It was a long time before Skull got up.
There was nothing for him to do. No path to follow, no choice to make, not even stunts were a possible escape from reality now, as he'd found out when he finally got up and noticed his body was that of a baby's.
That must've been the burning feeling, Skull reasoned numbly. His bones and body shrinking impossibly fast. Weakening and becoming young and breakable. The glowing purple pacifier he couldn't remove reminded Skull of a tale he'd heard a long time ago.
A tale about the tri-ni-sette that kept the world in balance. Seven Mare, seven Vongola and seven Arcobaleno, chosen by an unknown factor. It would be just his luck that he was chosen to be the Cloud Arcobaleno.
Lelouch didn't truly care about that. He had nothing, he hadn't lost anything, except the ability to ride, to stunt. The adrenaline rush that had kept him from losing himself for so long.
This was too much like his first life as a Cloud. This nothingness is what lead him in his search for answers, the massacre he had sworn never to repeat. This absolutely nothingness terrified him because becoming what he'd been for so long- a killer- was closer than it had been for a long time.
He needed something else. Something stable, an anchor to keep him from the tempting path of just not caring like he was prone to.
That had been Nunnally, once upon a time. Nunnally, Suzaku, and revenge. But that was a long time ago. There was nothing left to fight for.
Lelouch limped numbly back to his apartment as well as he could, still not fully healed despite the record speed with which his Flames worked, which only went to show how close to death he'd been right then and there.
He wouldn't have minded death. No, actually, maybe he would have. Having to grow up for the thirteenth time, going through the motions again, it wasn't an appealing thought. It'd happen eventually, but Lelouch certainly had no desire to speed up his pace towards it.
He sighed as he entered his small but well-kept apartment. Something to keep him grounded.. A Sky. He'd have to harmonize with a Sky.
Skull couldn't. He couldn't harmonize with another Sky, not while his first and only Sky's memory was still so vibrant and he could almost still feel the warmth of their bond.
So Skull did the next best thing. He hid himself away from the world, deep in his mind, pushing the part of him that was so purely Cloud to the furthest corner of his soul. He wouldn't let himself become that again.
And if his Skull persona didn't hold up sometimes, if his constant stream of enemies glimpsed a pair of glowing eyes or if Skull reacted faster and sharper than his wimpy, inexperienced body should be able to, he reinforced his mask until he couldn't remember what real emotions felt like anymore.
It was years before he heard from the others- the other Arcobaleno, Skull guessed- again. It came in the form of a baby hitman breaking down his door.
Skull squeaked and fell off the chair he'd been standing on to reach the higher cupboards in his house. Reborn, baby Reborn who honestly looked kind of adorable, scoffed and muttered, "Pathetic."
"Senpai!" Skull hastily scrabbled up, ignoring the chair and open cubboard behind him. "What are you doing in the great Skull-sama's home?"
Then he took note of the broken door, barely hanging in its hinges. "Senpai!" He whined.
"Shut up, Lackey." Reborn intoned, pointing a green gun at Skull- and where had he gotten that, anyway? It had just appeared out of nowhere.
Skull gulped and stayed silent.
"Luce asked for every Arcobaleno to gather, although I don't know why she would even bother with you, Lackey," Reborn scoffed, looking at him derogatorily. While speaking, he absentmindedly lifted his gun to his fedora, where it changed into a chameleon and curled up on the rim of the hat. You know, as you do.
"Nobody bothered to find out where you were, so I was asked to track you down." Reborn looked annoyed. "You're going to pay for wasting my time, Lackey."
Skull began to protest indignantly, but stopped when Reborn shot a glare at him. He had to remind himself Reborn was Worlds Greatest Hitman for a reason, Skull had to tone done the bravado a bit around him.
The private jet Reborn forced him into didn't surprise Skull in the least. What did surprise him, however, was how fast they landed again after the uncomfortably silent flight. Was the Giglio Nero base really that close?
Skull decided not to worry about it as he stepped out and looked in wonder at the lively surroundings.
The pilot had expertly landed them in a big open field surrounded by woodlands. Not a hundred meters further stood a large mansion, which Skull guessed was the meet up place.
It all looked very peaceful and tranquil, a stark contrast to the scowling hitman next to Skull.
"Stop gaping and get going." Reborn ordered emotionlessly, and Skull decided not to protest, in favor of keeping his limbs connected to his body.
Skull meekly followed Reborn, and as they neared the mansion he saw a little girl playing in the grass, unsupervised.
She was maybe four years old, wearing a pretty flower dress. She didn't look happy, like most children would be on a warm, sunny day like this, there was a sadness in her eyes, a weight that pressed on the young girl.
Skull carefully approached her, taking note that Reborn didn't attempt to stop him.
"Hey," he began as he plopped down next to the girl, "what's your name?"
The girl looked at him and smiled brightly, seeming to have put aside whatever was saddening her.
"I'm Aria!" She chirped. "And you're uncle Skull, right? Mommy said you were coming!"
Skull laughed in amazement. This was Luce's kid, the one she'd given birth to just a few days before the curse.
