"Communication - the human connection - is the key to personal and career success."
- Paul J. Meyer
Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass or anything from other series, just the OC's for my story.
Finally, at last, I have finished this chapter! This is the second longest chapter I have ever written so far.
pyrovortex: Chess being mathematically solvable, hmmm... I have to think of a way to incorporate that into the story probably as a way to taunt Lelouch at some point in the story. Significant divergences will probably happen somewhere around third to halfway of R1 at the latest.
Raidentensho: Yes, it will have 3rd person views. There is a good reason why landspinners are the primary method of locomotion, as noted in tvtropes the main argument against building a military mecha in real life is the vulnerability of the legs but in Code Geass, land spinners makes it almost impossible to accurately target the legs although I will write scenes where frames actually use their legs. Yes mobile suits from Gundam series will get the knightmare makeover. As for the Knights of the rounds, you will have to wait and see.
Grimraven.V: Because of Zechstein's looks, status, success, charm, and personality he will be popular with woman and he will have a complicated love life but if you want a story with no harem I plan on writing a gundam seed fanfic in the future if you're interested, in fact, my protagonist for the fanfic won't even show any sort of interest in romance like Lloyd.
Ben56: Sorry but Cornelia, Kallen, and Viletta Nu won't be part of the harem and I'm not really interested in writing those series. I do appreciate your reviews and support though, thanks!
Early June 2009 a.t.b
The day of Marianne's assassination is getting closer. While an exact date was never revealed but taking into account the first picture drama episode and information in the Stage 0 light novel which admittedly is of dubious canonicity, puts Marianne's death and Nunnally losing the function of her legs somewhere around summer. To prepare for the events that happen as a result of that, I've been making plans and adjustments for the future whenever possible ever since I first learned that I was in the world of Code Geass.
As I could no longer just look up information on Code Geass in the internet, the danger of forgetting important information increased each passing day. I tried to recall everything I could about Code Geass and wrote it down lest I forget anything. Of course I didn't dare write anything in clear plain English or any foreign languages I knew lest somebody stumbled upon it. Instead I jotted down information in a way nobody but myself could ever understand. I wrote down relevant information from the anime, sound dramas, picture dramas, manga, light novels, games, code geass wiki, tvtropes, information from forums, and even fanfictions as a reference for possible scenarios and formulated my strategies based on those information.
However, I had to take great care not to be too reliant on my knowledge of the future, as my very existence in this world is the biggest indicator that there is no guarantee that the future will be the same as the one depicted in the anime. In fact, it would be extremely naive of me to have such expectations, however, it would be very nice if the beginning of R1 followed the events of the anime at least and then work as the guiding hand behind the scenes to make sure events more or less stay on course, if not...well at least I can make use of other information I know and I could always just destroy a thought elevator or two if necessary and cut off V.V.'s head, dismember his limbs, have the head and limbs locked up in separate safes and drop it down in the Mariana trench for good measure.
A brutal and morbid method but since he's a code bearer and therefore immortal such measures are most likely necessary. Besides, it's not like he doesn't deserve it.
Plotting the downfall of assholes never failed to make me inwardly or physically smirk. Let them remain blissfully unaware of their impending failure and doom until it's too late. Heh, I wonder what sort of face they will make when everything goes to hell for them? One thing is for certain, it's going to be absolutely priceless.
In order to make that scenario a reality, I stepped up my training and studies. I also needed to establish a solid power base before being at the center of the events that would determine the fate of humanity and to clash with future enemies. To fulfill that purpose, joining the military was the best course of action.
I first sought Cornelia 3 months ago to teach and train me in military subjects but she told me she was too busy due to her duties as the head of Marianne's royal guard, instead, she directed me to the recently promoted Colonel Andreas Darlton.
The towering scarred Colonel was in the process of creating a brand new training program for future knights and he needed someone to test it out on to further fine-tune his training exercises and I happened to conveniently show up.
