Ch. 6: Hidden Underworld
Lelouch opened his eyes slowly and he found himself sitting on a wooden bench in what appeared to be a dark, dirty room.
"Where am I? I did I get here?" thought Lelouch. Suddenly Lelouch could feel some pain coming back to his head. He also realized that he was handcuffed at the wrist.
"Wait. I think I remember how I got here. I attacked that Japanese man, which resulted in me getting punched in the face and being dragged away by the police. Then one of the officers hit me on the head..." thought Lelouch.
The room Lelouch was currently in then bounced, causing Lelouch to hover in midair for about a millisecond. A large "THUMP!" noise could be heard every time the room shook like that.
Lelouch looked over his shoulder and he saw a small barred window. Lelouch decided to turn around and see if he could see anything outside.
Though the window was small and didn't allow much of a view, Lelouch could see that the room he was in was moving down various streets.
"Should of known this was the back of a paddy wagon. The humming sounds and the smell of exhaust seems to indicate this vehicle is motorized." thought Lelouch.
Still looking outside the small window, Lelouch noticed that the vehicle was turning onto a pathway that lead to what appeared to be an open field. A tall red brick wall lined the field. As the vehicle got closer to the wall, Lelouch suddenly heard the sound of screeching metal hinges.
"Must be opening some a metal gate to allow us to pass through." Lelouch theorized.
Once passing through, Lelouch patiently sat while the vehicle was moving. Then the vehicle seemingly stopped, the hum of the motor was silenced, and the sound of car doors being opened could be heard.
The doors to the back of the paddy wagon were opened, resulting in Lelouch to be momentarily be blinded by the bright light. Before his vision could adjust, the two police officers grabbed him out of the vehicle, grabbed him by the arm, and walked him to a large, rectangular, multi-windowed red brick building.
As he was being forcefully escorted, Lelouch saw similar looking buildings nearby. Some of the buildings were also parallel to one another.
One of the officers opened a large wooden door to one of the buildings. The officer holding Lelouch pushed him into the building. Inside was a white hallway, with large, thick wooden doors with grated windows lining it. As the officer pushed Lelouch through the corridor, ominous echoes could be heard. Painful moans and high pitched screams immediately filled the hallway while a foul odor hovered in the air.
"This place. Gives me the feeling of pain and suffering. What is this place?" thought Lelouch.
After making some turns onto similar looking hallways, the officer opened a wooden door. Lelouch was then dragged into the room.
The room was dark, except for a single lamp hanging in the middle. Right below the lamp was a wooden table, along with two wooden chairs placed on opposite sides. Sitting in one of the chairs was what appeared to be a captain in a khaki uniform. On the table was a note pad, a pen, and the captain's cap. One of the other officers pulled out the wooden chair opposite the captain while the other forcefully plopped Lelouch onto the chair.
"Where...the...hell...am...I?" asked Lelouch as he was panting under his own breath.
"For a foreigner you speak good Japanese." replied the captain. "You're currently in Gyeongseong Prison. According to this report I've received you assaulted a Japanese man for what seems to be no apparent reason."
"No apparent reason? Are you joking? That man was beating up a poor, defenseless old man!" Lelouch yelled.
"A poor, defenseless, old Chon if I'm not mistaken." said the captain.
"What's the difference if the person is Japanese or not?" asked Lelouch.
"Well the only people I've ever met who actually feel compassion for these Chons are those who are guilty of conspiracy against the His Imperial Majesty and the Empire." said the officer.
"WAIT JUST A MINUTE! I'M NOT A MEMBER OF ANY RESISTANCE ORGANIZATION OR..." yelled Lelouch before one of the officers behind him swung his baton at Lelouch's arm. Lelouch suddenly grabbed his arm as he tried to swallow the pain.
"I don't have time for tricks. JUST TELL ME WHO OR WHAT YOUR WORKING FOR!" yelled the captain.
"How can I tell you anything if I don't know anything..." said Lelouch before the officer swung at him again.
"DO WE HAVE TO DO THIS THE HARD WAY!?" yelled the officer. The officer then got up and pushed Lelouch off his chair. Lelouch felt pain all over his body as he fell onto the cold, stone floor. As Lelouch was trying to get himself back up, the captain suddenly started to crush Lelouch's back with his foot.
"AHHHHH!" yelled Lelouch as the captain started to dig his foot deeper into his back.
"WHO ARE YOU AFFILIATED WITH! THE RESISTANCE? THE GERMANS? THE MARXISTS? ANSWER ME!" yelled the officer at the top of his lungs.
"I...don't...know." mumbled Lelouch. The officer then moved his foot off of Lelouch's back while he put his hand over his eyes in frustration.
"Lock up this no good piece of trash. Maybe some extra time will jog his memory." commanded the captain.
"Sir, uh currently we have no available empty cells." whispered one of the officers.
"What! Very well. Put this trash into Cell A11." said the officer.
"Are you sure about that? You know the prisoner in Cell A11 has been deemed potentially dangerous. Shouldn't we keep him isolated?" asked the concerned officer.
