Warning! This story will have lots of swearing, violence, and blood/gore. If you don't like that, then this probably isn't for you and you shouldn't be reading this.
"Yes, I am Zero." = Regular speech
What is he up to? = Thoughts
"Where are you young one?" = Telepathic speech
"Hello, I am your PDA." = The PDA is speaking
I don't take any credit, nor do I own Code Geass or Subnautica. This story is purely for fun and my entertainment only.
Ch.7: Braving the Forest
Hazy sapphire eyes stared up towards the water that sparkled in the sunlight as they swam by at speeds she would never be able to go physically by herself. They slowly turned to look at those shiny eyes that only belonged to Lelouch. Beautiful royal violet in one eye, and sparkling demonic blood red in the other. Emotions wavering and glistening within them that expressed such a desperation that Lelouch could never express vocally. It was a look Kallen decided then and there that she didn't like. At all.
Kallen blinked and rasped out. "I promise."
. . .
Drip. Drip.
"Ugh." Lelouch huffed an exhausted breath as he sat back on the lifepod floor. Dichromatic eyes keeping a careful watch and taking in the scene before him. "This is very bad."
Drip. Drip.
That was a very drastic understatement. They needed more medical supplies, but they didn't have any left that wasn't already used.
Drip. Drip.
Red stained the metal floor and what was once clean supplies were left in the medical kit. While the station where the medical kit is placed can fabricate more materials it wasn't working fast enough. Suzaku was sitting in his seat groaning in pain. Multiple tiny yet deep bite marks and chunks of flesh were missing on his arms and legs, but it was especially prominent around his shoulders and neckline. Most certainly due to Suzaku's suit protecting him from most of the damage on his limbs. Kallen however was easily the worst off out of the three. While Lelouch wasn't touched and Suzaku had minor wounds that combined to become major. The redhead herself had an extremely fatal and amazingly grotesque wound that went from the tips of her right arm's fingers all the way to the crook of her elbow. Her arm was completely painted red, and smeared over any inch of pale white skin. Teeth marks and bite wounds zig zagged all the way around her arm like a demonic zebra's hide with their black and white stripes. Only it's mainly red with bits of torn and loose flappy pale white dead skin. Skin, muscle, and tissue were torn from the harsh jerking the predator did and her breathing was heavily labored. Sapphire blues staring up at nothing towards the ceiling with a glossed over look. Short and pained pants escaping her pale near blue tinted lips. Kallen had long since stopped responding and vocalizing before they entered the lifepod. Blood glistened between darkly fresh and old bright red.
Drip. Drip.
It was everywhere, and despite Lelouch's attempts it hasn't stopped bleeding yet. Even when stemming the blood flow it was clear a vital vein had been hit multiple times. That didn't even include Suzaku's own injuries that needed to be cared for.
Drip. Drip.
"Fuck." Lelouch swore heavily and rubbed his face harshly to help keep himself awake. It was dark out now, midnight at the latest by Lelouch's guess. The raven haired teen shouted at the top of his lungs and flung the empty med kit across the lifepod in his erupting rage. "Dammit!"
"Lelouch, you need to calm down." Suzaku whispered softly. The burnette was trying his best to stay awake, but it was beginning to become a futile effort. "What supplies do we have now that we can use? Maybe the fabricator can make another medkit. We just need to find the ingredients."
Lelouch took a few steadying breaths to help calm his nerves. All the while the raven haired teen frantically looked through their knapsacks and storage bins for any supplies that could be usable. After that Lelouch stalked over to the fabricator to look over it's fabricating options. "Okay, medkits can be fabricated here. Great. Jolly." Lelouch's aura of rage didn't lessen any at this great finding. "But we need fiber mesh first, and that takes two creepvine samples."
"Great." Suzaku cheered. The burnette's words a little slurred and the teen himself sounded a tad woozy almost like he was drunk instead of dying. "Just get some more of those seed clusters and we're good. You're fast and you've got a survival knife now."
"It's not the creepvine seed clusters we need, but creepvine samples." Lelouch ground out. The raven haired teen glanced up to the darkened sky that was pitch black except for the huge softly glowing red planet and multitude of white stars dotting the skies. The terrorist bit his lower lip before glancing at Suzaku and Kallen for a moment in deep thought. "I need to actually cut the creepvine kelp stalks themselves to get the fiber mesh, and it can't wait until morning."
Suzaku opened his mouth and looked like he was about to object, but no words came out as those olive green eyes looked to Kallen's rapidly deteriorating condition as well. A moment of silence passed between the two. A moment of understanding.
Suzaku took a deep breath through his nose, and simply slumped in his chair in defeat. "Go." Hazy emotional olive greens looked up towards his best friend and worst enemy. "Please don't die."
Lelouch didn't spend a second longer to look back. "I won't." With that, the raven haired teen swung his knapsack over his shoulder, opened the bottom hatch, and jumped straight into the pitch black warm waters.
While it looked like Lelouch was swimming through a void of darkness it wasn't completely pitch black. The moon and revolving red planet glowed down into the waters to help shed at least a tiny hint of light so that Lelouch could see his own hands, but that was all. Otherwise, the rest of the light came from the plant life and fauna around him. The shallows at night turning into a gorgeous sea of glowing color that popped out in the dark. The bioluminescence on both the plants and animals making the display a near mesmerizing sight if it wasn't for the drastic situation at hand.
Lelouch took the environment in with a quick passing glance before pulling out his flashlight and turning it on. It's bright light which surpassed even LED flashlights from his world helped carve a path out for Lelouch to take as quickly as possible. His destination being one filled with danger and unknown, but the only known place that had the creepvine samples he and more importantly Kallen and Suzaku desperately needed.
Their survival depended on if Lelouch could pull this off fast enough.
He couldn't screw this up.
Even so. Lelouch knew he was risking his own life, and in an instinctive display that had the raven haired teen seething, his cape extensions made him come to a screeching halt just on the outskirts of the creepvine kelp forest. After his first encounter with 4546B's animal life he was still unsure and apprehensive about even going in. Perhaps the med station in the lifepod can fabricate another medkit quick enough.
