Promise of Strength

Lelouch vi Britannia stood frozen. Neither his body nor his mind was working properly. The only thing that the young prince could do was stare in disbelieve. Downstairs in front of him, laid two bodies. Two bodies who belonged to the two people he loved more than anybody in this world. Lelouch vi Britannia stood frozen as he witnessed the dying moments of his mother and sister.

Time went by slowly. Each second lasted an eternity, yet neither the pink haired girl nor the prodigy boy moved.

The girl had been present when the shooting occurred. She was accompanying Nunally as she was greeting Marianne back from her visit to the Imperial Palace. Although she had been living with them for a year now, Anya still hesitated in partaking in the emotional reunion between mother and daughter. And so she remained upstairs, watching the heartwarming scene unfold before her with a unnoticeable smile. That smile soon turned upside down and her face contorted in horror as the windows broke and bullets penetrated the unsuspecting victims.

The two victims screamed loudly but their voices were silenced by the unforgiving barrage of bullets. After a minute, the bullets finally stopped. A small shadow disappeared from outside the window, leaving Anya alone with the two bodies. Unable to process the event that had occurred right in front of her eyes, Anya kept still atop the stairs. Suddenly, she could see the entangled bodies twitch. Her eyes fixed one more time at what used to be a caring mother and her innocent child. To Anya's surprised, Marianne vi Britannia was staring right back at her. It seemed like she was saying something, but the bullets had deafened Anya's ears. Anya wasn't sure of what to do. Should she run around the house looking for help or should she run downstairs and try to help them herself? Before she could decide however, Marianne's eyes glowed red, and her vision quickly faded, but not before she screamed out of panic.

Lelouch stared at the scene. However, he no longer was paralyzed. His body stayed still while his eyes darted around the room trying to gather clues as to what had happened. He knew he couldn't rely on Anya, as she was trembling and it even seemed like she had lost consciousness while standing. Thanks to the broken pieces of the window and the holes in the stairs next to the bodies, Lelouch deduced what had happened. However, there was something that bothered him. As his eyes moved from corner to corner, and even outside the windows, Lelouch failed to see something. Specifically, someone. There were no other people, not even bodies other than his family and Anya. But how could that be? Aries Villa was home to Empress Marianne vi Britannia. The palace was always swarming with guards, especially at night. And even if there were a shortage of guards in the palace, Marianne should have had royal guards following her everywhere. But there were none.

From below Marianne's body, a small arm could be seen moving. Lelouch, without missing a beat, rushed towards the arm. Upon holding the hand, he realized that there was still a beating heart. His mind completely shifted gears from trying to gather clues to trying to find a way to keep his sister alive. Unfortunately, Lelouch had only studied military strategy and history, leaving him with a lack of knowledge in medicine and first aid. Lelouch cursed himself for his uselessness and shortsightedness.

Not long after he started berating himself did a miracle present itself. Anya had finally moved, and with a clear and commanding tone ordered Lelouch to fetch the first aid kit. Without thinking twice about Anya's sudden shift in personality, Lelouch quickly complied. Lelouch had failed to notice the red glow outlined in Anya's eyes. After he returned, Anya had asked him to call the ambulance as well as the guards while she tended to Nunally's wound.

After calling for help, Lelouch returned to the stairs. Anya had moved Nunally's body to the bottom of the stairs so that she could lay flat. It seemed like she was able to clean Nunally's wounds and was now bandaging her. Since Marianne had been between Nunally and the bullets, Nunally hadn't been shot anywhere vital. Lelouch decided to leave Nunally to Anya and moved towards his mother. As he stared at the corpse, Lelouch emotions began to agitate inside him. Now that the danger had passed and Lelouch senses began returning to him, he could no longer contain his tears.

Lelouch wept as he laid besides Marianne's body. A sudden flash of memories flooded his mind. Lelouch vi Britannia had always admired his mother, even more so than Cornelia ever did. He had admired her strong will and incomparable talent. However, what he admired most was her hard work. As talented as she was, Marianne was still human. There were many things that she wasn't capable of, especially given her common birth, but Lelouch had watched her everyday and saw her struggled, yet Marianne remained undeterred. To anyone outside the Aries Villa, Marianne might had been the perfect woman, carrying a dignified aura and devoid of weakness, but to any of the inhabitants to the Aries Villa, she was the exemplar role model.

