The year was 2017 a.t.b. and Revolutionary Year 228.
The union of Europia was at a prolonged war with the Holy Britannian Empire, their long-time rival. Fierce battles rocked the eastern front as the armies of the two duelling superpowers clashed viciously.
However, the scales of the war were not in perfect balance.
Europia, unable to mount a decisive counterattack, steadily lost territory after territory to the Britannian armies. Faced with the threat of an impending Britannian conquest, they were forced to search for a way to counter Britannia's advantages.
By a stroke of fate, the Europians stumbled upon an ancient secret buried within the earth. Were it able to be mastered, it would have the potential to easily turn the tides of the war…
Determined to keep this potential power away from Britannian hands, the location, naturally concealed by forest, became highly classified.
The Europians worked tirelessly to study what lay within in their hopes to harness its capabilities…
Meanwhile, thousands of kilometres away in the former country of Japan, now Area 11 under their Britannian conquerors, the announcement of a Special Administrative Zone had caught the ire of a certain exiled prince.
He had perceived the proposal to be a threat to his future plans and devised a plot against it. Unfortunately, his scheme called for a great betrayal to come…
September 4, 2017 a.t.b.
Europia, Germany, Black Forest, 7:00 pm
Light footsteps rang through the dry, cool air as a 17-year old girl with green eyes and long, fluffy lilac hair reaching down to her waist walked through a shaft some three metres across, lined with ancient stone.
She was Anna Clement, one of Europia's brightest scientists, an intellectual prodigy who had even completed her schooling as early as the age of 14, and was rather pretty on top of that.
By her side she was accompanied by her assistant, a girl of auburn hair and teal eyes by the name of Chloe Winkel.
Anna was new to this place, brought in from the currently out-of-commission wZERO unit for her expertise in technology. She had been informed of something down there, something that intrigued her curious mind.
Something supposedly very advanced, yet very ancient, hidden deep within.
The lilac-haired young scientist was quite eager to see what it was, eager to explore this…something.
She did not need to wait for long.
Soon enough, Anna and Chloe reached the end of the shaft as it gave way to a vast, cavernous chamber.
Immaculately carved stone walls etched with strange glyphs stood high and vast around them. As Anna looked towards the centre of the chamber, she was met by the sight of a huge metallic pedestal around ten metres in diameter, examined by teams of scientists.
Nearby, just outside the outer circle a control panel seemed to be present. Thick wires from large power generators nearby connected to the platform. Tables with laptops and piles of notes were present around the area.
One of the researchers examining the pedestal noticed Anna's presence. She was a slender young woman with ginger hair slightly over shoulder length and cerulean eyes, dressed in an unbuttoned laboratory coat over a maroon shirt and black pants.
"Ah, Ms. Anna Clement. My pleasure to meet you," said the researcher. "I'm Dr. Ilsa Weimann, the lead researcher."
"Nice to meet you too," said Anna brightly as she and Ilsa shook hands.
"And you are?" asked Ilsa, having turned towards Chloe.
"Chloe Winkel," the girl introduced herself.
"She's my assistant," said Anna.
"Very well. I'll be relegating my role to you, Ms. Clement", said Ilsa. "But first, let me show you around. Follow me."
Ilsa led Anna, trailed by Chloe, as they walked towards the direction of the walls. It was then that the young lilac-haired scientist got a closer look at the strange glyphs etched into the stone.
"These glyphs potentially hold the secrets behind this chamber, the device it housed, and the civilisation behind it all," said Ilsa. "We have catalogued any distinct character we could identify. However, these symbols still remain undecipherable so far."
The three continued to stroll alongside the wall, passing by petroglyphs that stood out amongst the ancient text.
"Fortunately for us," said Ilsa, "while we are yet to be able to read the writing, we have these petroglyphs to show us. Take a good look."
Anna and Chloe turned their attention towards the petroglyphs.
Various depictions of humans with fantastically advanced technology, strange reptilian humanoids, creatures known to be long-extinct on Earth, and of the varied interactions between such, lay before their eyes.
They painted an overall picture of a world that seemed outlandish, more fantasy than reality.
Anna could not help but wonder. Her innate curiosity demanded to know.
Was this a clever hoax? Would have had to been a very dedicated one to spend so much time and energy on, especially considering the huge scale of this chamber, the size of which could be likened to a large cathedral.
Thus Anna came to the only other conclusion she had.
"They had quite an interesting mythology," said Anna.
A mythology that involved elements very strange to find in the folklore of any known ancient civilisation, but what else could be made out of such a story?