Lelouch growled under his breath, berating himself. "Get your shit together Lelouch. You know that's not true. It's why you're here in the first place." He took in a deep breath to calm himself, and spoke to help psych himself up. "Come on you got this. You got this. You've done it before… by the skin of your teeth, but still! Just a quick in and out to the closest creepvine plant, cut it with your knife, and then swim away to the lifepod scot free. Those things probably don't even hunt at night… Hopefully." Finally, Lelouch slumped his posture in a rare display of defeat. "Dammit, I'm just a teen. I should be at Ashford right now helping Nunnally to bed."
It was true though, he was only a teen. All three of them weren't even adults yet, and they all had so much they still needed to do back in their home world.
Thinking about the situation back at his home, and all of the people still there probably waiting and wondering where he, Kallen, and Suzaku disappeared too, lit a fire within his dichromatic eyes. Red and violet orbs looked back up to the creepvine kelp forest with newfound determination. The thought of how pale Kallen had looked as blood dripped down from her arm and onto the lifepod floor would be something he could never forget. How Suzaku who was usually the strongest out of the three could barely even stay awake and conscious in his chair. How even Kallen's normally spiky bright red hair seemed to droop and pale with every passing second she risked passing on into the afterlife.
He had people counting on him, and he would deliver. Whether it be as Lelouch the teenager at Ashford Academy, or Zero the leader of the Black Knights and miracle maker.
He could do this. For everyone back at home waiting and worrying for their safe return, for Suzaku, for Nunnally. "For Kallen." Lelouch grit his teeth, and with one final second to steel his nerves he took his chance. Cape extensions giving a big extra boost to help speed the teen into the darkened waters of predator territory.
It was dark, terrifyingly dark even for Lelouch. The dark sea water that came into the path of Lelouch's flashlight nearly glowed a murky green with specks of plant life, sand, and who knows what else passed by. The only other source of light came from the glowing bulbs of the creepvine seed clusters that were on the occasional creepvine, but it's glow didn't extend very far like his flashlight and wasn't too great or appealing in Lelouch's opinion.
It didn't help that once Lelouch was in the forest the creepvines' kelp strands brushed by his frame like creepy crawlies in the dark just waiting to snatch him up and consume his flesh all the way to the bone. Wrapping around his limbs and body just like they did in his nightmare those few days ago.
God, had they really only been here for days? It felt like weeks yet at the same time seconds.
Finally, after taking a swift minute to check his surroundings for those crocodile-like things and finding none, Lelouch went straight to work as planned. Using one of his cape extensions to hold the flashlight Lelouch pulled out his knife to start cutting. The raven haired teen not even taking the time to swim to the base of the kelp to cut and instead started sawing at the middle. It would be plenty enough kelp samples to make at least four med kits anyway. The rest would just rot and be wasted.
Though the knife was certainly a sharp and deadly weapon that could cut Lelouch even through his dive suit, the creepvine proved to be tougher as time dragged on agonizingly slow. Much too slow for Lelouch's tastes as his dichromatic eyes frantically eyed his surroundings for any danger that was obviously lurking around in these waters. It was only really a few seconds before he was already halfway, but that still felt too slow. Yet, he kept sawing away in a determined manner at the kelp while the cape extension holding his flashlight swerved the light around in the darkness to try and locate any predators. From the corners of his eyes he couldn't see anything.
He felt like he was being watched though.
As soon as he finished that thought, the creepvine finally gave way and was cut clean through with a crisp snap that sounded out even through the water to reach his ears. Lelouch nearly cried out in relief, but instead went with a sigh as he grabbed a tight hold of the kelp and stowed his knife away.
He got what he came here for. His objective has been achieved. Now he could leave-
An angered growl came just from Lelouch's right, and the teen spun around just in time to see the tail end of one of those crocodile-like things vanish into the rest of the kelp surrounding them.
"Oh God." The words escaped his lips before Lelouch could even stop it. Body incredibly tense, Lelouch remained still and alert whilst trying to find out where that predator swam off to. It was quite clear from the angered noise it had made that it wasn't too happy with Lelouch's presence. As seconds ticked by, the creature gave out a roar before appearing through the kelp right in front of him. Swimming in a swift and agile manner it's jaw was opened wide in preparation to snap down on his body. "Shit!"
Lelouch barely had even a second to dodge the attack to the left, yet he forgot to keep in mind his own cape extensions which were attached to his body. The right extension got snapped down and trapped inside the predator's jaws which made Lelouch come to a sudden screeching halt. Being jerked backwards with the predator and its incredible display of strength so suddenly made Lelouch lose his hold on both his flashlight and the creepvine samples he had just cut.
"Not again!" It was happening again. He was getting dragged off to who knew where in the grasp of some ugly alien monster. All because of the extensions he was so keenly aware of yet unfamiliar with again. While being super useful they also made him a bigger target, and Lelouch kept forgetting that they could be targeted to get to him despite the grave consequences should they get too badly damaged. "I'm not getting taken down and eaten by some fucking green reptile crocidile wannabe! Not without a fight."
In a display that would have had even Suzaku very impressed, Lelouch kicked out with his feet and free remaining cape extension to fling himself on top of the much bigger swimming predator. Both hands clawed and grabbed a tight hold on the dorsal fin at the very end of the predator's snout and pulled up. With the help of his remaining extension, the force made the creature open it's jaws just enough to let Lelouch free himself from its jagged toothed grasp. The creature roared out in rage before suddenly swimming into the side of a jagged limestone column that roughly jutted out and above the rest of the rocks below them on the seafloor.
Being squashed against a stone wall so quickly and harshly made Lelouch let go of the creature with a cry of pain. The predator gave another roar as it turned around to snap its teeth filled jaw at the raven haired teen. Lelouch nearly had no time to swim back and merely gained a small nick just to the right of his collar bone. The only reason he wasn't already fish food was his cape extensions, which helped him swim and turn on a dime to avoid the creature attacks as it grew more frustrated and sloppy with every miss. The mechanical implants achieving a feat of maneuverability in the water that even had the predator outmatched and jerking around to try and catch up.
