"Welcome once again to my Velvet Room, Trickster," the Prison Master said, his rictus the same as ever, a mockery of smile filled with malice. "I regret that I could not be present during your trip to Kamine Island. Urgent matters demanded my attention." Lelouch knew better than to ask Igor what these matters were, lest he provoke the murderous moods that the Prison Master was prone to when questioned. Even if he were to receive an answer from Igor, it would undoubtedly be a half-truth at best. "I trust that Shi and Tsu performed their duties satisfactorily in my absence."
Lelouch simply nodded. There was no need to give Igor specifics. Two could play at that game.
"Very well, Trickster," Igor continued to grin. "Frustrating as it is that you were unable to infiltrate your father's Palace, the fact remains that you were not yet ready for it, and elsewhere your rehabilitation has continued to proceed splendidly. You have been busy in Mementos, and now you plan a most ambitious heist, one that will test your abilities as a thief, yet remains within the realm of possibility."
Of course Igor knew that the Black Knights had penetrated deeper into Mementos. If his theories were correct, Igor was the Ruler of Mementos and the guardian of its Treasure. That the Black Knights always changed into their thief suits upon entering Mementos meant that Igor recognized them as threats, yet curiously there never seemed to be any directed effort from the Shadows within to apprehend them, unlike in the other Palaces. The Reaper was a persistent threat, constantly searching for them, but it was also easily avoided. Perhaps it was because to take a more active role in keeping the Black Knights out of the Palace would be to give the game away, and they had no way of reaching the Treasure of the Public anyway while there were still barriers up. Moreover, as far as Igor knew, the Black Knights were only in Mementos to change the hearts of petty criminals and train themselves in preparation for their eventual confrontation with the Emperor. As long as the Prison Master believed that, he had no reason to resort to more aggressive measures, for their supposed aims aligned with his own.
"But I did not summon you here merely to chat, Trickster," Igor said. "There is another method of executing your Personas that I think you will find most useful for the trials ahead." He gave a nod to Tsu. "Bring out the electric chair."
"As you wish, Master," Tsu replied dutifully, not letting her contempt for 'the Nose' show through. She returned a short time later with Shi, carrying a blue chair with a tall back between them, with clamps on the arms and a collar waiting to be fastened at neck level. Above, there was a metal cap that could be lowered into place on the victim's head. Tsu then retrieved a small but heavy-looking generator, and connected it to the chair with long black wires.
"By executing Personas with the electric chair, you will be able to infuse their powers into various items," Igor explained. "Of course, not just any item can be the receptacle for a Persona's power. You will need an appropriate catalyst."
"Take this, Mr. Inmate," Shi said, reverting to her older form of address in Igor's presence. She handed over a fist-sized stone to Lelouch, its surface featureless and a deep black that made it seem more like a lump of darkness made tangible, eager to draw in light, than any naturally occurring rock.
"You should have these as well," Tsu added, producing several blank cards that nonetheless seemed to have a faint aura of mystical power around them. "You can use these to capture some of a Persona's essence during the execution and transfer it into another Persona later, granting it some of the abilities of the sacrificed Persona. It's more targeted in that way than the gallows."
Lelouch nodded. The gallows was a very time-efficient way to increase the power of an existing Persona, but unlike a normal fusion, he had no way of determining which abilities would be passed down from the sacrifice.
"You can even use these cards to let a Persona acquire abilities it otherwise never would be able to," Tsu continued. "The cards will be consumed once they are used, of course, so make sure that you are certain in your choices."
"Now, Trickster," the Prison Master commanded. "Choose a Persona to execute!"
Refusing Igor was not an option. Instead, he asked, as neutrally as possible, "Is there anything else I should know before I begin?"
"There is only sufficient power to execute one Persona on the electric chair each day," Igor replied.
It was typical of Igor, to omit crucial information unless specifically asked about it, just as the Prison Master had done when introducing him to the gallows. The restriction seemed arbitrary, and a part of him wanted to prove Igor wrong, but that would be suicide. As always, he had to follow the Prison Master's rules in the Velvet Room... at least for now.
"Might I suggest resummoning the Queen's Necklace from the Compendium and executing it on the electric chair?" Tsu asked. "It's useless to you as a combat Persona, Inmate. However, if you use the catalyst that my sister has provided, you should be able to force it into a tangible form." She smirked. "Who knows? It could be a good gift for one of the girls who fancy you, Inmate, and it contains significant power besides that may aid you as a sort of talisman in the Metaverse."
Lelouch ignored Tsu's jibe, and nodded. Tsu did seem to be trying to offer him what she thought was good advice, in her own way.