It was a mutually beneficial arrangement. I would get the training I wanted and needed and Darlton had the opportunity to test out his training program and make adjustments to his exercises based on my results for further improvement. I was put through countless drills, exercises, and simulations complemented by theoretical studies. Sadly, it will be some time before I would get to pilot an actual Knightmare as all existing Knightmares at this point in time are prototypes impractical for battlefield deployment with only test pilots such as Marianne being allowed to operate the machines. There was also a special training program for Knightmares of which Cornelia and Darlton were participants, in fact his ties to the program and rank is the reason why he was able to have a knightmare simulator for my training.
From the time I spent training under Darlton I became close to the Colonel, he was one of the few people who I knew for certain was trustworthy; someone who possessed no ulterior motives, which was a breath of fresh air for me considering the nest of vipers that is the Britannian court.
I first met Darlton several years ago back when he had the rank of Major, he was also a knight on guard at the palace inhabited by Cornelia's and Euphemia's mother during that time. From his time there, he came to know the li Britannia sisters well and both of them gravitated toward Darlton as a father figure, which was unsurprising considering the sort of asshole the Emperor was; unless his children could be used for some purpose he wouldn't even acknowledge their existence.
My relationship with my mother, however, couldn't be any more different. Unlike the Emperor, she went out of her way to interact and spend time with her children and seemed to genuinely enjoy both of her son's company and in return we too enjoyed her company. In contrast to the other Imperial consorts I have never heard her badmouth Marianne, Lelouch, and Nunnally or any commoners and foreigners for that matter. However, as with Schneizel, I was cautious towards her as there was always a possibility she was masking a cold, ruthless, calculating and manipulative personality under a kind, warm, charming, and motherly facade just like Marianne. I really hoped that wasn't the case but if it was...that would really suck, to say the least. However if she was sincere, then I am a bad son for suspecting her, but still, I couldn't let my guard down considering what Schneizel and Marianne are like along with other fictional examples of people good at acting.
Aside from what her personality was like, my mother unfortunately liked to attend parties and social functions like many other members of the ruling Britannian upper class, with myself in tow. Over the years, I accompanied mother to various locations around the homeland where we would become the center of attention. I learned to accept the fact that, as a prince, I will almost inevitably attract attention whether I wanted it or not, while it was nice getting the prince treatment but after a while it felt forced and superficial.
I especially came to dislike parties and any social gatherings involving socialites, nobility, and most of the royal family, especially if I was the center of attention. It was mentally tiring to politely greet large numbers of spineless, sycophantic parasites hoping to curry favor with a prince and parties, galas and other social gatherings where the guests would spend time by sharing vapid gossip, brag about some achievement of dubious validity to impress peers and raise their standing, look for prospective marriage partners, talk about topics such as politics, court intrigue, the latest fashion, trends, and other dull topics only served as a reminder to me how foolish, ignorant, wasteful, shallow and untrustworthy the Britannia nobility were as a whole; unless the siblings I liked happened to be present just about the only enjoyable aspect of these events was the food and drinks.
I am currently sitting at a VIP table eating my food, a blood relative of my mother is celebrating his birthday and my mother, Schneizel and I were invited. The party itself was narcissistically extravagant and after I finished eating I found myself bored and wished nothing more than to go home but alas, knowing my mother she would become engrossed in conversation with blood relatives and the other guests. I got up from my table and decided to explore the manor to pass the time; with the majority of the attention on the birthday man, Schneizel, and my mother, I was free to do so without being approached ass-kisers.
"Hahahahahahahahahaha!"
I was suddenly broken from my thoughts when I heard the sound of laughing and also yelling.
"Get her! Get her! Get Her!"
"Get back here!"
I turn to the direction of the noise to see a group of angry looking boys chasing a young girl with blond hair wearing a light green dress, laughing mischievously while running away from her pursuers. Using the surrounding to her advantage, the girl managed to make the boys lose sight of her resulting in the boys splitting up to cover more ground. When a chubby boy with brown hair, who was among those looking for her, was close to her position she hid underneath a table that was next to me. He was checking underneath the tables one by one and when he was about to check the table next to me, that was when I decided to intervene.
"If you're looking for a blonde girl wearing a light green dress, she's not here."
He turned around around and looked at me with an snobbish expression. Everything about him screamed spoiled brat. "Where is she?" He arrogantly demanded.
Guess he doesn't know who I am or maybe he was just too angry to care.
I point to an exit.
"She went that way, she's most likely headed for the manor grounds, you should hurry or you'll never catch her."
