Code Geass: Rivalz of the Rebellion
Turn One: Master and Spectator
It's a long story...
...
"Checkmate." Lelouch Lamperouge said, pointing his king at his opponent
His face a mask of horrified shock, the nobleman stared mutely at the chess board in front of him. In just a few minutes, and with only twenty seconds per turn, the little schoolboy had managed to turn an impossible-to-win scenario into an overwhelming victory. Beside him, the two guards gaped at the board, trying to figure out how the kid had done it. Lelouch, the only person in the room not surprised by this turn of events, triumphantly smirked.
Behind him, his chauffer and best friend Rivalz Cardemonde grinned happily.
Among many things, Lelouch's chess skill always surprised him.
"I love playing against the nobility, when they lose, they always pay in pride." Rivalz said later, grinning from ear to ear as they left the building. Of course, he thought, the money wasn't exactly bad winnings either. "By the way, 8 minutes 32 seconds is a new record."
"He also didn't have much time to move either." Lelouch said dryly, not as excited about his brilliant win as Rivalz was. "And as opponents go, the nobles are tepid. They're just over-privileged parasites, that's all."
Again with the cynicism? Rivalz inwardly asked, but he just continued to outwardly grin. "Well then, why don't you challenge one of the Elevens?" He honestly suggested, walking in front of the chess master. "They're nothing like us Britannians..."
Looking back into Lelouch's eyes, he noticed the little spark that seemed to flare up whenever somebody mentioned Elevens. But it was only there briefly, and soon Lelouch was looking over Rivalz's shoulder. Hearing the sound of the murmuring crowd behind him, Lelouch's blue-haired friend turned forward again to see a large screen mounted on a building, showing an image of a smoking building.
The Osaka terrorist attack? Rivalz's thoughts echoed those voiced by the crowd. Recently, terrorists have stepped up their attacks against the Britannian management under Viceroy Clovis. But why keep attacking the Britannian people? Granted, Britannia did take Area Eleven over, but Clovis was nice to the conquered Elevens compared to other Areas.
Soon, the image on the screen dissolved into a Britannian flag, and finally changed to the face of Clovis la Britannia, Viceroy of Area of Eleven. "To all of my Imperial subjects, including the many cooperative Elevens that choose to serve the Holy Empire of Britannia!"
Of course he's giving a speech, Rivalz thought as he headed over to the spot where he parked his motorcycle. Though not stopping to listen, he did manage to catch some of the Viceroy's speech as he walked to his bike. "...I would like you to join me in observance of the eight who died for justice..."
Eight? Rivalz frowned, I could've sworn 59 were killed. Oh, right, the blue-haired student remembered as he reached his bike, those were Elevens...
"Well aren't you going to join in?" He asked Lelouch as his friend took care of the ticket.
"Aren't you?" Lelouch asked back, quite aware that neither had any intention of observing the moment of silence.
"Heh, it's sorta embarrassing..." Rivalz laughed and leaned against his bike. That and I never really bought into that whole military patriotic stuff.
"And I agree with you." Lelouch said, looking at the ticket, "Besides, spilling tears over those people won't bring them back to life, now will it?"
Rivalz's eyes grew wide as he placed his goggles over them. "Dang, that's dark buddy."
"It's all about self-satisfaction." Lelouch looked away from the ticket and up at the screen where Clovis la Britannia was observing the moment of silence alongside his subjects. "No matter how hard you try, you can't do it, you can't change the world."
Who was talking about changing the world? Rivalz thought and got onto his bike. Lelouch, why are you always so pessimistic? Hereally wanted to ask this out loud, but he never really got around to. Shrugging, he turned on the bike as Lelouch got into the sidecar, where he opened a book he had begun on the ride over. It's just one of the things that makes Lelouch Lelouch...
... ... ...
"That first move you made..."
Lelouch looked up from his book to look at Rivalz, who had broken the silence that had fallen between them during the trip back to campus.
Looking out of the corner of his goggles, Rivalz asked, "Why'd you start with the king?"
Lelouch returned to his book and answered, "If the king doesn't lead, how can he expect his subordinates to follow?"
"What's with that?" Rivalz asked again, finally getting tired of the philosophy.
"With what?" His friend replied innocently, still looking at his book.
"Do you fantasize about running a major corporation?" There has to be some explanation about why you think like that...
"No way," Lelouch replied, shaking his head, "ambitions like that will ruin your health..."
But before he could continue (if he wanted to), a sudden honking jolted Rivalz and his passenger. Looking backwards, he saw a gigantic truck, mere inches from their relatively puny motorcycle, honking at them to get out of the way. The really scary part? it was still gaining on them.
Adrenaline rushing to his head, Rivalz yelled, "WAAGH! We're gonna die!" His heart racing, he swerved wildly, panicking Lelouch, the driver of the truck, and even himself. The wild shaking threw the driver off, and the truck drove off the road, through a flimsy blockade, and straight into a construction zone. The danger passed, Rivalz braked hard, pulling up to the side of the road, and letting out a long sigh of relief.