Once summoned from the Compendium for Tsu's usual fee, the demon possessing the Queen's Necklace was promptly thrust into a large velvet blue bag and strapped in place for its execution, with the black rock that Shi had given him placed nearby. Lelouch felt it acutely within himself as the Persona was electrocuted, clearly with a voltage far exceeding what was strictly necessary. But after a moment, the pain had subsided, and all that remained in the seat of the electric chair was the famed necklace itself, with double strands of diamonds, four smaller dangling strands shaped like tassels, and three arches of diamonds on the other side, each with a larger stone dangling from them. Flickering wisps of power swirled around it, residual from the execution. Shi retrieved the necklace, and handed it to him.
His eyes widened. At once, he knew that it wasn't the sort of thing that he could give as a gift, at least, not to be worn in the real world. It would immediately be interpreted as a strong gesture of courtship by anyone girl to whom he might give it to for such a purpose, which could get him in trouble if that girl was anyone but Kallen. And if Kallen were to wear it in public, people would either question how he had managed to give her a necklace that had been commissioned by King of France and had had nearly bankrupted the jewelers who made it, leading to investigations that he did not need, or otherwise assume that Kallen was to be the trophy wife of an incredibly wealthy older and higher ranking noble, which she would resent. It truly was something that could bring misfortune, but if it had mystical properties that they could exploit in the Metaverse, then his reasons for giving it to any of his teammates would become pragmatic, and something they could accept more easily.
The prison bell rang.
"We will speak again at the successful conclusion of your heist, Trickster," Igor called as the Velvet Room faded from his vision.
xXx
Lelouch awoke back in the real world, though the presence of the Queen's Necklace glittering by his bedside was proof that his dream of the Velvet Room was as real as ever.
He was used to the drill by now. It would be best to wait for a day or two before returning to Gao Hai's Palace so that its security level could fall, which once again left him with a decision of how to spend his time, which was another way of saying which of his confidants he would seek to deepen his bonds with. He could feel that several of them were getting close to a breakthrough. Diethard had moved from being an informant, to the administrator of a subversive pro-Black Knights website, and was now working directly with them in the real world, but the media man needed one last push. Lelouch suspected that Diethard was waiting for the Black Knights' story to culminate in societal upheaval, something that with any luck would be satisfied when they stole Gao Hai's heart. He could follow up with Milly about her arranged marriage to Earl Asplund, or Nina to see how she was doing in the aftermath of the summer trip. He couldn't help but notice that Nina had started to act differently around him ever since they had returned to Ashford Academy. He was curious as to what exactly had transpired between Shirley and Kallen. Then there was Leila. Strange as he had felt around her yesterday, there were questions he wanted to ask her about what she had said back in Akzeriyyuth, and there was the matter of whether she would be transferring to Ashford Academy or not.
Lelouch shook his head. He had to keep his endgame in mind. Everything depended on unlocking the barriers in Mementos and discerning its mysteries before Igor could realize how much of a threat he really was. With her knowledge of mysticism and other esoterica that he had never deemed relevant to his vendetta against Britannia until just a few months ago, Leila was an invaluable resource to him in a Metaverse that drew upon old myths and symbols. Moreover, her intelligence, even temper, and psychic abilities in the Metaverse had earned her a position as his de facto second-in-command, which he had acknowledged when he delegated his duties to her during the initial infiltration of the Forbidden City of Greed. It was imperative for the continued success of the Black Knights that he maintain an effective working relationship with the Countess. He couldn't let his confused feelings get in the way. He needed Leila's insights right now, though he promised himself that he would follow up with Shirley and the other members of the Student Council before long.
xXx
"I did not expect to have the pleasure of your company so soon, Lelouch," Leila said, smiling as she invited him into her mansion. "I was worried that after last time-"
"Did you really think that I would turn my back on you, Leila?" he asked.
She shook her head. "Of course not. That was silly of me."
"Shall we have a match?"
"I would like that," she nodded.
Leila began leading him to her study, giving him an impromptu tour of her home along the way. Something Lelouch did not expect to see was her parents' car collection.
"My father thought that he should have one, all to better play the part of typical Britannian nobles with more money than they knew what to do with, just like this castle," Leila explained. "But there's more to the story than that. As I mentioned before, my family used to hold the Earldom of Breisgau in Germany, where its wealth largely came from winemaking and orchards, a tradition it continued even after being forced to migrate to what would become the Britannian homeland. When we moved to Japan, my father bought the farmland around the Kōfu Basin in Yamanashi, on the northern side of Mount Fuji, which was known as the 'Kingdom of Fruits'. Today our family's corporation controls a third of wine production in Area 11, is the largest grower of fresh peaches, grapes and plums in the colony, and supplies forty percent of the mineral water that is bottled here thanks to the abundant springs in the region." Her eyes looked distant for a moment. "With my parents' deaths... I am the majority shareholder in that corporation, and I inherited my father's seat on the board."
