"Nice one, Zero!" Arthur called out.
They had made their way through the hedge mazes surrounding Villetta's castle, successfully avoiding detection. Now, they were once again inside the castle, infiltrating the underground dungeons that Kallen and Arthur had been trying to investigate when he had put the castle's guards on high alert with his jailbreak.
In the confines of the dungeon passages, it was harder to avoid the Baroness' minions, so they had to fight. They had ambushed a Shadow near the entrance, keeping it from raising the alarm, and Lelouch had stunned it with a curse from Arsene, leaving it helpless on the ground.
The Shadow was a pitiful thing, with the form of a tiny woman with short red hair, pointed ears, wearing a blue leotard, gloves, and stockings. Its gossamer wings fluttered weakly, vainly trying to return to the air, but its strength was still drained from Arsene's spell.
"Time to finish it off!" Kallen, alias Queen, urged.
Zero raised a hand, thinking back to Igor's words. "Keep it surrounded, but hold your attack. I want to try something."
"Please, don't hurt me!" The Shadow begged. "I'll give you anything you want if you let me go!"
"Why?" Kallen sneered. "So you can fly off and tell the Baroness where we are?" She raised her metal claws menacingly.
"Eek!" The Shadow covered its face with its tiny hands.
"I doubt that this one's carrying anything of value," Arthur said. "It wouldn't even make much of a morsel."
Kallen looked down at him quizzically.
"What?" Arthur asked. "I'm a cat. Especially when you're a stray, you scavenge what you can."
"The girl wants to maul me and the cat wants to eat me!" The Shadow cried. "Please, sir, have mercy! Surely we can talk this out!"
"Why do you serve the Baroness?" Lelouch asked the Shadow.
"Have you seen how scary the Baroness gets when she's angry? She rules this Castle with an iron fist! If I stepped out of line, she'd throw me in the dungeons, or execute me! Weaklings like myself have no choice but to obey the strong!"
"Would you serve me then?"
"You're pretty strong, what do you think you can do against the Baroness? There's no way you can beat her."
"No. We will beat her, because we must. The Baroness has trampled on the weak for too long, and made dear friends suffer."
"Is one of those friends… a girl?" The Shadow asked.
"Yes," Lelouch replied, thinking of Shirley.
The Shadow's eyes lit up. "That's so sweet! You must be like her knight in shining armor! I'm so jealous! She's lucky to have a guy like you!" Flapping its wings, it happily flew back into the air.
"Zero! What were you thinking? It's going to attack us again!" Kallen hissed.
"No, wait!" The tiny girl cried. "I just remembered something! I'm not really a Shadow! My name's Pixie! I was born in the sea of souls that resides in human hearts, but when this castle formed, I got sucked into it and forgot everything! I'm a part of you, and you're a part of me! I know my mask might not be much, but please, take it! Take me with you, and save the girl!"
Light gathered around Pixie, and then there was a flash. When the light cleared, Pixie had inexplicably turned into a mask, which was then drawn in toward Lelouch's own mask before vanishing in blue flames.
"Wait! What did you just do to that Shadow, Zero?" Kallen asked in confusion.
"Did he…" Arthur started.
Grinning, Lelouch gripped his mask and ripped it off, instinctively knowing what to do.
"Pixie!" he called out.
The tiny winged girl briefly appeared before Lelouch, fluttering above him but bound to him by ethereal blue chains, before vanishing once more.
"He turned that Shadow into his Persona!" Arthur exclaimed.
"It…. Can't be!" Kallen gasped. "That's the same power that…" Her voice trailed off, choked with emotion.
"It's the same power that your brother used!" Arthur finished for her.
"Naoto…" Kallen murmured. Lelouch saw a distant look in her eyes, wistful yet filled with admiration. It had to be for her brother, but her gaze was locked on him.
"I'm not your brother, Queen," he said gently.
"I… Of course I know that!" she snapped. Then her voice softened. "But one's Persona ability is a reflection of their heart. For you to have the same ability as my brother… I think I may have misjudged you, Zero… Though…"
Kallen paused and crossed her arms. "How much can I really trust you, Zero? I mean, if you were planning to reveal my secrets, you'd have already done it. But you know more about who I really am than the other way around, and there are gaps in your story that still demand explanation! You may have gotten saved by the bell before, but you don't have that excuse now. And don't think I've forgotten that one of the first things out of your mouth after you made your dramatic entrance the other day was trying to lie to us about what you were doing in the Palace! You have something that you've been trying to hide from me, I know it!"
Kallen certainly wasn't wrong there, and he had promised her an explanation of his past. If he reneged that, he would quickly lose whatever trust he had managed to build with her so far, which was something he certainly couldn't afford in a still-unfamiliar world. Moreover, Kallen was at least sharp enough that she would probably notice if there were still obvious omissions in his account. As such, he needed to give her a reasonably complete version of his story, that was faithful enough to events as they had unfolded that it would carry the weight of truth, while still keeping his most important secrets safe.
"Very well, Queen," he said, raising his hands. "I will honor my word, and tell how I ended up in Japan, and came to oppose Britannia. I've made you wait more than long enough for an explanation. It could be a rather lengthy explanation, so we should use that safe room that we came across. I'll do my best to summarize things though, so we can focus on the most important points."
Kallen nodded. "That's fine. We don't have all day to infiltrate this Palace, but I do want to know what your deal really is, Zero." She glanced down. "You don't mind, do you, Tama?"
"Codename aside, not at all," Arthur replied.
They had to slip by several patrols before they reached the safe room, but soon the three of them were gathered inside.
"Okay, let's hear it," Kallen said.
"As you wish," Lelouch replied. "To make a long story short, I'm ex-nobility. When I was ten, the manor in which we lived was broken into by unknown attackers, who murdered my mother and left my sister crippled. Officially, the authorities deemed that it was the work of terrorists, but even then I knew that couldn't be true. My mother had more than her share of enemies among the nobility, and the attack was too well targeted against her for it to be anything other than an assassination."