Without a word, the boy ran around to gather the rest of his gang and headed to the exit I pointed to and their figures quickly diminished as they got farther away from me. I waited until I was certain they were no longer in the area before calling out to the girl hidden under the table.
"They're gone, you can come out now."
A hand came out from under the table and lifted the cover. The girl came out from the table, stood up, dusted off her light green dress and grinned at me.
Taking a closer look at her, I realized that the girl was none other than Milly Ashford or if I'm wrong, someone who looked a lot like a young Milly Ashford at least.
"Thanks for making them go away, my name is Millicent Ashford but I like Milly better! What's your name?" She asked cheerfully.
Millicent? Milly wasn't her actual name? Some fanfics I read in my previous life did use the name Millicent but the anime and other official works gave no indication that Milly was a shortened form of Millicent or some other name, but then again, considering my own existence in this world, I guess this could be called a minor ripple? Or now that I think about it, maybe I was in a very similar but alternate universe to the anime?
"My name is Zechstein el Britannia but I prefer to be called Zechs." I answered.
I revealed my name and therefore my status to her. I wonder how she'll react?
Her eyes widened and then...
"Pfffffffffhahahahahahahahaha! What sort of name is Zechstein?"
I give her a deadpan look. "Which is why I prefer to be called Zechs...Millicent" I commented dryly.
I know Zechstein is a strange name which isn't helped by the fact that Zechstein means mine stone or tough stone in german, but does she really have to laugh? It was a good thing no guests were close to our location or else things would have become potentially troublesome.
...Wait...she's laughing at me? Even after after I revealed my surname?
She gave me a glare...a rather adorable glare might I add. "I told you I like Milly better!" she huffed.
"Indeed you did." I responded cooly.
We stared at each for a bit before Milly decided to speak up.
"So why did you help me?" Milly asked.
I smiled. "What can I say? I just couldn't let a bunch of obvious bullies gang up on someone, especially someone like you. It would been awful if a cute adorable girl like you got caught by the likes of them, their obvious lack of basic courtesy and manners along with their anger would mean you wouldn't be treated well at all if caught."
Milly glanced away from me, her cheeks turning a light pink. "Y-You-You're right, it would have been awful if a cute adorable girl like myself got caught."
She stood silently and observed me before speaking up.
"You know Zechs, you're really weird."
Out of all things she could have said, this was not something I expected. While my facial expression didn't change, I couldn't help but inwardly snort at her words. While I'm fully aware that I definitely couldn't be considered normal, she wasn't exactly a shining example of normalcy either.
"How so?" I inquired half-rhetorically.
"Even though you're a prince you're not mean, selfish or completely full of yourself. You're nothing like how I imagined a member of royalty would be." She answered.
I couldn't help but give a light chuckle at her words. "You're quite unusual yourself, a normal girl wouldn't laugh while running away from a group of angry boys after what I presume to be a trick or a prank and a normal girl definitely wouldn't laugh at my name when I reveal my surname."
Milly's face scrunched into a cute frown. "Hey! I just like having fun!" She argued indignantly. "And you have to admit, Zechstein is a pretty weird name. I couldn't help but laugh."
It took great effort not to roll my eyes. "You shouldn't assume everyone else's idea of fun is the same as yours and it's rather bold of you to laugh at a prince; you technically committed lèse-majesté." I retorted.
"That's the problem! Other kids and especially the adults clearly do not know how to have fun, as a member of the Ashford family it is my duty to show people the true meaning of fun!" The young Ashford passionately declared.
"And the lèse-majesté?" I questioned, unfazed by her outburst.
"Oh, I knew at first glance that you were a good guy, so everything's fine." Milly beamed, she then sighed. "It's really sad. Even though you're a nice guy, I can tell you're a serious type of person; one who clearly doesn't know how to truly relax and have fun." She said with a faux forlorn expression, which in a split second is replaced by a playful expression, "And so, I've decided to become your friend and teach you what amusement and entertainment is all about. Prepare yourself!"
"I'll gladly be friends with you but-".
"No buts! And that's final!" Milly exclaimed. "Oh, We're going to have so much fun together! We'll play pranks, tricks, go to festivals and parties and- " Milly giddily listed every activities she could think of.