Lelouch nodded. While Britannian nobles were still entitled to collect rent from those living on the lands that the crown had granted them, a relic of the old feudal system, and stagnant in many areas, one area that they had evolved with was the economy. There had been a brief period at the dawn of the Industrial Revolution where the emerging middle class had led the way in founding the first true corporations, but when the nation was reborn in the Americas following Washington's Rebellion and Napoleon's conquests, the nobility had consolidated their control over society, buying out the largest companies or acquiring them through arranged marriages. To this day, most of Britannia's leading corporations had one or more nobles seated on their board of directors, or as majority shareholders, and these positions were usually hereditary as well, a neo-feudal system at its core. As the surviving Breisgau heiress, it was natural that Leila would have substantial corporate holdings, especially considering how fancy her home was.
"It's all rather overwhelming, to be honest," Leila frowned, "especially between that business with Prince Clovis and our work as Black Knights. I don't know how my parents managed it all. There are some in the company who say that my parents were far too generous and that we should be increasing our profit margins... but I've been able to use my influence to hold them back for now. Most of our workers are Japanese, and they deserve to be treated and paid fairly for their labor... it's still not quite where I'd like it to be, but I do as much as I can for them without attracting undue suspicion to myself. Besides, happier workers are more productive workers, and you won't find the same quality of produce from companies that treat their employees as little more than slaves!"
Lelouch could see now how a place like the Amagi Inn was able to hold to its traditions in spite of Britannia's suppresion of Japanese culture. Inaba was in the Yamanashi area, and thus within the Breisgaus' sphere of influence. Lelouch chose not to ask, but there was even a chance that Leila might be its landlord these days. It would have to be her or a member of the Kyoto Group like Kirihara or, perhaps more likely considering her stated fondness of ryokan, and the Amagi Inn in particular, Kaguya. But in any case, the Japanese people living in Yamanashi were fortunate that Leila was looking out for their welfare. She was as benign of a corporate overlord as they could ever hope to find; one of Britannia's many robber barons could have easily come in had the Breisgaus not bought the land first.
"I'm sorry," Leila said, shaking her head. "Listen to me rambling on. The point is, while that's always been my family's traditional business, my father believed it was time for us to diversify. Besides its farmland, the region had a growing industrial base that was devastated during the war. I'm sure that he thought that if we could reestablish it there, we could eventually gain contracts with the military, giving him access to a new source of information that he could pass on to Europia. But he also wanted to rejuvenate civilian industry and make products that the Japanese people could afford, cars among them, so that they'd have more freedom to travel."
"The only Japanese who would be able to afford cars are Honorary Britannians," Lelouch interrupted. "Even among them, cars are luxury items. Your father had good intentions, but that dream was doomed from the start."
"Yes," Leila admitted. "We never really had a chance to branch out into manufacturing. Kirihara Industries was already in the area, on the slopes of Mount Fuji, and first bought out the outlying sakuradite mines in Yamanashi. They already controlled most of Japan's surviving industrial infrastructure, and it didn't take them much longer to gather up what remained there and drive out any would-be competitors."
Lelouch grimaced. In a way, it was tragic. When it came down to it, Kirihara and the Breisgaus had been on the same side, and could have worked together, but both had been so cautious about concealing their true loyalties that cooperation between them had been impossible.
"You know, I could set up a meeting between you and Kirihara," Lelouch said. "He's more into heavy industry than consumer products, but I'm sure that he could connect you to other members of Kyoto, if you're interested in a joint venture with them."
"You would do that for me?"
"Of course."
"I would like that," she smiled gently. "Thank you, Lelouch." She shook her head. "My parents eventually suspected that there was more to Kirihara than 'the Traitor', but by then more pressing matters had come to their attention. Still, my father had already done plenty of research into different types of cars while searching for design concepts, and had gained something of an appreciation for them in the process. It seemed a shame for that to go to waste. Hence, this collection." She led him forward.
"I notice there are a number of foreign cars."
"Yes," Leila nodded. "My parents were Francophiles, and many of the cars in their collection reflect that preference, but my father also drew inspiration from German engineering, perhaps influenced by our heritage."
"Can you speak German, Leila?" Lelouch asked.
"Ja," she replied. She frowned. "I'm fluent in it, but my German isn't as good as my French. While member states of Europia largely retain their individual cultural identities, Napoleon's conquests ensured that the French language would be adopted for common use between nations, which I assume factored into my parent's decision in to prioritize my acquisition of it alongside Britannian."
