Notes: This chapter actually has very little to do with Kaguya, unfortunately. But you do find out more about Kallen, Milly, Tianzi, the Black Knights, the UFN, and Mari's Geass (but still not everything about it).

Dream of the King

A Code Geass Fanfic by

Nate Grey (xman0123-at-aol-dot-com)

Part 3: Kaguya la Britannia


The 99th Emperor was one who inspired strong feelings in everyone under his influence. Curiously, most of his subjects identified with one of his aliases, and hated the other. Lady Kaguya was one of the rare few to embrace every mask that he donned, imprinting all aspects of her husband on her heart long before he ever took her hand in marriage. And when the Emperor captured Lady Kaguya's heart, he captured the heart of Japan.


Lelouch knew he was in trouble as he approached Mari's bedroom, only to find C.C. standing outside with a frustrated frown on her face. The moment she caught sight of him, her eyes flashed, and Lelouch seriously considered hiding somewhere.

"Fix this," she commanded, pointing at the door. "She'll only open the door for you. And if you make things any worse, amnesia or not, I'll-"

In an act of what he would later consider temporary insanity, Lelouch ended her rant by leaning forward and quickly kissing her.

C.C. blinked, and while her frown did thin somewhat, she still did not look pleased. "Fix this," she repeated, "and do it quickly. No one is going to want to marry you if you can't even keep your daughter happy."

Before he could begin to make sense of that, C.C. walked away, leaving him to fix his own mess. Sighing, Lelouch turned to the door and leaned his head against it. "Mari?" he asked as calmly as he could. "It's Daddy. I'm not mad at you, I promise."

"I killed your friend," Mari whimpered through the door.

"Suzaku is the only friend that could get away with trying to kill me, and even he stopped, eventually." At least, he hoped that was the case. "So you did me a favor. You saved me, Mari. Why don't you open the door so I can thank you?"

"You're really not mad?" she asked hesitantly. "You were mad the last time, even though you said you weren't."

Lelouch blinked slowly. "Who died the last time?"

"The man named Tohdoh."

It shouldn't have surprised him as much as it did. He'd seen in the Archives that Tohdoh had taken over the Black Knights the moment they turned against Lelouch. Really, he was the only one that could have. Tohdoh had evaded capture for years after Lelouch took the throne, but Suzaku and Kallen had finally brought him in. Later, Tohdoh was executed, and now Lelouch knew how. Yet he wasn't the only former Black Knight with an undescribed execution, and a horrible feeling began to well up in Lelouch's stomach.

"Mari," he said softly. "How many times have you had to...?"

"This was the only time I had to," Mari whispered. "But the other times, I wanted to. Mommy told me what would happen, if they ever got to you. I hated them for trying to take you away from me. I could see into their hearts. They hated you as much as I loved you. And I knew the only way they'd ever stop was if they were dead. So I killed them. Mommy and Mama Sayo said it was okay, since I was protecting you. But you got mad when you found out. I tried to tell you what was in their hearts, but you wouldn't listen."

"I'm sorry," Lelouch sighed. "Sometimes it's hard to let go of old friends, even if they're not friends anymore. I didn't mean to hurt you. I know you were only trying to keep me safe. I never meant for you to be ashamed of your gift."

"I don't like killing. But I love you more than anything, Daddy. I had to do it!"

"I love you, too, Mari. But it's hard to show you that through a door."

"But... you don't remember anything," Mari murmured. "How do you know you love me?"

In a rare move, Lelouch decided to be perfectly honest. "You're right, I don't remember loving you. But I love you now. And I always will, every time I look into your eyes. They're just like your mother's. I can't see them through a door, though..."

There was a soft click, and then the door swung open, revealing a sniffling Mari.

Lelouch immediately bent down and pulled her against his chest, holding her tightly with the one arm he did have. "I'm sorry I worried you, Mari. It's just that I have no idea how to be your father."

She pressed her face into his neck. "It isn't something you can try to be, Daddy," Mari whispered. "You just are, even if you don't remember. But I do, and I'm here to remind you. That's all that matters."

"There is nothing you can ever do that will make me stop loving you, Mari. You don't need to live in fear of that. You are my princess."

Mari gasped and drew back, staring into his eyes excitedly. "Did you remember that?"

Lelouch stared at her. "Remember what?"

"You used to call me your princess, instead of saying you loved me! Did you remember?"

He closed his eyes and lowered his head. "I don't think so. It just seemed like the obvious thing to say. Forgive me, Mari."

She pouted slightly. "It's okay, Daddy. I know you can't help it. It's just a risk you take when you use Geass."

