Rise of the Monarch

Author: Tenno Hikari

Fandom: Code Geass R2 (Sort of crossover with the webtoon Solo Leveling and the Destiny video game).

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Synopsis: Like shattered pieces of a mosaic falling into place, Lelouch remembers his death during the Black Rebellion and the strange rebirth that followed after. Zero has revived his rebellion against Britannia; fighting on the front lines and armed with terrifying new powers in replacement of his lost Geass. If the strong must conquer the weak for the sake of peace… then so be it.

Chapter Six

[Searching for: Julius Kingsly

…. 0 Results Found]

[Searching for: Kingsly

…. 0 Results Found]

[Searching for: Julius

…. 0 Results Found]

'Really? Not one single Julius ever?'

Rivalz's shoulders slumped as he frowned at the keyboard. He should have expected this much. After all, this was what felt like the hundredth time he had entered the immortal boy's name in the search field and thought to give it another try. Even after Bishop had informed him of the correct spelling, he had tried different variations like "Jewelius" or even "Kings Lee" but nothing came up.

[Searching for: Chewiest

…. 0 Results Found ]

[Searching for: Julia Queensly

…. 0 Results Found ]

"Very funny," a voice spoke dryly from behind him.

He swiveled around in his chair and smiled sheepishly back at the frowning amnesiac.

"Hey, it's not like you remember. Maybe you were a girl in your past life?"

"Rivalz…"

"Yeah?"

"Are you sure you don't want to try and get your own Ghost?"

It was hard to tell if Julius was being serious or not, so he laughed it off while wiping away the nervous sweat from his brow.

"Are you sure you don't want to go to the Knight Police? They've got to have something on you there," Rivalz suggested.

The raven-haired boy shook his head.

"While that is a viable option; I would like to avoid all encounters with law enforcement for now."

Especially since it was more likely that Julius had crossed paths with the law here in Area Eleven. He really didn't feel up to breaking out of jail, or worse, shot on sight. Thankfully, Rivalz just let it drop.

"Well, let's just take some of the yearbooks back with us then. Maybe Julius isn't your real name and we just need to sort through some old pictures."

"I could help with that," Bishop announced, appearing suddenly and earning a startled yelp from Rivalz.

Julius watched as his Ghost flew over to the screen and vanished right through it.

"Is that," Rivalz pointed to the monitor before looking back up at the Hunter, "Is that normal?"

Julius simply shrugged his shoulders, the Hunter already used to watch his Ghost phase in and out of existence in the short time they've been together.

"I suppose."

The other boy didn't seem too satisfied with his response, as he turned away and clutched the sides of the screen.

"Hey Bishop, what are you doing in there?" Rivalz asked while tapping the screen. "Would you mind getting out before security comes in and arrests us all for hacking?"

"Hacking?" Bishop reemerged from the monitor's depths, startling the poor teen once more. "I wasn't hacking. The Ashford Academy servers allowed me access when I asked them politely."

"You…" Rivalz began with a puzzled look on his face, "You just asked the school computer?"

"That's right. I was able to search through the database of student and staff profiles. Unfortunately, I found no match for my Guardian."

"Does that mean I wasn't a student here?"

"I wouldn't say 'no' just yet. There are a couple of files that were encrypted and locked, and I didn't want to try accessing them in fear they would be auto-deleted."

Ping!

Both Ghost and Guardian stared at the floating screen only they could see.

[New Quest 'En Passant' unlocked.

This Quest can only by complete at Ashford Academy.

Duration: 5 Days. All steps must be completed for a Secret Dungeon to appear.

Reward: Ashford Academy's Master Key]

This school had a master key within the system?

Would that unlock the files that might know something about Julius' true identity?

"That's it," both spoke in unison.

"Uh, guys?" Rivalz waved his hand in the air as if to remind them of his presence. "What's it? What's going on?"

"NO, Absolutely not!"

Urabe, the only high ranking Black Knight officer present in the room, winced as Kallen practically shouted through the speakers.