Just as Lelouch was starting to tire down a plan came into his mind. The raven haired teen had to duck under another attack from the very persistent predator, before he grabbed a hold of a stray creepvine still rooted to the ground and struck. Moving as quickly as his cape extensions could exert, Lelouch spun around the creature every which way possible with the kelp moving with him. The creepvine sliding through his gloved fingers rapidly before there was no creepvine left to hold onto.
Once he was finished Lelouch backed away uneasily and looked at his own handy work. The predator gave another loud roar, but this time it was one that sounded like panic or a cry for help as it squirmed to free itself unsuccessfully. The huge fish had been tangled up in the creepvine from Lelouch's plan and was currently stuck despite it's tail frantically moving back and forth alongside its fins and head.
"Phew. Oh thank God." Lelouch nearly wheezed in relief, and sunk down in the water. Remembering what brought him to this situation Lelouch firmly shook his head and got back into the game. "Right. No time. Kallen and Suzaku are waiting for me back at the lifepod." A small, yet loud snapping sound of some kelp strands breaking echoed out in the dark silent water causing Lelouch to flinch back away from the sound and the predator that caused it. "That won't hold it for long."
Looking all around in a frantic daze, Lelouch searched for any sign of a beam of light coming from his flashlight. It was pitch black where he was besides a stray bunch of seed clusters, kelp was waving around him everywhere, and frankly Lelouch was terrified and wanted to get back to the lifepod as fast as possible. For a split second in the corner of his eye Lelouch spotted a stray beam coming up from the ground floor a good couple feet away before it vanished once again because of a long strand of kelp.
Instantly, Lelouch dove for it and left the struggling predator to free itself in due time. After a few seconds of swimming through kelp and flinching every time in preparation for another monster to appear the raven haired teen was reunited with his flashlight and rightfully earned creepvine samples.
"Thank the lord it didn't just float away." Lelouch muttered to himself, before scooping both items up and throwing the creepvine samples into his knapsack. "Now then." The teen swung his flashlight around to try and get a look at his bearings and how to get back to the lifepod. "To get back to the others."
A roar from the predator still trapped in the kelp echoed out softly in the water before another loud tearing sound echoed out right after. The creature was most certainly going to be after his blood now.
Then another roar, this one much louder and more importantly, much closer than the other boomed out right behind him.
Lelouch screamed as he was pushed forwards roughly and face planted into the sandy limestone floor below. Tearing and ripping sounds reached the teen's ears and dichromatic eyes widened in terror before realizing he wasn't feeling any pain. He barely had time to process this before he was being jerked side to side in a motion that made Lelouch feel like a chew toy. Another scream escaped Lelouch's throat before he managed to grab a strong enough hold on the green seagrass below to stop the jerking just enough to let him think. Clouds of sand gushing up around him and blocking most if not all of his vision.
This wasn't the one he had trapped in the kelp. This was another completely different crocodile-like predator hunting him. The first one having actually called out for help. Now the second was currently chewing into his knapsack and trying to tear into him, yet the knapsack proved its worth by not getting ripped right from his back, but also managed to keep its contents inside without a single spill despite the clear huge holes in them.
The predator released Lelouch to get a second bite in, and the raven haired teen took that moment to book it with the use of his fins and cape extensions. Yet he wasn't quick enough, because the predator rammed into him halfway and together they both went tumbling down into a deeper part of the creepvine kelp forest and into a valley that had cave entrances in it's right side. The creature forced them both to swim into the caves, and once again Lelouch was slammed up into the stone walls. The only good grace about it being that the cave had plenty of purple plants that had a bright bioluminescence that gave the cave enough light for Lelouch to see everything. His flashlight once again being dropped somewhere in the cave.
"Fuck!" Lelouch hollered. His helmet protected head snapping back against the stone and causing him to become disoriented. The predator slapped him in the side with its long powerful tail, and caused the raven haired teen to flip over onto his back in the water leaving his stomach exposed to the dangerous fish. The creature took that perfect opportunity to swim forward with a roar that echoed out through the cave and Lelouch's skull with its jaw opened for a fatal strike.
Despite his ears ringing from the deafening sound coming from in front of him, Lelouch knew what it was planning to do, and just barely managed to wrap his cape extensions around it's upper and lower jaw respectively. Forcing himself back against the stone wall and causing Lelouch immense pain from the area his implants were, the raven haired teen screamed through both the pain and the second roar as the two opposing sides struggled. One fought to keep the creature's maw forced open while the second tried to close its mouth to bite down on the vulnerable body of its prey.
Lelouch could see the creature's tongue moving back and forth as it worked to close its jaw on him. The most certainly slimy appendage coming up to lick around his protected face that made the raven haired teen feel disgusted. It's gullet and throat flexing and quivering as the alien fish's jaw wrestled against his own mechanical extensions. It's body heaving salt water through its frame in and out.
After a few minutes of struggle and being slammed back and forth against the walls of the cave repeatedly nature was defeated by machine. The creature having grown tired and it's jaw sore through being forced to remain open, but Lelouch didn't stop. Instead, he kept pushing his extensions forward.
He knew this thing wouldn't stop until one of them was dead.
With a final scream that turned into a war cry at the end. Lelouch made his extensions bend the creature's jaw back until two sickening cracks filled the air, before roughly snapping the predator's head to the side to make a third louder and final crack pop out and bounce off of the cave's walls. Breaking the creature's jaw twice before finally putting it out of its certainly doomed existence by snapping its neck. A final excruciatingly pained roar was cut off halfway, and the alien fish finally went limp and drifted silently to the cave's sea floor.
Lelouch took a few minutes to just drift to the sea bed as well, sand drifting up into the water as he sat down. The teen was heaving rapidly, so quickly Lelouch feared he might run out of oxygen soon unless he either calmed down or swam up to the surface. Shoulders going up and down as he took in deep gulping breaths of air that was a precious source to his survival down here under the waves. Lelouch's entire body was shaking from the tips of his fingers all the way down to his toes. Even the cape extensions gave a twitch or two.