He left out the fact that his childhood home had been more than just a mere manor, but the Aries Villa, the residence of an Imperial Consort, a small palace in its own right... though not the sort of Palace they were presently investigating. He also knew that revealing that his mother had been murdered wouldn't be enough on its own for Kallen to tell who he really was; infighting among the nobility was common, and was further encouraged by his father's social Darwinist ideology.
"That's awful..." Kallen said. She glanced to a side. "I wouldn't want anyone to lose their parents that way... even if they were Britannians." She looked up again. "But what's that got to do with you being in Japan during the war?"
"I'm getting to that." Lelouch scowled. "For someone who supposedly loved my mother, my father acted like he barely cared at all." He let his face contort in genuine hatred. "When I dared to question him about it, he decided that my sister and I were more useful to him elsewhere. In other words, we had become inconvenient to him, and he couldn't tolerate the idea that we might try to stand up to him."
"So not only did he cast her aside, he had her killed," Kallen said, clenching a fist. "That's what you think, right? "
"That's correct, Queen," he replied. "I never was able to find definitive proof that he was the one behind her death, and nor can I say for certain what his motives were in doing so. But I think I have an idea. Like us, she had become inconvenient to him."
"But why would he have his own wife murdered?" Suddenly, her eyes went wide, and she made a sharp intake of breath. "Wait! Don't tell me... Was she...?"
Kallen's voice trailed off, unable to continue. Needless to say, it was an unusual reaction on her part, suggesting that somehow the topic was closer to home for her than she cared to tell him. He let those thoughts go unvoiced though, since sensed it would be useless to pry further into the matter for now; it would only serve to make Kallen more defensive again.
That left him with a choice though, weighing whether or not to divulge a certain piece of information. It was a gamble yes, offering an important clue as to his true identity, though it was not enough by itself to tell her exactly who he was, unless Kallen was particularly versed in court politics, which he doubted. Besides, she'd need to make some logical leaps on top of that to do so, allowing him to maintain plausible deniability. And thus, after a few moments of consideration, he decided that it was a risk he could take. One way or the other, Kallen would draw her own conclusions.
"You see, my mother had been a commoner before she married my father..."
"And so the other nobles hated her for that," Kallen frowned. A range of emotions flickered through her eyes. Anger. Disgust. Resentment. But her voice also betrayed a deep pain, however briefly. That confirmed his initial suspicions that his mother's story was uncomfortably familiar to Kallen far more effectively than if he had tried to ask her about it directly.
Kallen quickly masked her emotions, a matter that the lotus petals concealing most of her face certainly helped with. But she couldn't do so perfectly.
"He then remarried... to someone of a 'pure' noble lineage.. didn't he?" Her voice was uncharacteristically soft.
Lelouch nodded.
"You could say that. My mother wasn't his first wife, and he'd already been seeing other women." Specifically, the Emperor had been seeing his other Imperial Consorts. Marianne vi Britannia had been one out of one hundred and eight women married to the Emperor. But there was no need to tell Kallen that right now. He could let her think it was just a typical case of marital infidelity among overprivileged nobles.
"Yet another reason why I hate Britannians..." Kallen grumbled.
"Yeah, it sounds like his father's definitely a nasty piece of work," Arthur added.
"That's not even all of it," Lelouch said bitterly. "He sent us to the home of a... business associate of his in Japan." If politics could be considered a business, then that was true in a manner of saying, with Genbu Kururugi acting as fellow head of state. "Officially, it was as a gesture of goodwill between them. But my father had contacts within the military." Rather, his father had and still held ultimate authority over Britannia's armed forces. "He had to know that Britannia was gearing up for war, and he stood to profit from it too." Lelouch clenched a fist tightly. "And it was the perfect way to dispose of my sister and myself, in such a way that not only would his own hands would appear clean, but our deaths would be blamed on our Japanese hosts."
"Ugh..." Arthur said. "Talk about cold."
"We lived in Japan for a year before the invasion. Looking back on it, in spite of everything that had happened, the memories I made in that year are ones that I'll always cherish." Lelouch met Kallen's gaze firmly. "It opened my eyes to the world outside of Britannia, and I was even able to make my first real friend here. And then..."
He trembled with anger. "I knew what kind of man my father was, but then Britannia itself came and made its brutality all too clear. As I alluded to before, the place that we were staying at was bombed, as were the surrounding towns. I saw the devastation firsthand, as I carried my sister across the ruined landscape."
Kallen closed her eyes for a moment, as if sorting out her thoughts.
"What happened to your friend?" she finally asked.
"We got separated," Lelouch said. He didn't think it was wise just yet to mention that Suzaku was that friend, lest that raise awkward questions about why he had been around the son of Japan's last Prime Minister. "But eventually, my sister and I found refuge with the Ashford family. They had been friends of our mother, and agreed to shelter us, while we took on new identities for ourselves as commoners."
He shook his head. That's the short version. "To say that I hold a grudge against Britannia would be an understatement. It's a system run for the benefit of parasitic nobles, like my father. A world ruled by Britannia, in which the weak are mercilessly crushed by the strong, is not one in which my sister has a bright future." He paused, looking her straight in the eyes. "If you still have any doubts, wait until you meet my sister. You'll see her when I introduce you to the Student Council. Then you can judge my story for yourself."
He waited for Kallen to respond. Did she believe his account, understated and selectively presented as it was? While he'd been careful to avoid outright lies, if she suspected that he had been anything less than upfront with her, it could end very badly for him. With any luck, he had given her enough to think about that she wouldn't press for any more details, not with everything else she was already dealing with. Besides, as much as he needed her help, she needed his. A Palace could be an unforgiving place, so they were safer together than apart.
"I had no idea, Zero…" Kallen finally said. That was a good sign.
"You wouldn't have," he replied. "Besides you and my sister, the Student Council President is the only other student here who knows my history, and that's just because she's part of the Ashford family." He allowed himself a grin. "So... does that satisfy you, Queen?"
"It does, for now." Kallen replied. "But if I find that you've lied to me about any of that... I'll make sure that you regret it."
"I'll keep that in mind."
"Ugh, would you just wipe that cocky look off your face?"
"To change topics" Arthur piped up, "I was thinking that Zero should be our leader in battle."