"It's still impressive however you look at it. You're a native speaker of both French and Britannian, you're fluent in German, and likely Latin and Japanese too, the former from your education, and the latter from your own interest in Japanese culture. Adding to that, you know some Greek, and there aren't many in Britannia who know enough ancient Hebrew to translate those inscriptions in Mementos. Are there any other languages that you know?"
Leila beamed. "I've taught myself enough Mandarin to be able to hold simple conversations in it," Leila said after a moment, with a hint of pride. "It only made sense to do so with the world's third superpower on our doorstep."
She paused. "But I'll admit that of the languages that I speak with any degree of fluency, it's the one I'm weakest at. It's difficult without consistently having someone to model proper pronunciation and point out your mistakes. That's why I used Britannian the other day while introducing us to the guards. I didn't want to embarrass myself in front of them, and I knew they would understand Britannian, given that they were Cognitions created by the Chinese Consul-General to Area 11. But that's it."
"It's more than I've learned," he told her, and she smiled again.
"There's plenty that you surpass me in," she replied, glancing down. "Boldness... your gift at drawing people together... your flair for the dramatic and ability to put on a performance... not to mention that you're a loving brother to your sisters."
"Two of them," he corrected. "And don't sell yourself short. Going into Clovis' Palace by yourself was reckless, but insulting the guards in Gao Hai's Palace like you did was not only bold, it was brilliant, and you managed to fool not only Clovis, but the media, and even those back in Pendragon with another of your performances."
"Still, the bond that you share with your siblings is something that I'll never have."
She paused in front of one of the cars, which stood apart from the more luxurious models on the floor. It was a van, low to the ground and only about six feet in height, with corrugated sides, mirrors mounted high on the driver and passenger side doors, and a loading door on the side. It seemed a very economical vehicle, intended for work rather than play.
"This is something like the car your father wanted to make for the Japanese people," Lelouch said.
"Yes," Leila replied sadly. "The Citroën H Van. It's a French model. He wanted to take the basic concept and update it with Britannian technology... a quieter, cleaner, more efficient and more reliable engine... new electrical frameworks suitable for a variety of commercial purposes, like catering or refrigeration... It still would have been too expensive for most Japanese people, but he thought that if the vehicle could 'earn its keep', so to speak, it would be able to help some of them get back on their feet."
"And there's something to be said about the audacity of selling what would essentially be a retooled French car to the common people of a Britannian colony," Lelouch grinned.
"You know, for some time, I thought something like this would be perfect for moving around Mementos," Leila mused. "But I couldn't think of a way to sneak it in without someone noticing on this side. It didn't even occur to that we could change the public's Cognition so easily to produce a means of transportation already in there for us." She shook her head. "Even if I had, I doubt that our video would have gotten the same response if all viewers saw was a humble van. I also considered motorcycles, but that also ran into the problem of getting them into Mementos." She looked up. "I do ride, from time to time." She blushed slightly. "Would you... like to see my bike?"
He nodded. "I'd love to, Leila."
She led him to it, passing a number of other motorcycles along the way, but calling Lelia's motorcycle a mere "bike" was a clear misnomer. Her machine was a red monster, almost three meters in length, and its back wheel over a meter high. Its engine was just as huge, and Lelouch could tell that it was engineered with state of the art steering and balance systems to help its rider tame all of its power.
"I must say, I didn't ever picture you riding a machine quite like this before, Leila," he said with a small grin.
"Because it clashes with my public image?" she challenged. "I'll be piloting a Knightmare in Mementos soon enough."
"I suppose so. You're always the analytical type." She was also the shortest of the Black Knights, save for Arthur, which made her seem even smaller and more fragile next to her machine. "That's something that Kallen would love to get her hands on. Just how powerful is that thing's engine? Rivalz would love it too, especially if he could hook up his sidecar."
"Even I need to cut loose every once in a while," she said. "It's not compatible with a sidecar. That would throw off its balance. But by itself, it's large enough to seat two-"
Leila cut herself off as her cheeks turned a much deeper shade of red. "I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to suggest that suggest that-"
"It's fine," he told her.
"Um, yes..." Leila agreed hastily, glanced away. "Well, my study's only a bit further," she continued after a moment. "Shall we be going?"
"Yes," he nodded.
xXx
"Ow!"
"I'm sorry," Leila said, picking up her cat. "Eliza likes to bite. She does it to everyone except me. I should have warned you."
The feline had black fur like Arthur, but of a uniform shade, except around the paws, which were white. As far as he could tell, Eliza couldn't talk like Arthur could, but the look in his green eyes told him that she was nonetheless quite intelligent for a cat, as befitted Leila's companion. As a noblewoman's pet, there was no doubt that Eliza was purebred, a further point of contrast with Arthur. They weren't exactly sure what breed Arthur was, if he belonged to a recognized breed at all. All things considered, Arthur was probably a crossbreed of some sort, making it seem oddly fitting that he had crossed paths with Kallen and her brother.