"We would have dismissed these as simply mythological as well, Ms. Clement.", said Ilsa. "However, the device housed here made us wonder if these were actual recordings of reality." Ilsa led Anna and Chloe towards the pedestal.
"This object here," Ilsa motioned towards the pedestal. "This had been the subject of our ongoing research since June."
Now with a closer look, Anna's analysing eyes dwelled on this pedestal as she took in its major outer features.
The central portion of the pedestal had an inner raised platform around seven and a half metres across. Four obelisks, each around five metres tall, stood on four cardinal directions on the outer rim of the inner circle. Four more obelisks stood six metres tall on four intercardinal directions on the outer rim of the pedestal. As Anna looked closer, she saw that each of the obelisks were covered in the same strange glyphs as the walls were.
"What exactly does this structure do?" asked Anna.
"I think showing the results of our studies would do to answer your question," said Ilsa. "This way."
Anna and Chloe followed Ilsa as she made her way unto one of the tables. It contained a single active laptop surrounded by stacks of bound papers and written notes.
Ilsa opened a folder in the laptop, presenting the contents of the files within to Anna and Chloe as they looked closely. The first file was a schematic of the pedestal - which showed it to be a highly advanced technological device. Internal components were displayed, and were catalogued and labelled whenever positively identified.
"The machinery here is very advanced," said Ilsa. "More advanced than what we or the Britannians have."
"It's quite fascinating," said Anna as she looked over the schematic. "I've worked on technology for a while now, and I've never seen anything like this."
"It's also very old," said Ilsa as she opened another file. "Radioactive dating has recovered an age of approximately 13,500 years, give or take a century. Yet it's still very much functional."
"Feel free to read the notes on the table," said Ilsa as she moved on to another file.
"I can see it seems to generate Einstein-Rosen bridges on activation," said Anna as she read over the various experimentation results from the written notes.
"Exactly," said Ilsa. "We have only been able to make the wormholes last between one and ten seconds so far before they collapse. We have been inducing activation by feeding it sudden pulses of electric current."
We have also made attempts to decipher the control panel," she added, "But it's the exact same problem as with the wall glyphs."
"There were other perplexing findings from within and around this chamber as well," Ilsa continued on as she went through another file. "This is a suit of armour decorated with a pair of dinosaur lower jaw bones fastened to the back."
The laptop screen displayed photographs of said armour from different views.
"The jaw bones match those of Giganotosaurus, yet carbon dating finds an age of around 14,000 years. The bones themselves also aren't fossilised, and DNA could even be recovered."
"That would normally sound quite unbelievable," said Anna. "This site just keeps getting stranger and stranger the more I look at it."
"We had the exact same feeling when we first recorded these results," said Ilsa. "We tested them several times to be sure."
"Power generators prime, all systems green! Sensor arrays ready! Test # 19 is ready to commence!" one of the operators cried out.
"Ms. Clement, this is your call I believe," said Ilsa.
"Very well," said Anna. "Are the safety procedures ready? We wouldn't want any freak accidents."
"They are, Ms. Clement," said Ilsa.
"We're ready to begin then. Start the test!" the lilac-haired lass announced.
The operators pressed the switches and began adjusting the dials controlling the power generators, starting an energy surge through the cables and into the metallic pedestal. The ancient machine emitted a low humming sound, which started to intensify after a couple of seconds.
Crackling electricity arced between the tops of the obelisks as the glyphs etched on them glowed. The humming continued to intensify.
After a few seconds more, wind began to blow from the centre of the pedestal as air was forcefully vacated, leaving a forming vacuum in the middle. In its midst the sensors picked up a region of increased spatial curvature forming in the middle, akin to a small gravitational field.
"Spacetime warping confirmed," a researcher declared. "Formation of Einstein-Rozen bridge commencing."
A strange lensing effect materialised in the middle as the view around and behind the central area of the pedestal was warped, as if there was a small black hole in the area. In the middle of the warped area an intensifying glow emerged, with a small bright speck of light in the centre.
This point of light expanded into a pulsating sphere that grew within the space of ten seconds until it was about 6 metres across. The 'surface' of the sphere was a warped image of what appeared to be a sandy beach.
"This is…this is simply amazing," Anna gasped out in awe.
To see a real wormhole form before her very eyes…that was simply a whole new experience for her.
"Imagine if we could successfully stabilise and harness this…we would be able to rid the world of that horrible Britannia once and for all," said Chloe. "The power to artificially warp spacetime and create wormholes…"
"Quite right, Ms. Winkel," said Ilsa. "We could open a wormhole leading directly inside the Britannian Imperial Palace and send a heavily armed battalion through it, right into the royal family, in a single quick, decisive strike and there! Britannia defeated and the world saved."