I was too busy feeling conflicting emotions to listen to her; happiness that I made friends with a free-spirited, fun-loving girl like Milly Ashford along with fear and dread for the future involving me being dragged into the pranks and other random, bizarre, and/or outlandish shenanigans of Milly Ashford. If you combined that with the exhaustion of Darlton's training my lifespan will most likely if not inevitably shorten.
Later that day Milly dragged and introduced me to her parents and joyfully announced that we became friends, the looks on both her parents faces was priceless; I didn't know jaws could drop that low. I met and greeted Milly's parents, they seemed nice and friendly enough, although the calculating gleam in their eyes, especially Mrs. Ashford's was rather unsettling, I really hoped they weren't planning what I think they're planning...Oh who am I kidding, at the very least they must be thinking about it. No matter, I'll deal with it some other time.
After some conversations, we exchanged farewells and Milly and I arranged for a time to spend together. As I made my way back to mother and Schneizel I thought about my meeting with the Ashfords. Meeting and befriending Milly was quite an unexpected piece of fortune for me, forging ties with the Ashford family would mean that my eventual acquisition of the Ashford foundation would go more smoothly and I'll have an ally in the future Area 11. Not only that I can use the connection to freely get involved with Ashford Academy where I can keep tabs on C.C., Lelouch, Nunnally, and Suzaku. Aside from that, Milly is someone who despite her love of gossip and chaotic festivals, knows how to keep a secret and deeply cares for her friends, an invaluable trait. I look forward to getting to know her better. Things will never be boring with her around...for better or worse.
Late June 2009 a.t.b
I swear, nobles and royals throw parties for nearly any reason. This time it was to celebrate the official start of summer and with my mother attending, I had to escort her. As soon as the customary greetings were over, I was more eager than usual to avoid interacting with the guests since I was still sore from Darlton's training the other day. However, in my eagerness to get away from the nobles along with a dash of paranoia that someone may have been following me, I made a sudden sharp turn to a corner of a hallway and-
"Ooph!"
"ugh" I grunted. I felt someone bumping into me.
"sniff, sniff, uuuu"
The person I bumped into was a little girl with light pink hair wearing a formal red and pink dress...who happened to be crying.
I kneeled next to her, "I'm sorry, are you okay?" I asked gently.
The little girl looked at me teary eyed and slowly nodded.
I smiled. "That's good to hear." Looking more closely at her, I realized, to my surprise, that she was none other than-
"Anyaaaaaa!"
Looking at the direction where the voice came from, I saw a young girl wearing a dark purple dress with a hostile expression charging at my location with a startling speed that I didn't know was possible for a young girl wearing a formal dress. I immediately stood up and braced myself for impact. Now normally, I would have been able to dodge even if she was unexpectedly fast but alas Darlton's harsh training has left me rather tired and sore and so I had to make do with what little time I had left until the girl arrived. However, the expected collision did not come.
"Anya!" She helped Anya to her feet checked Anya over from head to feet. "Are you okay!? Did he hurt you!?"
Instead of a violent ordeal I expected, she was frantically checking over a young Anya Alstreim to make sure she was okay. I took this opportunity to observe the unknown girl. Her hair was pink with a purple hue and tied that is styled into twintails with dark purple ribbons and her eyes is reddish-pink, the same as Anya's. Her appearance resembled that of a young Haman Karn.
Who is she? What is her relation to Anya? These are the two biggest questions in my mind.
I was about to speak up when not-Haman glared murderous daggers at me. She pointed her index finger towards me, "You! What happened to Anya! If you're responsible for making my little sister fall and cry, I won't forgive you even if you're part of royalty!"
Sister? I can honestly say that I did not see that coming. I should assuage her anger first and then get more information.
"It was my fault, I wasn't watching where I was going and I ended up into bumping into your sister and for that I apologize."
Anya pulled on her sister's dress, causing the older girl to turn her head to face her sister.
"It was just an accident and he apologized, so please, don't get angry." Anya pleaded with the dreaded puppy dog eyes further enhanced by her face wet with tears from earlier. Its power and impact was no less equal to that of Euphemia's or Nunnally's, which is quite a feat in itself.
