The same blue cell walls that he had seen before in his dreams… the Velvet Room was starting to become all too familiar to him.
"I see you have returned to my Velvet Room in one piece, Trickster," Igor said. "Your powers have grown considerably as a result, as you gained new Personas and secured another confidant. Though you had some close shaves, this is on the whole a very auspicious start to your career as a thief."
"You keep going on about me being a thief," Lelouch said with annoyance. "What exactly am I supposed to be stealing?"
Igor chuckled. "That will become clear to you in due time. But I believe I promised you last time that I would reveal my true role, and that of the Velvet Room, if you returned with new masks."
"You did."
"The Velvet Room is primarily a facility for honing your Persona ability, both strengthening and creating new Personas. But to do so, we must execute your current Personas."
Igor gestured, and Shi and Tsu appeared, pushing two large guillotines into place, glowing blue "V"s on the blades. It seemed comical that one as small as Shi would be able to push such a heavy device, but she did so without apparent difficulty. Clearly, there was more to her than her appearance suggested.
"A Persona is one's other self! If you kill it… What are you trying to do, kill me?" Lelouch shook the bars angrily, causing Shi to let out a cry, which earned him another electrified baton across the bars from Tsu as soon as she finished moving the guillotine.
"You will not act so uncouth in front of my little sister or my master, Inmate!"
"You concern is understandable, Trickster," Igor said, "but ultimately misplaced. Do you not let old parts of your personality die so that you may grow? Are you the same person now that you were as a child? So it is with your Personas. And as a wielder of the Wild Card, you have far less to fear from the process than those without it, for you have multiple Personas. Even if two die, many others still reside within you."
"It's not like they're not gone forever either, Inmate," Tsu said. "Like you, they are prisoners of this Velvet Room, since each is part of you. We keep a record of all of your Personas that you've ever acquired in the Compendium." He saw Shi lugging over a large blue book. "With the aid of the Compendium, we can summon the deceased Personas once again from the sea of your soul, as they were in the moments before their executions. They're not truly gone, you see. Perhaps it's better to think of it as discarding old masks, so that you might realize new possibilities from them."
"When your Personas are executed, their powers shall mingle and fuse together, creating a new and usually more powerful Persona with some of the characteristics and abilities of both of the sacrificed Personas," Igor explained. "But you need not leave this process to chance. My assistants will help you predict the likely outcomes of an execution and ensure that those abilities you value most will be the ones passed on to the resulting Persona."
"You still haven't told me what your role in all of this is, Igor," Lelouch said suspiciously. "From what you just described, it seems Shi and Tsu are doing all of the work."
An ugly look crossed Igor's face for a moment. "Do not presume to lecture me, Trickster. Need I remind you who the inmate here is? Without my powers maintaining this Velvet Room, the entire process would fail."
Lelouch wasn't satisfied by Igor's answer. The strange old man expected Lelouch to take him at his word without question, simply because of his position of authority and powers, even though the actual limits of those purported powers were still quite dubious. But at the same time, Lelouch couldn't afford to spurn Igor's assistance. If he didn't take advantage of whatever means were available to him for strengthening his abilities, he would be dooming himself to failure.
"We have wasted enough time," Igor said. "Choose which two Personas you would like to execute."
Lelouch looked down. "Shi."
"Y-Yes Mr. Inmate?" She managed to get out the words, but her body went rigid, as if she was petrified by the sight of him.
"Is the process safe?"
"W-why are you asking me?" she squeaked.
"Because you seem too straightforward and terrified of me to even think of telling me a lie."
"What a cruel man," Tsu said, glaring at him.
"Yes… it is, Mr. Inmate!" Shi replied. "What… what would be the point of rehabilitation… if it were to kill you?" She seemed quite distressed at the suggestion. Admittedly, it was often more difficult to distinguish truths from falsehoods when someone already anxious, but her reaction came across as a genuine one. While very accomplished liars could seamlessly spin falsehoods without missing a beat, most people would need more time to formulate a deception. Once she had gotten over her initial shock, Shi hadn't hesitated to tell him 'yes' any more than he would have expected a truthful person of such a nervous disposition to do so. Moreover, the degree of distress that Shi showed was difficult to convincingly fake without substantial practice or natural aptitude, so he had little reason to doubt her.
"Very well. It's alright… I believe you, Shi." He looked up. "Well then… let's get started."