Lelouch's head snapped up, and he grasped her arm harder than he meant to. "You know how I lost my memory?" he demanded.

"A little bit," Mari admitted. "Mommy won't tell me all of it. I know you and the last Emperor were fighting, and you almost died. But Uncle Rolo brought you home."

Lelouch's body went numb with shock. "Rolo? But he's-"

"Gone away," Mari said softly, and she even seemed to regret that fact.

Lelouch didn't bother to correct her, assuming that she meant Rolo was dead. Although he was definitely going to question C.C. later on how his "brother" had come back from the dead, and why Mari knew about him at all. It was fairly safe to assume that his amnesia had been a final parting curse from his father, but Lelouch wanted to know for sure, and C.C. was probably the only one who knew all of the details.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" Mari cried suddenly, tugging on his hand. "Today's the day you're supposed to pick out a new mommy for me!"

It took a great deal of effort for Lelouch to stay upright. "I'm supposed to do what now?"

But Mari was already dragging him down the hallway, chattering excitedly about how much fun they were going to have. Lelouch, on the other hand, was trying to figure out why Mari wasn't upset over the whole idea. She had to realize that the more wives he collected, the less time he would have for her. Then again, he'd practically spent the whole day with her and only a few minutes with Shinji, so maybe it wasn't as big a problem as he feared.


Kallen could not help feeling a little intimidated as she watched more and more women file into the large room. There had to be at least fifty already, and when she thought of why they were all here, it made her blood boil.

What right did any of them have? She was sorely tempted to hop into her Guren and run over the entire room of them, laughing manically all the while. And then... what?

She still wouldn't be able to tell Lelouch the truth. And why should she? C.C. was a goddess, and Sayoko was the perfect mother. Lelouch had everything he really needed already, so what could he possibly want with someone like Kallen? She was a soldier in his eyes, someone to keep he and his family safe. Whenever she lost her temper, he would even call her Q-1, to remind her of how far she'd come, and that her behavior should always reflect that. But Kallen couldn't help it, and she knew Lelouch wouldn't understand. He'd never had to watch someone he loved marry someone else, much less two someone elses. And now C.C. was parading these... women into their home, so that Lelouch could take them for wives as well.

If Kallen had her way, they'd all be fighting to the death for the honor of marrying Lelouch. It wasn't that she particularly wanted the women to die (although she wouldn't have minded terribly, either), but she was that confident that none of them could beat her in a fight. And the last thing that Lelouch needed was a wife that couldn't defend herself or her children.

Kallen was jerked from her thoughts when someone slipped their arms around her from behind and squeezed her breasts. She spun around quickly, a knife sliding out of her sleeve and into her hand as she faced the soon to be dead m-

"Milly?!"

The blond woman grinned at Kallen, wiggling her eyebrows lecherously. "My, my, Kallen, how you've grown! I remember when I used to be able to get my whole hand around your boo-"

Kallen slapped a hand over her mouth, blushing furiously. "Milly, what are you DOING here?!" she demanded, before she got a good look at what her old friend was wearing. It was a fancy purple dress, alarmingly similar to what the other accursed women had showed up in. "You... you're with them?" she whispered, her voice a mix of shock and disappointment.

"Of course not," Milly said once she'd pried Kallen's hand away from her face. "Unlike them, I actually have a decent shot of getting Lulu to marry me. But C.C. had to at least make a show of inviting them, so no one would feel slighted." She paused, eyeing Kallen slowly. "You know, if you hurry and change, you could be in one of these silly outfits before he shows up."

Blushing harder, Kallen shook her head. "Don't be stupid. I'm not going to marry him!"

"Not with that attitude, you won't," Milly agreed. "Kallen, I know you. You still love him, and you just need to-"

"You are late, Milly Ashford," C.C. snapped as she walked up to them with Shinji in her arms. "We agreed that you would arrive here thirty minutes ago to watch the First Prince. I am going to make a note of this in your interview profile."

"Hey, don't be that way! Look, I'm here now, right? Everyone's happy!"

"Shinji is not happy," C.C. replied. "Look how upset he is."

All three of them looked at Shinji, who was contentedly sucking on his fist. Realizing that he was now the center of attention, he squirmed irritably and hid his face in C.C.'s neck.

"Oh, he's just shy!" Milly protested. "I'll break him of that habit, just like I did his father. Won't I, my little Shin-Shin?" She tickled his back, and Shinji squealed and batted at her fingers.

"His name is Shinji," C.C. said severely.

Milly completely ignored her. "Oooh, who's my little Shin-Shin?" she cooed, tickling Shinji's foot and being rewarded with his fist gripping her finger. "HA! As usual, no sane man of any size can resist Milly Ashford's charms for more than a minute!"