Looking over at the construction site, Rivalz witnessed the huge plume of dust that rose from the collision of automobile and building. "Eh, was that our fault?" He asked Lelouch.
"I don't think so..." Lelouch replied.
Getting out of the bike, Rivalz looked to see the extent of the damage done to his precious bike. He leaned down and immediately noticed the one major casualty from his wild maneuvers. "Ah, this sucks." Rivalz whined. "Looks like the power line got cut."
"Yeah..." Lelocuh replied, clearly distracted by something in the construction yard. Yeah, car crashes tend to do that, Rivalz thought. "Rivalz, check this out."
Looking up from the damage, he barely managed to see through the dust and debris a faint green glitter, like fantastical fairy dust, before it vanished into the truck. What the hell... Rivalz thought, peering into the wreckage.
"All those idiots." Rivalz looked back at Lelouch at his sudden remark. Following his eyes, Rivalz noticed a group of people that had lined up on a ledge overlooking the crash, talking to themselves about what just happened, taking photographs. Exactly, Rivalz thought, car crashes tend to do that...
Suddenly, he could hear footsteps running away from him. Turning suddenly, he say Lelouch throw his helmet, gloves, and protective glasses into the side car and run off towards the off ramp.
"Wait!" Rivalz called out after his friend, but there was no stopping him as Lelouch ran towards the crashed truck.
At this moment, Rivalz faced a crushing moral dilemma. Should he go after his friend? Or should he not abandon his damaged (and heavy) bike? Looking between the two, Rivalz was genuinely torn over what to do. Lelouch isn't going to be in any harm, Rivalz thought and turned towards his bike, intending on pushing it with him. Pausing, a thought passed through his head: but what about the green dust?
"Gaaargh!" Rivalz groaned, and rushed after his friend, leaving the crippled bike behind.
"Lelouch!" He cried after his black-haired friend, who was currently trying to move a pillar that had fallen on the cab and prevented his access to it. "Lelouch, I know this is the right thing and all, but could you give it a rest for a while, now we're going to be late to... are you listening to me?"
Clearly not paying attention to Rivalz, Lelouch proceeded to climb up a ladder that lead to the top of the truck in order to get better access to the cab.
"Lelouch, will you listen to me?" Exasperated, Rivalz grabbed the ladder and began climbing up after Lelouch.
"Rivalz, I'm just..." But suddenly the raven-haired boy froze, looking into space. After a second, he snapped out of it and looked around, disoriented. "What the...?"
"Lelouch, what was it?" Rivalz asked, but before he could say anything, the engine suddenly roared into life again. This thing isn't crashed? Rivalz cried inwardly. The vehicle began speeding backwards, accelerating suddenly. Instinctively, Rivalz grabbed onto the ladder, holding on tight as the vehicle backed up and sped away. When Rivalz next dared to open his eyes, Lelouch was no longer at the top of the ladder.
"Lelouch?" He cried out, panic once again returning. He desperately looked around, trying to see where Lelouch had fallen from the speeding truck, but he couldn't see anyone or anything.
"Stop! There's someone in here!" Rivalz caught his breath as he heard the familiar, albeit faint, voice of his friend from inside the truck. Risking his own life, Rivalz began to climb the ladder, wind slapping at the parts of his face not covered by his helmet or goggles.
After what felt like ages, Rivalz reached the top of the truck's container, and called inside, "Lelouch!" Inside a hole in the top of the vehicle, Rivalz saw his friend look up at him.
"Rivalz! Help me out!" Lelouch cried back, holding out his hand. Desperately, Rivalz stretched out his own arm, trying in vain to reach for Lelouch.
"I'm... trying... GAH!" In a moment when he reached too far, the truck lurched, breaking Rivalz's hold on the ladder. Tumbling, Rivalz was sent into the hole in the top, crashing heavily on Lelouch's body.
When both of their eyes opened, Rivalz was on top of Lelouch, staring straight into his violet eyes. Chuckling, Rivalz asked, "So... would you call this a hit and run?"
Among many things, Lelouch's patience always managed to surprise him.
...
It's a long story... but I think it all began there...
...
Author's Note: Aaaaand...there's Chapter One officially. We've finally introduced the point of divergence for this story; it all goes downhill for Rivalz from here. I'm glad to hear all of the positive feedback I have been getting with this fanfiction and I hope to live up to your expectations. Until next time, stay strong, and All Hail Brit- (P-1 looks at him) -Japan... I meant Japan.
RESPONSES:
Zoomatron: Cute, funny, but unfortunately incorrect. While that would be the typical style of Code Geass fanfiction (everyone and his mother gets Geass), Rivalz is not going to get Geass. He is, however, going to find some hidden talents.
KiKi Hayashi: Thanks for the input and inspiration. You just gave me a more interesting way to introduce each chapter. I applaud your (probably unintentional) inspiration
Worker72: Don't think Rivalz is off the hook comedy-wise. He's still Rivalz, and there's still going to be jokes. But I do plan on developing him more as a character. As I said, how's he going to react to his new situation or, more specifically, how will his nature react.