Shi and Tsu guided him through the possible new Personas that he might create, given those that he already held within him. He finally reached a decision, one that would help address the glaring weakness he had encountered in the fight against Belphegor. He would create the Persona Silky, which specialized in recovery and ice magic, while being resistant to ice itself. It would come at the cost of the Personas Bicorn… and Arsene.
"Your new Persona will not receive any additional power from this execution," Igor said. "Are you sure you wish to proceed?"
"What do you mean?" Lelouch asked.
"Do you remember how I told you to cultivate your bonds with those you could confide in? Your Persona ability draws upon those bonds and your strength of heart. The stronger the bond, the more power received from it. You do not have a confidant corresponding to the Arcana of this new Persona yet, and hence it has no bond to draw further power from. As such, it is likely to be a serviceable, but unremarkable Persona."
It was another complication. Lelouch reviewed his options again, looking for Personas that he could create of the Fool, Magician, Chariot, or Fortune Arcanas, but he didn't see a better alternative that would serve his immediate needs. He needed Silky's ability to protect him against ice as his own.
"I'm sure."
"Very well then," Igor nodded.
Lelouch couldn't help but feel a bit guilty. He had made a vow to Arsene. Wasn't he about to betray that for the sake of greater power?
As if sensing his self-doubt, Arsene materialized before him on the other side of the bars, laughing with amusement.
"I am Arsene - the other you who exists within…. Though I may disappear at this moment, I shall always be at your side. We shall certainly meet again… when your fate reaches its conclusion."
Arsene laughed again, giving the impression that even though he was going to his death, he somehow knew that he would have the last laugh.
"Girls!" Igor called out. It was but a single word, but unmistakably carried a command.
Heeding their master's words, the two green-haired sisters approached Arsene and Bicorn, who had appeared next to the demonic thief.
"That's enough out of you," Tsu said, muffling Arsene's laughter as she roughly shoved a large blue velvet sack over him and bound him in chains. Shi did the same to Bicorn.
"I'm sorry…" the small girl said, frowning.
The sisters dragged their helpless captives over to the guillotines, forcing the bound Personas to rest their necks on the block at the bottom of the guillotine before clamping its upper half in place over them, preventing any escape.
Shi and Tsu completed the grim preparations for the execution with unnerving efficiency, even though Shi seemed distinctly uncomfortable with what she what she was doing.
Lelouch too felt a dreadful sense of foreboding, though he didn't let it show. The guillotine was seared into the collective consciousness as an enduring symbol of the French Revolution, and its worst excesses in the following Reign of Terror. Perhaps nowhere was this conception so firmly rooted as in the Britannian nobility and Imperial Family. Intermarried as the nobility of the old Europe had been, many powerful Britannian families had ancestors who had been lost during the Terror and the subsequent waves of revolution that had swept across the continent. Even after the Terror itself had passed, the Revolution's democratic ideology, paired with Napoleon's military genius, had posed an existential threat to Britannia's monarchical system. It was only by relocating to the pacified American colonies and establishing a new government in exile there that Britannia had survived at all, an object lesson that its rulers had not forgotten.
Britannia's rulers hadn't let its citizens forget that lesson either. While many topics in world history were either glossed over or excised completely from the textbooks, standard Britannian curricula mandated extensive coverage of the French Revolution, though strictly from a pro-monarchial standpoint, and with many details fabricated to make the revolutionaries look even worse than they were. The indoctrination only intensified for children born into higher social classes. While many young children in the Imperial Family might believe in the bogeyman for a time, just as commoner children might, the specter of the guillotine haunted their nightmares in a way that few commoners would ever have to deal with.
Lelouch had long since outgrown that particular nightmare, as had Nunnally. They had more than enough real traumas in their pasts now. But the sight of the guillotine still deeply unsettled him, a fact that irked him, as it showed that traces of the conditioning meant to mold him into a proper Britannian royal persisted, even after so many years.
"Commence the execution!" Igor ordered, interrupting his thoughts.
The heavy blades descended, deadly blue streaks that effortlessly cut through the condemned Personas. The blades did not sever flesh or bone, but their very essence, which at once burst outward as swirling blue and white light.
Lelouch felt himself recoil in shock, feeling a pain that could only be described as coming from within his soul. He had literally watched and felt two parts of himself die. Simply processing that feeling was difficult for him, and the sight of the grisly spectacle was too much for Shi to handle. The younger warden broke down crying uncontrollably, and Tsu had to go over to console her.