"What did you say, Tama?!" Kallen started.
"Think about it," Arthur replied. "Though your Persona is individually more powerful than either of his, if his ability is truly like your brother's, he'll eventually be able to adapt to any opponent. With a power like that, he's perfectly suited to direct the flow of battle. We'll all work more effectively if he plans our battle strategies and we give him the room to change his Personas as needed. Besides, he seems to have a good head for this sort of thing. Trust me on this. You saw how easily he took charge when we had to fight that guard captain earlier, didn't you?"
Kallen sighed. "Part of me still doesn't like the idea of taking orders from a Britannian. But..." Her voice became thoughtful. "When it came down to it, I didn't even pause to question it in the heat of the moment, even though you had just joined us. So I think..." She forced her next words out quickly. "I think Tama might have a point."
In spite of himself, Lelouch found that he couldn't resist teasing Kallen in that moment. "So my charisma got to you?" he asked.
"Le- Zero! Don't push your luck!" Kallen spluttered. She shook her head. "As much as I hate to admit it, you're a natural leader, Zero. Your words saved me back there, helping me awaken to my true power. So as long as you help me make my brother's dream a reality, I'm willing to follow your lead in battle."
"Very well," Lelouch replied. "I'll make sure that you don't regret the trust you're placing in me, Queen."
xXx
Leaving the safe room, they resumed their infiltration of the Palace. They made rapid progress through the dungeons, making short work of most of the Shadows that they encountered.
Lelouch was able to persuade or coerce several more Shadows into becoming his masks, that was to say, his Personas. He quickly discovered that he was only able to capture one of each type of Shadow as a Persona, though that wasn't much of an issue to him, as he could only have a single Persona active at any given time anyway. But he also found a far more significant limitation on his powers - he could only store about half a dozen Personas in his mask at once, though he could freely switch between them. And that led to the third and perhaps most pertinent drawback of his ability….
While he gained the strengths and skills of whichever former Shadow that he was currently using as a Persona, he also inherited their weaknesses.
The battle in which he learned this lesson had started poorly enough. A Cognitive SSDF member had seen them as they darted from their cover, trying to reach their next hiding place, and had summoned a pair of stronger Shadows, which wasted no time in attacking them. Suzuka Gozen managed to dispatch one of them with a powerful cleave, but Kallen still took a hit, stunned by an ice spell.
Arthur summoned Master Cat to heal her, and that got her back on her feet, but Kallen was still hurt, her expression gritted in pain. Lelouch wasn't sure if she could withstand another hit like that, but Pixie also had healing spells. Summoning the tiny winged Persona, he cast one of his own, and Kallen seemed like she was back in fighting shape.
But then the surviving Shadow cast a curse spell. The black and red tendrils of Eiha piercied through Lelouch, and he dropped to his knees in agony. The spell caused no outward physical damage to his body, but he suddenly felt weak, as if some of his life force had been violently ripped from him. Was this pain what the Shadows felt every time Arsene cast the same spell?
It wasn't the first time they had encountered a Shadow that could cast Eiha, but before he had been using Arsene as his Persona, who was highly resistant to curses. Back then, all he had felt when exposed to Eiha had been a mildly nauseous sensation, with most of the spell dispersing before it could harm him. But Pixie was highly vulnerable to curses, and by extension, so too was Lelouch now.
"Zero!" Kallen called out in alarm.
Taking advantage of the group's momentary disarray, the Shadow charged Arthur, clearly trying to force them to scatter. However, Arthur nimbly darted to the side, and not meeting the expected resistance of the cat's body, the Shadow stumbled.
Kallen wasted no time. "Suzuka Gozen! Frei!" Her Persona dispatched it with a quick burst of nuclear energy.
"Are you okay, Zero?" she asked, helping him to his feet with a gloved hand.
"I'll live." He scowled. "Those Shadows almost got the best of us, but I learned a valuable lesson from it. I'll be more careful in the future."
Master Cat appeared once again, and Lelouch felt some of his strength return to him.
"That's better. Thank you, Tama."
"I think we're almost at the bottom of the cellblock," Arthur said, sniffing the air. "Not only have the enemy patrols been increasing down here, but I smell several people beyond that door. Of course, they're probably just Cognitions, but they must represent people that the Baroness considers important if she has them imprisoned here."
"Let's take a look then," Lelouch replied. With any luck, they would find answers within the dungeons.
Taking care to open the door without letting it creak, Lelouch led his accomplices inside.
What they saw before them wasn't an ordinary cell.
It was an Olympic-sized swimming pool, like the one the Swim Club practiced in, locked behind bars. Insides, there were a number of girls, dressed in Ashford's blue competition swimsuits, frantically swimming against an artificial current. A number of knights patrolled the edges of the pool, while others paced along catwalks over the pool, each wielding a long whip.
"Put some effort into it, girls!" One knight said, lashing its whip at a swimmer who was tiring and being pushed back by the current, causing her to scream out in pain. "Cry all you like, you'll have it worse if the Baroness sees this sorry excuse for practice!"
"Second place will not be tolerated!" another knight shouted, whipping another girl for good measure. "For the glory of the Baroness!"
Kallen was just about ready to summon Suzuka Gozen to break down the bars and teach those knights a lesson, but Lelouch held out a hand to stop her.
"We're already tired from the fights on the way here. If you make a scene, more Shadows will converge here, and we may not be able to escape."
"But-!"
"I know it seems heartless, but you have to remember, those girls are just Coach Nu's Cognitions of the swim team. There's no sense in you risking your life for them. But you already knew that, didn't you, Queen? You were the one who killed that Cognition of an SSDF without a second thought, because you knew that they weren't real."
Kallen clenched a fist, but she relented.
"We knew Villetta was ambitious and that she yearns for a title of nobility, but I didn't imagine that she would be so petty," Lelouch said contemptuously once he was sure that Kallen wouldn't do something rash.
"No kidding," Arthur whispered. "This shows that her desires have become distorted to the point that she'll advance herself by any means, no matter how amoral. If she can't attain a noble rank while at Ashford Academy, then she'll distinguish herself as the Coach of a winning swim team, forcing its members to undergo training that would be better described as torture."
