would have to do something about that.
"Now that you've become a pirate, it's for life," Lelouch said as he looked back at Wen, the first mate and the others who had heard the commotion. "You can never go back to being what you were. I'm not a pirate, nor do I care about what's going to happen to you once our deal is off and we've reached Alabasta, but I'm pretty sure that pirates who run away from the New World are viewed as weakling cowards who don't deserve to be called pirates. It's 'Do it or die trying', not 'Try to act tough, shit your pants and run'." He fisted his hand, extinguishing the will-o-wisps, and raised a brow at the tense pirates who had bristled at the insult. "You've embraced a pirate's life and, if you want my opinion, you should actually try to go back to the New World after a little bit of training."
"Like we care about your advices, you twisted shark!"
Lelouch chuckled darkly, putting his fluffy hood back on. "Hey, I'm not trying to order you around, I'm just suggesting that could spur you to come back in full force. Nevertheless," he added as he hopped gracefully onto the edge. "you should try that before you end up captured and sent to Impel Down. That could be a lot more enjoyable than prison."
Then he jumped down, landing on the snow, and looked around for his friend's tail. It was gone and Saber was nowhere to be found. Instead, there was a long row that had been dug in the snow as if a rabbit had done his business underneath. It continued up ahead, right inside the woods. Lelouch rolled his eyes in exasperation, readjusting his hold on his backpack. He was in for a rather long walk with his friend right here – luckily, he had his Haki to sense Saber's (not that he would get lost or anything, it was just going to be a pain with all this snow.) or he could just follow his Vivre Card (all the while hoping he wouldn't get into some stupid trouble that could put his life at stake, because that ape was good at finding trouble and gold.).
"And where has the monkey run off to now?" he muttered, narrowing his mismatched eyes at the forest before him. "Monkeys don't dig tunnels like moles or rabbits, they're just looking for trouble."
At the very least, the Freesia Pirates wouldn't dare make the dumb mistake of leaving – Lelouch had ensured that the captain would remain fear-stricken until he and Saber got back, ready to resume their journey to Alabasta. And even Ferret had his hands tied, so it wasn't like the navigator could get everyone to turn on them – what was a navigator without his tools? Wen wasn't stupid enough to go against a monster who was ten thousand times stronger than he was. He entered the woods, leaving the pirate ship and its angry owners behind.
If Lelouch didn't count the animals he crossed paths with, the forest proved to be quite enjoyable for now; there were no real disturbances or surprise enemy attacks that would have required retaliation and some blood spilled if he were to be forced to, but he did meet some animals that didn't and shouldn't live in such environment – such as a tall and big elephant wearing warm clothes to protect itself from the freezing cold (really, Lelouch had been stupefied to encounter a herd of elephants all dressed just as warmly as the one he had crossed paths with minutes ago. All of them were joyously playing in the snow and building snowmen, and some had even wanted to get the young navigator to play with them by tossing him in the air as if he were a child.).
"Talk about being overfriendly," he had muttered after having lost most of them in the wild. "I'd have loved to play with them a little, but there's a monkey I've got to retrieve ASAP."
Unfortunately, him running away from the elephants had driven further away from his path – thus, he lost Saber's trail in the snow. Cursing his luck, Lelouch scowled unhappily as he marched to recover the distance he had been forced to backtrack; a quick scan over a large chunk of the area with his Observation Haki told him that he was still far away from his friend, who must be doing God knows what, but something weird had held his attention and he had made such a disgusted grimace when he saw the familiar flashy colours that it contrasted drastically with his handsome looks. So there was something this creepy on this island? And here he thought that the Florean Triangle, the stories about this place and the 'ghosts' that were supposed to live where the master of shadows and Warlord, Gecko Moria, lived on Thriller Bark were creepier than his own Devil Fruit... knowing that they might have to go through the fog of the Florean Triangle annoyed him to no end.