Yet as Igor had promised, something was born anew within him, and took form in the center of the Velvet Room as the power released by the demise of Arsene and Bicorn gathered there.
"I am Silky," the new Persona said. It had the appearance of a young woman with green skin and hair, wearing a red silk dress and a servant's headdress. She did a curtsey. "You who has gained a new mask, my master... Allow me to take care of your heart."
Silky dematerialized, but Lelouch could feel her residing within him, filling part of the void that had been left by Arsene and Bacon's passing, more powerful than either had been on its own. But he was still down a Persona.
Recalling what Tsu had said about the Persona Compendium, he asked, "Can you recall Arsene for me?"
"Of course," replied Tsu, looking up from her sister, who was still sobbing. "That will be seventeen pounds and forty-one pence."
"Excuse me?"
"I'd ask for yen," Tsu replied nonchalantly, "but they don't accept that in this land anymore."
"I have to pay?" He couldn't tell if she was pulling his leg or not, and that was infuriating to him.
Tsu laughed lightly. "What, did you think we would do it for free?" She paused, and her expression darkened. "But you made my sister cry earlier, so I'll have to apply a surcharge. That will bring it up to twenty pounds and eighty-nine pence."
"Now you're just making things up as you go along!"
"Make that twenty-four pounds and thirty-seven pence."
"This is extortion!"
"Do you want your Persona back or not, Inmate?" Tsu smirked. "I'm happy to keep raising the price."
"How am I even supposed to pay?" He crossed his arms. "This is a dream, right?"
"You think too much," Tsu replied in amusement.
"Fine," Lelouch scowled. He didn't want to give her the satisfaction of seeing him lose his temper any more than he already had. "So how does one go about paying you in a dream anyway?"
"You'll find your wallet right over there by your prison bed," Tsu replied.
Lelouch saw that indeed it was there, though he couldn't remember seeing it in his cell before. It was as if the suggestion itself had made his wallet appear. The incongruence irritated him, but since he was experiencing the Velvet Room as a dream, he supposed that it couldn't be expected to follow the same rules as reality.
Retrieving his wallet, Lelouch grudgingly handed Tsu the bills and coins needed to make the payment through the gaps between the bars of his cell. Tsu counted the money carefully, clearly suspicious of him shortchanging her, but in the end, she was satisfied. In turn, she took out the Compendium, and began to read while holding her hand above it. The pages of the book began flipping by themselves until they stopped on a certain entry. The Compendium then glowed brightly, and Arsene appeared before him once more.
"Calling me back from the grave so soon?" Arsene laughed heartily. "And after I gave that speech too! I didn't take you as the sentimental type! But as always, I am thou, and thou art I." He then dematerialized, occupying his former place in Lelouch's soul once more.
"I'm grateful to have Arsene back, but what do you even need money for here?" Lelouch asked Tsu.
"Pizza."
"What."
"It's the most heavenly of all foods…" Tsu closed her eyes, as if imagining a steaming hot slice. "But it's been ages since I had some. She hasn't had a chance to try it yet, but I'm sure it will make my little sister feel better as well. I'll get extra cheese and…"
"You must forgive my assistants for their eccentricities," Igor said. "But as you have seen, they get the job done. That being said, next time I would like you to come of your own free will. You will continue to find our services essential for your rehabilitation.
"That said, Tsu's pizza habit might leave you… strapped for cash if you continue to use the Compendium," Igor continued after a moment's thought. "Fortunately, this is no problem for a true thief. You will find many valuables in the Palace that you can steal and fence back in the real world for a good price. But since your rehabilitation proceeds so joyously, perhaps I can lend you my assistance once again." Igor raised a hand. "I bestow upon you the gift of the Third Eye. If you quiet your mind, you shall be able to perceive clearly that which is not readily apparent to the naked eye. No hiding spot for the Palace owner's precious trinkets shall be safe from you."
Igor's words brought a memory to the surface of Lelouch's mind.
"Shadow Villetta mentioned her 'Treasure' two days ago. She thought that Kallen's brother was trying to steal it. But it's not the same thing as these 'trinkets' and 'valuables', is it? You could have said 'Treasure', but you're deliberately not using that word. It means something special in the Metaverse… doesn't it?"