C.C. turned to Kallen and demanded, "Shoot her. Now, please."

"I want to, but I left my gun in my room," Kallen sighed. "You made me promise not to bring it with me, remember?"

"Yeah, I can see how an insanely jealous woman with a gun would be bad for this kind of scene," Milly noted sagely, plucking Shinji from C.C.'s arms and planting him on her own hip. "Well, you two can bore yourselves with these women who have no chance with Lulu. The prince and I are going to practice our words." She turned and walked off, but not before both C.C. and Kallen heard her trying to coax Shinji into saying, "Marry Milly, Daddy."

"Why did you invite her again?" Kallen asked wearily.

"She is essentially an official contract with the Ashfords," C.C. answered. "It would be in Lelouch's best interest to marry her eventually. There is no chance of the Ashfords producing Knightmare Frames for anyone else, but this would be yet another show of appreciation for protecting Lelouch and Nunnally. Aside from that, she genuinely does love him, in her own way. And that is something I require of any woman seeking to marry Lelouch."


If there was one thing Lelouch had never imagined he'd have to do, it was picking a wife out of a lineup. Of course, everyone woman in that line had passed several stages of interviews, background checks, and the enormous weight of C.C.s' gaze, and had been deemed adequate. The rest was apparently up to him and Mari.

Well, mostly Mari, anyway. Lelouch didn't particularly want to marry anyone he didn't know, and he was in no mood to marry anyone he did know. He was far more concerned about getting some answers from C.C. and regaining his memory, if possible. But C.C. was apparently busy doing all of the things he normally did as Emperor, which he could understand, but it was frustrating to be left out. He felt that being exposed to the familiar stress might even help restore his memory.

Unfortunately, Mari was more interested in picking out a new wife for him, and every time he tried to get out of it, she would give him a watery stare that just seemed so... wrong in eyes so much like C.C.'s, and he could not find it in him to refuse her. But Mari had promised that he'd only have to talk to the women that she liked, so that was something.

What neither of them had counted on was the fact that once Lelouch set foot into the room, the decision would pretty much be made for him.

"Lelouch! LELOUCH!!"

He found he could only gawk at the sight of Lady Kaguya beaming at him, waving so hard he thought her arm might fall off. Equally welcome was the sight of the Chinese Federation's Empress Tianzi, blushing prettily under the weight of his gaze and trying to hide behind Kaguya. Both had blossomed into gorgeous young women since he'd last seen them, and he suspected that would be obvious even if they were wearing filthy rags.

Mari eyed the pair carefully for a moment before turning to Lelouch. "They look nice, and I wouldn't mind having them for moms. Let's talk to them first!"

Suddenly, this additional marriage thing didn't seem quite so bad...

Ten minutes later, Lelouch found himself alone with the three of them. This was not quite as exciting as he might've hoped, however. Mari was sitting in Tianzi's lap, absolutely mesmerized while the Empress carefully applied silvery polish to the girl's fingernails. Kaguya was sitting in front of them, blowing on Mari's nails as Tianzi finished with them.

"Shouldn't we be discussing something?" Lelouch finally asked. "Anything?"

"The only thing we have to talk about is the wedding," Kaguya replied. "It'll be a double ceremony, so you can marry us both at once. Well, technically me first, since it was my idea and I'm older. Plus, Ji-chan can see how it's done and she'll be less nervous."

"Why do you call her that?"

Kaguya gave him a funny look. "Why wouldn't I? It's her name."

"But nobody else calls her by it."

"Well, it's pretty silly to have a name if no one ever uses it. Isn't that right, Ji-chan?"

"Ah, if you say so, Kaguya," Tianzi agreed softly.

Lelouch frowned at them. "Do you ever let her speak for herself, Kaguya?"

"Don't get the wrong idea, Lelouch," Kaguya said firmly. "Ji-chan is a good leader to her people, and she speaks plenty. But here and now, she's a woman a little scared about getting married. So I talk for her, at least until this is over. If you can't understand that, or if you have a problem with it, then we can leave right now, and you can find yourself another set of wives, but I guarantee they won't be anywhere near as great as us."

He blinked, not expecting Kaguya to give up her dream of marrying him over such a simple matter. "It's not a problem."

"And?" Kaguya demanded.

"And... I apologize?"

She smirked. "Hmm. Ji-chan, do we accept his apology?"

"Um, yes," Tianzi murmured, shooting a nervous glance at Lelouch.

"Okay, then we love you again," Kaguya announced happily. "You're so lucky!"

"I can see that," Lelouch sighed, feeling the start of a major headache coming on.