But even so, Lelouch had better things to think about even though Saber wasn't with him to give theories. Taking the stolen files from his backpack, he peered down at the informations recorded on paper with a frown. Why a miserable bounty hunter would risk his damn life to steal files from a Vice-Admiral based in the New World baffled him, but there had to be more to the story, especially if he was concerned; Sicario had said that he was supposed to meet with someone to give the files away, but who? If Lelouch were to choose, he'd say the World Government right away because that seemed to be the most logical answer – a Devil Fruit that had been deemed forbidden due to the deadly damages it could cause had been stolen right from under their nose, and should someone intelligent know how to properly use the properties of fear and everything that came with the power, the consequences would be large. Lelouch actually understood why they would want the Devil Fruit back...or himself securely locked away so that the world could forget his existence. He snorted in contempt, annoyed. My congratulations, Vergo, he thought cynically with twitching features, for making me a target. Having the World Government breathing down his neck would be a pain, especially if there would be a bounty placed on his head; the amount would at least be as high as anyone directly wanted dead by the Government, which would appeal to a lot of greedy people (bounty hunters, civilians, pirates... there would be a lot of blood spilled if they didn't give Lelouch a choice in the matter.). Living in a world directed by fear would be akin to hell itself, so why not just capture the embodiment of the emotion that could lead the entire world to self-destruction?
Plus, there was another one that could also create dire situations and plunge the world into chaos; while Lelouch's Terror-Terror Fruit could dig up his victim's most feared nightmares and replay them into dreadful illusions he could twist by sheer will and imagination, the case of one of the last Devil Fruits on the blacklist was all the more terrifying if anyone knew how to wield it. Any Devil Fruit user must have some imagination when using his powers, otherwise it would end up being useless in battle (that was one of the many reasons Lelouch had asked Vergo to teach him some techniques of his own fighting style. Creating illusions out of the fear of everyone around him might be both great and twisted, but he clearly knew that he just couldn't rely on his powers, as incredible as they were.). On par with the Terror-Terror Fruit, Lelouch had been astonished to see that there was an actual Devil Fruit that would allow its user to just use his imagination.
"It's not just some random power," he had told Saber when they were both on watch at night. "This one works on the mind and causes physical consequences at the same time. It's a little bit like mine, in a way: my illusions can literally drive you mad if you don't master your fears and will eat you up until there's nothing sane left in your mind – therefore driving you to commit suicide because you wouldn't be able to get rid of the nightmares. If you can't see it's an illusion, then it will be too late for you to counter it. And I recently discovered that even if you do happen to master your fears, that doesn't I will undoubtedly allow your mind to be free of my web: I'm the embodiment of Fear itself, so that also means that I can keep you prisoner of your own mind and nightmares for as long as I want."
Saber had looked shaken, his eyes wide in disbelief. "I see. Then it's a good thing that you don't abuse of your own power, since you would have been found out much earlier. So, about that other Devil Fruit... do you think the Imagination-Imagination Fruit could really exist?"
"And I was once convinced that there couldn't be a Devil Fruit such as mine, so it couldn't just be a pipe dream." Lelouch crossed his arms, looking thoughtful. "The World Government aren't a bunch of fools, they'd been right to create a blacklist for Devil Fruits. As much as they make me want to hurl, I have to salute their thinking. They must have it locked up with all the other forbidden Devil Fruits in a safe somewhere in Mariejois... and again, I really want to know how Vergo managed to get it if it was locked up there." He sighed, rubbing his forehead. Then he looked at his friend. "I don't think I've experienced and mastered all the possibilities I could realize with my powers, but we can at the very least guess what's Imagination itself can cause to this messed up world. Let's think of an example: Saber, what could possibly happen if an handicaped person or even a mentally ill one were to eat a blacklisted Devil Fruit, be it mine or the Imagination-Imagination Fruit?"
Disasters couldn't be avoided sometimes, but walking disasters proved to be unpredictable – Lelouch had grudgingly become one after finding out about the blacklist, not that he had much of an actual choice in the matter. The Terror-Terror Fruit was devastating enough on its own and left little space for limits, but he had a disturbing feeling that the Imagination-Imagination Fruit could allow its user to do things that must go beyond possible and impossible. If Lelouch had to guess, he'd say that limits wouldn't even exist anymore for the user of such Devil Fruit if he were to actually try to explore everything and anything he could do. There really wouldn't be boundaries with Imagination itself, as Fear had some if the victim were to overcome his nightmares by mastering his fears, and the World Government and the Marines would have their hands full. Now this would be interesting to see and watch; Lelouch being already on the loose with the Terror-Terror Fruit, the Five Elders would throw a fit if another Devil Fruit from the blacklist were to be eaten by someone they hadn't captured yet, so the best and safest solution for the New World navigator would be to remain unknown and refrain from using his powers too much. And if he did, he just had to kill his victims so they wouldn't be able to tell a single thing. After all, dead men tell no tales.