"... I… Beat you…" Lelouch finally rasped out. He almost felt like passing out right onto the cave floor, but not only would it be foolishly dangerous he also had people counting on him still. The situation and realization of what he just did sinking in, and giving him the boost of adrenaline he needed to make himself rise up from the sea floor and into the water on his feet with an exhausted groan of pain.
He was tired and his muscles sore, but Lelouch wasn't going to stop until he accomplished his mission and tended to Kallen and Suzaku's wounds.
Before he left however, the revolutionary took out his scanner, and made sure to take his time in scanning the now deceased creature before booking it out of the cave. Grabbing his stray flashlight, Lelouch stowed away the scanner once its duty was done and took out his PDA to find the coordinates for the lifepod. Once he had the beacon activated on his PDA and the coordinates mesmerized the raven haired teen took off like a bullet.
"New creature discovered."
This time he wasn't taking any chances nor was he stopping for a single second until he was back at the lifepod's hatch.
He had enough close calls.
. . .
"Huff… Huff… There." Lelouch muttered to himself, before deciding to be merciful to his body and lean back against the lifepod's safe metal wall in a position that wouldn't cause him any harm. Dark, near black circles were under the raven haired teen's dichromatic eyes as hazy red and violet orbs opened up to take in what he was seeing.
The terrorist's O2 tank, mask, and knapsack were all discarded haphazardly onto the lifepod floor. Lelouch being in too big of a rush to tend to Kallen's grievous injuries first and foremost to care about cleanliness or organization before turning to Suzaku's own. Both of his companions were currently unconscious with bandages and gauzes tightly wrapped around their bodies. While Suzaku's was in patches over his upper body and legs Kallen's right arm was practically mummified and became a cast made of multiple rolls of bandages. A splint set to keep the appendage set and still. The blood had dried up on the floor while he was gone, and had cracked, chipped, and flaked at his return and frantic movements. The color more brown now than red.
Suzaku had been unconscious when he returned, and neither one woke up despite Lelouch's pestering and attempts to make them wake up.
Yet, he had done all he could now, so the rest was up in the air. Only they could wake up when they are ready.
That, or they will end up dead.
Lelouch gnashed his teeth and nearly bit his own tongue at the thought that had slithered into his mind. Instead opting to softly bang his head against the lifepod wall once and looking up towards the closed hatch of the lifepod. No, they'll be fine. They're just resting and conserving their energy, and with the help of this advanced medical technology they'll be as good as new and raring to go by the next twenty four hours.
Who am I kidding? That's bullshit. Dichromatic eyes flickered back towards the unconscious redhead's injury. There's usually no coming back from that, and even if she does survive she probably won't ever be able to use that arm again. Most definitely not at its fullest potential. Hell, I doubt she would be able to even twitch a finger with what that monster fish did to her.
Lelouch's vision began to get blurry as exhaustion and the need for sleep began to take him completely. The danger had passed, and he no longer had any extremely pressing, life threatening matters to attend to. He was safe here. He could rest.
Yet, worries and fears about his friends' state of being made Lelouch try to fight back against the natural instinct and need. He didn't go through the trouble of forming an alliance with Suzaku just for him to get offed by a horde of tiny pink killer fish. Kallen didn't risk her own skin jumping into a strange supernatural light to save him just to get her arm torn off and bleed out by a monster. They were going to survive this damn planet. They were getting out of here together. They had to.
Because Lelouch didn't know what he would do with himself if the two closest friends he ever managed to make ended up dead because he couldn't move fast enough and had to fight two alien crocodiles. He would most certainly hate himself to the end of his own life. Lelouch also knew that his chances of getting back home alive on his own were basically impossible.
Even so, when all three had landed on this planet, were out of danger, and were coherent enough to understand each other and not fight they had all made a silent promise to get out of here by working together.
Because nothing can stop us when we work together.
Even so, Lelouch couldn't beat a basic need of survival no matter how hard he tried. Either way, he would be falling asleep soon enough.
"They'll be alright. They'll probably wake up before I do. They'll be fine." Lelouch muttered to himself sluggishly. His words became skewed and slurred as he fell deeper into unconsciousness as well just like his friends. "They have to be fine. They'll be alright…"
… I hope.
. . .
Bleary, irritated red and puffy dichromatic eyes slowly opened. His body was screaming at him how sore it was still, and his position against the wall on the floor wasn't helping much. Even so, his limbs were too heavy to move or even twitch a finger.
Daylight was sinking in through the thick glass of the top hatch of the lifepod in the ceiling.
It was day time.
Tired dichromatic eyes slowly shifted to the still prone forms of his friends before sliding shut once more. The raven haired teen falling back into slumber.
Neither Suzaku or Kallen had woken up.
. . .
Lelouch woke up groggily once more only to be greeted with darkness. The realization he had slept for an entire day being completely glossed over in his mind as he rose up from his spot on the floor with a groan of tired pain.
Without a single word, Lelouch got to work on checking Kallen's wounds before moving to Suzaku's. Hands moving around in a mechanical motion that showed Lelouch was only just barely awake and still dead to most of the world.
It didn't matter either way. He was the only one even awake and aware at this moment in time anyway. There was no one to talk to even if he wanted to talk to someone.
Lelouch finished cleaning and rebandaging the wounds before returning to his spot on the floor and falling back asleep.
Kallen and Suzaku didn't wake up or even twitch throughout the entire process.
. . .
The sound of beeping is what finally woke Lelouch up completely. Still somewhat tired red eyes snapping open and glaring at the object making that obnoxious beeping noise with untold amounts of agitation and hate.
It was the radio. It's button flashing orange to go along with its timed beeps.
At that realization, Lelouch shot up to stand on somewhat numb and sore shaky legs and staggered over to the machine. "Guys. We got another message on the radio. You think it's another distress call or something from this Alterra company?" At the silence that greeted him, Lelouch furrowed his eyebrows and turned his neck to look at Suzaku and Kallen.
Both were still unconscious. The two were still sleeping where he had last left them.
"...Oh." Lelouch breathed softly as the memories of the last few hours hit him like a ton of bricks. Troubled dichromatic eyes watched as both of his friends' chests still went up and down signifying that they weren't dead and still breathing. "That's right… You two are unconscious… Right…" Shutting his mouth with a click, Lelouch grit his teeth, clenched his fists, and turned his head to the side. His raven locks of hair blocking his eyes from view as he took in two deep calming breaths.