"I'm okay," he told her.
"That's a relief." She set Eliza down in her lap. "Let us begin."
Both of them were more defensive than usual in their match. Occasionally, they would probe the other's defenses and launch an offensive, only for a counteroffensive to materialize just as quickly, but neither could decisively turn the tide of battle.
"We'll be in a threefold repetition before long," Leila said, analyzing the board.
"Shall we call it a draw then?" Lelouch asked.
"I think that would be best," Leila nodded. She looked up. "What did you want to talk to me about, Lelouch? We both know you didn't just come to chat and play chess with me."
"You're knowledgable about ancient religious traditions in a way that I'm not," Lelouch explained. "There's a certain... project that I working on for social studies. It's a summer assignment. Do you know anything about mythological prisons, or deities related to them?"
Leila immediately seemed to grasp that there was more to what he was asking than was said, and that there was in fact no such assignment, but thankfully she did not press him for a more complete explanation.
"The most well-known examples of such prisons are probably Hell in the Abrahamic religions, or the Greek Tartarus, used to punish the wicked or those who had defied the gods" Leila replied. "But everyone's heard of those." She paused. "But there's actually a myth with a very different conception of a prison... Are you familiar with Gnosticism?"
"I know the basics, but I can't say I studied it much before."
"Then you know that Gnosticism was an offshoot of early Christianity, though it was eventually deemed heretical. The Gnostics believed that the material world was evil and that the spiritual world was all that was good. But it's more than that... the Earth and the entirety of cosmos that we can see was the flawed creation of a misbegotten false god, who was deluded into thinking that he was the one and true God, and unconsciously all of his creations were made in mockery of the true splendor and fullness of the divine. Unknown to this false god, humans carried within themselves fragments of the divine, bestowed upon them by his mother, Sophia, with the last of her fading power, the rest of which he had seized for himself. Through the attainment of gnosis, or knowledge of the true nature of the spiritual world above, humans could find freedom and transcend from the prison of the material that the false god held them in."
Fragments of the divine with them? Maybe he was reading too much into it, but that sounded awfully like how he was able to hold manifestations of various gods and demons within himself as Personas. And made in mockery? Tsu had said something very similar about the Metaverse...
"Leila..." he said quietly. "What was the name of this false god?"
"The Demiurge," Leila replied, lowering her volume to match his own. "Yaldabaoth."
"Thank you, Leila," he said. "I think that will be quite helpful for my report."
"I have every faith that you will do well on it," Leila told him. "I know it may be a bit late, but Milly told me you were in the top ten of your class in your exams before the break." She smiled approvingly. "Well done."
"I'm sure you're ranked at the very top of your class at St. Lucy's," Lelouch replied with a chuckle.
"I was, yes," Leila said, though simply as a statement of fact. "However, I've decided that I will be taking you up on your earlier offer. I will be formally transferring into Ashford Academy by mid-month."
"I guess I'll have to keep my grades up in the second trimester then," Lelouch chuckled, "lest I face your disapproval or Shirley's. She'd have a fit if I slack off now that she's seen what I'm actually capable of." He shook his head. "But in all seriousness, everyone would be delighted to have you join us on the Student Council, Leila."
"Thank you, Lelouch," she said, offering a beautiful smile. "I look forward to it."
Within himself, Lelouch felt the Priestess greatly grow in power. He knew Leila much better than he had before today.
"But while you're here, I really should offer you a refreshment," Leila said, reaching for something, causing Lelouch to instantly blanch. Seeing his reaction, she said, "No, I didn't prepare it myself. I know just how awful of a cook I am now... we can't infiltrate Gao Hai's Palace if I've incapacitated our leader with another serving of Mystery Food X." She shook her head. "The staff helped me make it. It's just tea, and I think you'll find it rather flavorful."
Are the Black Knights Just?
Yes: 36.1%
Days Until the Empress is Married: 27
xXx
Lelouch had a bizzare dream that night. The Black Knights had detoured from Gao Hai's Palace to investigate a criminal in Mementos. For some reason, their Cognitive Burais were missing, but Arthur told them not to worry, and promptly turned into a black, talking Citroën H Van, complete with headlights colored like his eyes, cat ears, whiskers, and a tail, before telling them to climb in. Kallen took the wheel of the Arthurmobile, but turned out to be a surprisingly bad driver when not in a Knightmare Frame. But perhaps that was because she let herself get distracted listening to the other girls talking about which of them would be marrying Lelouch, swerving back and forth as she entered a heated argument with them. Fortunately, she only ran into Shadows.