Nevertheless, he and Saber shouldn't dilly-dally if someone was after him, so all Lelouch had to do was get his hybrid friend and they would be on their way to Alabasta once the marksman had absorbed enough cold to last for months. And if there was gold, then the monkey would just have to be knocked out so he could dragged to the ship and they would leave – that is, if Lelouch was able to get him out of that damn circus he had seen earlier through his Haki. He knew that they would have to experience some bits of wanderlust in Paradise, but that didn't mean they had to spend time in a circus. Why would there be freaks on this winter island? As if there weren't enough crackheads and monsters in the Grand Line!
Lifting his eyes from the papers, he noticed Euphemia's ghost not far away in front of him, looking ahead with an awed look in her beautiful eyes. "This environment is absolutely stunning!" she gushed happily. "And I remember you saying that islands in the Grand Line have their own climate, shame we didn't have that back home." The last words were said with a hint of sadness, which indicated that she missed her previous life.
Lelouch kept walking until he went past her, answering after a brief moment. "Yeah, that's one of its bonuses. It's actually fascinating, really." Then he stopped, put the files back in his backpack and closed his eyes as he expanded his Haki to get another close look around the area and towards the damn circus.
First, there were all those loud voices and the noises around Lelouch had to isolate one by one, because they made him cringe in serious distate. Then, the colours. All those flashy, damn colours that reminded him of freaks some children liked. Though they were an eyesore, he had to keep looking – Saber's Haki could be sensed around those mad crackheads and scarecrows, so the idiot had to be somewhere around them. Lelouch could see, among a crowd of civilians going to see those madmen perform, some children wearing excited expressions as they squealed happily about watching acrobates, clowns and other shit only freaks were known to perform. He briefly caught sight of three identical triplets hanging on the side, whose blue, emotionless eyes surveyed the crowd – their posture might not seem harmless but, to Lelouch's trained eye, there was a barely noticeable stiffness in their limbs that suggested a certain uneasiness.
And there was also something strange about those three Lelouch would have to be careful of.
There was a gigantic town behind the circus, where he could hear thousands and thousands of voices with his Haki; modern and so aristocratic-like, it somehow reminded the navigator of his previous life back at Pendragon and the Aries Villa before all hell broke loose with Marianne's 'murder'. The clothes the inhabitants wore were luxurious and expensive, the words they employed gave away their education and the superior expressions they displayed on their faces screamed 'noble' and 'blue blood'. This had become the kind of society Lelouch had come to loathe during his time as a Britannian student in Area Eleven, disowned and cast out of the Imperial fold with his crippled sister. Looking at them would have made him feel bitter and contemptuous, but he had better things to do on this island – like looking for a damn hybrid who must have sensed some gold by now since they were in a rich town!
Lelouch growled in frustration, opening his eyes in a glare. Saber was nowhere to be seen, nowhere to be sensed with all those people swarming into this city and the damn circus. The hybrid really was going to make him go look into that freakshow and that blasted aristocratic city, wasn't he? He would actually have to mingle into the crowd, get into the city and wander into the streets just to find his marksman friend so they could resume their journey after the latter was done absorbing cold air into the tuft on his tail. Fine, the navigator huffed as he sighed, getting ready. Just hope that I won't end up cutting off your damn tail, Sabertooth.
Euphemia having disappeared while he was concentrating on searching his friend, Lelouch didn't waste time on advancing toward the city: jumping in the air by using the Geppou, he soared through the cold air and the snow like a bullet toward the bustling city, the whistling wind ruffling his hair. One day, he'd have to thank both Sphinx and Vergo for teaching him the Six Powers of the Rokushiki technique – because it really did come in handy when he had to cover long distances. Flying in the air was awesome!