Wordlessly, Lelouch stepped forward and slid down onto his knees to look over Kallen's arm. An open medkit by her side that he was too tired to close and put away last night. The raven haired teen took his time gently unwrapping the soiled bandages that needed to be changed to get a look at the wound. Treating the redhead's arm like it was a precious piece of glass that could break at a stray harsh breath.
Unwrapping the final roll, Lelouch could confidently say that the wound was still very, very bad, but that it was getting better. For one, he couldn't see any bone anymore, only torn muscles, jagged flesh, and loose skin flaps. Shockingly, it wasn't bleeding anymore, but Lelouch was certain that one sudden jerk could cause the multiple wounds that zig zagged and criss crossed around Kallen's arm to reopen as one instantaneously. Very carefully, Lelouch made sure to clean the wound as meticulously as possible while being sure to be thorough. This cursed planet had high water borne bacteria levels after all. The last thing he needed was an infection on his hands, because Lelouch was positive that Kallen wouldn't survive that on top of this.
Once Lelouch was certain he had done as good a job as he could he began to gingerly wrap Kallen's arm back up with all of the care he could muster as if he was taking care of Nunnally. The raven haired teen only having to be rough when tightening the bandages of gauze.
"Sorry…" Lelouch hissed between his teeth at the sound of his apology leaving his lips. He wasn't used to being sorry and vocally expressing it. The only times he could really remember it was when taking care of Nunnally and after Mao had messed with Shirley. Yet he got no response from the person he was tending to, causing the leader of the Black Knight's to sigh heavily. "Right, you can't even hear me. I don't know why I even bothered."
With Kallen done being checked on, Lelouch moved on to Suzaku. While the raven haired teen wasn't as gentle with Suzaku, Lelouch knew his friend could take the pain. If he was conscious that is.
"Jeez, taken out by a bunch of tiny school fish. How embarrassing. Makes me wonder how you managed to survive being in the Britannian military all this time." The raven haired teen taunted. The natural banter of trying to get a rise out of his best friend falling on unconscious ears. Lelouch rolled his dichromatic eyes, both at himself and Suzaku. "Come on. I know you can take worse than this Suzaku. I mean you got shot in the gut and lived to tell the tale and survived the invasion of Japan. A few fish love bites should be a walk in the park, so go ahead and wake up already."
It was still silent through the lifepod except for the constant beeping from the radio. With every single patch that Lelouch finished on Suzaku the teen grew more and more angered, more vexed.
"You can stop pulling my leg now Suzaku. I know you're awake." Lelouch growled under his breath as he was halfway through changing Suzaku's bandages. "You're just trying to get back at me for all of the taunts and trouble I gave you before. Well it's not working, so wake up already."
Once he had finished dressing the rest of Suzaku's wounds. Lelouch glared hard at the burnette's frame which was rising and falling slowly to show that he was still asleep.
"Wake up Suzaku. Don't make me force you to wake up." Lelouch spoke through grit teeth. The teen's frame tensing with unease Lelouch harshly pushed Suzaku and shook him once. "Wake up."
Suzaku merely managed a soft low groan of pain before he curled up onto his side. Arms hugging his knees loosely as his body turned to the side. Face scrunched up in pain before it softened to that same unconscious look Lelouch was loathing more and more with every passing second.
The raven haired teen took a deep calming breath, but even as he did so his chest started to rise and fall at a faster rate. His heartbeat increased as he stood up to take in the pathetic sight Suzaku was in. Finally, Lelouch's eyebrows furrowed and dichromatic eyes grew somewhat shiny as despair filtered through them. "... If this is about me reminding you of that bullfrog incident long ago you can stop. I swear I won't bring it up ever again… I just wanted to add some light to the dark situation we were in at the time. I didn't mean to really upset you."
Suzaku still remained silent, nothing about the situation changing.
"I'm sorry." Lelouch whispered quietly into the air of the lifepod.
The teen curled up on himself in an uncharacteristic display of weakness and sadness. Arms wrapping around his chest in a form of comforting himself while his cape extensions came around to wrap him up tightly from behind. Dichromatic eyes widening as Lelouch's sole pupil in his violet orb began to dilate.
Chest rising up and down faster and faster as he started to get himself worked up.
"WAKE UP!" Lelouch screamed to Suzaku's prone form as loudly as he could. Cape extensions flaring out to make himself look bigger, more intimidating before snapping out to crack against the walls of the life pod like whips.
.
.
.
Nothing but silence.
"Please?" Lelouch croaked. Dichromatic eyes watered at the sight of his best friend's horrible state. How his tanned skin was lighter, more sickly pale than normal. All of those bite marks and stitches he needed that would most certainly scar. The way Suzaku's face stayed in an uncaring frown while unconscious when the burnette was usually smiling. How those olive green eyes would brighten up whenever he met up with Nunnally now remained shut and dull behind closed eyelids with dark circles underneath said closed sockets. "… Please wake up."
Lelouch's eyes flicked between Suzaku's frame to Kallen's own. The lack of reply. The lack of anyone to respond or talk to. The sharp realization that he was all alone had Lelouch clenching his hands into fists and looking down at the ground beneath his feet with wild emotions mixing from rage at both them and himself to sorrow at this predicament they never wanted to be in.
"Don't leave me here alone." Lelouch whispered quietly. To anyone that was willing to hear and talk to him even if it wasn't Kallen or Suzaku.
Overall, he didn't want to be alone. He didn't want to be keenly aware that he was alone. Sure, he survived the invasion of Japan, but that was with Nunnally and Suzaku. The former being his rock in the endless raging storm that was his life around him.
Now even that was gone, and all he had left were the two people lying unconscious in the lifepod before him. Both in horrid states of injury.
The beeping noise finally got to the raven haired teen alongside the wild emotions he usually always had on the back burner. "Well fine then! Be that way! I don't need you." Lelouch yelled, and spun around to put on his scuba gear and took the spare knapsack to throw over his shoulder. "I don't need anyone!" He stated firmly, and went straight towards the radio that was still beeping to press it. "Take care of your own wounds if you want to be like that!"