"It's no wonder that Shirley was bruised then, and that she stopped attending practice," Lelouch said, keeping his anger simmering below the surface, even as it threatened to boil over. "She probably feared retribution from Villetta if she spoke out about it. She'll probably even still face retribution, besides being removed from the team, if she doesn't return to practice soon. If the Cognitions here are any indication, there's doubt that she's facing verbal abuse on top of the physical abuse, and I wouldn't put it past her to use the remaining members of the team to guilt-trip her into coming, or spread malicious gossip behind her back."
"Some team members they'd be," Kallen said contemptuously.
"It wouldn't be all of them, but I'd expect that some would fall in line with Coach Nu's twisted desires just so that they don't invite further abuse upon themselves."
"As I said, they'd be just trying to save their own necks. It's just all too typical of Britannia."
"I can't say I disagree there; Britannia does encourage that sort of behavior. Turning on someone made even more vulnerable than themselves can't be justified, but they're all still Coach Nu's victims nonetheless."
There was a heavy silence for several moment.
"My nose tells me there are still other cells in this block," Arthur finally said. "We should check them out while we're here."
Lelouch and Kallen nodded, and they were on their way. Heading down a staircase, they soon arrived at the next cell: detention.
It was nowhere as horrific as the swim club's cell had been, but it was still distorted nonetheless.
A number of students were in the cell, chained down by heavy iron balls. Some were at their desks, guiltily keeping their heads down, while others were at a chalkboard, mindlessly writing lines.
"I will not disobey the Baroness again. I will not disobey the Baroness again. I will not disobey the Baroness again…" On and on it went.
Lelouch sensed Kallen freeze behind him. "Wait a moment - that's me!" she gasped.
"It looks like you're not alone," Arthur said. "Lelouch is in there too."
Indeed, Villetta had Cognitions of Kallen and himself in the detention cell.
"What are you doing here?" Villetta's Cognitive Kallen said meekly as she noticed them peering in through the bars. "Are you thinking of trying to free us? Don't bother. There's no use fighting the Baroness. You should just stay quiet and do as you're told, like I do. Besides, I couldn't run even if you opened the door for me. I'm just a fragile flower, beautiful but useless…" The Cognition's words were punctuated by a coughing fit. "A disgrace to my nobility…"
"Don't think you can say that crap with my face!" Kallen snarled at her doppelganger, causing the Cognition to cower in fear. The real Kallen then turned to her companions, and shook her head in frustration. "I don't get it. Why does Coach Nu have such a Cognition of me if her Shadow knows who I really am?"
"I'd guess it's because only the real Coach Nu can establish the Cognitions that appear in her Palace, even if she isn't aware of doing so," Arthur replied. "Her Shadow rules over the Cognitions, and can recreate them if they're killed, but the Palace Ruler can't fundamentally change whatever Cognitions her conscious self comes up with. That's the image of you that the real Coach Nu has of you in daily life, and you did earn yourself a detention the other day. Between that and not participating in her gym classes, that caused her to label you as troublesome, and so there your Cognitive double is that cell."
"Why, how rude!" Lelouch's voice said from within the cell, though Lelouch hadn't actually spoken. It was Villetta's Cognitive Lelouch. Striding over, the Cognition cradled Cognitive Kallen with an arm, and then lifted her chin with a pair of fingers, so that she was gazing into his eyes. "Did that woman hurt you, my delicate flower?"
"Oh, Lulu…" Cognitive Kallen said in a simpering tone, calling him by the nickname that normally only Shirley used.
Smirking, Cognitive Lelouch leaned in and captured Cognitive Kallen's lips with his own.
"What?!" the real Kallen said, the exposed parts of her face turning beet red.
"This rumor has clearly taken on a life of its own," the real Lelouch scowled.
"We… shouldn't… not… here…" Cognitive Kallen moaned between kisses.
"Why not? We're in detention because we don't care about the Baroness' rules…" Cognitive Lelouch whispered back to her.
Cognitive Kallen shuddered and fainted, a blissful look upon her face.
"Poor girl… I guess her constitution couldn't handle that much excitement after all," Cognitive Lelouch smirked. "Still, another conquest to add to the list… Shirley… Milly…. Miss Stadtfeld is only the latest girl to be wrapped around my thumb."
"It looks like Villetta's got you pegged as a womanizer, Zero," Arthur said, snickering.
"I am not a womanizer," Lelouch replied irritably.
"But none can compare to my dear little sister, Nunnally…" the Cognition continued. "The things we do alone together…"
Kallen gave Lelouch a nasty look.
"It's true I dote on Nunnally… but Villetta thinks I have that sort of a relationship with my sister?" Lelouch said, scandalized. "The very thought is absurd!"
"Hey, you in the trench coat!" Cognitive Lelouch called out. "I don't know about you, but the guard is going to be back in a few minutes. I wouldn't just hang around here if I were you."
"We'll be on our way then," Lelouch said, leaving the mortifying scene behind with all practical haste.
"He helped us?" Kallen asked.
"Coach Nu sees me as a troublemaker, so of course her Cognitive version of me has no love for the Baroness. He said as much himself. She got that part of me right, even as the rest is just a mockery of the real me."
"Well, you heard him," Arthur said. "We have just a few minutes, so let's making checking out these last cells quick."
The third cell had just a single prisoner in it - Shirley Fenette. Or rather, it was Villetta's Cognitive Shirley.
But that made the scene no less infuriating to Lelouch.
Cognitive Shirley was restrained in wooden stocks. She was wearing the same blue competition swimsuit that the other swim club members had, but hers was in tatters, and her back was raw from repeated whipping. Her long, coppery red hair had been cut short, the fallen tresses lying dirtied on the floor around her.
"Shirley!" Lelouch called out. Intellectually, he knew that the girl before him wasn't the real Shirley, but she looked real enough, and the suffering the Cognition had been made to endure provoked a visceral response from him.
"Lulu…" she said weakly, sounding just like her counterpart from the real world. "Is that you?"