"Hey, old man!" Saber called to the merchant, an ecstatic grin on his face and his green eyes twinkling in excitement. He pointed to the shotguns exposed in the galleries. "Where did you find the elements to build such beauties? I could only find decent rifles and shotguns of this quality back home."
The old merchant (who didn't really look that old because of his healthy, muscled body) laughed heartily. "Hahahaha, this is one of the many secrets I won't tell the world, monkey boy! But since you've got an eye for guns, why don't you stay after I close the shop? My wife got the kids for the night, so I feel like hanging around for a little bit before heading home."
The hybrid nodded eagerly, turning back toward the sniper rifle he'd been examining for some minutes. This one was a real beauty, certainly from the very recent versions of sniper rifles and though Saber wouldn't need the lunette to shoot down from a very far distance because of his keen eyesight, he'd rather keep it and use it as a last resort weapon to stab those who would dare to approach him. Being competent in using guns may be useful to him, but practicing the martial arts of his home – and learning how to use Haki – helped him so much back when he had to challenge the elders of his village for his training (Saber would have loved to take on the Guardians of the Mink Tribe from Zou, but tracking down Zunisha was near impossible as the massive elephant was constantly moving so that it wouldn't be found easily. Unless someone he knew could be located on top of the mighty behemoth and had his Vivre Card on, the marksman wouldn't be able to find his sister tribe.), so that was a plus.
He also remembered the reasons that made him want to become someone for himself; having siblings that looked so much like him made him feel like he couldn't stand out and, since nobody in his family had taken the liberty of learning Wing Chun combined with swordsmanship and guns, Sabertooth just needed something to make him look like the odd one.
The solution came by the name of Canterbury Lelouch. And with him came a lot of new adventures and opportunities that could only happen once in a lifetime, combined by the 'presence' he could feel around his new friend eleven years ago – was it some kind of manifestation of the famed Conqueror's Haki he had heard about? His father once mentioned it to one of his friends, saying that anyone who mastered the Conqueror's Haki was worthy of being king. King of what, Saber wouldn't know, but Lelouch had 'something' akin to it: he already mastered both Observation and Armament Haki, so it wouldn't be surprising if he were to actually display the very same 'presence' the late Gold Roger, the Emperors Red-Hair Shanks, Edward Newgate 'Whitebeard', Kaidou and Charlotte Linlin 'Big Mom' and all those big shots from the New World were known to have.
Saber looked down at his hand, tightened it into a fist and concentrated. The familiar tingling feeling of his Armament Haki shot through him and he watched with fascination as his arm turned black, reinforced by the mighty power he had worked hard to improve and learn to control. When his bullets weren't hard enough to do more damages than he expected, taking them out of the cylinder and throwing them himself after coating them with Haki had proved to be a lot deadlier than just firing – his aim being perfect, it wasn't hard for him to hit his targets. But with Lelouch being his partner and friend, Saber felt like he had to grow stronger and stronger to protect him mainly because of the issue with his Devil Fruit (and also because the hybrid couldn't lose that walking disaster to pirates or the World Government, he was too precious for that.); if his friend's theories proved to be correct, then someone from one of the Cipher Pol branches must be looking for him to confirm that he was the wielder of the Terror-Terror Fruit. Therefore, Lelouch was in danger of being caught, thrown into Impel Down or... or something else. There couldn't be a blacklist of Devil Fruits for nothing, there had to be a reason for it. Saber bit his lip, his brow furrowing. Once they find out that he truly had eaten that terrible fruit, Vergo wouldn't be able to protect him anymore and his cover would be blown...
Damn it. Well, they'll just have to take off if this was going to happen one day, because there was no fucking way Saber would let anyone he didn't trust take his friend from him. Over his dead body.
Sensing the old man approach from behind, Saber turned to look at his smiling face. "Why the long face, monkey boy?" he laughed, clapping a hand on Saber's back and making the hybrid choke. "I thought you'd be having a blast with the rifle by now!"
The half monkey had to cough several seconds before replying, sweatdropping. "Too busy with my thoughts. But I've got questions about that circus in town."
"...I'm listening," the old man said darkly, taking the sniper rifle from the shelf to clean it.