Anya Alstreim, or Marianne as she was now, had finished treating Nunally. Her wounds were small and her life was no longer in danger, but Marianne feared that Nunally's damage might be more than just physical. A faint groan caused Marianne to lift her head up. In the middle of the stairs a little boy could be seen, his body glued to that of her previous self. That was the first time she had seen the boy cry. Ever since he was a little baby, Lelouch had always acted different from his age. She had always worried that his youth would come and go and he would not be able to experience the things that could only be experienced as a child. Marianne smiled. Although the circumstances were tragic, she was happy to see that Lelouch could behave just like any other kid his age. Marianne remained watching her son until he finally cried himself to sleep. Finally, the red glow around Anya's eyes disappeared, and Anya fell asleep next to Nunally.

One week later, inside the Imperial Palace

Emperor Charles zi Britannia sat in his throne. His gaze fixed on the little girl in front of him. Charles had dismissed the court earlier so that he could speak with her privately. He had ordered his strongest and most loyal knight, Bismarck Waldstein, to keep watch outside and ensured that they weren't interrupted. Charles continued to stare at the girl. His eyes studying every feature and every manner.

"It seems my brother has caused you some troubled."

Charles finally spoke. His voice was quick and plain, but there was a faint hint of irritation in his face.

"He might be as old as me, and immortal too. But V.V. still behaves like the child that he looks like."

Anya, her eyes glowing red once again, silently listened to the emperor complain. After all these years, she knew better than to interrupt while Charles brooded. After a few more minutes, Charles sighed. That was her cue.

"Now Charles. We both knew that V.V. would do something like that soon. Ever since I met you he has always been opposed to me."

Charles closed his eyes, his mind recalling the memories that he made with Marianne. Every second, every moment they had spent together ever since they met when she was in the academy. Marianne's voice brought him back.

"We can't fixed what has been done now, but we need to continued our plans. We no longer have much time. The Ragnarök Connection must be completed soon."

Marianne had been aware of Charles and his brother's plan ever since they met. She truly believed in the world that Charles was seeking to create and had pledged herself to help him.

"We still only possess two of the elevators... V.V. has been sending his Geass Directorate in search of the remaining ones, but so far they have only uncovered the ones in Japan and and the Middle East."

Both Charles and Marianne knew about the Thought Elevators. Ancient structures that were capable of accessing an individual's thoughts and memories. However, there was much about the structures that they still din't understand. What they did know however, was what V.V. had learned through the Sword of Akasha. By connecting all the thought elevators in the world and using two Codes, they would be able to influence the collective subconscious of humans.

However, there were a few problems. Charles had grown too old now. His strength hasn't been the same and he is no longer capable of ruling the empire like he used to. That's why he had made Prince Schneizel the Prime Minister at such a young age. Another problem was already mentioned. They still only knew about half of the locations of the Thought Elevators, and only owned half of that. Without all of them, they wouldn't be able to spread the influence across the world. But perhaps the biggest threat to their plan is something that had only surfaced recently. Someone within the EU had discovered the existence of the elevators and were actively trying to obtain them. So far, it seems they only know about the one in Japan, but if they were any within the EU, they might already have controlled them.

The couple remained silent. Pondering about how they should proceed. Charles, upon realizing something, asks.

"Where's C.C.?"

Marianne closes her eyes as she thinks. After a couple seconds she responds.

"I don't know, she was gone that night, and I haven't seen her or been contacted by her since. She might have left Britannia."

A vein clearly popped on Charles' forehead. He and C.C. never really got along well, but he was willing to put up with her for the sake of his plan. But now she was becoming more trouble than she was worth.

"We will send some of the Order to look for her, we still need her as she is the only other individual with a Code that we know about."

Marianne nodded. She really liked C.C. And enjoyed spending time with her. This is also partly why she had recently began to hesitate about fulfilling C.C.'s wishes. Marianne suddenly collapse onto the floor. Her head aching with pain. Before Charles could react though, Marianne had picked herself up.