"Receiving pre-recorded distress call. Playing back." The mechanical voice from the radio droned out, before it changed to the voice of a human female speaking in a calm and collected manner through the situation. "This is Lifepod 3, uploading our coordinates. We're plugging some holes in our emergency seaglide, so if we're late for the rendezvous, don't panic… Also, don't go home without us. Seriously. Three out." The radio shut off with a distinct click, and the lifepod was finally plunged into true silence.
"Ah, so there are more survivors, great." Lelouch spoke lightly, before realizing that he was talking to himself and gave an exaggerated groan. Whatever. She didn't sound as panicked as the last distress call, so maybe they're still there… Although, what is this rendezvous she was talking about, and how come we haven't received any messages about it? With a few moments of pondering leading him nowhere. Lelouch sighed heavily once again, before walking over to the bottom hatch, flipping it open, and jumping back into the waters below whilst closing the hatch behind him. The only way to find out would be to go and ask them.
Lelouch wasted no time heading towards the coordinates. However that great progress soon came to a quick halt at the realization of just where this lifepod was. Dichromatic eyes went from the PDA's coordinates and directions back up to what he was facing.
Another section of the creepvine kelp forest.
"... You have got to be kidding me." Lelouch grouched darkly. His grip on the PDA tightening, but he restrained himself just enough so that the precious lifeline wouldn't break from his anger. "I'm not fighting a crocodile shark abomination again. I barely got out of the last one alive, and it's a miracle I'm not sitting in the lifepod in a sorry state like Kallen and Suzaku."
Yet, Lelouch knew, deep down, that they couldn't stay hidden in the shallows forever. If they wanted to get back home they would have to take risks. He himself had said that to both Kallen and Suzaku before they went out to investigate the shallows for the very first time. They can't run and hide from the bad parts of this world. It had resources, had information and knowledge, had scraps and blueprints that they needed even if it also had dangerous predators and plant life.
Better to face it head on with the knowledge he had gained from past experiences in the daylight then doing it all over again at night.
That, or it was to explore the third new biome they had encountered that got Kallen and Suzaku into such a fatal situation in the first place, or go back to hide in the lifepod and its silence with said unconscious people.
"I am not a coward." Lelouch growled to himself under his breath. While he was prideful and refused to be called a coward by anyone Lelouch wasn't stupid either. He wasn't going back to that third biome until Kallen and Suzaku were up to speed and they all went together with the knowledge they had learned from last time. He also refused to go back to that suffocating silence within the lifepod. Now that he had something to do and focus on rather than just stand there and not be able to help or do anything Lelouch had calmed. He had also realized that he had over reacted rather harshly to something as simple as silence from his injured unconscious companions, which was to be expected. How pathetic and weak. "Screw it."
With those words said, Lelouch took out his survival knife and swam forward once more into the kelp forest with a brave face undeterred. The raven haired teen made sure to keep swimming and not stop until he had arrived at his destination, and even then he was going to hide out in the lifepod.
He wasn't going to stop and risk getting caught up by any predators this time.
As Lelouch swiftly traversed through the kelp forest as quickly as he could a small stray fish unfortunately chose that moment to swim by and directly into his path. The fish collided with one of Lelouch's cape extensions with a loud heartfelt crack before instantly falling limp, dead. The raven haired teen cringing at the horrible sound and terrible way to die, but otherwise continued on his trek towards lifepod three whilst storing the dead fish into his new knapsack. He wasn't going to waste the golden opportunity of free food swimming into his path.
Once the dead fish was safely inside his knapsack Lelouch was back at swimming full speed. The PDA piped up. "New creature discovered. Consider disguising the unsavory meats with salt, or locally sourced herbs and spices."
Lelouch scoffed at the PDA's words. "Please, as if I could even identify any edible herbs and 'spices' on this planet without external help. I'd rather suffer through the tastes than risk poisoning myself." The revolutionary continued swimming forward, almost to the coordinates given within his PDA.
All throughout the journey there he caught glimpse and pieces of the creature similar to the one he had killed last night. While some gave him a sparing glance in curiosity they all left the terrorist alone to go about their own business. No one was interested in chasing down quick prey only for it to be more like a snack due to Lelouch's stick like figure. Though admittedly, he had been starting to build some muscle through the passing days of constant swimming and work for survival.
Alongside those big predators he kept a stern eye on, there were some other fish and creatures that swam or floated around near the base of the sea floor and occasionally higher up between the thicket of kelp strands. One of the most prominent was the six legged creature he had run into just moments prior. It's colors were mainly yellow, a very light green, and blue with a bunch of white dots speckled on top its back from its head to its tail. Those six legs all had flat pads that acted like flotation to help it casually swim around and keep balance. Otherwise it had a tail at the end and a rather cute yet derpy looking face somewhat like a salamander or gecko and solid black eyes.
If Suzaku had seen how Lelouch had killed the creature he probably would have been upset. It was rather innocent and adorable looking.
Lelouch clicked his tongue as a small smile twitched on his lips. He would probably keep it as a pet and name it Aurther Jr. or something just like he did with that damned stray cat.
The next prominent fish that was a different species from the ones he had first encountered in the shallows was mainly green and purple with hints of dark blue around its head and tail. It had bright neon green colors on its two long antennae that extended from the top and bottom of its head to bend around its tail and form a hoop of sorts. Otherwise, it had two big similar green eyes with big pupils and bioluminescence stripes on its head, tail, and antennas mainly.
The last new fish Lelouch only caught one glimpse of was even weirder than the peeper he had eaten. It was smaller when compared to the other fish he had met and with a pale green body and four translucent blue bioluminescent fins set in a criss cross pattern behind its head, or what could be called a head anyway. Otherwise its main body consisted of a single sole eyeball with one pupil. It didn't even have a mouth, which had Lelouch a little freaked yet curious as to how and what it ate to survive. The tiny fish took one glimpse at him before turning tail and swimming away.
Not that Lelouch was planning on catching it, but he would get another fish that looked like it in time. Just not right now.