"I can only wonder what kind of civilisation created these," Chloe mused. "This is…this is just…awesome…"
The wormhole lasted for about 30 seconds before it collapsed.
"Wormhole duration: 30.22 seconds," an operator announced as data taken from the sensors were recorded unto the computer systems. "This is over three times longer than the last few tests."
"I really have to learn more about this wonderful device," said Anna, still in awe at what she had just experienced.
September 5
Area 11, Administrative Building, 5:00 pm
A tall young woman with long waist-length pink hair with two buns at the side, violet eyes, and dressed in a pink and white officer's outfit exited a white limousine by the front of the main entrance.
She was none other than the Third Princess, Euphemia li Britannia.
The 19-year old pinkette had just come off a tour of her upcoming Special Administrative Zone, having spent the day overseeing the preparations being made for the proposal. After she had gone inside the building, she called off the aides trailing her as she made her way directly to her room to call it a day.
Having changed into her casual clothes, she threw herself lying unto the bed. On its right side was a table with a few framed pictures atop it.
Euphemia reached for and took one of the pictures. It was of her, Nunnally, and Lelouch together as children playing in the garden of Aries Villa. She gazed upon it fondly with a smile as she reminisced of past memories.
"I've hoped for seven years that you were still alive out there," thought Euphemia. "That we would see each other again. And my hopes were answered. I understand why you took on that Zero persona. I might not agree with your methods, but I understand."
"We used to look up to the stars together," she continued on. "For one brief night, with you on that island, we had that chance. But we had to part ways again. But soon we can work together, right? You, with me, side by side. We can unite in peace and bring back our happier times. We can help start a better future without need of any more bloodshed. Because, since when was that the answer? We don't have to keep fighting."
She placed the picture back on the table where it had been.
"Lelouch, Nunnally…Finally we can be together again."
September 6
Ashford Academy, 12:30 pm
Sophie Wood sat on a bench in the Ashford courtyard as she listened to music from her iPod. She gently swayed her body side to side in accordance with her tunes as her face bore a slight contented smile.
"Meer Clyne's songs are so good," she thought. "They really get you lost in them…"
Sophie was a lass of 18 years with moderately long purple hair that reached down to her chest, and her eyes bore a shade of brown. A rather friendly person much like her roommate Shirley Fenette, she was among the Britannians that did not support the nation's system of discrimination. In fact, she had been accused of being a sympathiser by the more prejudiced students.
She turned her head to the left as two members of the Ashford Student Council, Rivalz Cardemonde and Milly Ashford, came across her.
Rivalz, a boy with blue hair and grey eyes, was pretty much Ashford's everyman, average in most aspects. A carefree person, he wasn't exactly as concerned with the current state of events going on as others are.
Instead, he just wanted to spend time and have fun with friends. He munched on a sandwich as he sat by Sophie.
Milly, the president of the Student Council, was a tall young woman with shoulder length blonde hair, blue eyes, and notably large breasts. The heiress of the Ashford family, she had a special love for extravagant parties – she was well-known for throwing them rather often in the academy.
She held a milkshake as she sat next to Sophie as well.
"You know, I'm getting sick of people always talking about that Zone thing over and over again," said Rivalz, taking a break from his sandwich. "What's the big deal?"
"Well, when a member of the royal family goes out and openly proclaims a zone of equality for the Elevens, it's sure to generate a lot of clout," said Milly.
"Yeah, I guess," said Rivalz.
"Best to not let yourself get all worked up over it. At least Sophie here is happy," said Milly before taking a sip out of her milkshake.
Sophie took her earphones off. "Well, some nice music can really soothe your nerves," said the purple-haired lass.
"Better share those with Shirley sometime, that lass has been quite troubled lately," said Milly.
"I tried, but Shirley really wasn't in the mood today," said Sophie.
"That's too bad, at least you tried to help her out," said Milly. "I really wonder what is going on in Shirley's head…"
"I think it would be best to give her time," said Sophie.
"To move to a better subject, I've found something on the internet that might be cool," Rivalz spoke up.
"Please, go on," said Sophie.
"Well, I've heard about…to be honest nobody has any real idea of what these are even…" Rivalz presented an image from his smartphone to Sophie.
It showed a sketch of what looked to be a large circular platform with an inner raised section and with a total of eight obelisks atop – similar to the wormhole generator found in Germany.