"It seems the transfer was imperfect... transferring to a incompatible body combined with the fact that I had to rush the transfer seems to have led to some difficulties. I'm not able to stay in control of Anya's body for a long time before she regains control."

Charles understood the limitations of Marianne's Geass. That's why they had decided to have children together, as her chances of successfully transferring her spirit increased the more the two individuals had in common.

"It seems like the little girl is no longer of use for you, but they boy should still suffice."

Marianne stayed silent. They had originally planned to use Lelouch and Nunally as back ups for Marianne in case anything ever happened to her. That's why Charles was so pleased to learn that Lelouch had inherited Marianne's abilities. But sometime she had begun to truly care for her children and had quickly forgotten about the original reason why they were born.

"I think it is better if we let Lelouch continue to grow. As he is now he isn't much better than Anya. He can still be useful for our cause. Who knows, in a few years he might even join us."

Charles pondered for a moment. In the end he finally decided to comply with Marianne, there wasn't much that he could out argue against her.

"Very well, we can still let him grow stronger. I will send someone to stop the investigation of your death. We won't want anyone finding out about V.V.. Also, once the little girl wakes up, send her to me, she might have seen him that night."

Marianne bowed as she began to walk away to the exit.

At the same time, at the Pendragon Cemetery

It was Marianne's funeral. Rain had begun to trickle down sometime earlier. Around Marianne's casket stood very few people. Although she was the most favored empress and was idolized by the general population, Marianne had many enemies. Even if they didn't openly show it, many times Lelouch had noticed the contempt that many nobles in the court held when watching his mother stand besides the emperor. And so, on the day of her funeral, the ceremony was small and the mourners even smaller. Lelouch glanced around him. The people here were some of the individuals who truly cared for Marianne. He would do well to remember them.

Among the many royals, very few attended. Not surprising as many of their mothers despised Marianne because of her origins as well as how close she was to the emperor. Present were only the royals had visited the Aries Villa often. Euphemia and Cornelia were of course the first ones to arrive. They practically lived at the Aries Villa since they spent most of their time there. They both always took care of Nunally and Marianne, and Lelouch would always love them for that.

Then there was Schneizel. Although he didn't openly express it, Schneizel was actually Lelouch's favorite brother. Among everyone else, Lelouch could find himself listening to everything that he said. He was the one that he had the most in common with and, of course, it was also Schneizel who taught him how to play chess. Behind Schneizel was his loyal friend, Kanon. Truth be told, Lelouch didn't really know much about him.

Next to Schneizel stood the third prince, Clovis. Lelouch didn't particularly liked or hated him. Clovis used to be a regular visitor of the Aries Villa and would spend all day long in the garden painting. Lelouch would rather listen to Clovis talk about his paintings rather than others like Carine ne Britannia.

Speaking of which, Carine was also present. Carine was another admirer of Marianne and would often come to visit her, even against the wishes of her own mother. Lelouch didn't particular have anything against her, but Carine was sort of special. Even though she is the same age as Nunally, Carine was more interested in violence and fighting rather than the more feminine activities. She was a more brutal Cornelia, per say.

The last royal was Odysseus eu Britannia, the Crown Prince. Unlike the others present, Lelouch had hardly ever talked to him. If their age didn't separate them, it was Odysseus title that did. He was often away in Ballroom dances and court gatherings in Pendragon and other areas that he was hardly ever near Lelouch. Odysseus had a gentle and passive personality.

Other than the royal family, Marianne vi Britannia had very few friends. In fact, she had so few that only three of them attended her funeral. Ruben Ashford and Milly Ashford were the only two people outsider her family that she could truly call friends. Ruben had supported Marianne ever since she entered the political scene, and in return Marianne had protected the Ashford's industries. It was a give and take relationship but one could tell that both Ruben and Marianne cared for each other. Milly on the other hand, was always hanging around Nunally and him. She was very tomboyish and loved to prank others, but thanks to her playful nature, Nunally would always be smiling when she was around. Among everyone present, Milly was the one crying the most. Lelouch was truly grateful for Milly's presence in their lives.

Nonette Enneagram was Marianne's other friend who had attended the funeral. They were both fellow Knights of the Round, but like Cornelia, Nonette had admired Marianne and even learned from her once in a while. Nonette also spend some time with Nunally and himself. A lot of what he learned was thanks to Nonette as she shared the knowledge that she had gained from the Royal Academy.