Saber suddenly frowned at the tone used, though he followed him inside his workshop. It went from cheerful to somber in a matter of seconds after he mentioned the circus – was there something he should know about the freakshow? If so, then that would definitely make things more interesting on this island before they got back onboard and en route to Alabasta right away. He had absorbed more than enough cold in his tuft to last months without having to stop by another winter island, so he was good.
His green eyes focused on the wrinkled face, whose happy expression had gone downcast, and he blinked in curiosity. "That circus looked pretty strange when I got near it," he said uncertainly, folding his arms. "I mean, I don't mind entertainment cities because there's so much fun to enjoy...but there's something I don't like about this freakshow." His eyes glanced on his right, looking at the tools in the workshop. "Maybe you could enlighten me, sir?"
"You're damn right not to trust those freaks, who would anyway? Well, I don't know much about them since I never went near, and I would have to be half mad to let my sons go watch their shows. But ever since they came on Quasar four months ago and settled at the entrance of Coral Village, everyone seems overjoyed and interested in seeing them in action."
"But not you?" Saber asked, raising a questioning brow.
The merchant turned back to look at the hybrid with wide, disbelieving eyes. "Weren't you listening? I said I would have to be half mad to allow my sons to see those damn freaks, which will never happen! Over my cold, dead body!"
Don't give them ideas, the marksman mentally chided as he watched the old merchant dismantle the sniper rifle with expertise to clean it up. They were silent for a few minutes before he decided to continue. "At first, they weren't very well welcome here because all aristocrats shared the same mindset about them: "What are they doing here? What business does trash like them have in our village?". I may have shared the same thoughts for awhile, I admit it, but only because my guts are screaming at me not to go anywhere near them; they have a strange aura I can't drive myself to trust and there's something creepy about their personality." He scowled, never pausing in his work. "Their leader himself is creepy."
"Oh?"
"Yes, their leader. Blacken Felicio or whatever the hell he calls himself. You'd recognize him easily because of the so-called 'easygoing' personality he displays in front of his audience, he doesn't want anyone to dismiss him so easily as if he were trash – judging by the way he dresses everyday, I'd say he's an attention-seeker that wants all eyes on him all the time. And he's been getting what he wanted for those four months he's been here, so I'm pretty sure the bastard must be happy with that."
The fact that the clowns had been here for such a long time had already surprised Saber, but not even more than the fact that they were still popular. Four months? And they were still on the same island? If there was anything he should know about circuses, it was that they always moved from island to island after some time just to perform and elicit someone else's delight in watching them. Why were they still on Quasar after such a long period? After awhile, everyone must have seen all their tricks and gotten bored of them. The hybrid frowned in genuine confusion, his long tail swishing from side to side and thinking back of the triplets he had seen before dismissing the circus; those three had left an eerie impression on him that made Saber's Haki flare in alarm, which was enough as a warning not to trust those weirdos.
"He doesn't want anyone to dismiss him so easily as if he were trash."
Ah, but wasn't it the goal of every weirdo to get attention from someone belonging to the high society? Aristocrats were sometimes hard to please, so it was a complete mystery as to how they were able to maintain their interest for so long. Saber didn't really care about what could possibly happen to those blue bloods, but he sure did care about what could happen to Lelouch if he the navigator was looking for him right now: he might have chosen to investigate near the circus just to avoid the city and its suffocating atmosphere. The hybrid face-palmed as he considered that idea, since it certainly what Lelouch might be doing. He wasn't the one in danger right now – those freaks were!
He turned toward the old merchant, looking at the sniper rifle with a large grin and twinkling eyes. "Sir? Would it be possible for me to borrow your rifle for something? It has something to do with a friend of mine who is looking for me and would probably turn that circus into a bloody nightmare if I don't get there in time."
"And where do you come from, young man?" a beautiful blonde woman asked Lelouch as they settled down on benches side by side. She even went as far as caressing his cheek. "You have such handsome features like I have never seen on anyone else, even my own husband and children. It almost makes you... princely."
Hell. You're so going to pay for this, Saber. "I hail from the Desert kingdom, Alabasta," Lelouch replied smoothly, crossing his arms against his torso and one leg on the other one. He looked ahead, not even glancing at the wolves that seemed, despite being in a relationship or not, eager to get as much information out of him as possible.