Not-Haman's cheeks became pink and she looked away. "F-Fine, since an apology was issued, I suppose I can forgive this transgression."
It seems that like so many others, she had no way to defend against deadly power of the puppy dog eyes, especially since it was coming from her own sister.
"I am most grateful." I paused for a bit before continuing. "Why don't we take this opportunity to properly introduce ourselves? I am Zechstein el Britannia but you can call me Zechs, in fact, I would prefer it."
Anya widened her eyes and adopted an adorably nervous expression while her older sister was unusually calm.
"You're not what I expected from a member of the royal family." She replied simply.
I couldn't help but smile. "And your reaction is also quite unexpected but I don't dislike it at all. May I have the pleasure of learning your name?"
"Aila! Anya! There you are!" Just as Not-Haman was about to speak, a female voice interrupted.
I turned my attention to the source of the voice and my heart skipped a beat, a gorgeous young lady was approaching the three of us. She was a slender, well-endowed woman of average height dressed in an elegant green gown. She possessed deep pink hair kept in a ponytail with a half crown braid at the back of her head along with shoulder length side bangs framing her face and the same reddish-pink eyes as the two younger girls. Her hair reminded me of Lacus Clyne but I recall there was another gundam character that had a similar hairstyle, hmmm who was it again?
I glanced first to the lady walking towards us and then to not-Ham-err, I mean Aila, as I just learned. Then I realized, it was Marlene Karn, Haman's older sister.
When the unknown woman arrived she stood next to Aila, it was almost like the volume 6 cover of the Gundam MSV-R Shin Matsunaga manga. Then this meant that Anya was Serrana Karn of Code Geass? I wonder if their father resembles Maharaja Karn?
"Anya, Aila, you two shouldn't run off on your own." The woman gently admonished.
The two girls looked down with a guilty expression, "I'm sorry." The two apologized at the same time.
She gave a gentle smile "As long as you two understand."
She then turned towards me and smiled, "Hello, I am Alma Alstreim, and these two are my younger sisters, Aila and Anya, what's your name?" She inquired in a kind tone.
"I am Zechstein el Britannia but please, call me Zechs." An ordinary person would have blushed and maybe stuttered but not me, constant lessons on etiquette and manners, paranoia, and interactions with Schneizel along with being forced to interact with the nobility has tempered and refined my ability to hide my emotions and intentions by leaps and bounds.
Alma smiled closed her eyes and gave a polite bow "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance Zechs."
I explained what happened what took place between me and her younger sisters and I learned more about the Alstreims.
The Alstreim family were a prominent noble family who had access to the Imperial family. Their father is an accomplished admiral in the Royal Britannian Navy while their mother is a professor at the Imperial Colchester Institute, which I recall was where Jeremiah, Lloyd, Cecile, and Rakshata attended years before the beginning of R1. The eldest child, Alma age 18, is a talented seamstress who designed and tailored the outfits she and her siblings were currently wearing. The middle child, 12 year old Aila, is a prodigy who won every fencing competition she entered and planned on attending the military academy and become a knightmare pilot in the future. Finally, the third and youngest child, 5 year old Anya is the cute adorable child whom everyone dotes on and is scheduled to be sent to Aries Villa to be schooled in proper etiquette and manners, which Aila voiced her objections rather vocally.
"I see absolutely no reason why Anya has to be sent to Aries Villa. She can be taught proper etiquette and manners at our home."
"Aila, we've been over this before," Alma sighed. "Father and mother are too busy with their work while you and I have school and lessons."
"But what if the inhabitants bully Anya!? I won't be there to protect her!" Aila protested.
"You don't have to worry about that." I interjected. "My half-siblings, Nunnally and Lelouch, are not the type to bully, demean, or belittle others. In fact, I'm certain Anya and Nunnally will become great friends especially since they are of the same age."
Now that I think about it, why was Anya sent to Aries Villa? The majority of nobles viewed Marianne as nothing more than a brutish, commoner soldier who somehow seduced the Emperor and Marianne herself is a rebellious spirit who once rode a horse into the palace's great hall and broken into court over a denied audience and just last month, she used the Ganymede to chase away Gabriella, the mother of Clovis and Laila, and her entourage who was harassing Lelouch and Nunnally, she even pointed the Ganymede's rifle directly at Gabriella, all the while smiling like an angel. While amusing, such actions couldn't be considered proper etiquette and manners by any stretch of imagination, which made it all the more baffling that Anya would be sent to Aries Villa.