C.C. remained nonchalant as the redhead ranted how she would be endangering the rest by going off to Ashford Academy. She honestly didn't know why Urabe bothered calling the Gurren pilot when she was on a mission. But Kallen was adamant of being informed of the immortal woman's status while away.

"I don't recall asking for your permission," she pointed out.

On-screen, Kallen's face was almost as red as her hair.

"Dammit C.C. at least wait for me to come back!"

"Why? So your former classmates can identify you and call the police?"

"Urgh!"

C.C. was sure Kallen regretted exposing herself to the Student Council during the Black Rebellion. They were both certain that Suzaku was the reason why Kallen Kouzuki was on a Wanted Dead or Alive poster along with the other Black Knights. While the Knight of Seven was off somewhere being the Emperor's lapdog, neither woman could be sure if Lelouch's old friends would welcome Kallen back if they saw her again.

"Why?" Kallen demanded after taking a moment to regain her composure. "Lelouch is… Lelouch isn't at Ashford. There's nothing there for you anymore. Why go back when there could be a trap waiting for you?"

Why indeed?

Could she trust Marianne's words?

C.C. absently rubbed her temples while tuning Kallen out.

That feeling from earlier, it was gone now. It didn't feel like her connection with Lelouch, but something else entirely. Then whatever it was… died to a motorbike accident?

Whatever it was, she clearly saw Ashford Academy that had been her home for almost an entire year with her contractor. But Kallen was incorrect, there was something there of importance. Sure she had a lingering attachment to her Pizza Hut plush toy, Cheese-kun. She couldn't simply replace it, even though she had saved up her rewards for it in addition to the Black Knights' funding for a new one since Lelouch's assets were most likely frozen and being monitored.

"Uh… Miss C.C…?"

The sound of Urabe's voice drew her attention back to the monitor and it looked like Kallen wanted to reach across the screen and throttle her to death.

"As I was saying," the red-head gritted out to her. "If you intend on ignoring me, I can't stop you…"

"I'm glad we agree."

"Shut up, I'm not done!" Kallen snapped before taking a deep breath. "But if you must go, at least go incognito and use the equipment Rakshata provided and go with Urabe-san and the others."

C.C. blinked in surprise. She had no problem complying with Kallen's request. It made sense for her to go in disguise as her lime green hair was rather noticeable. Yet she wasn't expecting an escort. Glancing at one of the Four Holy Swords, he didn't appear to be annoyed at being appointed the immortal witch's escort.

"Are you sure you want to volunteer for this?" she asked him. "It's a Britannian school after all."

"I've been through worst." He shrugged. "I don't mind since we're talking about your safety, Miss C.C."

The immortal didn't respond, though she did feel touched by the gesture.

"Besides," Urabe continued with a small but sad smile, "I'm kind of curious what kind of double-life the Demon King once had."

[Quest 'En Passant' unlocked.

Step 1 of 5

For five days straight, wake up at 5 AM and perform the daily quest to receive rewards and bonus stats. Failing to complete a daily quest will result in a penalty quest.]

'You've got to be kidding me.'

Julius glared blearily up at the ceiling of the dorm room he now shared with Rivalz, ignoring the other boy's snoring, as Bishop shone a light over his face.

"Wakey wakey," she sang quietly as to not disturb their slumbering roommate.

Too early, the sun wasn't even out yet and his body was just very reluctant to the thought of exercise. It didn't make sense to him why he was being so lazy. He had completely recovered his health, even after being killed in a motorbike accident. Those stats would surely come in handy in the secret dungeon so why was he being so reluctant?

"Julius!" Bishop hissed, narrowing her single eye in a warning. "Need I remind you, that the system will give you a penalty on top of the failure for not completing all the steps for this quest? Who knows what that punishment might be? I may not be able to revive you next time."

Groaning into his pillow, Julius forced his body to sit up. He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and stared at the list of objectives he needed to complete every day here at Ashford. Inwardly Julius groaned, he would almost rather fight a Fallen Archon again.

Casting one last envious glance over at Rivalz, he made his way to the second closet that had belonged to the other boy's absent roommate. Without having to turn on the lights, he proceeded to pull out clothes that would be suitable for exercise. He opted for tracksuit pants, a simple t-shirt to wear under a hoody rather than the standard Academy's Physical Education uniform, and quickly got dressed.