"Indeed it does, Trickster," Igor replied. "You are most perceptive. But whether you choose to steal her Treasure, or seek your justice through other means is entirely up to you, Trickster."
The prison bell rang once more. "Until we meet again, Trickster…" Igor smiled, if his expression could be called a smile. "I look forward to seeing what you decide."
The Velvet Room faded away, and Lelouch woke up in his own bed, back in the real world. Feeling groggy, he reached for his wallet.
Twenty-four pounds and thirty-seven pence were gone from it.
Of course they were.
All things considered, it hadn't been that much to ask for bringing one of his Personas back from the dead, though Tsu had made no effort to be anything but insufferable throughout the exchange.
At the same time, his gambling income, which he also used to help fund Nunnally's treatments, had been drying up since the mobilization of the SSDF. The Ashfords would have made sure that all of her basic needs were met even if he wasn't paying for them, but Lelouch disliked the thought of being wholly dependent on the Ashfords for their finances, and he liked being able to help his sister. The thought of being able to supplement his income with valuables found in the Metaverse was certainly appealing. But, as Igor had noted, that was contingent on finding a reliable fence to sell his loot to.
Then there was what the bizarre old man had mentioned just before the dream ended… The utility of being able to use the Metaverse to probe a target's secrets, desires, and fears had been obvious to him, and such information would doubtlessly prove useful in plotting the downfall of Britannia. But Igor had implied that there was a more direct way to bring Villetta to justice - by stealing her 'Treasure', whatever it was. He had also mentioned "other means," bringing to mind something Arthur had said. Kallen's brother had suspected that the Metaverse might be connected to the psychotic breakdowns and mental shutdowns that had been occurring throughout and around the Tokyo Settlement. From what Lelouch had seen of the Metaverse, a world based on cognition, that hypothesis was a reasonable one.
But even if it was indeed possible to inflict a mental shutdown through the Metaverse, and tempting as it was given all of the abuse Coach Nu had put his friends through, after a moment he realized that doing so wouldn't resolve anything in a satisfactory manner. First of all, if Villetta were to die suspiciously, Ashford Academy would be subjected to even greater scrutiny, and her superiors would likely send in a replacement. It would also give the Purist Faction the perfect excuse to have Suzaku arrested for murder. They'd frame him up to be Coach Nu's killer, somehow.
Then there was the question of how his fellow Persona-users would react. He didn't think Kallen would have an issue with murdering Coach Nu, given how she had threatened him before, on school grounds no less, simply for knowing who she really was. Kallen would easily be able to write off the act on the grounds that Villetta was an enemy agent who would never see justice served for her own crimes otherwise. Kallen probably would have already done so to avenge her brother if not for the fact that it would completely blow her cover. But he doubted that Milly would be willing to commit, let alone condone murder as a solution, even for someone as awful as Coach Nu.
He would have to ask Kallen and Arthur later if they knew anything about a 'Treasure', as the term applied to the Metaverse. Until then, he would just have to continue pretending to be a normal student.
But as he was going to class that morning, Coach Nu's plan went into action.
xXx
"Suzaku Kururugi, report to the Headmaster's Office immediately!" Villetta Nu's voice boomed over the loudspeaker.
"I knew that Eleven was trouble," Lelouch overheard a student gossiping.
"What were they thinking, letting him in?" another whispered.
"What do you think he did?"
"I don't know. But they must have caught him doing something."
"You know, maybe that SSDF isn't so bad…"
"Yeah… I thought they were a pain at first, but I guess they really are keeping us safe…"
How stupid could they be? It should have been obvious to anyone that Coach Nu had been planning this for some time, but they immediately assumed the worst about Suzaku and mindlessly swallowed whatever propaganda they were fed against the Japanese people. Or worse, they wouldn't care, even if they knew it was a frame-up, if it would mean getting rid of the 'Eleven'.
But that wasn't important now. Changing direction, Lelouch began running toward the Headmaster's Office.
As he hurried through the halls, he encountered Kallen. Seeing his urgency, she began following him, faster than a sickly girl should. To his chagrin, Kallen wasn't even breaking a sweat, even as he was already running out of breath. He had known she was in far better shape than he was, but he didn't like appearing weak next to her.
"She's made her move," Lelouch said to her breathlessly. "She's going after Suzaku."