"There's supposed to be one of those here in Area 11," said Rivalz. "Mt. Shinoi, that's where."
"Are you sure it's real?" asked Sophie.
"Well, a bunch of people have been talking about some strange ruins there lately," said Milly. "Maybe we can go hiking there sometime and find out?"
"Sure. It would feel nice to stretch our legs in some cool mountain air," said Sophie.
Europia, Black Forest, Germany, 10:00 am
A few more tests have been performed since Anna's arrival, but none had generated a lasting wormhole so far. Information about the tests and from continual analysis on the machine's components were recorded meticulously, but the full secrets of the device still eluded the researchers.
The research teams have prepared for yet another test run.
"Test #25 ready to go!" an operator reported.
"Begin the test!" Anna exclaimed.
The machine was powered up, and yet another wormhole was generated. Thirteen seconds in, the sensors began to pick up an anomaly in the wormhole data.
"Huh?" Ilsa raised a brow as she received the data on her screen. "The local spacetime curvature has risen slightly."
"Something with the machine?" asked Chloe.
"I doubt it. It's not a fluctuation in the data or the warp fields, this increase looks to be relatively stable," said Anna.
"There seems to be mass emerging from the wormhole," said Ilsa. "I think something's getting in from the other side."
"Look!" exclaimed Chloe as something caught her eye – a warped, moving image had materialised on the wormhole's 'surface'.
What came out made everyone's eyes go wide as dinner plates and their mouths agape.
They were stunned as a living nonavian dinosaur, a Monolophosaurus, emerged out of the wormhole. Some five and a half metres from snout to tail, it was chiefly brown in colour with faint dark spots scattered throughout its dorsal region, a light beige underside and face, and a black spot around each of its eyes. A bright orange head crest adorned the top of its head from the front of its nose to over the eyes, and small filaments were present on the dorsal portion of its neck.
"What in the world…" thought Anna.
The Monolophosaurus looked around, seemingly lost in its new environment. After a few seconds it let out a few hisses, revealing sharp teeth behind its lips as it opened its mouth to vocalise.
The theropod walked around cautiously as the people stared upon it with a mix of disbelief and apprehension.
A pair of birdlike feet made little sound as they took careful steps atop the metallic pedestal, with the theropod's close-mouthed grumbles being the most prominent sounds amongst the otherwise near-silent air.
"Are you seeing this?" said Ilsa through her communicator, her voice low so as to not spook the theropod. "Take a look at the camera feed. A live dinosaur has emerged out of the wormhole. Prepare the security and capture teams and send them here as soon as possible. We have to be quick."
The wormhole, having lasted about 44 seconds, collapsed. Caught by surprise and spoked by this sudden, unsubtle event, the Monolophosaurus let out a loud hissing cry and began running across the chamber in panic.
The people hurriedly rushed to avoid the theropod's path.
"Get the security and capture teams in here quickly and block off the exits!" cried Ilsa through the communicator. "Use secure and contain protocol! I repeat, secure and contain!"
The Monolophosaurus found its way to the chamber exit after a minute or so and ran off into the shaft.
Anna, Chloe, and the others were utterly flabbergasted and speechless at what they have just witnessed.
September 7
Area 11, Special Administrative Zone registration site, 10:00 am
It was a clear morning as masses of people formed several long lines to register for the Special Administrative Zone. The venue was in a large stadium a few kilometres from the base of Mt. Fuji.
For them, this was to be their chance for a new, peaceful life.
Euphemia stood on an overlooking balcony as she watched over the lines. To her side she was accompanied by her knight and friend Suzaku Kururugi.
"Over 200,000 people have applied so far and the number continues to grow," said Euphemia. "This is all thanks to you, Suzaku."
"Are you sure, Your Highness?" asked Suzaku.
"Everyone here is rallying due to what you represent for the Japanese," said Euphemia. "They believe in what we are doing here."
"You're giving me too much credit, Princess," said Suzaku. "It's due to your proclamation. I'm truly thankful to you for this, I really am."
"I'm thankful to you as well. And I hope you will help me with what's to come. That's what friends do after all," said Euphemia.
"Yes, your highne—" Suzaku was about to say before being interrupted.
"No need for formalities with me," the pinkette cut him off. "Just Euphemia will do."
"Yes, Euphemia," said Suzaku.
The final preparations were being taken for the ceremony to take place tomorrow. Zero would come, she hoped, to stand by her side to announce the opening of the SAZ.
Europia, Black Forest, 2:00 pm
Research on the wormhole generator had continued on.