[Step 1 Daily Quest Objective List:

Do 100 Push-ups: 0/100 (Incomplete)

Do 100 Sit-ups: 0/100 (Incomplete)

Do 100 Squats: 0/100 (Incomplete)

Run 10 Kilometers: 0/10 (Incomplete)

Time Limit: 24 Hours]

Julius groaned out loud, wondering if he died and just went straight to hell.

A few hours later, Rivalz woke up alone in his bedroom and wondered briefly if yesterday's events had all been a dream. As strange as the events that had transpired, the thought filled him with dread. It would have been rather disappointing if both Julius and Bishop were nothing but figments of his imagination.

Despite the default sullen look on the raven-haired boy's face, Rivalz couldn't help but take a liking to him and the immortal boy's robot companion. He definitely wouldn't be introducing Julius to Milly, and not because Julius was an unauthorized visitor on school grounds. Without a doubt, Julius was going to be popular the moment girls found out about the handsome and mysterious young man who was Rivalz's temporary roommate.

Speaking of which…

"Where the heck did that guy go?" Rivalz asked before he quickly hopped out of bed and changed into his uniform.

He took a glance around at the other side of the room, the bed was made and the clothes Julius had borrowed were neatly folded on it. However, there were some clothes removed from his old room mate's wardrobe. While a set of Ashford gym clothes lay discarded on the floor of the closet; Rivalz noticed that a pair of running shoes missing.

Looking at the clock, he had an hour to look for the other teen before homeroom started. Hopefully, both of his guests hadn't caught the attention of the other students or staff that would be up and about this early. Grabbing his school brief-case from his desk, he took off running.

The gymnasium was usually closed this early, so if his hunch was correct, Julius would be out by the track. What he was doing there, Rivalz had a vague idea. According to Bishop, Julius had tasks called quests that needed to be done daily for a much larger quest that would grant him some kind of key.

It all sounded like a video game. Before attending Ashford and the whole thrill of gambling, Rivalz had taken a liking to role-playing games. When he overheard Julius talking with his Ghost, he picked up on some familiar terms such as HP and MP and wished he could see the same screens as they could.

When Rivalz reached the track, his heart seized in his chest as he saw a hooded figure laying face down on the track. The body was male, tall, and skinny enough to be…

"Julius!" he cried out and ran over to the fallen boy's side. Rivalz kneeled beside him, and hesitantly shook the other boy's shoulder. "Julius! Are you all right?!"

'Did he die of a heart attack or something?!' Rivalz wondered in a panic. 'Crap! How am I going to explain why there's a corpse on campus?!'

Much to his relief, the body on the ground twitched followed by a muffled groan.

"No… more… push… ups…just… let… me…die…"

What?

"Is everything all right?"

"YEEE!" Rivalz released an unmanly scream as he whipped around to see that they weren't alone.

Standing a few feet away was an older woman he didn't recognize. She was part of the faculty, judging by her outfit, the clipboard in hand, and a whistle that hung from around her neck.

Long silver hair, bronze skin, and golden eyes; if he was in the right mind, Rivalz would have thought of her to be very attractive with her beautiful face and shapely figure. Instead, he was practically sweating bullets while hoping she would go away while absently keeping Julius' face pressed into the ground.

"Um… we're good," he answered quickly. "My buddy here kind of overdid it."

"Yes, I saw."

'She saw?!'

"My name is Villeta Nu, I'm the new coach here at Ashford," she introduced herself. "I was familiarizing myself with the outdoor facilities when I saw your friend. I'll admit, I've never seen anyone work so hard. But I think your right, he overdid it. Do you need some help with getting him to the school infirmary?"

'No, no, no, no, no, and no!'

"Um… thanks ma'am, but I think he'll be okay. He just has a habit of playing dead. Ha, ha, ha, right buddy?"

Julius groaned in response, and Rivalz prayed that Bishop wouldn't pop out any time soon.