Unfortunately, my question would be left unanswered as I was eager to change the subject.
"I also plan on attending the military academy to become a Knightmare pilot in the future."
Aila looked strangely excited, "Then I challenge you to a duel!" She yelled.
Alma and Anya seemed confused by Aila's challenge.
"I'll have to refuse." I responded politely.
"What's wrong? Scared that you'll lose?" said, smirking.
"Aila" Alma said sternly.
However, before she could chide her younger sister, I spoke up. "For your information, the reason I refused is not because I fear the outcome but simply due to the fact the duel cannot take place currently. All current Knightmares are prototypes which only test pilots such as Empress Marianne are allowed to operate. For the duel to take place we would have to wait until Knightmares become mainstream in the military and we both attend the military academy."
An awkward silence ensued, to the point I could almost hear crickets chirping in the background.
"Th-Tha-That-That's what I meant!" Aila exclaimed with a flustered face.
"Your stuttering and face makes your statement rather dubious, which might I add enhances your cuteness even more." I grinned.
Aila's face became even redder and her body trembled.
"Pffffffffffffufufufufufufufuhahahahahahahahaha!"
Alma and Anya who were struggling to contain their laughter, reached their limit and their lively laughter echoed the hallway.
"A-Alma! Anya! Why are you two laughing!? Don't laugh!" Aila pouted unhappily.
Unfortunately for her, this seemed to make those two laugh even more. I couldn't help be moved by this, her pout was just too cute but I couldn't enjoy it for long as Aila marched towards me while glaring. "You! This is all your fault!" She yelled jabbing her finger in my face.
"It's poor form to blame others for your own words and actions and besides, Anya is happy." I gestured towards Anya. "It's far better for a cute adorable girl like her to be laughing compared to crying or being nervous, don't you agree?"
Aila, whose face was still somewhat red, folded her arms and humphed. "I'll at least admit you're right. Since you managed to make Anya happy and recognized how cute and adorable she is, I'll forgive you this time."
She really does love her younger sister, like how Cornelia loves Euphemia and Lelouch loves Nunnally. She grudgingly acknowledged my role in making Anya laugh and decided not to punish me, not that I did anything to warrant a punishment.
Aila then narrowed her eyes and continued, "But embarrass me again, I will make you pay, understood?" She warned in a low threatening voice.
I merely give my best friendly smile "Understood."
Eventually we exchanged goodbyes but not before agreeing to meet again at a later date, especially Aila. As I made my way back to my family, all I can feel is turmoil.
Damn it. What should I do? What am I supposed to do?
Should I let Marianne possess Anya or intervene so that she actually dies? While her death was a tempting option, that could create its own problems. How would it potentially affect the Emperor's actions? How would it affect C.C. and her relationship with Lelouch? Several other questions involving the plot raced through my mind but what troubled me the most was the impact it could have on the Alstreim family.
I recalled my meeting with the Alstreim sisters. Though I have only known them for a short time, they were a loving family whose company I enjoyed. Can I bring myself to tear them apart? Can I...condemn Anya, an innocent girl, to a life as a host body for that parasite, robbed of her free will?
The more I ask myself these questions, the more I felt my stomach churn. No matter which option I chose, someone was going to suffer.
Charles zi Britannia, Marianne vi Britannia, and V.V., these names alone fill me with contempt and homicidal rage.
Their presence is a blight upon this world, therefore...they will be removed.
- So, do you think I wrote a young Milly well? What do you think of Anya's older sisters? And yes, an OC sister for Anya is an idea from Change and Chaos by Red Prince of Ruin, I couldn't help it I just liked the idea too much. Of course there will be differences and I added another sibling based on Marlene Karn, Haman's older sister.
- Just like I've told gundam 09 and mentioned in my profile, don't ever expect quick and/or regular updates from me. I'm a slow writer who has a hard time writing 100 words for my fanfics in one day.
- Rate and Review!