Finally, there was Jeremiah Gottwald. The loyal guard stood away from everyone else, still fulfilling his duties. That night Jeremiah had cursed himself as he had failed to protect the woman whom he respected the most. Many blamed Jeremiah for Marianne's death but Cornelia had defended him adamantly.

Only Euphy and Milly had cried. Schneizel as usual kept a poker face while both Clovis and Odysseus held their tears in. Ruben had sobbed a bit but composed himself when Milly had clung onto him when she started crying. Both Cornelia and Carine held pondering gazes, no doubt recalling the days they had spent with Marianne. Jeremiah was too far to see his expression but Lelouch already had a guess to what it might have looked liked. Nonette, however, acted strangely. She held a face that seemed like she was worrying about something and once in a while she would turn from the casket to look at Lelouch. Lelouch noted her actions to be suspicious but in the end just shrugged it off as Nonette probably was worried more about what would happen to Nunally and himself after the funeral.

Once Lelouch finished remembering the faces of everyone present, his gaze once again fell on the casket. Unlike a week ago, Lelouch didn't cry. Either he cried so much that there were no longer any tears in his eyes, or he had steeled himself so as to not look weak in front of everyone. Either way, Lelouch only stood with a blank face as he watched the casket being lowered. To Lelouch, Marianne was more than just a loving mother. She was a mentor and the role model that he chased after. Lelouch always believed that his mother would accomplish so many things like the legends of children's tales. Tales such as those of King Arthur. In the end, Marianne's story was cut short, with no happy ending.

The casket had finally been lowered, and the grave-keepers had begun piling dirt on top of it. Not a second after the grave-keeper had finished, Kanon whispered something to Schneizel. Schneizel listened with a calm pose, but after Kanon had finished whispering, Schneizel turned to Lelouch, his face containing a slight frown.

"Lelouch, there were news from the palace... Our father, Emperor Charles, has called off the investigation of your mother's murder."

Lelouch face was unchanged, but if one zoomed in on the prince, they would be able to see his teeth grind slightly and his hands clench hard causing some blood to come out.

At night, inside the Imperial Palace

Lelouch was kneeling. In front of him sat his father, Emperor Charles, his expression not too pleased with Lelouch's presence. After receiving the news from Schneizel, Lelouch had demanded an audience with the Emperor. Everyone had been against the idea, understanding the consequences should Lelouch displease, or even worse, infuriate the emperor himself. But Lelouch was as stubborn as you could expect from the son of the Emperor himself. In the end, Schneizel had complied with Lelouch requests and the Emperor, humoring both his sons, had accepted the audience.

"Leave us." The Emperor ordered.

Many from the court were present, from high ranking nobility to other royalty, no doubt wanting to see Lelouch incur Charles' wrath. The Emperor shifted his sight from Lelouch to the rest of the room. The courtiers, knowing better than to make the Emperor repeat himself, started exiting the room one by one. Schneizel was the last one to leave, before doing so, he took a quick glance at Lelouch. His expression was filled with worry. Finally, the room was empty. Only the figures of the large man sitting on the throne and the little boy could be seen. There was, however, one more person in the room, his small figure hidden within the shadows of the pillars. Charles had noticed his brother's presence but had chosen to ignore it, instead he focused his entire attention on the boy in front of him.

"Speak, boy."

"Hail, your majesty." Lelouch bowed his head before lifting his head towards the Charles. "I have come to ask your majesty to resume the investigation of my mother's assassination."

"Denied." Charles' voice was loud and firm, with no room for argument. "Is that all? You sought an audience with the Emperor of Britannia to ask for such childish request? How boring, you are dismissed."

The Emperor simply waved his hand at Lelouch. Immediately after he stood from his throne and began walking slowly towards the side entrance, completely disregarding Lelouch who continued to kneel.

"Childish request? How can you say that? My mother, your lover, was murdered inside her own home! If the Emperor of Britannia is the most powerful person in the world, then how come you couldn't protect her? How can you allow her murderers to remain free and not punish them?"

Lelouch had finally stood up and was now glaring at his father. His shouting still resonating through the entire room. Charles had stopped walking, but his back remained facing Lelouch.