"Oooh, you look stressed," Kaguya commented, using that as an excuse to sit on the arm of his chair and massage his temples. "Had a long day?"

Lelouch slumped in his chair, smiling lazily as her skilled fingers went to work. "Immensely. But at least Mari's enjoying herself."

"She's so beautiful, Lelouch. I want a little one just like her!"

"That is why we're here, isn't it?" he laughed weakly.

"Very funny. And when are you going to put poor Kallen out of her misery and marry her?"

He shrugged. "Apparently, when C.C. tells me to, if today is any indication."

The soothing massage came to an abrupt end. "Lelouch, I'm serious."

Lelouch stared at her, and saw that she was. "Kaguya, I can't make Kallen marry me."

"You don't have to! She wants to, but she's scared! She only needs to know that you're interested, and then she'll jump at the chance to be your wife!"

"Why do I get the feeling you want this more than I do?"

Kaguya actually blushed. "Well, she is just adorable when the light hits her right..."

Lelouch pinched his leg to make sure he was still awake. "I know I'm going to regret this, but... are you planning to sleep with Kallen if I marry her?"

"No." She lowered her voice. "I was going to do it, anyway. But if you do marry her, I'll let you go first."

"I never actually thought you were serious about the harem."

"A smart woman never jokes about such things, Lelouch."

Something occurred to him. "Wait, does that mean that you and Tianzi...?"

Kaguya winked at him. "She's mine until you marry us, and even then you might have to wait your turn."

Lelouch didn't know if he should feel cheated or impressed. "I don't know how C.C. will feel about this."

"She was rather proud, last time I checked. She showed me this technique where you put your tongue on the-"

"I really need to talk to that woman," Lelouch groaned.


C.C. returned to her bedroom later that night, only to find Lelouch facedown in the middle of the bed. Shaking her head, she walked over to the bed and tapped his foot. "Either you roll over, or I'm sleeping on top of you."

Lelouch turned his head so he could stare up at her. "I'll move when you tell me why I'm marrying two women at the same time."

"I thought you lost your memory, not your brain. They're two of the most powerful women in the world, and they're willing to marry you. Kaguya can smooth things over with the Japanese, and Tianzi will ensure that Li Xingke and the Black Guard honor the UFN's terms."

"Black Guard," Lelouch murmured as he rolled over. "That's the name the Black Knights with Xingke chose so they wouldn't be affiliated with Zero any longer?"

"Yes," C.C. answered, sitting down beside him on the bed. "Ironically, anyone who still calls himself a Black Knight is your enemy. Tohdoh's faction kept the name to remind themselves of the original purpose that united them. They don't believe that a Japan governed by your sister is truly free, despite Suzaku's best efforts."

Lelouch chuckled softly. "He never gets tired of preaching, does he?"

"Actually, he has. There was an attempt on Nunnally's life a few months ago, and he's been quite ruthless in his methods ever since. Deep down, he's afraid he'll lose her in the same manner that he lost Euphemia."

"Good," Lelouch murmured, wondering if he really meant that. Nunnally was safe, and if the cost was a bit of Suzaku's foolish morality, he wasn't going to lose much sleep over it. He closed his eyes as he felt C.C.'s fingers sliding gently through his hair.

"You're forgetting more and more each time," she whispered. "At first, it was just a few random days, or a week here and there. Your opponent was very imaginative in his curse."

"Can't say that surprises me." He opened his eyes and gazed up at her. "I don't suppose you have a cure stashed somewhere?"

C.C. looked away from him. "Theoretically, if you gave up your Geass for immortality, your brain might be able to repair itself. But you might actually have to further damage your head just to kick start the process, and even then the memory loss might remain."

Smirking, Lelouch pulled her hand away from his head, lacing his fingers through hers. "I suppose you wouldn't like the idea of me sticking around for that long."

"You'd be completely insufferable."

"My Geass... I would miss it, but I've accomplished what I set out to do. If I relied on it to rule, I'd be no better than my father. I intended to be Emperor without it, and now I have the opportunity."

"You may not have to." C.C. slowly slid her hand from his. "There is an extremely slim chance that you will gain immortality and retain your Geass."

Lelouch sat up at once. "Has that ever been done before?"

"Once."

Something in her voice bothered him. "It isn't you, is it?"

She glared at him. "If I still had the power to make everyone love me, do you really think I'd ever let you talk back to me?"

"Yes," he said at once. "You wouldn't love me if I was that boring and easy to control." Lelouch said this without thought, and he could tell by the way her eyes softened that every word was true.

"It isn't me," she sighed after a moment. "It's your brother."

"Schneizel?" he asked half-heartedly, already knowing the answer.

"Your younger brother," C.C. clarified.