"Nice to meet you, Aria!" Skull said cheerfully. "Yeah, I am the Amazing Immortal Skull-sama! But you may call me Skull."
Aria smiled innocently, but dropped the smile as she looked down again sadly.
"Uncle Skull," She whispered tearfully, "Mommy told me she's going away and not coming back for a while.." Skull's eyes widened. "Do you know if I'll..." She sniffled and quickly swiped unfallen tears out of her eyes. "Do you know if I'll ever see her again?"
She looked so hopeless, so desperate for the reassurance that it was all going to be okay, and for a moment a different girl was sitting in front of him.
"Where's mommy?" Nunnally asked desperately. "Why didn't she get up? Please, big brother, why did she leave us?"
Skull gently pulled Aria into a hug, closing his eyes to block out the memories.
"I don't know," He whispered honestly, sadly, just like he had done all those years ago. "I don't know."
Aria hugged him back, then pulled away.
"That's okay," She said, smiling sadly through her tears.
Skull left her in the grass, following a silent Reborn into the house.
Luce was dying. That's why she wanted to see the Arcobaleno one last time.
Skull was familiar with death. He would almost view it as a friend, or an enemy, or just there, constantly. For Skull, life was filled with death.
He would never know if there was an afterlife, and he'd accepted that a long time ago. But sometimes he forgot that death for others was permanent.
The living room was scattered with Arcobaleno. Verde and Viper were ignoring everyone, Fon was in the open kitchen doing.. something, and Lal was softly talking with a blonde Skull didn't recognize. But the blonde was their age- physical age- and had a blue pacifier, while Lal's pacifier was grey and clouded. Skull could guess what happened there. They looked up at their entrance.
"Any news?" Reborn asked, gracefully jumping up onto an armchair.
Lal sighed. "Her condition is bad and it's not getting better. She's not expected to last the night."
Skull felt sad that this was the way Aria lost her mother. If he remembered correctly, the Sky Arcobaleno always died early. It was unavoidable.
"She asked to speak with each of us individually. You two are the only ones she hasn't seen yet." Lal continued.
Skull shot a surprised glance at Reborn. Luce hadn't even seen Reborn before he went to track Skull? He must still have a grudge from being led into a trap by her.
Reborn muttered something under his breath and jumped to the ground, walking out of the living room and to where Skull assumed Luce was.
Skull plopped down on a chair and nodded to the blonde. "So, who's he?"
Fon, who approached from the kitchen with a plate full of steaming mugs, heard Skull's question.
"Oh, that's right, you haven't met him yet. That's Colonello, Lal's student. He followed us up the mountain and became the Rain Arcobaleno instead of her." He said casually, placing down mugs of hot chocolate in front of everyone. Then he turned to Skull.
"Actually, you were gone the moment we woke up on the mountain. Where did you go, anyway?"
Viper looked up at that, interested too now. Lal nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, you had suddenly disappeared."
Skull shrugged. "I just went down the mountain."
Just fell a few thousand feet and was only hanging into life by a thread, he left out.
"Well, duh, but why?" Verde piped in. "Weren't you the least bit curious to know what happened?"
"No." Skull simply said, lounging back in his chair.
Verde rolled his eyes and went back to his book.
"Lackey."
Skull jumped and squeaked like he hadn't felt Reborn approach.
"Your turn."
Skull hadn't really cared for Luce even before she tricked them, but he was interested on what she had to say to him.
No one had given him directions, so he just followed Luce's distinct flame signature, which led him up the stairs and down a hallway until Skull was standing before a plain door.
He knocked lightly and heard Luce's voice for the first time in years.
"It's open." Luce's voice sounded weak and frail, not like she was old but like she just didn't have the strength to raise her voice.
Skull entered and closed the door behind him. Luce was lying in bed, looking horrible, but despite that she smiled upon seeing him.
"Lelouch," She greeted.
Skull tensed. Had he been wrong? Could she see-
"That's what your parents named you before you ran away, right?" She added upon seeing him tense up.
"Yeah," he confirmed softly, relaxing. She didn't know.
"You never trusted me, did you?" She laughed weakly.
"Of course not." Skull agreed automatically.
She nodded, having already known. "I have only one request of you."
Skull indicated for her to go on.
"Would you take care of Aria and Yuni for me?"
This got Skull's attention. "Yuni?"
"My granddaughter. She'll be born in about twenty six years." Luce smiled tiredly.
Skull thought back to the little girl outside, who called him 'Uncle' and had the weight of the world in her eyes but still managed an innocent, cheerful smile.
"Yeah." Skull decided. "I'll look after them."
Because damn it, Aria's innocent blue eyes were exactly the same as Nunnally's.
As Skull walked downstairs, Viper deactivated their bug in Luce's room, keeping that information for later.
Viper was surprised to hear that Skull suspected Luce from the beginning. They weren't sure of its usefulness, but you never know. Skulls real name or the fact that he was a runaway might turn out to be valuable.
Meanwhile they focused on the audio of Reborn near tears while confessing that Luce would forever be his Sky. Now that, that was blackmail material.
The Arcobaleno stayed with Luce the next few hours, Aria having sneaked inside too despite her mothers wishes. She'd curled up against her mother for the last few hours of Luce's life, and the room was filled with a heavy silence.