Finally, Lelouch had arrived at the coordinates of lifepod three, and was immediately disappointed to discover the pod was destroyed just like the last one. This lifepod was perched on a high mass of limestone that nearly breached the water, but was just a few meters short. A hole was torn near the bottom of the pod, and as Lelouch watched one of the crocodile-like predators messing with a pile of scrap metal just off in the distance he figured that it was the reason for lifepod three's demise. The creature gnawing on the metal like a chew toy before turning and swimming off into the kelp and vanishing, most certainly heading to its lair or wherever the hell it lived and had territory.
Lelouch took the moment of peace as an opportunity and swam right through the hole in the lifepod to investigate and gather any leftover supplies. He wasn't going to even ponder over whether the lifepod's occupants had survived or not, because he was certain it was a no due to the predators in the creepvine forest's waters.
His searching yielded him some rather splendid results. Two bottles of water and a nutrient block alongside a PDA and a strange looking box that was shoved inside the storage container. Lelouch took the box out and turned it around in his hands, intrigued. Finally finding a button on the top flat side of the box he pushed it, and a data drive ejected itself from the box and right in front of the teen's face. Surprised by the sudden action but not startled, Lelouch took one last look at the box before discarding it seeing as it had no other purpose and took a hold of the data drive to input its information into his PDA.
"Must have been a data box or something." Lelouch muttered to himself as he worked, before figuring out how the drive worked with his PDA.
"New blueprint acquired." The PDA stated. The blueprint itself being a compass, which had Lelouch grinning in victory.
"This will be useful, especially for directions." The raven haired teen hummed approvingly, before stuffing all but the abandoned PDA away into his knapsack. "Now, to figure out what happened to the crew inside this lifepod before their untimely demise."
With a few buttons pressed and options selected, a voice log started to play and was copied to Lelouch's own PDA. This time instead of it just being one voice however, there were two. One being male and the other the female he had heard in the radio's distress call. "You really think it'll carry two of us?" The woman asked somewhat incredulously.
"Your regular seaglide tows a mass of 80kg at over 30km/hr. The power cell I rigged to this one should double that." The male stated statistically.
"You think there's something out there that's faster?" The woman questioned uneasily. Some shuffling went on in the recording before the male finally spoke to answer.
"Oh, sure. And that's assuming the seaglide doesn't overload three meters from the lifepod." He took a deep breath before letting it out in a whoosh.
"You're awfully calm about this." The woman said uneasily.
"I'm seeing the engineering problem. If I stop seeing the math. I'll be terrified." The male took a few more deep breaths to calm himself, but even then his voice shook unsteadily before the recording finished with a resounding click.
Lelouch blinked a few times and quirked an eyebrow. Dichromatic eyes looked out of the hole of the lifepod for any sign of those creatures before slowly sticking his head out all looking at his surroundings. There a few meters away from the lifepod was a burnout mess of half a seaglide. So they only had one seaglide, but needed to tow two people. Both refused to leave the other behind, but a regular battery would die out before they got to where they needed to be so they tried using a power cell instead. It backfires on them while they try to swim away and they get caught up with the predators here in these waters and both get killed. What a shame. Seeing as there was nothing left of any true use Lelouch began his trek back towards his own lifepod.
Though, when thinking about it. If the situation was reversed Lelouch didn't think he could live with himself if he left Kallen or Suzaku behind to fend for themselves here either.
"I certainly hope not all of these lifepods are broken into except ours. Otherwise I'd have to suspect something is deliberately hunting down the lifepods specifically." Lelouch pondered out loud to himself. Kallen would probably suspect foul play as well if that were the case. The roar from a predator echoed out in the water, and the teen wasted no time speeding off and away towards the lifepod at a much faster rate.
Not a single predator tried to stop Lelouch or chase him as he zoomed through the forest and out back into the safe shallows.
Looking back behind himself, Lelouch took a moment to truly make sure he was safe before going limp in the water and breathing a sigh of relief. He hadn't realized he had been holding a breath in until he was out of the forest and away from those monstrous abominations called fish.
Yet, a new feeling started to build up in his gut and moved up into his throat as Lelouch swam closer and closer to the lifepod he now had to call home. The raven haired teen stopped in his tracks once he reached the bottom hatch to look down at his PDA. "Maybe there's something I can fabricate while they're out. Yeah, something to do and keep my mind off of other things." Like how he didn't want to go back in only to be met with silence or a possible dead body or two. What if Kallen had accidentally reopened her wounds while she was asleep and bled out? What if one of them had stopped breathing all of a sudden while he was gone? What if one of them got some infection that could have been prevented if he had stayed?
God he was an idiot. Going out on a damn adventure just to get away from the silence and risking his own skin once again by recklessly swimming into the creepvine forest. Knowing it was dangerous and without back up yet doing it anyway. He couldn't throw his life around like that when people needed him here.
Geass wouldn't save him and C.C wasn't here to bail him out when things really got bad.
Lelouch's hand trembled faintly before coming to a stop on a couple of blueprints. "Okay. These look easy to make." The teen made a mental list of what he had to make and what went first. "Definitely need a habitat builder, because this dingy lifepod is too small for us three to live in for a long period of time. A compass for directions should we need it." Dichromatic eyes squinted to read some text on the side. "Well, three compasses actually since it's actually a chip we can install into our helmets, and a pathway finder tool for when we go exploring through caves again for resources in case we get lost. Need quite a few resources, but otherwise it sounds like a plan."
With a list of objectives set in place Lelouch opened the hatch and climbed into the lifepod to empty his knapsack of resources and check up on his fellow survivors before heading back out again. His stomach gave out a rumble for food but was steadfastly ignored. Lelouch had completely forgotten about getting breakfast or at least a snack before heading out towards the destroyed lifepod and his body was now crying out for nutrients which its owner would not provide. Dropping his knapsack onto the floor with a loud wet thud Lelouch carelessly tossed his helmet on top of the bag before turning to the fabricator. A new medkit should be completely fabricated right about now, so that meant they had three fresh kits on standby since he used two-
"Lelouch."