"Nonsense. With all of his close allies locked up, he's isn't a severe threat anymore. Besides, a little company couldn't hurt." replied the captain.
The two officers grabbed Lelouch off the floor and dragged him to his holding cell. As he was being dragged, Lelouch heard more disturbing noises echoing through the halls.
"NO MORE! PLEASE! I BEG OF YOU!" yelled a voice. Suddenly a sound similar to the crack of a whip could be heard before more cries of agony reverberated throughout the building.
When the officers stopped, Lelouch looked up and saw a large wooden door similar to the ones that lined the hallways. The officers used one of their keys to unlock the door. Once opened, the officers holding Lelouch tossed him in their as if he was a dead carcass. As Lelouch laid on the floor in pain, he heard the large door being locked from the outside.
Once Lelouch had a enough strength, he up and simply sat on the floor against the wall. He looked around and saw that the cell was small and filthy. Across the room Lelouch saw what appeared to be the cell's toliet, which was basically a foul-smelling bucket with flies hovering over it. The room was mostly dark while the only natural light came from the one grated window facing the outside.
"I need to think of a way to get out of here!" thought Lelouch. "If my hands weren't cuffed behind my back, I could then take out my contact lens and use my geass to get out of this mess."
"It looks like a they really gave you a beating." said a mysterious voice.
"Who said that." asked Lelouch.
"I'm over here!" said the voice. Lelouch looked over to the opposite side of the room and saw a man who appeared to be in his late thirties to early forties sitting on a small stool reading a worn-out book. The man wore a western-style suit, but it was dusty and worn out. He had a dark mustache and his left ear showed signs of disfigurement.
"So what are you in for?" asked the mysterious man.
"For attacking a Japanese man that was beating up an elderly Korean man." replied Lelouch with frustration. "How about you?"
"For supporting conspiracy against the Empire and for the distribution of dangerous information. Actually this is my third time I think." replied the man jokingly.
"Third time! You've dealt with this before?" asked a stunned Lelouch.
"I'm willing to be thrown here ten more times if it means Korea will achieve total independence." replied the man.
"So I'm guessing you're Korean?" asked Lelouch. The man then nodded his head. "Ok, what's your name then?"
"My name is of little importance to me right now. I've changed it two times, making it harder for authorities to properly identify me. The name I currently use now is Kim Gu." replied the man.
Lelouch then silently stared at the man for a few seconds. He then figured that telling this man his name wouldn't hurt so much.
"My name is Lelouch Lamperouge." replied Lelouch. "So, how long have you been in this resistance movement?"
"Well my first interaction with organized resistance was when I participated in the Donghak Peasant Revolution of 1894. Our goal was to eliminate the corruption in the Korean government and to expel foreign influence. Though we failed, the King of Korea did issue new reforms that answered the grievances of the peasantry. I on the other hand went into hiding." said Kim Gu.
"Pretty interesting. Please go on." said Lelouch.
"Very well. One year after the failed revolution, tragedy struck this land. The Queen of Korea was violently murdered by Japanese assassins supposedly sent by the Resident-General of Korea. Rumor has it that she was murdered because she was proposing modernization programs for Korea while also using diplomacy to play Russia and China against the Japanese. When the news reached me, it made me want to avenge her death by fighting against Japan." said Kim Gu.
Lelouch suddenly felt connected with this man that he had never known before. This story being told to him reminded him of when he swore vengeance against Britannia after his mother was killed by supposed "terrorists". Lelouch then continued to listen to more of the story.
"A few months after the murder, I noticed a Japanese man with a sword disguised as a Korean. Since many Japanese people come through the area we were in, there was no need for him to hide unless his purpose was to harm my nation. I then assumed he was involved in the assassination of the Queen, which resulted in me attacking him. I grabbed the man's sword and I killed him with it." said Kim Gu. Lelouch then looked at him with utter shock.
"What happened after you killed the man? Was he involved in the murder of the Queen?" asked Lelouch.
"I don't know if the man I killed was involved, but it didn't matter. I had murdered a man, which resulted in me being arrested by the police. While in prison, I was tortured repeatedly and was even scheduled for execution. However, despite calls from the Japanese for my death, the Korean government officials manage to at least suspend the execution order." said Kim Gu. "But my time in prison wasn't wasted. To pass the time, I read various books on Western culture and science. I then realized that if the Korean people were educated, then we would be stronger. As a result, I decided to teach many of the illiterate prisoners."
"Interesting way on passing the time." said Lelouch. "Anyway, when did you get out?"
"Well, I got out by escaping in 1898. To evade the authorities, I decided to hide out in a Buddhist temple. It was there I became a Buddhist priest. My experience there made me officially commit myself to the education of the Korean people. So when Japan stripped Korea of it's sovereignty in 1905, I decided to join the New People's Association, a worldwide, nonviolent resistance organization. But in August, 1910 AD, things changed dramatically." Kim Gu said.
"Is that when the Japanese came over and made Korea a colony of their empire?" asked Lelouch.