Coach Villeta didn't appear to be too sold with that answer. Instead, she opened up her clipboard and began to quickly write something down on a piece of paper, before handing it to Rivalz who wordlessly accepted it.

"Here, this will excuse your tardiness for your homeroom class. When your friend can move, help him to the nurse's office. Understood?"

"Uh… yes, ma'am! Thank you, ma'am!"

Nodding her head, she turned and left much to Rivalz's relief.

"Can I get up now?" asked the muffled voice beneath him.

"Oops!" Rivalz quickly snatched his hand back, allowing Julius to finally push himself up into a sitting position.

From beneath his hood, the other boy shot him a look of annoyance as he wiped the dirt off his face.

"You really worried me, man," Rivalz said as he sighed in relief, "I thought you died again."

"After a hellish workout for my daily quest, it certainly felt like I did," Julius admitted before glancing in the direction Coach Villeta had left in. "Hey Rivalz, do you know that woman?"

"I just met her. She's the new coach here. I guess you impressed her by killing yourself with exercise."

"Hmm…"

"What's this? Are you interested in older women?" Rivalz asked with a teasing leer.

Julius stared impassively back at him. "I didn't even get to see what she looked like because someone was shoving my face into the ground."

"Well, let me tell you: she was hot."

The amnesiac immortal didn't respond as he made a gesture in the air, most likely interacting with those screens that Rivalz couldn't see.

"I completed my daily quest. It took a couple of hours, but that's better than an entire day."

When Julius explained what he had to do, Rivalz gaped openly at him as they both climbed to their feet.

"I seriously don't envy you now. Just how jacked do you have to be?"

"Don't know," the raven-haired boy admitted while dusting the stray blades of grass that had clung to him. "I just know that I have to do these quests daily, otherwise I'll be penalized."

"What can be worse of hours of strenuous exercise?"

"I don't intend on finding out anytime soon." Julius stretched his limbs, relieved that they didn't feel like lead weights anymore. "While I appreciate your concern, don't you have to go to a class soon?"

"I'm not in a hurry. Besides, Coach Viletta was nice enough to give me a pass," he spoke with a grin while holding up the said piece of paper.

'That's weird,' Rivalz wondered as he read her writing. He didn't remember giving his full name, so how was she able to write it down? She was probably going to be one of those scary teachers who remembered the faces of their students before actually meeting them. Fortunately, his stomach interrupted all the dreadful exercise he probably had in store for the week.

"Come on let's go have breakfast, I'm starving."

Ping!

[Daily Quest completed.

Daily reward:

Skill unlocked: You now recover a small portion of health while sprinting]

Julius started to see improvements after a couple of days of intense exercise.

He was beginning to see muscles form on his torso, as well as the proof in his stats. He was getting stronger, faster, and became less winded. On his third day, he had wakened up before Bishop had a chance to, and finished his exercises and returned to his shared room with Rivalz as the other boy began waking up.

While Rivalz reluctantly went to class and Student Council meetings, Julius usually remained in their shared room watching television and catching up on current events. On some days, he would play the part as a student, all the while avoiding people, and found a nice spot on the rooftop where he could sit and observe without drawing attention to himself.

Ping!

[Quest 'En Passant'

Step 2 of 5

Keeping off radar completed. You have successfully avoided detection for the past 5hrs

Invisibility duration has increased by 5 seconds]

'I think there's something wrong with this school.'

'I know,' he agreed with his Ghost who refused to come out unless they were in their room. 'With all the money Ashford has, you would think they would have it in their budget to restore this one wall,' Julius thought as he glanced at the nearby wall from him that was mostly covered in carved cross-hatches. It was an odd design, and it looked like someone had given up half-way through.

'I meant all the cameras everywhere.'

'Oh, those.'

'Yes, those! Don't you find them unnerving?' Bishop asked, clearly exasperated. 'There are hundreds of them around the school. I have to loop their feed whenever we get close to one. Why does this school have so much security anyway? It's not like there's royalty or even wealthy nobles that come here. I know because I checked the student roster.'

'Don't worry, we won't be here long. Once I complete this quest and unlock the information we need, we'll be on our way.'