From there, the dream took a still stranger turn. The girls agreed to "share" him, and the scene abruptly changed. Lelouch found himself on a large bed, dressed only in his underwear as the three of them began clambering onto the bed, Kallen dressed in her dancer outfit, Shirley in her bikini, and Leila in the black lingerie that the painting in Clovis' Palace had depicted her in.
"What are you-" he tried to ask.
"Relax, Zero," Kallen smiled. "We've done this before."
"This is my first time..." Shirley whispered.
"Then watch and learn, Dame."
"I shall do my best as well," Leila nodded.
They took turns, kissing and caressing him. Kallen knew what she wanted, fiery passion in her blue eyes, yet that belied tenderness. She was followed by Shirley, more hesitant at first, but quickly growing bolder, learning from Kallen just as she had in Mementos, her beautiful green eyes lighting up with joy as she embraced him. Then the Countess took her turn, leaning in, amethyst eyes filled with intelligence as her lips drew ever closer. They made contact with his own, soft and warm.
"This isn't-" he started as Leila's lips left his.
Leila silenced him, gently placing a finger on his lips. "Don't overthink it, Lelouch. Just enjoy yourself." Her voice was breathy and mellifluous as she effortlessly slipped into her French accent, dulcet tones in a rhythm that transformed even simple sentences into something that sounded like poetry.
He couldn't say that any of this was entirely unwelcome. He loved Kallen and Shirley, and the defenses he had put up to keep himself from getting too close to Leila were crumbling as well. They were all beautiful in their own ways, but he wasn't one who would be interested in them if all they had were their looks. Kallen's drive... Shirley's kindness... Leila's wit... They were precious gifts, and drew him inexorably toward their bearers.
He usually held his desires in check, but he didn't have to worry about Britannia or the Metaverse here. Why not indulge for a change?
His body seemed to move on its own as he returned each of the girls' affections, taking the lead from Kallen, running his fingers through Shirley's lustrous coppery hair as he shared a long kiss with her, and impulsively moving his fingers down Leila's back, searching for something. He soon realized that he had been looking for the straps to her babydoll, and he was about move to unhook them, but then he faltered. A part of him felt that the whole situation was wrong.
Looking amused, Leila removed the blue gemstone necklace that Clovis had given her, and reached for something on the beside table.
"Is it okay if I wear this?" She whispered seductively, picking up the Queen's Necklace. "I'd much rather wear something you gave me." Finding himself weakly nodding, she slipped it on and gave him a radiant smile.
She looked absolutely stunning.
Lelouch grinned back at her. He suddenly felt much more in the mood than a moment before, and his worries seemed to fade behind a haze.
"I hope I'll get a chance to wear that next," Kallen said, eyeing Leila with jealousy that hadn't been there before. "After all, I am your Queen, Zero."
"Yeah! And me too!" Shirley piped up. "Fair is fair!"
Kallen and Shirley's words reminded him that something wasn't right.
"You'll both-" he began, fighting through the haze.
"Lelouch?!" a familiar voice gasped, carrying both question and accusation.
Nunnally was there, in her wheelchair, her eyes wide.
"I told you not to two-time brother! And yet now you're three-timing? How could you?"
Her hair turned blonde, as it when she became Nemo in the Metaverse, and she rose from her wheelchair. Her eyes turned golden as well, and when she spoke, she sounded as dangerous as any Shadow.
"Elizabeth!" Her Persona charged, and-
Lelouch finally bolted up from the nightmare. There an unfamiliar stickiness on his boxers, and his body was drenched in sweat. He had never had such a dream before, and it left him filled with confusion, embarrassment, and shame. His subconscious had really dreamed that up?
For a moment, he wondered if Leila's tea had triggered a hallucinogenic episode. She had, after all, been the creator of Mystery Food X. But he rejected that; the tea had been perfectly agreeable. No, there was another cause. He had forgotten in his panic upon first waking, but he recalled that he had visited the Velvet Room after seeing Leila, and fused a new Persona of the Devil Arcana, taking advantage of his rapidly growing bond with Diethard...
Lilim.
"Aw, I tried to give you a nice dream, but you had to go ahead and ruin it with your little sister showing up," the new Persona's voice said within himself, female and playful, but on the younger side, reminding him too much of Kaguya.
"Don't mess with my head, polluting it like that, unless you want to end up like Incubus before you!" Lelouch mentally snarled.
"Geez, you don't have to be a jerk about it!" Lillm pouted. "Don't forget I'm also you. I can't make you dream up anything that isn't already in your unconscious mind. Can't you just admit what you really want?"