"Shirley, why is she doing this to you?" Lelouch felt himself trembling, and he knew that his emotions were getting the better of him, but what was important now was gathering information.
"I was the star of the swim team… until I betrayed them when I stopped going to practice… this is my punishment, Lulu," Cognitive Shirley replied. "But I deserved it. I have for a long time. I was too naive. I should have realized earlier that the Baroness never liked me. I should have known better than to be friendly to an Eleven. And I was also in love… with you, Lulu… As foolish as she says that is, I don't think she's ever truly felt that way about anyone else. She was envious that I had something that she didn't."
It was such a stupid, petty reason to torment Shirley, and it made his blood boil.
"But why is your hair cut like that?" he asked, forcing himself to remain in control, lest an outburst lead guards their way.
"She said that it slows me down in the water," Cognitive Shirley replied miserably. "But the Baroness is very proud of her looks. Lots of girls at Ashford wish that they had hair like hers, you know, with how long, and lustrous, and all neatly held in place it is. But one day, she overheard some girls on the swim club saying that my hair was even more beautiful than hers. She didn't like that at all, so my hair had to go."
Of course, the real Shirley hadn't been forcibly shorn of hair, and the Cognition was actually an aspect of Coach Nu's psyche, tied to, or perhaps even an extension of her Shadow, albeit a part of it that wasn't actively hostile them. But that meant that it was an accurate reflection of the real Villetta's thoughts toward Shirley.
Both the pain his friend had already silently endured and the harm that Villetta wished that she could inflict upon Shirley were on full display here.
Lelouch clenched a fist, and reached out with his other hand past the bars the bars of the cell, toward Cognitive Shirley, though it was ultimately a futile gesture. "I swear, Shirley… I'll set you free from this nightmare."
"There's nothing you can do, Lulu," the Cognition said sadly, casting its eyes down. "Just go, before the guards come and find you. I'm glad that I got to see you, but you're wasting your time with me."
Lelouch sighed. He knew that the Cognition was right, but he had allowed himself to be too sentimental. Turning, he gave one last glance toward Cognitive Shirley, and then continued down the cellblock with Kallen and Arthur.
"It looks like there's one more cell…" Kallen said quietly.
"I know…" Lelouch replied. "I think I know who's inside."
He was right. It was Suzaku Kururugi, zipped in a straitjacket, waiting on death row. Cognitive Suzaku didn't seem to be making any effort to escape. Of course he wouldn't. Suzaku hadn't stood up for himself at all since coming to Ashford, and so Coach Nu didn't anticipate any resistance from the Japanese youth when she falsely accused him of whatever infraction she had in mind, even if he risked expulsion from it... or worse.
"I've seen enough," Lelouch said, shaking his head. "There's nothing to be gained from conversing with this Cognition. We already know what Villetta has in mind for him. Let's go, before the guards return."
Kallen and Arthur nodded, and they were on their way.
xXx
They managed to retrace their steps through the dungeons without further entanglements with Shadows. But when they reached the ground level, they heard a scream.
"That voice! It sounded like Milly!" Lelouch said. A sudden dread passed over him.
"The Student Council President?" Kallen asked. She may have been out frequently in the past, but one couldn't attend Ashford Academy for any length of time without at least hearing of Milly. "That's impossible! She couldn't have followed us into the Metaverse- "
"Unless she was following closely behind us when we used the MetNav to get here," Arthur interrupted. "The app pulls in everyone around the user. That's how I first ended up in the Metaverse, after all."
"Crap!" Kallen swore. "We got caught!"
"We can worry about that later!" Lelouch said quickly. "She needs our help, now! Or are you just going to let her die?" He knew that unless by chance Milly managed to awaken to the same power he had, she would have little hope of fighting off the Shadows that lurked in the Palace.
Kallen stared at him for a long moment. He could imagine what was going through her head. Kallen knew of Milly, but she didn't really know her. All Milly would be to Kallen was another Britannian, spoiled more than most. Kallen didn't have any personal stake in helping him save Milly, and if anything would consider Milly to be liability to them. And yet he was asking her to-
"Just how heartless do you think I am, Zero?!" Kallen grimaced. "I'm going to regret this, aren't I? But fine, I'll help you! Besides... it's better that we find out what she knows and if she told anyone else, rather than just leaving her here in the Palace Ruler's hands."
Arthur shook his head. "You really are kind, Queen, even if you don't like to show it. I know your brother would approve."
"Thank you, Queen," Lelouch said with sincere gratitude. "Now let's move!"
xXx
Running as quickly as they could in the direction of the voice, they soon found themselves in a small chamber, where Shadow Villetta was commanding a squad of knights. Two of them were holding Milly Ashford in place, while another golden captain, had a sword drawn and pointed threateningly at her.
"Huh?" Milly gasped, as she saw them barge into the room, even as she struggled against the captain's grip. "Who are-?"
The captain pushed his sword forward menacingly, stopping inches from her throat, and Milly fell silent, visibly swallowing.
"Splendid," Shadow Villetta laughed as she turned to face the newly-arrived team of Persona-users, a wicked grin on her face. "I knew the vermin would come running if they heard you scream." She made a glance backwards. "You have my thanks, Miss Ashford. You were the perfect bait, and it was so considerate of you to practically fall into my lap."
"B-bait?" Milly whispered.
"It was a trap... I knew it." Kallen hissed over to Lelouch. She looked up, and began shouting at Shadow Villetta. "Don't you dare look down on us! Or have you already forgotten how we defeated your last captain and his entire squad yesterday? At this rate, you'll be out of subordinates before long!"
"I wouldn't be so sure of that," Shadow Villetta smirked. "Besides, Miss Ashford's life is in my hands. All it would take is a word from me, and I can have her executed for the crime of trespassing."
They heard clanking footsteps behind them, and another platoon of guards appeared, blocking off the corridor that they had come from.
"Yikes! There's no way we can fight off so many, especially when we already had to fight through the dungeons!" Arthur cried.
"Checkmate," Shadow Villetta sneered, and she let out a laugh. Not bothering to make eye contact, she asked, "So… Miss Ashford… which one of these traitors shall I execute first?"
"What are you talking about?"