"He's an Honorary Britannian," Kallen replied with contempt. It remained unsaid, but it was clear that she considered the term synonymous with "traitor," specifically one against the Japanese people, denoting one who had cast aside their pride to bow to Britannian hegemony.
"That doesn't matter right now," he hissed. "But whatever she's accused Suzaku of, we can be sure that it's a frame-up. Trust me, he's a stickler for following rules, even when he'd be better off not doing. Coach Nu's done far too much already, and if she can make false charges like this stick, who knows what else she'll be emboldened to do here at Ashford!"
"I know," Kallen scowled. "That's why I'm not about to let her get away with it if I have anything to say about it. The way she treats other people makes me sick."
Kallen couldn't say it aloud without further risking her cover as a sickly girl who lacked strong opinions, but her words also carried an implied, "especially the Japanese." Whether she saw Suzaku as a traitor or not, Lelouch knew that she wouldn't stand for such flagrantly racist bigotry against another Japanese person.
"How dare you lowly Eleven steal from your betters!" they heard Coach Nu shouting as they neared the Headmaster's Office.
"Grr..." Kallen said, clenching a fist.
"I… didn't!" they heard Suzaku gasp.
Grandfather! This-" another voice protested. It seemed Milly was in there too.
Without waiting a moment longer, Lelouch and Kallen burst into the room. Suzaku was on his knees, surrounded and restrained by a burly squad of six SSDF goons. Coach Nu stood in front of Suzaku, between him and the headmaster, and Milly was to her grandfather's side.
"Who gave you permission to barge in here?" Villetta demanded, her golden eyes flashing in anger as she turned to face them. For a brief moment, Lelouch thought he could see the supernatural glow of her Shadow's eyes in them. "You should be in class!"
Lelouch ignored her, and addressed Milly's grandfather directly. "I'll ask for your forgiveness later, Headmaster, but I can't just stand idly by while a serious miscarriage of justice is perpetrated! Suzaku is innocent!"
"You have no proof of that," Villetta sneered. "You're just here to defend your friend, no matter how damning the evidence against him! Thanks to the commendable efforts of the SSDF, a number of stolen items were tracked back to and discovered in his dormitory room. He tried to run when the announcement was made just minutes ago, showing consciousness of his guilt, but the SSDF was able to bring him in to face justice for his crimes!"
No, Suzaku wouldn't have run, unless the SSDF had started the chase themselves. In a fair fight, Suzaku would have been able to deal with them in a few seconds flat, if his skills hadn't deteriorated too much from no longer being in regular training. Suzaku's continued athletic performance in gym class showed that they hadn't. But Suzaku couldn't afford to fight back, lest he actually commit a serious violation of school rules, and so the SSDF had been able to subdue him.
"You had the SSDF plant those items there to frame Suzaku!" Lelouch declared. "And isn't that excessive force?" He gesturing at the SSDF members holding Suzaku down. "This is supposed to be a school."
"The first is a baseless accusation, Lelouch," Villetta said, her voice dangerously low. "I shall not stand for such slander from one of my students. I only hope that you don't show your other teachers such disrespect. And it's the opinion of a number of parents that discipline has become far too lax as of late. I am merely correcting that."
Parents with ties to the Purist Faction, no doubt.
"You call how you've been treating the swim team discipline?"
Lelouch realized his mistake as soon as he had said it, but the words had already escaped before he could stop himself.
"What nonsense!" Coach Nu fumed. "I've had enough of this! Remove them!"
Letting go of Suzaku, two pairs of SSDF members rose. One pair roughly took hold of Lelouch's arms, while the other did the same to Kallen.
"Let go of me, you creep!" Kallen snarled, startling one of the SSDF members holding her with her unexpected shift in personality. He let go of her and took a step back, freeing one of her arms to deliver a vicious sucker punch to the gut of the other SSDF member restraining her.
Milly covered her mouth and let out a small gasp.
"Why… you little… bitch!" the injured SSDF member groaned, falling to his knees in pain.
"Now you've done it, Miss Stadtfeld!" Villetta shouted triumphantly. "An act of assault and battery, and in front of the Headmaster too? You can't deny what your just saw, can you, Ruben?"
"No… I cannot," the headmaster said, shaking his head sadly.
"Boys, leave us," Villetta said curtly to the SSDF members.
Just like the Cognitions of the SSDF in her Palace, they promptly obeyed her.