'But you like it here.'

'I do,' Julius admitted. 'But I don't belong and I'll only make trouble for Rivalz the longer I stay.'

'I agree. Rivalz has more than made up for accidentally killing you. But what if you don't regain your memories after the next Dungeon?'

'Then we move on to the next quest and then the next until I do.'

Ping!

[Quest 'En Passant'

Step 3 of 5

Under the cover of night, find and locate the Eyes of the Emperor]

'Eyes of the Emperor?' Julius read with a confused expression on his face. Bishop said there was no royalty or nobles who attended this academy. 'Is that perhaps the name of a club here at Ashford?'

'Scanning… that's a no,' Bishop answered quickly. 'Perhaps we should ask Rivalz for more information?'

Julius wordlessly nodded in agreement before he caught the sound of footsteps running in his direction. There were two sets though they were spaced apart, so the odds that one of them being Rivalz was rather low. Besides, he hadn't told the other boy of this particular spot he had come to favor.

'Guess, it's time to return.'

Julius crouched down for a few seconds which then activated his invisibility. With the footsteps coming from the stairs behind him, he swung himself up and over the balcony. The Hunter landed neatly on the pavement three-stories below. Pleased that he had mastered his landings, by taking no fall damage whatsoever, he then took off running for the dorms.

Under the guise of Clara Lanfranc, C.C. had no trouble infiltrating the school grounds that had once been her haven for several months. Thankfully there were tons of new students from the Britannian homeland, so no one questioned her as she explored the campus. Urabe trailed behind her, wearing one of Rakshata's specially designed masks that gave him a Britannian appearance.

After liberating Cheese-kun from the storage box she had kept him in, before the Black Rebellion, she quickly stuffed him in her backpack. Urabe stared incredulously as she handed the backpack for him to carry, with the order to 'guard it with his life.'

"Please tell me we're not risking our lives for a plush toy," The Holy Sword groaned.

"Don't be so dramatic. My life is never at risk," she cheekily informed him while brushing her wig's light pink bangs that obscured the violet-blue eyes.

"Kallen owes me big."

"Mmmhmm…Come on, let's head over to the cafeteria, there might be pizza."

"Didn't you just have that for breakfast today?"

"Pizza is a versatile food."

However, on their way to the cafeteria, C.C. couldn't help but look up as they approached one of Lelouch's favorite spots, and froze. Someone was there. While his back was to her, she recognized that head of black hair anywhere!

'Lelouch!'

Not wanting to draw attention by shouting his name, she quickly turned on her heel and ran towards the stairs with a confused Urabe on her heels. Her heart was pounding rapidly, as she half-expecting a trap or worse, just a new student look-alike. But that posture, that familiar raven-black hair that was the same shade as Marianne's, it had to be…

C.C. rounded the corner, breathing heavily, as she stared at the vacant balcony before her eyes.

End Chapter Six

Author's Notes:

So many close calls for Julius in this chapter, nearly sighted by both Viletta and C.C.

Thank you again for the reviews and follows, they really keep me going.

Review Responses:

Stardrago: Sorry, this isn't the harem you're story looking for. I chose Monarch because there is a bit of a crossover with the Webtoon series Solo Leveling. Might I suggest Kyugan's Code Tekka story? It hasn't been updated in a long time, but it's one of the OP!Lelouch/Harem stories I remember reading in the past.

Goose: While Bishop is modeled after someone close to Lelouch, it isn't Nunnally. I don't like her character.

Qrow454: The Black Knights, well specifically Kallen and Urabe, are C.C.'s babysitters and trying to keep her out of the Emperor's clutches. Haven't quite planned a Suzaku and Lelouch reunion just yet, still in-between R1 and R2, and building an over-powered Lelouch.

LordlyDock98: Thank, there will be more to come in the Dungeons Lelouch will explore and the skills, and weapons he obtains.

MMBrowsing: Not sure how close I'm going to stick to canon, and I really like Urabe (wished he had survived in R2 instead of Nagisa)

Matchstick800: Yeap… those damn architects have it in for Guardians.