Shadow Villetta turned suddenly and slapped Milly across the face. "Don't play dumb, Miss Ashford! What do you think would happen to your family if it became known they were harboring spies and other rebels such as these?" she said, gesturing at Lelouch, Kallen, and Arthur. "The Ashford name is already fallen from grace. It wouldn't survive a scandal like that... But if only I could have the sort of wealth and influence your family held in its prime! Now they're so scraping the dregs that they would lower themselves to accept filthy Elevens here. They would even whore you out if it would mean reclaiming their former status!"
Milly's eyes went wide, a mixture of fear and anger in them. And... it was only for the briefest of moments, so quick that Lelouch would have missed if it he had blinked, but he thought he saw her eyes turning a supernatural gold.
Just like when Kallen...
"What, you haven't told them about all those interviews you've been having as your parents try to arrange a marriage for you?" Shadow Villetta asked, leaning in closer to Milly. The Shadow's face contorted. "How I envy you…. you're young and pretty enough that snaring a rich husband should be easy for you. Even in disgrace, you still have a noble pedigree, more than I ever had. Once you're married off, you'll be able to continue playing the part of the pampered, spoiled, brainless princess once more, though that's far above your actual station. To see how the whole school used to bend over to satisfy your every childish whim… it was infuriating!" Shadow Villetta seethed. "But I've put a stop to that!" Villetta laughed once more, high and cruel. "This is my castle now, Miss Ashford!"
"No... I..." Milly started weakly, averting her eyes from Shadow Villetta. The Palace Ruler's remarks had clearly struck all too close to home for her. "That's..."
"You talk too much, Coach Nu," Lelouch cut in defiantly, raising his voice so that Milly was sure to hear him.
"What?" Shadow Villetta demanded, her malevolent golden gaze turning to fix itself on him.
"You never learn, do you?" he smirked. "You've just given Milly every reason she needs to fight back against you."
"Fight back?" Milly murmured distantly, still not making eye contact with any of them. "If I could, I would, but h-ow!" She let out a pained gasp as the captain roughly punched her in the stomach with an armored first.
Milly had enough reasons to fight back already, but she lacked a belief in her own power to change her fate, that much was clear. It was hard to blame her for that. She may have stumbled into the Metaverse, but Milly still had no way of conceiving that the power of one's rebellious spirit could be made manifest here. It was too far outside of her realm of experience. It would seem crazy.
But he wasn't done. Not at all. If Milly couldn't rationally believe that she had any way to take back her freedom, then the key was to overpower that with a desire so strong and so urgent that it simply couldn't be denied, consequences be damned. It might be a gamble, but after seeing what had happened to her eyes, he as sure that it would work. It had to work!
Lelouch didn't flinch at all under Shadow Villetta's hateful gaze, and let out a scornful laugh. "If she could only see exactly how you've been abusing Shirley and the swim club for your own selfish gain... I know that she'd find the strength within herself to oppose you, no destroy you! If you're not afraid of that, Coach Nu, then you should be. You made a mistake bringing her here, just so that you could gloat, but if you were smarter, you would have killed her when you had the chance!"
"You dare lecture me?!" Shadow Villetta raged. "Once again, you forget your place! The only value this school and everyone in it has is for my own advancement! Miss Ashford here is still of some use to me, but I can have her executed with just a word if I feel like it! Those girls on the swim club shouldn't complain so much, either. Who will they have to thank when they win every major competition this year? I simply brought the best military methods into my training. If they can't toughen up, they have no right to be on my team, let alone live!"
Shadow Villetta's voice lowered for a moment. "And as for Miss Fenette... she rubbed me the wrong way, with all of her sickening idealism. The world doesn't work that way!" the Shadow roared. "She should be grateful that I've been beating some sense into her!"
"W-what?!" Milly shouted at Shadow Villetta, trembling furiously. "H-How... Dare you!" She began straining against the knights that held her, kicking and screaming with all of her might. "I don't know how... but I... won't... let you... Harm my friends again!"
"Just a moment ago, she didn't have any fight left in her!" Shadow Villetta snarled. "Where did this come from? No matter. Guards-"
"What did I just tell you, Coach Nu?" Lelouch smirked as he interrupted her. "I guess this is the downside of being a Shadow. You act on instinct, and can't control your own impulses even when you would be better served by doing so."
"What are you blabbering on about?"
"I told you: you've given her every reason she needs to fight back... And then some. Now, it's too late for you to do anything about it. You just couldn't resist having the final word with me, could you, Coach Nu?" He let out a shout, no longer speaking to Shadow Villetta but calling out to Milly. "Don't hold anything back, Milly! At this moment, you're more powerful than you've ever thought possible! Seize back control of your destiny! It's all in your hands now! Don't let her tell you otherwise!"
"To hell with her!" Milly shouted. "I'll do whatever it takes! I'm sick of people like her telling me what to do!"
There was a sudden gust of wind, and the knights holding Milly were thrown back violently. An ornate mask had appeared on her face, one that might be worn to a high-class masquerade, black and glittering with intricate patterns in golden thread, and with tiny diamonds set into its surface.
Through the holes in the mask, Lelouch could see that Milly's eyes were definitely golden now.
"Not again!" Shadow Villetta gasped.
"I've been waiting for this. No longer shall you simply sit back and watch helplessly," a seductive female voice said, echoing through the chamber. "What good is simply being a Student Council President if you cannot help your friends when they need it most? And who needs to be shackled down in an unhappy arranged marriage? You just want to be free, and to have fun and excitement in your life. So let us make a contract: I am thou… thou I art… Together, we'll cast a spell on the world..."
With a scream, Milly ripped off her mask, sending a spray of her own blood splattering onto the walls.
A figure appeared above her, draped in a long purple robe, and its face hidden by a black cowl that extended into a cloak that swirled in the wind surrounding Milly. At the same time, Milly's Ashford Academy outfit was transformed, becoming a tight-fitting black cat costume, like one of the outfits Milly had been prone to dressing in for her wacky festivals, but of much higher quality, its top made of black silk velvet, giving it a soft sheen.