The wormholes have now been confirmed traversable by the arrival of the Monolophosaurus the other day. However, they were still not stable or lasting enough to be used for practical and reliable transportation. As for the theropod, it had been successfully captured and placed in a makeshift enclosure in the nearby forest outside.
Anna looked over the data they had obtained so far as she tried to formulate her thoughts on the matter.
"We have been able to make the wormholes last up to a minute or so, but all of them end up being unstable and collapse. I see a few possible scenarios on why. There could be some components that are either missing or worn out due to the age of the machine that we have missed, ones vital to stabilising the spacetime warp fields. It is also possible that this wasn't even made to generate lasting wormholes to begin with, with it being a fancy scientific experiment rather than a practical method of transportation," the lilac-haired girl thought.
"We're still analysing the control panel to see which does which," she added. "We've found out the activation button. We're certainly going to need more data on it to find any needed stabilisation controls, and also importantly the controls on destination coordinates."
"Test #29 is ready to begin!" an operator announced.
"Okay." Anna cleared her throat. "Begin test #29!"
Anna pressed what they have determined to be the activation as they powered up the generators for additional energy over the previous tests. With more energy fed into the machine, they generated a larger wormhole nearly 7 metres across.
For the first ten or so seconds it seemed to be stable. However soon after that, the sensors picked up alarming data.
"We're detecting an increasing local gravitational field!" one of the scientists exclaimed.
The wormhole began to pulsate as the people in the chamber felt strange vibrations pass through them. It was as if they were being shoved and stretched back and forth by an invisible force.
"W-what's going on now?" asked Chloe.
"Gravitational waves are being generated," said Ilsa. "Ripples in spacetime from the fluctuations of the wormhole."
These gravitational waves were intense enough to be felt by humans – albeit harmless and weakened further to insignificance after a distance. An odd, extremely localised occurrence.
The fluctuations grew stronger, apparent from both the electronic screens and the waves felt. Alarm rose within everyone present.
"Wormhole instability is imminent!" cried one of the operators.
The arcs of electricity between the obelisks intensified greatly to the point that they looked more like lightning blasts. The pulsations of the wormhole intensified as time went on.
"I don't have a good feeling about this!" said Chloe nervously.
Everyone in the chamber began to feel a pulling force, a sensation akin to standing on a tilting floor. This effect was stronger and more intense to those closer to the wormhole. Loose dust and objects close to the pedestal began to be pulled in.
"What's happening!?" Chloe exclaimed in a panic.
Anna had already realised what was going on. "Chloe, the wormhole's gravity is increasing!" she cried. "Everyone, grab on to any anchored object or exit the area quickly!"
The people around her did not need it to be repeated as they rushed in a panic to either grab the most stable object they can get or flee to the exit. The force intensified further and soon even the heavier and more stable objects in closer proximity of the wormhole began to fall over and slide.
"Wait, Anna!" Chloe cried out as she held unto one of the large, more securely-connected cables tightly.
"Don't worry about me!" cried Anna.
She tried to run but struggle as she might, not even allowed a single moment to catch her breath, she was too close and the pull too strong for her to overcome.
"AHH!" She lost her footing. Anna managed to catch the control panel's stand and grab unto it. An overwhelming fear and panic wrapped around her as she felt her fingers shake and slip.
"ANNA!" cried Chloe. She tried to crawl down the cable. "Hang on there, I'll get—"
"Chloe, don't!" Anna cut her off. "Stay back! You'll only put yourself in danger! I said don't worry about me!"
The wormhole glowed intensely as its pulsations continued to increase in frequency and intensity. The remaining staff around was in panic as they tried to hold on. The entire chamber was bathed shortly in the blinding light as the pull suddenly and sharply increased.
Immediately after the force peaked, it vanished as the wormhole collapsed.
As the dust settled and the machine powered down, the research staff got up and started to recover themselves from the ordeal.
"Anna? Where are you?" Chloe cried out, fearful and desperate. "Anna? Anna?"
Anna was nowhere to be seen.
Yes, I've started another fic. I haven't abandoned my other one, of course. I just had another concept I wanted to put out, and hopefully having two projects to work on should stave off writer's block.
The concept is an 'isekai' fic, although I haven't really gotten around to the isekai part yet. A few more characters will be, well, following Anna, as to speak.
Euphemia being mentioned at 19 years rather than 16 is not an error. She has been aged up by three years (and is slightly taller than in canon at about Cornelia's height) in this fic. This was done so she doesn't end up the youngest member of the main cast here.