"She was weak. I have no use for weaklings."

"Wh...what?"

"Your mother was weak. She led herself be killed and so she is no longer of use to me." Charles finally turned back to Lelouch. "And you are weak too. You were there and still your mother died. This world is not kind towards the weak. There is not such thing as equality, only the strong can progress into the future. There is no place in Britannia for the weak."

Lelouch was stupefied. His mind trying to comprehend what his father had just said. If the world truly was so cruel then why did it let weak people be born to begin with? Was it just so that they could become stepping stones for the strong? What about his sister, Nunally? She had lost her legs but she still lived. She might have been weak, but also wasn't she strong enough to live? Would the world continue to go after her until she died? Lelouch refused to accept such logic. Suddenly, Lelouch had begun to recall that day when Charles had spoken to him in the garden of the Aries Villa. He had said that only the strong were able to shape the world into a thing of beauty. Lelouch knew what he had to do now.

"I will become strong. I will become strong enough so that no one can defy me. I will proof your world wrong. I will create a world where the strong protect the weak, where even Nunally can survive and live happily. If there is no place in Britannia for the weak, then I will just have to create it myself!"

Lelouch eyes burned with determination, his gaze penetrating Charles' own, not willing to turn or back down. Charles simply remained still. His expression hid his thoughts. Neither the father who had cruelly tossed the weak aside nor the boy who had challenged his father's world made an attempt to move. In the end, it was Charles who broke the silence that had crept in the throne room.

"Then become strong and continue to struggle and evolve. Will you proof me wrong or will you fail and die?"

With those last words, Charles once again walked away, leaving Lelouch alone in the room. There was nothing more to say to each other. Now it was up to Lelouch to decide what he would do from now on. Would he continue to follow his father's script or would he be able to write his own world, his own future, his own tale?

In the shadows, V.V. remained focused on Lelouch, his expression clearly irritated at the boy's open challenge towards his brother. Like his mother, the boy would become a thorn in his plans. He could not let the boy act freely.

Lelouch had finally left the throne room and was now walking through the hallways of the Imperial Palace. There were cery few people around, mostly some guards who were patrolling. Lelouch would meet Jeremiah at the front entrance and together they would return to the Aries Villa. It had been a long day and Lelouch wanted to see his sister's face as soon as possible. He had heard that she had recovered earlier today and was waiting for him to return home. Before he could turn the corner that lead to the front entrance, a hand pulled Lelouch shoulders. Lelouch turned around to find...

"Nonette?"

Author's Notes:

Thanks everyone who fav/followed the story so far. I will be responding to the reviews from previous chapters at the end of every new chapter here in the Author's Notes.

Yes, in this AU Lelouch remains in Britannia. Next chapter there will be a time skip of a few years. Lelouch will be attending the Royal Academy and there he will develop his relationships with other Britannian characters, some of which will include Clara, Rolo, Marrybell, Carine, and in the first chapter it might have seemed like I was just going for the whole "Evil Marianne", reality is that the series never really developed her character well. The few moments that are shown/described with her children, it made it seemed like she genuinely cared for them. Honestly, I believe that because she had spent so much time away from them after her "death" she had begun losing the love that she had for her children. Hopefully in this story, I'm able to develop her character further through interaction between her and others, whether directly or indirectly.

Initially, I made Lelouch character seemed to be unnaturally smart because I wanted Lelouch to have a bigger impact right off the bat, but now I figure that it is better to develop his intellect as he continues to experience different challenges. I will be editing the first chapter to reflect this change.

After this chapter there won't be any canon events, except for the whole Ragnarok Connection plot. Lelouch will eventually travel to Japan but none of the events like the Shinjuku Incident or the Lake Kawaguchi will occur.

Finally, for Lelouch's pairing, I'm probably not going to do a harem since it is very unrealistic and hard to pull off. Also, who ever ends up with Lelouch will obviously play an important part in the story and having multiple heroines would reduce the impact of their involvement. As for who might end up with Lelouch I'm quite unsure still. So far C.C. is in the lead but she won't appear until after a few chapters from now. Although Lelouch loves his sisters (Euphy, Nunally), it's more familial love than romantic.