Unlike Kallen's Metaverse outift, Milly's did not cover her entire body. Milly had tall high-heeled black leather boots with a fluffy pink trim, which terminated halfway up her thighs, and her top tapered off at the bottom like a one-piece swimsuit, revealing some of her buttocks. A white patch was cut into the suit around the chest, snugly hugging and drawing attention to her bust, which was even larger than Kallen's. The cat look was completed by black gloves with small pads on the palms, made to resemble paws, a headband with fake ears, a fake tail, and whiskers painted on her face.
"What a meow-velous costume!" Arthur exclaimed.
A weapon had materialized in Milly's hands as well, a whip. She gave it an experimental flick, and smiled wickedly, giving even Lelouch a sudden chill.
"GUTS! Time to do this, Medea!" Milly shouted. She held out a pawed glove. Her Persona, Medea, mimicked the motion, and held out her staff, enveloping nearby Shadows in flames.
Shadow Villetta was already making her retreat as the situation rapidly spiraled out of her control. "Captain!" she shouted. "Prove yourself worthier than your predecessor! Do not fail me!"
"Your word is my command, Baroness!"
The golden knight transformed, becoming a hideous bearded demon… seated on a toilet? Vaguely, Lelouch recalled seeing an illustration of such a demon once in a book, and he recalled its name… Belphegor.
"Let's make this quick…" Belphegor said. "I don't like having to work hard."
"It'll be quick alright!" Kallen shouted back. "Suzuka Gozen!" Her Persona rushed forward, grabbing Belphegor by the head, and blasted it with nuclear energy. But a moment later, Belphegor swatted Suzuka Gozen away.
"That stung, but you'll have to do far better than that, girl!"
"My attacks - they're not working?!" Kallen gasped.
"It's resistant to nuclear spells!" Lelouch called out. "It seems the Baroness learned something from yesterday after all!"
Belphegor raised a hand, and tiny ice crystals began to form in the air around Kallen.
"Queen! Watch out!"
Kallen dodged with just a moment to spare as a block of ice solidified where she had been a second ago.
That was bad. Lelouch didn't yet have a Persona resistant to ice. Indeed, Arsene, Pixie, and Jack O'Latern, whom he had also acquired in the dungeons, were all highly susceptible to the element, as was Kallen's Suzuka Gozen. Shadow Villetta had chosen her new Captain well indeed. He would do well not to underestimate her in the future.
"Queen, hang back and switch to support! Tama, probe its defenses for a weak point!"
"Got it, Zero!" From a safe distance, Kallen summoned Suzuka Gozen, casting Tarukaja on Arthur, a spell that would temporarily boost his strength.
"Master Cat!" Arthur shouted The ginger feline appeared and stabbed twice with its rapier, causing Belphegor to howl in pain.
"It seems physical attacks work just fine!" Arthur reported.
"We can wear him down that way, but not quickly enough," Lelouch said hurriedly.
"You will pay for that!" Belphegor bellowed.
"Everyone, brace yourselves!"
The temperature in the room rapidly dropped, as Belpehgor cast Mabufu - a wide area ice spell. It wasn't enough to take them out, but Kallen was knocked to the ground, and Lelouch felt chilled to the bone.
"This…. isn't… good… Zero…." Kallen said, her teeth chattering uncontrollably.
"Perish!" Belephegor roared, readying another spell.
"Hey, aren't you forgetting little old me?" a teasing voice said from behind the demon.
"What?" Belphegor roared, looking from side to side quickly.
"Surprise! Agi!" Milly yelled. A burst of flame struck Belphegor, sending him tumbling from his porcelain throne. She then cracked her whip, lassoing it around Belphegor, and drove her heel down into his back, preventing him from getting up again.
"What are you waiting for? He's all yours!" Milly called.
"He is indeed," Lelouch said, shaking off the chill of Belphegor's spell. Kallen scrambled back to her feet as well.
"Everyone, charge!" Lelouch ordered.
Arthur clawed and slashed at as the Shadow flailed its arms wildly. Lelouch switched to Jack o'Latern, who spewed flames at Belphegor, causing the demon to shriek in agony. Then Kallen delivered the coup de grace, summoning Suzuka Gozen, who swung her blade to chop off Belphegor's head in a single stroke.
The Shadow's headless body broke apart and vanished. Villetta's second captain was no more.
As the adrenaline of her awakening wore off, Milly's legs gave out from under her, but Lelouch was there to break her fall.
"Lelouch… that's you, isn't it?" she ask wearily. "I'd recognize your voice anywhere, and you were always a gentleman." Slowly, she managed to rise again, and Lelouch let go of her. "So that means… the redheaded girl is Kallen, right?" She shook her head. "What's happening here?"
"That's what we'd like to know," Kallen said testily, putting her hands at her sides. "You were spying on us, weren't you? That's how you were close enough to get sucked into the Metaverse!"
"So that's what you call this place…. But you have it right," Milly admitted. "I was sure Lelouch wasn't giving me the whole story about your relationship, so I thought I could get myself a juicy bit of gossip if I followed you." She shook her head again. "I'm such an idiot. I got myself in way over my head and almost was killed for something as stupid as that. But how could I have known?"
"What are we going to do about her, Zero?" Kallen asked.
"We can trust Milly, Queen. She might like gossip, but she knows when to keep quiet. She's had years of practice at it."
"Yeah… your secret is safe with me! Who would believe such a story anyways?" Milly laughed nervously.
"If you're sure, Zero…" Kallen replied hesistantly.
"But wow… you two really look great," Milly breathed. "If only you'd wear such costumes to my events... Lelouch, the dapper and dashing gentleman thief, and Kallen, his Queen and surprisingly fierce partner in crime, showing off a toned body under that tight rubber suit-"
"Hey! Knock it off!" Kallen demanded irritably. "I'm Queen here, not his Queen! It's after the chess piece, because I'm the strongest out of us, got it?"
"Oh... so feisty..." Milly chuckled. "Between that attitude and how well you were fighting a moment ago, I guess you weren't as sick as you seemed."