"Alabasta? Such faraway country... you're lucky to have made it out alive before things could get serious, I heard that something bad is going to happen," another said on his right, craning her head to look at his mismatched eyes with a searching look. "I'd avoid going there for awhile until the Marines sort things out and manage to control the situation."
Would you look at that, they even had their own gossip sect. That was hardly surprising. While Lelouch knew that there wasn't any secret that wasn't known to Charles zi Britannia when the bastard was still alive and reigning, dark gossips and secrets must have been shared between noble women of the court and the Emperor's consorts – he wouldn't be surprised if some jealous imbeciles had silently plotted to have Marianne killed. So even gossips among aristocrats in the Grand Line were a common thing... fine, if he could dig up some information from women, that would be good. They always were willing to talk after some persuasion, so using his looks was in order for now.
He turned his eyes toward the one on his right and smiled pleasantly, making her blush instantly. She was a pretty good-looking woman with long, curly grey tresses that reached her waist, deep blue eyes and full lips. Her gown was luxurious and white as snow, somehow making her look like an angel begging to be besmirched. She also had her winter attire to compliment her looks. She sure looked lovely like this.
"Oh, is that so?" Lelouch inquired 'innocently' as he took her hand in his. He smiled down at her flushed face, igoring the other woman who huffed. "Perhaps we should discuss this matter after being entertained, don't you think? I just arrived in town today and I don't know where we could get warm and get to know each other... do you?"
She gasped. "Y-you mean... like a date?" She sounded hopeful (Damn it, that was something Baby 5 wouldn't approve of.).
Lelouch nodded, still smiling. "Only if you allow me to take you on one." He braced himself for whatever may come at him afterward when he kissed her hand lightly. But then, as if remembering something, he adopted a 'worried' expression. "You don't have another man in your life, do you, miss...?"
"Margaret!" she exclaimed happily, smiling sweetly. "My name is Margaret!"
"Glad to know the name of such a beautiful woman," Lelouch said as he returned the smile. "I'm Lelouch. I hope we'll get the chance to know each other a little more after the show."
"Definitely," Margaret sighed dreamily as she wrapped her arms around his own and leaned on him.
And you'll definitely pay for this as well, monkey man, he mentally raged with slightly twitching features and a slightly feral smirk as he turned his attention back to whatever was in front of them. A man wearing a black and red top hat on his red hair, sporting a dark costume with white tie and gloves, stepped onto the stage with a large grin on his pale face. He appeared to be on his early thirties, but there was a nasty gleam in his green eyes that made Lelouch's Haki flare instantly. Whatever that might be, it set the New World navigator on edge and made him frown in distrust. And this smile... it reeked of ill intent and dark mischief.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome, welcome to yet another show of the Blacken Serenade Circus!" he shouted loudly while spreading his arms wide and making Lelouch cringe and scowl in instant distaste at the sound of his voice. All at once, the crowd settled down to watch the charade with smiles on their faces. "For those who are newcomers, my name is Blacken Felicio and I'm here to give you one of the best entertainments of your life with all my friends."
Lelouch snorted to himself, but paid no mind to Margaret as she lightly nudged him to silence him. As Blacken Felicio turned, two women dressed as acrobates appeared out of nowhere, doing somersaults and flips before landing gracefully on each side of the master of the show, glowing and smiling sweetly at the audience, who clapped eagerly and cheered. Lelouch noticed that they were twins, judging by their identical looks – brown eyes, violet hair, the same cute face. And the flirty winks they sent his way when they made out his brilliant, mismatched eyes surely irritated Margaret, who snuggled possessively to his side (Hell, he must have done too much by flirting with her and manipulating the poor woman to go on a date with him. Canterbury Lelouch doesn't do dates, and not even Vergo wasn't going to change that. That shit wasn't for him, but if he wanted informations about what was going on in Alabasta...and if the bitch was lying about that just to get besmirched by him, she was in for one hell of a ride.).
"So, ladies and gentlemen..." Felicio's smile was absolutely sickening to Lelouch's eyes, and his eyes were also glowing. "Are we ready to dance?"
Bring it, Lelouch challenged in his mind, his own eyes gleaming as well.