"Everyone," Luce finally spoke up, "I'm glad you all came. I'm glad I got to see you one last time.
"Aria," She turned to her daughter, who had silent tears streaming down her face. "Stay brave, alright? Stay safe. Trust in yourself."
Luce's eyes fluttered closed. "I think I'm going to sleep now.."
Aria began to sob and Skull turned away. He couldn't watch this.
Luce didn't open her eyes again. That evening the other Arcobaleno left the mansion, going on with their lives, while Skull stayed.
He comforted Aria the best he could when he realized no one else was doing it. Aria had no friends her age, no true Guardians- because while officially she'd taken up the title of Sky Arcobaleno, her Flames hadn't matured yet and she couldn't harmonize with anyone yet- and everyone in the Giglio Nero famiglia kept a certain distance from her.
Skull had decided to stay and protect Aria as he'd promised, at least for a little while.
A little while turned into a month, to a year, two years, five years. The Giglio Nero had become closer to Aria, truly treating her as their Sky now, and Skull was all but adopted into the family.
But Skull was restless. He didn't truly belong there, no matter how much he cared for the Giglio Nero, and he wasn't made to stay in one place. It was slowly beginning to feel less like a home and more like a cage.
So on Aria's tenth birthday, after a happy day of festivities, when the sun was setting and the party dissolving, Skull sat Aria down and explained he had to leave.
"B-But Uncle Skull.." Aria looked crushed, but steeled herself and looked him in the eyes. "Will you come back?"
"Of course, Aria," Skull reassured her. "I'll always come back."
"Then, before you go, at least let me give you this."
Aria pulled him to the back of the mansion, and to something covered by a large canvas.
"I know how much you miss it," She said determinedly, "So I had Marino make another for you. It was finished just a few days ago."
Skull was puzzled. Marino was the Giglio Nero's mechanic, what would he-
Suddenly Skull realized.
"Really? Aria, you.." He laughed, amazed.
Aria grinned despite her sadness and pulled the canvas off of the small Skull-sized motorcycle.
Skull was almost crying in happiness as he hugged Aria. Finally, finally he could fly again.
He wouldn't let it go to waste.
Skull left and he was okay. Life wasn't beating him down with every turn anymore. He visited Aria as the years passed and she grew older.
Her Flames reached maturity and when Skull visited again he could feel them, strong, pure and beautiful. But his Flames refused to harmonize.
"It's fine, Uncle Skull," Aria, sixteen years old, smiled gently, "I always knew you could never be my Cloud."
Skull just nodded. After his last lifetime, after being broken so many times, he truly wasn't sure he'd ever be able to harmonize again.
"I'm sorry," He tells her anyway.
He really is. Aria would never have a Cloud Guardian, bound by the title of Sky Arcobaleno as she was. And knowing the other Arcobaleno, she would never have any real Guardians.
Not a year later Skull is traveling Japan, taking in familiar sights, when he gets kidnapped- again.
He's grabbed from behind and a cloth is held to his nose. Skull holds his breath, but he can still taste the overwhelmingly sweet chloroform on his tongue.
After a moment of struggle, Skull slowly goes limp, and his kidnapper takes the cloth away and drags him into a vehicle, without checking if he really was unconscious.
Skull didn't blame him, anyone else would have been solidly knocked out, but the strong Cloud Flames running through his blood had immediately gone to war with the intrusive chemical.
His mind was hazy, but it was getting clearer by the minute.
"Too easy." He heard a male voice scoff, and another snorted in return.
"You would think the Cloud Arcobaleno woulda been a bit harder ta catch." The second man responded. Mafia, then. Predictably.
Skull heard footsteps shuffling around him as the vehicle- he suspected a van, it was always a van- started up.
These men weren't Flame Active, Skull couldn't sense any Flames but his own. He almost felt offended. The mafia had sent lackeys and they thought they could kidnap an Arcobaleno.
"I told ya this was gonna be easy. Look, just us three and we got'im easy. When the boss sees this we'll be gettin' that promotion real fast!" The second man boasted.
Bad move.
Skull jumped up and got Thick Accent with a left hook that caused the man's head to hit the steel interior of the van rather harshly, causing a small dent, before falling to the floor, lifeless. Before the other could react, Skull was holding a sharp dagger drenched with Cloud Flames under the guy's chin.
"Just the three of you, huh." Skull grinned cheerfully. "And no one else knows I'm here. How convenient."
The guy was shaking in terror, not making a single sound.
"Let's start with your family's name and we'll go from there."
A few minutes later Skull jumped out of the parked van, leaving the behind the stench of death. He might avoid killing in general, but idiot kidnappers and a few other specific groups were free reign.
Skull absently swept away a smear of blood from his arm and looked around, surprised at recognizing his surroundings. This was actually closer to his hotel than he'd been before getting kidnapped.
A free lift. Skull certainly wasn't complaining.
Just another day in Skull's life.
This one took a bit longer, because I'm now going for an average of 3000 words per chapter on this story. But right now I'm focusing onthis story instead of the fourteen others I have waiting for me.