"I'm full of surprises," Kallen said brusquely. "And don't go on about my outfit again when you have something so shameless on! That's something you'd find in a guy's sick fantasies! But I'll have you know that my suit is based on those that Knightmare Devicers wear. With the acceleration that a Knightmare Frame can achieve in the hands of a really skilled pilot, there's a risk that they might lose consciousness from excessive g-forces. It's tight-fitting around the abdomen and legs to reduce the flow of blood away from the brain. It's only people who can't get their minds out of the gutter who make anything more of it!" She gave Lelouch a dirty look.
She wasn't letting that go, was she? He hadn't even meant to gawk at her back then.
Deciding to divert Kallen's displeasure from himself, he shrugged, and said, "Queen, are you sure you want to keep arguing this point with someone who has that as her idea of a rebel?" He gestured toward Milly's outfit.
"I mean, what was I supposed to say?" Milly pouted. "If it hadn't been a life-or-death situation, and I saw the two of you wearing those outfits, I'd think the two of you were having some sexy role-playing tryst together."
"I told you, knock it off!" Kallen snapped. "Anyways, what's your excuse for that... outfit?"
"I'd guess I'm a cat burglar," Milly said. She playfully waved one of her fake paws. "Meow meow?"
"Oh, my…" Arthur said. He bounded over to Milly, who caught him and held him against her chest, causing him to purr contentedly.
"Oh, you're definitely friendly cat… but... I don't think I've met one who could talk before," she said quizzically. "Between that, stumbling into an otherworldly castle, and summoning a witch as my Persona... I didn't hit my head or anything, did I?"
"Nope! This is all real. I'm Arthur. Pleased to meet you!"
"Well, that's a relief," Milly sighed. "I'm already acquainted with Lelouch and Kallen, but I think you and I are going to be good friends, Arthur. Now would one of you fill me in on what exactly's going on here?"
xXx
"I see…" Milly said after their explanation. "So this really is another world, and it's a reflection of Coach Nu's heart. With what you've told me about the swim club, and what I heard from Coach Nu's Shadow, it's even worse than I thought. There has to be something we can do to stop her. But again, who would believe us if we tried to tell them what we saw here?"
"You're taking all of this way too easily," Kallen said.
"That's Milly for you," Lelouch replied. He turned back to Milly. "We'll find a way. But we should get out of here while we still can. I think we've all been pushed to our limits today."
"I agree," Arthur said. "Sometimes, discretion is the better part of valor. There's no sense in getting ourselves killed because we tried to rush things before we were ready for them."
"Let's meet tomorrow," Milly said, "after the Student Council wraps up its business for the day. We'll figure it out together!" She paused. "By the way, welcome aboard, Kallen! You too, Arthur! You can be our honorary mascot! We've gone without one for the longest of time."
"You're sure about this?" Lelouch asked her. "It's more than just your life on the line if you work with us, you know."
"I can't ignore this anymore," Milly replied. "After too long, I finally have the power to help my friends again. And I'm certainly not about to let you two have all the fun together. Odd as it seems, it doesn't feel like it's a coincidence that I stumbled into this world after you. I have to see this through."
"I wouldn't call it 'fun'," Lelouch replied. "But it's good to see that you're as reliable as ever." He paused. "I know that you won't talk in my case, but I want to emphasize that you shouldn't mention this world, or Queen's involvement in it, to anyone else, not even in jest. Promise me that, and we'll have ourselves a deal."
"Deal!" Milly agreed.
They departed together, but as they did so, words echoed in Lelouch's mind.
I am thou… thou art I
Thou hast acquired a new vow
It shall become the wings of rebellion
that breaketh thy chains of captivity
With the birth of the Fortune Persona,
I have obtained the winds of blessing that
shall lead to freedom and new power…
Where would this new partnership lead? He had never planned to involve Milly in his rebellion… but it seemed that she could prove a valuable ally…
A/N: This story, like Persona 5, is M-rated for a reason. The distortions of the Palaces, exemplifying the Deadly Sins, can be pretty messed up. Hopefully the descriptions of how Shadow Villetta has been torturing her prisoners isn't so graphic that it turns those who have been following away from the story, but I didn't want to sugarcoat things either.
Villetta wouldn't be the first one to mistake Lelouch for a womanizer or a siscon. In one of the sound dramas, Shirley even has a daydream in which she imagines that Lelouch is declaring that he and Nunnally are getting married, though she shortly thereafter dismisses the whole scenario as crazy.
When I started writing this story, Milly was an obvious parallel to Ann/Panther, with her obvious sex appeal, and that Milly canonically wears a cat costume at one point in the show was just icing on the cake. However, she also shares aspects of her background with another P5 character, also alluded to in this chapter. Also of note is that her Arcana is different from either of these characters - she's not the Lovers Arcana, as Ann is, but Fortune, for reasons that should become clearer in time.
Medea - Princess of Colchis, a sorceress in service of the Goddess Hecate. Helped Jason steal the Golden Fleece. In some versions of the story, her fate is twisted by the Gods, and compelled to fall in love with Jason by the arrows of Eros.
I did have Arthur borrow the "Meow-velous" line from Morgana, but it seemed to work. He has every reason to like Milly, especially when she'll be letting him laze around in the Student Council Room and have plenty of good. That she's dressed as a cat is just a bonus. He won't be calling her "Lady Ashford" though.
"GUTS!" is a fictitious spell that Milly sometimes pretends to use in Code Geass, as a way of motivating her fellow student council members.
As for Belphegor, that is the same shadow that was fought during Ann's Awakening in P5, but I chose to keep it considering that it resists Nuclear skills (meaning Kallen can't dominate it as easily), but had a fire weakness, giving Milly a chance to shine in her introduction. While also shared with Ann/Panther, fire was the obvious element for Milly, given how impulsive she can be, and that Kallen has been assigned Nuclear.
Edit: Revised the lead-in to Lelouch sharing his story with Kallen to be more in-character, along with a few other passages.
Minor edit: Thinking on it, the gloves that Milly wears in the show are far too puffy for use while handling weapons or the like in the Metaverse, so I decided to add a few details, clarifying their design in this story as one that would be more practical while still keeping the cat/paw theme.