"Correct. When Korea became officially part of Japan, the Japanese made sure there was nothing in their way. They shut down the New People's Association by fabricating excuses, resulting in many of the Korean educators and intellectuals to teach underground. But that's wasn't all they did. Ever since they came here, Japanese-owned land has increased while more and more Korean farmers become tenants, forced to pay high taxes in the form of half their harvest." said Kim Gu.
"Hmmm. So that explains why all those impoverished farmers were putting much of their crops into that wagon being guarded by Japanese officers." Lelouch thought as he reminisced what he saw on the train ride.
"The Japanese also are also censoring the Korean papers, suppressing our heritage and culture, along with giving all the wealth made from Koreans labor to the Japanese. Even though Korea is more industrialized than ever before, the Koreans don't see any of the benefits the industries produce." said Kim Gu with frustration. "Also, me and my colleagues were arrested since we were close friends with An Jung-Geun. His cousin even planned to kill the current Viceroy..."
"WAIT!" interrupted Lelouch. "Did you say An Jung-Geun? The man who had a partially-severed ring finger and used a gun hidden in his lunchbox to kill Prince Ito?"
"Yes I did." replied Kim Gu. "But how did you know about An's finger?" asked Kim Gu. As far as I know, that detail is really only well known among us since An severed part of his finger as a sign of his resistance."
Lelouch then started to frantically think of an answer that wouldn't expose the details of geass. Not seeing any other option on how to explain it clearly, Lelouch decided to tell Kim Gu everything about him. Suddenly a guard could be heard walking towards their cell, which gave Lelouch an idea.
"I'll tell you how I found out later. Right now I have a plan for an escape." replied Lelouch.
"What do you have in mind?" asked Kim Gu.
"You'll see. But first I need you to slightly touch the surface of my left eye. I would do it but as you can see my hands are cuffed behind me."
"Touch your eye? What are you planning?" asked a curious Kim Gu.
"Just do it. We don't have much time." whispered Lelouch. Suddenly the footsteps outside in the hallway started to get louder.
Kim Gu, who's hands were not bound, slightly touched Lelouch's left eye with one hand while keeping it open with the other. Once he brought his finger close to to him, Kim Gu noticed a small, clear, bowl-shaped lens on the tip of his finger. Lelouch meanwhile kept his left eye shut.
"Alright, don't loose that thing on your finger. Just need you to hold onto it for a second." instructed Lelouch. Afterwards, Lelouch used the remaining strength in his body to get up and walk towards the barred window on the cell's door. Lelouch then proceeded to call over the guard walking down the hall.
"Hello! Guard! Can you help me? When do we eat? When can I leave?" yelled Lelouch.
The guard, clearly loosing his patience with Lelouch's constant questions, came closer to the cell's door.
"Phase 1 complete." thought Lelouch.
"You think you're a little jokester do you. How bout I come in there and start beating the living..." yelled the annoyed guard until he saw a bird-shaped sigil coming towards him. He stopped walking and froze mid sentence.
"Unlock these cuffs around my wrists, then lead me and other man in here to the Captain's Office under the pretense that we are being taken for more interrogation." commanded Lelouch. The guard then took out his keys, opened the door to the cell, unlocked the cuffs on Lelouch, and started leading both Lelouch and Kim Gu to the Captain's office.
Kim Gu immediately gave Lelouch his contact lens back.
"How did you convince him to...?" asked Kim Gu.
"I'll explain that later too." said Lelouch. "Right now we need to get out of here. And Phase 2 of my plan will be initiated."
The guard immediately escorted the both of them to the Captain's office. Anytime a nearby officer asked why the guard was letting out the two prisoners, the guard would say he was ordered to bring them for interrogation with the Captain. As a result, the nearby soldiers carried on with their original duties.
When they reached the door to the Captain's office, the guard opened it and continued leading Lelouch and Kim Gu. Inside the office was the Captain, resting on the chair at his desk smoking a cigarette.
"Captain! I've brought these two in for continued interrogation liked you asked!" said the guard as he saluted the Captain. Once hearing this, the Captain immediately looked at Lelouch, Kim Gu, and the guard with anger and confusion.
"I never gave an order to..." said the Captain until Lelouch activated his geass once more.
"I order you to give me and my friend here forms for our release along with all the money you currently have." said Lelouch. The Captain wrote up two prisoner release forms for Lelouch and Kim Gu before emptying his pockets of all the money he had. Lelouch then grabbed the papers and the money before he and Kim Gu left the office and headed for the prison exit.
As they walked towards the exit, Lelouch flashed the papers to any guard that attempted to stop him. Lelouch and Kim Gu continued to walk towards the main gate of the prison, which was guarded by a few guards. Once explaining the forms and the situation to them, the guards, dutifully following orders, opened the gate and let the two pass through to freedom.
Author's Note: Sorry for the slight delay. Chapter was long as you can tell. Really needed to establish some connections with Lelouch to world around him. Once again, liberties have been taken for all historical figures and events depicted in this story. Next chapter will be up as soon as possible. Please review if you can.