"Be silent!"
Lillm wisely complied.
Lelouch sighed. He would rather not execute Lillm right away. There was still potential within her that he had yet to draw out, so getting rid of her would be wasteful for the time being. But there needed to be some sort of punishment lest she pull a stunt like this again. Perhaps he would throw Lillm in Lockdown for a few days, entrusting her to Tsu's tender care. She could benefit from some toughening up too, as in spite of a useful variety of spells, she was a rather fragile Persona, with not one but three weaknesses, offset by immunity to curses and a resistance to ice spells. Granted, his bond with Diethard had granted her the ability to dodge incoming bless spells more easily, but it was still a weakness.
Still, for Lilim to find that within his psyche... Did he really want a relationship like that with Kallen and Shirley, deep down? And for Leila to appear as well... He could no longer deny that he had more than a passing attraction to her on both a physical and an intellectual level. But they had already agreed that it was better for them to remain as friends. Even if Shirley and Kallen were to agree that there were willing to "share" him among each other, would they really be accepting of another girl? He didn't want to hurt any of them, and even thinking about it made him feel disgusted with himself. If what Lilim said was true, he was becoming more like his father with every passing day, no matter much he fought against it.
xXx
The next day, Lelouch was in the Student Council room with Kallen and Shirley. Classes hadn't officially resumed yet, but the Student Council had plenty of work to do to ensure that the upcoming trimester would be a success, and that their trips into Gao Hai's Palace wouldn't cause them to fall behind on their duties. Milly had the other members of the Student Council away on other tasks, sensing that he wanted the opportunity to talk to Kallen and Shirley in private.
"So, Bi- um, I mean Leila will be joining us on the Student Council," Shirley said softly. "That's what Madam President said anyway."
"That's correct," he replied, trying not to think about what they had done together in the dream that Lilim had conjured.
Kallen and Shirley both looked uneasy for a moment, but then Shirley was back to her usual self. "We'll all do our best to make her feel welcome!"
"Yeah..." Kallen murmured. She looked up. "Lelouch... there's something I've been meaning to say."
"What is it, Kallen?"
"You've probably noticed that Shirley and I have been talking to each other more lately."
He nodded. "Your outfits for the infiltration were a giveaway."
Both girls blushed slightly, but Kallen continued. "I... wanted to apologize to her... and I wanted to let you know too." She frowned. "I've been really petty lately... and jealous. Even though I knew exactly what she was going through... it was like I was rubbing salt in her wounds..."
"Kallen, you don't need to beat yourself up like that again," Shirley said comfortingly. "I mean, before I faced my own Shadow, my own jealousy whenever I saw Lulu around you or another girl was practically the butt of a joke. I was pretty pathetic, really."
Kallen sighed. "I was afraid of being cast aside... just like my mother was. But when I saw Shirley fight in Mementos, something funny happened. Not only was she just as committed to you as before, but she could keep up with any of us. In that moment... I really had to start viewing her as my equal. I couldn't hold any grudges against her any longer. It was just pointless. So I decided that I had to come clean with her."
"Kallen told me," Shirley said softly. "How she and I are alike... and how you felt about me."
"I'm sorry that I didn't let you tell her yourself," Kallen said, not meeting his gaze. "But Shirley and I needed to be able to speak freely about it if any real understanding was to be reached between us."
"Part of me had thought that Kallen was better for you," Shirley said. "But after accepting all of my flaws deep down, I had known I wouldn't be able to just give up on you, Lulu. I didn't have any right to force you to break up with Kallen though, no matter how much part of me had once resented her. But I had started wondering if there was another way, one in which we wouldn't have to fight each other. When that girl on the train read my future, what I had to do really came into perspective. So I threw everything into proving myself before you... both of you. And then Kallen told me that you loved me too."
"Shirley... what are you saying?" Lelouch asked, his voice trembling. Concerned that he might be in another dream brought about by Lilim, he pinched himself. It hurt, and there was none of the haze that had accompanied the dream. This was real.
"Anyways," Kallen said testily, "from now on, the two of us will be working together to keep you safe in the Metaverse. And..." She steeled herself. "If you want to be with Shirley too, I won't stand in the way." She spoke as if she was trying to get it out the words quickly as possible.
Lelouch was instantly suspicious. Kallen felt guilty, that much was clear. But for her to accept such an... unconventional relationship between him, herself, and Shirley? Was that really what she wanted? She seemed uncomfortable just talking about it. As for Shirley... was she willing to accept what could easily be seen as a 'lesser' position in his life next to Kallen, just so he could be with him at all? He didn't feel that Shirley was actually lesser in any way to Kallen in his heart, but to balance both of their needs equally would be perilous indeed.