"Not you though, Lelouch, or Kururugi either," Villetta added. "I'm sure you thought of that, and it would have been a nice try, but I'm not letting you two out of my sight so easily."
Glaring at Villetta, Lelouch helped Suzaku to his feet. He hadn't been planning on leaving anyways, not when he needed to be here for Suzaku, and when Kallen had now gotten in trouble herself.
Now that the SSDF members had departed, Villeta rounded on the headmaster.
"This is a most serious situation," she said. "Two of your students have been caught committing crimes. And the other day, after Miss Stadtfeld's detention, I thought to look through her past school records… files you tried to hide away, I might add… Do you know what I found? Miss 'Stadtfeld' isn't even a proper Britannian…. Her middle school transcript clearly shows that she attended schools for Elevens while growing up as 'Kallen Kozuki'. I then did a bit more digging, cross-referencing Area 11's surviving primary school enrollment records from before the war, and found a cleverly forged birth certificate in our Britannian registries. In other words, she's an Eleven halfbreed!"
"With all due respect, Coach Nu," Ruben Ashford said carefully, "she is considered a full member of the Stadtfeld family, and is the legal heiress to her father's title."
"I would say that it appears that you're not just harboring Elevens," Villetta said, pacing around the headmaster's desk, much as her Shadow had done while tormenting Kallen. "You sympathize with violent criminals… perhaps future terrorists themselves, who would turn to bite your hand the moment they were given the opportunity in spite of all of your misguided generosity toward them.
"Those weren't the only irregularities I found when I was looking through the school's records," she continued, smirking. Villetta gestured at Lelouch. "I found some interesting things while looking through his files and those of his sister. It took a while to track down, but it appears that Lelouch and Nunnally Lamperouge didn't officially exist until about six and a half years ago... a few months after the conquest of Area 11, if I may add. How do you explain that?"
"What is it that you want?" Ruben asked, seeming overwhelmed. "You wouldn't be telling me this if you didn't have something in mind."
"Very good! I'm willing to sit on this information," Villetta said, leaning in. Her voice dropped dangerously low again. "But you will expel Suzaku Kururugi and Kallen Sta- Kozuki," she said, correcting herself, "or else I will see to it that they are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. I'll discuss the rest of my terms with you later… but they're not for ears of children," she continued, glaring at Milly.
"There will need to be a hearing…" Ruben said, sighing heavily. "Kururugi's benefactor will not simply accept his expulsion unless the proper procedures are observed. I'm certain that Earl Stadtfeld would also expect the same treatment for his own daughter."
That was good. Known as an avid partygoer in his youth, Headmaster Ruben Ashford was skilled at cultivating useful contacts, and greasing those wheels that he needed to. But if there was someone that the headmaster couldn't win to his side, the years had taught him how to stall his enemies by miring them in social conventions and bureaucratic red tape.
Lelouch was grateful for any time that the headmaster could buy for them. Perhaps the headmaster could have even been a valuable source of insight to Lelouch, now that he had to forge new bonds of his own in order to develop his powers. But Lelouch knew that he couldn't involve the headmaster any further. It was enough that the Ashford family had sheltered them for all of these years, and he had already made Milly an accessory to whatever crimes he might commit in the Metaverse.
"Tch!" Annoyance flashed in Villetta's eyes, but after a moment it passed. "Very well! I'll humor you… How long before you can convene a hearing?" It was posed as a question, but it had the sound of a demand.
"The board will meet again in twelve days," the headmaster replied.
"That long?"
"We meet every two weeks," the headmaster said firmly.
"Hmph! Fine!" Villetta fumed. "I'm a patient woman. I've waited long enough for this. I can wait a bit longer…" She raised an eyebrow. "I trust they will be suspended in the meantime?"
The headmaster sighed. "Kallen Stadtfeld will be suspended for two days, and Suzaku Kururugi will be put on disciplinary probation pending the completion of an investigation. For now, the charges against Suzaku are merely hearsay to me, and so I do not have cause to give him a greater punishment."
"You're even softer than you look!" Villetta shook her head. "But it will make no difference in the end. I will see to it that these two are expelled. And I'll get to the bottom of whatever secret the Lamperouges are hiding as well!"
She turned. "Mr. Lamperouge, Miss Ashford, and Kururugi! Return to class!" She seemed to rise up, and her voice rose with her. "And you, Kallen Kozuki! Return home and leave the Academy grounds at once!"