"I don't have a younger brother."

"Stop being stubborn, and yes, you do."

Lelouch frowned at her. "Since when?"

"Since he brought you back to me, and sacrificed his life for yours twice," C.C. answered. "Even Nunnally feels the same way."

"What do you mean, twice? He died after the first time. I buried him. He deserved that much. But why do you and Mari keep talking like he isn't dead?"

C.C. stared at him as if he'd just lost his mind, or possibly found it. "There's only one reason we would, and it should be obvious, even to you."

"I just told you that he died and I buried-"

"Yes, and no."

"What does that mean?"

"Yes, his heart stopped beating and you buried him, but no, he isn't literally dead or still buried. Although he might as well be to us. Take my hand, Lelouch."

He didn't really want to, if it meant seeing Rolo alive again, but C.C. clearly wasn't going to let the matter rest, so he reluctantly took her hand. The moment he did so, the floor seemed to fall away, and Lelouch suddenly found himself back inside the Sword of Akasha. His first thought was that it should've been impossible, since he'd sealed the entrance.

Except something in his head insisted that he hadn't, that he'd been so angry at the time that he'd charged straight through without giving the doors a first thought. That was how he'd run right into his father's trap, and probably how he lost his memory.

"Big brother?" asked a familiar voice behind him.

Lelouch knew what he would see when he turned around, but he was so very wrong.

Rolo stood before him, twin Geass sigils quivering in his eyes as they overflowed with tears of blood. And just behind Rolo, frozen in the red sphere of influence of his Geass, along with the rest of the temple, were Charles di Britannia and Marianne vi Britannia, matching expressions of disbelief on their faces.

"You're safe, big brother," Rolo whispered, the joy unmistakable in his words. "You survived. I'm so happy..."

"But you're dead," Lelouch said softly, without thinking. "I buried you in the-"

Rolo stretched out his hands, and Lelouch recoiled at the sight of them, a ghastly composite of shredded flesh, hard-packed soil, blood, and bone. "How could I rest when you needed me? You were alone. There was no one else to help you. I had to do something, anything to save you, big brother."

Lelouch shook his head, his mind reeling as he tried to process all of this new information. "You... what are you?"

Rolo immediately dropped to one knee, gasping and clenching at his heart as dark red blood trickled out of the sides of his mouth. Yet he still managed to bow his head and cross one arm over his chest. "I am, now and forever, Rolo Lamperouge, your Knight of Zero, Your Majesty."

End of Part 3.


Next Chapter: Nunnally vi Britannia

"Nunnally, it's so good to..." Lelouch paused, gaped, and slowly pointed to the monstrous thing that looked as if it were slowly swallowing up his sister's lap. "What is THAT?!"

Suzaku shot him a confused glance. "You don't remember Arthur?"

Lelouch blinked. If Suzaku was to be believed, Arthur had nearly tripled in mass over the years, his huge, grey body pulsing with every slow breath that he took.

Smiling, Nunnally gently ran her hand along the sleeping cat's back, ending with a scratch behind his ears. "Say hello to Lelouch, Artie."

Arthur opened one eye, hissed in Lelouch's general direction, and went back to sleep.


Endnotes:

Just so there's no misunderstanding: the Black Knights split after Zero's identity was made public. The people still trying to kill Lelouch (basically, Tohdoh's faction and Ohgi's resistance group) are considered to be former Black Knights. Those who chose not to do so (led by Xingke) are now called the Black Guard, are still affiliated with the United Federation of Nations, and serve as its army. That doesn't mean that they've made peace with Lelouch, but it does mean they are technically reluctant allies, as far as the UFN is concerned.

I'm not sure if any of the Ashfords was ever listed with a rank, but I know I can't find one anywhere.

I've seen far too many screenshots of Kaguya with her hands all over Tianzi not to be convinced they'd end up as more than friends. I don't know about you, but I'd rather end up with Kaguya, instead of Odysseus. Something about a guy who looks that nice is just really creepy in a series like Code Geass...

Yeah, Rolo's back. I know you've got a million questions about that, and I'll probably get to most of them next chapter, maybe.

The Imperial Family So Far:

Lelouch vi Britannia, Emperor

C.C. (Cecelia) vi Britannia, Empress

Marianne vi Britannia II, 1st (Crown) Princess

Sayoko le Britannia, Imperial Consort

Shinji le Britannia, 1st Prince

Kaguya la Britannia, Japanese Representative and U.F.N. Chairwoman

Tianzi (Jiang Lihua) li Britannia, Chinese Federation Empress

Nunnally vi Britannia, C.U.J. Viceroy

Rolo Lamperouge, Knight of Zero