Lelouch's current train of thought came to a screeching halt and his plans all went flying out of the metaphorical window at the sound of someone calling his name. Dichromatic eyes swung around to meet tired, somewhat puffy red olive green eyes. Raven black hair went flying as Lelouch snapped his head over to Suzaku.
Suzaku.
He was looking at Suzaku, who had just spoken to him and was clearly awake and breathing.
Suzaku was awake.
Or was Lelouch finally hallucinating because he was denying himself food and water?
"... Suzaku?" Lelouch called out questioningly.
Said brunette rubbed his eyes free of any crust and raised an eyebrow at Lelouch's strange antics. "Uh.. yeah. Who else would I be?"
Slowly, Lelouch stepped forward until he was in front of Suzaku, and crouched down so he was face to face with his best friend. Suddenly, the raven haired teen reached out with one hand and placed a firm yet heavy hand on Suzaku's shoulder. A shocked breath running through Lelouch's frame at the realization that this was real. Suzaku was really, truly awake and talking to him.
The revolutionary's face went blank the moment he laid a hand on Suzaku's shoulder. The Eleven knight looking from the hand on his shoulder to Lelouch in rising unease. "Uh… Lelouch? You're kinda freaking me out. What are you doing-"
"Suzaku." Lelouch interrupted his friend in a neutral tone that had Suzaku even more skittish than when his friend screamed and argued with him. The burnette completely snapping awake with his rising nerves.
"Yes?" The Britannian soldier asked questioningly.
Lelouch's expression stayed firmly neutral for another few seconds as the silence dragged on before those dichromatic eyes narrowed. "Don't ever get this injured ever again, because if you do then I'll make you wish that I was never born."
Olive green eyes widened in shock at the threat he was given before Suzaku's eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he hesitantly asked. "Um… Isn't it supposed to be 'make you wish you were never born', and what exactly brought this on?" Instead of answering, Lelouch wrapped his arms around Suzaku and tightened his grip. The burnette hissed at the stinging pain flowing through his upper body, but otherwise went slack with shock at a startling realization.
Lelouch was hugging him.
Olive green eyes blinked once before Suzaku returned the gesture with a heartfelt hug of his own. Right now, at this very moment, it wasn't two rivals bickering with each other, it wasn't an enemy versus bitter enemy, it wasn't anything of the sort. It was just two boys looking for comfort in each other through the hell they had just gone through and somehow survived.
All of his actions and words, everything he had done since the attack at that new biome, and even before that when they first arrived at this hell hole. From killing one of those predators that nearly killed him when first arriving, to being reckless and going out on his own, saving Suzaku and Kallen from certain death, all of it rushed at him at once and it was just too much for Lelouch at that moment. Too much for even the 'great messiah' of Japan and leader of the Black Knights. Too much fear and trauma, a desperate need to survive that made Lelouch break through his usual cold confines of staying stoic and strong to search for some comfort in the form of a good friend that he had nearly lost just days ago.
The moment lasted for around five seconds before Lelouch straightened himself up and those walls returned to their fixed places firmly.
"What was that for?" Suzaku asked. Worry for his friend clear in his tired olive green eyes. "Not that I minded, but you usually don't do hugs."
"I figured you needed a moment of comfort after nearly dying." Lelouch stated simply in his regular tone of voice. Though, a small relieved smile twitched onto his lips for a split second before returning to that stoic frown.
"Oh, well, uh, thanks? I guess?" Suzaku spoke questioningly. He knew that what Lelouch had said was at least partially a lie, but he decided to stew on it with himself since it would only serve to make Lelouch uncomfortable. "I was wondering where you had been. How long was I out? Because clearly you managed to get those creepvine samples you needed." Olive green eyes blinked for a moment. "Or was it a sample? I don't really remember, everything was kind of blurry and fuzzy back then."
The revolutionary's body turned around to head towards his knapsack before pulling out his PDA and the stray one he got from the lifepod. "Well, I went on a little adventure you could say. Two actually if you count getting those creepvine samples you were correct on assuming." Lelouch turned back around with a victorious grin plastered across his face as he raised the PDA up. "You won't believe what I managed to do."
"The Stalker. A streamlined predator encountered in the kelp forests in wait of prey leaving the safety of the shallows to feed. The stalker likely carved out its evolutionary niche at the sweet spot between speed and size millions of years ago, and may be one of the oldest species on the planet.
The stalker appears to be attracted to titanium deposits, which tends to sharpen and put stress on its teeth.
As with many predators, it may be possible to temporarily distract hungry stalkers by feeding them.
Teeth:
The stalker's teeth are unusually hard, and fast-growing. Its elongated snout can deliver huge biting pressure to larger attackers, while also being used to reach small herbivores seeking refuge against the rocks.
Night-vision:
Retinal layering on the eyeball suggests adaptation for night-time hunting.
Dorsal Ridges:
These ridges can be moved independently to deliver superior maneuverability.
Pelvic Fins:
Long and powerful, the stalker has evolved to hunt the fastest of prey.
Assessment: Stalker teeth may have applications in enameled glass fabrication.
After taking the time to read and reread the section of text not twice but three times. Suzaku blinked rapidly, rubbing his eyes harshly, and reread the text for a fourth time much to Lelouch's great amusement. The raven haired teen's grin merely getting bigger as pride over his miraculous achievement finally filled his being.
Suzaku, after making sure what he was seeing wasn't indeed a hallucination, snapped his head over to Lelouch and glared at his best friend. "Lelouch. What the fuck have you been doing while I was out?"
Hey check it out guys, a Lelouch centric chapter. :O Don't fret, everyone is going to get a solo chapter in time, but for now let us deal with the aftermath of exploring the red grassy plateaus. Lifepod 3 got a quick look into, and it seems Lelouch is finally getting over his fears of what lies in the creepvine kelp forest while also going a bit nuts at being all alone with no one to talk to. Hope he'll be okay.
If you have enjoyed the story so far leave a REVIEW, Follow, and Favorite the story so you can keep track of when chapters pop up. Because FYI, I don't have a posting schedule and I just post whenever I feel like it.
I'll be seeing you guys in chapter 8! -MoonlightWright