Villetta laughed as they walked out. "Enjoy your last days at Ashford Academy!"
xXx
"This is terrible…" Milly said when they had put some distance between themselves and the headmaster's office. "Now she's openly blackmailing grandfather."
"You shouldn't have come, Lelouch," Suzaku said, his head down. "Now you and Kallen are in a whole lot worse trouble."
"She's already close to finding out who we really are. I doubt it could be much worse."
Suzaku gave him a quizzical look.
"Do you mind if I have a moment to talk with Lelouch?" Suzaku asked Milly and Kallen. "It will only take a moment, and then we'll catch up to you."
"Go ahead," Milly replied.
Kallen nodded.
"Did you tell her?" Suzaku asked him. "I mean, about-" He trailed off. He shook his head. "You you wouldn't have said that if she didn't already know. You're much too careful about that sort of thing to just let it slip like that. Just how close are the two of you really?"
"It's not like that, Suzaku," Lelouch replied, his voice a whisper. "She already heard back in the Headmaster's Office that I'm not who I say I am. And if you must know, I told her that I'm ex-nobility."
"But thats-" Suzaku began.
"Completely true," Lelouch said. "For a certain value of nobility."
Suzaku shook his head. "I don't know what you're playing at, Lelouch... But the Ashfords pulled through for you before, didn't they?"
They picked up their pace, rejoining the group.
"I'm sure the headmaster will figure something out," Suzaku said. "The truth will come out at my hearing and Kallen's. Coach Nu can't expel Kallen for something like that… suspend yes, but expulsion is another matter entirely, especially for a first offense. Though I never expected to see that from you, Kallen... Where did that even come from?"
"Ummm..." Kallen said quietly, looking distinctly uncomfortable.
"That's what you focus on?!" Lelouch asked with only partly feigned incredulity, as he tried to divert Suzaku's attention away from Kallen's feat of strength to the far more pressing matter at hand.
"You're way too naive, Suzaku! Coach Nu can and will expel you. But since you mentioned Kallen, don't you see that the system is rigged against both of you, especially with how you're both Japanese?"
"We have to believe that the system can work, Lelouch," Suzaku replied simply. "That's why I became an Honorary Britannian in the first place. The system can be changed for the better from within, through the right means. All those terrorists you hear about on the news accomplish is perpetuating the conflict, which causing Britannia to crack down even more harshly on the Japanese. And if I don't cooperate with the hearing, that will just be taken as proof of my guilt."
They'll find 'proof' of your guilt sure enough, when they can just make up whatever evidence they want, like how Coach Nu did," Lelouch retorted.
Kallen said nothing, careful to hold herself in check after her earlier ill-timed outburst, but Lelouch could see that she was scowling.
"If you can really change the world in that way, I'll take back everything I said about you being naive, Suzaku," Lelouch continued after a moment. "But I can't follow that path myself. I can't afford to be off on an idealistic crusade to change the world... Nunnally comes first for me. I just want her to be happy."
"You know that no matter what happens Lelouch, we'll be friends, right?" There was a nostalgic sound in Suzaku's voice. "I'll always be there for you and Nunnally if you ever need any help."
"Yeah, I do," Lelouch replied. He smiled, though after a moment it changed into a smirk. "I'll say the same for you too, Suzaku. Someone has to keep you grounded in reality sometimes."
"Is that so?" Suzaku asked. He then chuckled. "You haven't changed a bit. But backhanded as you may have been there, I truly appreciate it, Lelouch. We can call that a deal."
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 Justice Persona,
I have obtained the winds of blessing that
shall lead to freedom and new power…
"Well, good luck, Lelouch! I've got to go!"
Suzaku departed, leaving Lelouch, Kallen, and Milly alone as they walked across the school grounds, now mostly deserted now that all of the students, even members of the SSDF, were in their classes. Arthur surreptitiously appeared from some bushes, and trotted over to join them.
"Damn it! We've got to do something about this!" Kallen swore.
"Yeah… and I guess we'll have to hold off on inducting you into the Student Council," Milly frowned. "You know… with you being suspended and all."