"Kallen, are you sure about this?" he asked with worry. "There are a hundred different ways this could go very wrong, very fast! And what about you, Shirley?"
"Don't make me repeat it, Lelouch! I won't pretend that it was easy, but I made my decision! As long as it's just Shirley and I, and you aren't going behind ours backs and sleeping with other girls unless the two of us have-" Kallen froze, realizing exactly what she had said, and turned almost as red as her hair.
Shirley's cheeks were a bit red too. "Don't feel like we're forcing you into anything, Lulu," she said softly. "That's the last thing that I want. I'd rather that we take things slowly... really get to know each other first, so we don't have any regrets, Lulu. But when you're ready... I'll be waiting for you."
Lelouch was still wary of what they were suggesting, but he knew that neither Kallen nor Shirley could put aside their love for him. As long as he was with one but not the other, at least one of them would always be unhappy, however well they might hide it. If this worked, this could be a solution to their problems. He would have never considered it if he hadn't seen the speed with which the two of them had renewed their friendship, or knew the depth to which Kallen and Shirley could understand each other now. And then...
Lelouch grimaced. As much as he tried to deny it, he knew that he wanted to accept their offer. He had secretly desired it for a long time, but he had always held himself back for fear of becoming his father or hurting either of them more. But with Lilim's dream, he could no longer refute the mounting evidence. It wasn't healthy to repress it either. He had seen what had happened with Shirley and her Shadow.
"So... you really want... a... multi-partner relationship... a triad?" he asked. He shook his head. "There may be a hundred different ways for this to deeply hurt all of us... but just as many if we continue as we have been. If there's any chance for there to be a functional relationship between the three of us... we need to take it."
"Lulu!" Shirley smiled, overjoyed. Before he knew it, she was hugging him.
"Oh... wait..." Shirley said. She let go of him. "Sorry... I said we should take things slowly, but I got carried away."
Kallen shook her head slowly, but there was a hint of a smile on her face, and the tension that had gripped her seemed to melt away. That, more than anything was an encouraging sign. Kallen was actually happy for Shirley. She had probably been more embarrassed before than anything else.
Of course, none of this meant that his girl problems were over. It seemed that the situation between Shirley and Kallen had been defused, but there was still Leila, and his own growing attraction to her. He had no intention of betraying Shirley or Kallen's trust for Leila here in the real world, or the Metaverse for that matter, but Lilim and other Personas like her could still dredge up those feelings unbidden. As much as he might will otherwise, there was no sure way to avoid that other than executing or imprisoning the offending Personas. And if the others found out that he had accepted such a relationship with Kallen and Shirley... Would they think the gates were open for them as well?
He swallowed. It might be impossible to put this particular genie back in its bottle.
"Let's not tell the others about this," he told Kallen and Shirley. "Not yet."
They nodded.
"Too late!" a bubbly voice cried out, as Milly Ashford burt into the room.
"You were eavesdropping on us all along?" Lelouch asked, mortified.
"Well of course I was!" Milly grinned. "I knew what was up, and I wasn't going to miss anything as juicy as that! Way to go, Shirley! And you too, Kallen!"
"M-Madam President!" Shirley stammered. "That's not fair!"
"Yeah! Haven't you heard of privacy?" Kallen demanded.
"Relax..." Milly said. "It'll be fine!" She smirked. "But if you insist, I'll leave the three of you alone for a while..." She turned and left.
"Madam President... she heard everything..." Shirley murmured.
"It doesn't matter, Shirley," he told her. "It's not like you care what other people think about us anymore. You wouldn't be suggesting something like this with Kallen if you did."
She nodded.
"Then there's no point worrying about it. Whether we've all just made a big mistake or not, we don't have time for regrets right now. Not when we have to steal that Treasure."
Both Kallen and Shirley signaled their agreement, and Lelouch felt the power of the Lovers grow.
"Then let's get started, and look toward the future together."
Are the Black Knights Just?
Yes: 35.9%
Days Until the Empress is Married: 26
A/N:
The section with Leila ended up being considerably longer than originally planned, but I think it was good to take the opportunity to flesh out her character and her family's history some more.
As for the major development between Kallen, Shirley, and Lelouch, I've been planning that for a long time. As much as I made Shirley suffer earlier in and leading up to her Palace arc, breaking her down like that, letting Shirley put herself back together as she accepted her flaws, and getting Kallen to realize how much she was really like Shirley deep down were all essential to putting them in the right frame of mind where such a relationship may be viable. Lelouch of course showed further resistance on his end, but he does care deeply for both of them, and it's hard to remain in denial for too long when your other selves are throwing it in your face.
Next time, back to the Palace!