"This morning, I was thinking about something that the Palace Ruler said earlier," Lelouch cut in. "She mentioned that before he died, Kallen's brother was trying to steal her 'Treasure'. Do you-"
"Oh! I had no idea!" Milly gasped, interrupting him. She frowned. "I know it may not mean much, and I didn't know him, but I'm so sorry for your loss, Kallen."
"Save your pity for later," Kallen said, crossing her arms and looking away from Milly.
"As I was saying," Lelouch continued, turning to Kallen, "Do you or Arthur have any idea of what the significance of a 'Treasure' is, as it applies to the Metaverse? From the way that the Palace Ruler was talking about it, I have a feeling that it's not just an ordinary treasure."
"Actually, her brother did have an idea about that," Arthur replied. "A Palace symbolizes the distorted desires of the owner, right?"
"Of course," Lelouch nodded.
"So what is it that is being guarded within the Palace?" Arthur asked. "Her brother thought that was the Treasure. It would have to be the very embodiment of those distorted desires, that which the Palace owner cherishes above all else, and in fact gives rise to the Palace itself. At least... that was the best working idea that we had," Arthur admitted sheepishly. "None of us has actually seen a Treasure in the Metaverse, so this is all just speculation."
"Thank you, Arthur. We can work with that." Lelouch smirked. "And if that hypothesis is true, then it's clear what we need to do."
"What would that be, Lelouch?" Kallen asked, giving him a strange but curious look.
"Isn't it obvious?" he replied. "We need to steal Villetta's Treasure from her Palace, whatever it is. Think about it! If we remove the source of her twisted desires, that insatiable envy of hers, which drives her to pursue self-advancement at any cost, will disappear. But desires aren't everything... there are also memories.."
"And if she was left with knowledge of what she had done…" Milly started, her eyes going wide.
"Exactly," Lelouch smirked. "Without the Treasure to sustain it, Villetta's cognition of Ashford Academy as her Castle would collapse, and here in the real world, Coach Nu would be crushed by the guilt of what she's done all at once. She might even confess to how she's been mistreating the swim team, and how she framed Suzaku, to relieve that burden from herself."
"That's your plan?!" Kallen asked, incredulous. "That may have been my brother' best guess, but you've strung so many guesses together on top of that that..." She paused, struggling to find the right words. "You said it yourself! No one's actually seen someone's Treasure in the Metaverse before! How do we have any guarantee that your plan would even work?"
"Wait..." Milly said, frowning. "If it really is such a shock to a person's psyche that it would crush them with guilt... who's to say that would be all that collapses? What if..." She hesitated, and when she continued, her voice was barely a whisper. "What if... removing someone's Treasure puts such a strain on them that it causes a mental shutdown... like we've heard about on the news. Can a person even survive without their desires?" She swallowed. "I don't want to have another person's blood on my hands if I can avoid it... even if that person is blackmailing my grandfather, framing your friend Suzaku, and abusing Shirley."
"What other options do we have?" Lelouch asked irritably. "We're all twelve days from ruination. Your grandfather's reputation will be irreparably damaged. Kallen and Suzaku will be expelled. And Nunnally and I will in all likelihood be exposed. And that assumes that Coach Nu keeps her word and doesn't choose to leak the information earlier than that. Under the circumstances, I'd say that's an acceptable risk. One way or the other, I'm not going to lose any sleep over what happens to her. "
"Don't forget me!" Arthur piped up. "I'd be back out on the streets again!"
"It would basically be brainwashing her into becoming a better person…" Kallen murmured. "Even if we can, should we be wielding that kind of power? If someone were to do that to me, to change who I was against my will, I… I..." She shuddered slightly at the thought.
Lelouch raised an eyebrow. "Now you're the one worrying about morals, Kallen? Don't, for our target has none. Besides, do you have any better ideas?"
"No…" she admitted, shaking her head.
"Does anyone else have a better idea?" he asked.
There was only silence from them.
"So are we decided then?"
His fellow Persona-users nodded solemnly.
"Excellent," Lelouch said. "We'll meet outside after school, and make sure that we're fully prepared before challenging Villetta's Palace again. And when we go to seize her Treasure…"
His lips spread into a vicious smile.
"The real one will never see it coming."
Days Until Kallen and Suzaku are Expelled: 12
A/N:
The ideas are really flowing along. It's great to have forward momentum on a story.
Edit: Like the previous chapters in the first arc, I have extensively revised this one, adding more details and making minor alterations to character interactions, while keeping the overall story the same.