Rescue Angels
Me: And the first chapter is Up! This anime is AMAZING. I can rewatch it over and over and never get tired of it. I hope I'll crank up the intensity here too, even if I'm aiming for an at least bittersweet ending. Here we go!
Shirley: Wait! Stop the car, I want to get off!
Me: (Exasperated) Why?
Shirley: Because I've seen a bit of your 'script' and it's scary!
Me: (deadpan) would you prefer to have died horribly with a bullet in your stomach, causing the man you love to fall apart and make a costly mistake that eventually contributes to his death?
Shirley: ! N-No!
Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass...if I had, R2 would have looked quite different...
Chapter 1: Quiet Rebellion
"Shirley, you're up late, school's starting in-whoa!" Joseph Fennett let out a surprised woof when his daughter flew down the stairs and tackled him in a tightest hug possible. He felt his precious child's shoulders trembling violently, and he cautiously pushed her back a bit. "Sweetheart, is something wrong?"
Shirley pulled back and looked up at his face, as if trying to memorize it. To Joseph's mingled surprise and alarm, there were tears at the edges of her eyes. "I-I'm sorry daddy. I...I had a horrible nightmare." She hit her head against his chest.
"A nightmare...? I'm sorry to hear that...what happened in it?"
"Y-You were buried in a mudslide!" Shirley gasped. "When they dug you up I had to bury you. I-It scared me, dad..."
"Oh, Shirley..." Joseph gently returned the hug, rubbing her back and brushing her hair aside like he had used to when she was a little girl. "It's okay. I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere."
"I hope so daddy..." Shirley whispered. "I'd be destroyed if something bad happened to you..."
"Hey," Joseph placed his hands on her shoulder and lifted her chin up until she was looking at him. "I promise, I'll be right here for you. I'll be here until you have children of your own. How could I miss having grandchildren to spoil?"
That seemed to do the trick. Shirley wiped her tears away and smiled up at him. "Of course. Thank you daddy. Do you have my lunch packed?"
"Yeah, it's in the kitchen. You should hurry, or you'll be late. You've ranted at me before what the student council president is like when that happens!"
Joseph laughed as Shirley turned red, sputtered some vaguely rude sounding phrases, and bolted into the kitchen before swinging right back and hurtling out the door. "Have a nice day!" He called after her, chuckling. I have such a sweet daughter, he thought affectionately. I wouldn't be surprised if I need to start burying bodies around here when the suitors start knocking.
~Line Break~
Shirley kept a brisk pace as she ran down the road. A couple of news screens scattered across the road were all talking about the 'poison gas attack' at Shinjiku, final proof as to what time period she had landed in. How in the world am I going to get in contact with Princess Euphemia? Shirley wondered in frustration. It's not like you can reach the royal family from landlines, and you'd have to have high status to arrange a meeting. Dad might be able to pull that off, but people would probably be listening to us when we talk. Princess Cornelia certainly wouldn't send her sister anywhere without guards. She let out a small groan. Well this is just great.
Then a thought struck her. Euphemia visited Shinjiku ghetto the first day she met Suzaku. I bet if I go out there that evening, I'll run into her!
Pleased to have that out of the way, Shirley picked up the pace and made it to school with just a few minutes to on the clock. Milly's going to go spare. While thought would have caused dread in her before, now Shirley welcomed it. I'm going to see Milly again! And Nuna, and Nina, and Rivalz, and Kallen...everyone!
Sharply, she turned the corner to her first classroom. For a moment, she stared nervously at the entrance, hoping that she had a passable poker face. Then she took a deep breath and pushed the door open, a casual smile plastered on her face.
"Rivalz, Milly, good morning!" She chirped as she walked into the classroom, slinging her bag off over her shoulder and dropping it at her desk.
The group of friends turned towards her; Rivalz with his permanently clueless grin, Milly looking as authoritarian and tough as ever, and quiet little Nina, calm and sane once again. Shirley had to swallow hard to keep her emotions inside at seeing them again, untouched by conflict.
"Morning Shirley!" Rivalz blinked when the orange haired girl just stared at him in silence. "Have I got something on my face? You're looking at me funny."
"Oh!" Shirley absently brushed her hair aside, hoping the gesture looked offhand. "It's nothing. I just had a rough night last night."
"Rough?" Milly asked coyly. "Is that so? Have you met someone we haven't been introduced to yet?"
"MILLY! You know it isn't like that!" Shirley yelled indigently, but inside she was laughing along with the other girl. "I just didn't sleep well, that's all."
"Oh?" Milly pressed, grinning. Shirley felt herself flush, but she was rescued from having to respond again by someone behind her.
"Nunnally was complaining about the heat last night. I'd say that's the probable culprit."
Shirley's heart jumped directly into her throat and lodged itself there for several painful seconds. Her mental barriers, built up on the way to school, all came crashing down almost instantly the moment she heard his voice.
Turning around, she came face to face with Lelouch, who had just entered the room.
The hidden royal was smiling slightly – actually smiling. She could probably count on one had the number of times she had seen him smile in her first life. Usually, it had only been around Nunally. Shirley had always wanted to make him smile herself. She hoped that, this time around, she would be able to.
Lelouch's brow furrowed slightly. "Is something wrong, Shirley?" He asked. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
Yes, I have. Your ghost. "Oh...I'm sorry Lulu." She shook her head. "I'm kind of tired, so I've been zoning out a bit."
Shirley saw in his eyes that he didn't totally believe her. Great. What if he wants to know more? As much as she would have liked to help the Black Knights straight out, Shirley disliked violence and she didn't want to interfere. Lelouch's plans just needed some quiet outside assistance to work perfectly, and she didn't want to cause him distractions.
He wasn't very good at dealing with surprises.
"Well that's no good," Lelouch said lightly, his small smile returning. Her heart jerked at the sight, and she resisted the urge to grin like a fool. It sent her mind fleeing back to the vision of his death. I can't let that happen...! "At this rate, it'll be on me and Rivalz to balance the budget today."
"Oh, don't you dare!" Shirley yelped as Milly pulled her back by the hair. "We're all going to get this done, do you hear me? All of us!"
"Y-Yes ma'am!" The five chorused.
~Line Break~
Shirley didn't talk a lot that afternoon, mainly focusing on burning through the budget with inhuman speed. It was hard to pay attention to things like this when you knew all hell was going to break loose in the not-so-distant future, but still she couldn't ignore it.
Lulu will rescue Suzaku tomorrow, she reminded herself. I can be even more welcoming when he gets to school; it will be nice to see him again." She bit her lip. I hope that, with some friendly expeditions, I could be able to mitigate Nina's anger and fear towards the Japanese. Suzaku is just so warm and open; if anyone could at least get the ball rolling it would be him.
She shifted a finished page aside and moved on to the next. After that, there's Cornelia's first return to Area 11... (being shown all the related events in sequence just before her 'return' thanks to her mysterious benefactor had its upsides) ...I don't see how I could try and influence Lelouch's decisions without making it obvious I know he's Zero. That wouldn't do. She shook her head slightly. No, that's probably not possible. But, I can probably distract her with a massive information leak. It would have to be substantial though.
I wonder if I can get my hands on the Marianne assassination information before that point. That's going to be buried very deep, though...
As her pen moved, a thought hit her. Actually, it might be easier to attack Clovis's order to purge Shinjuku. That information will probably be easier for Euphy to come by, and the Emperor will want to keep a lid on it. Yes, that might just do the trick.
"Come on, you people! Why can't you work like Shirley? Don't think I can't see you nodding off, Lelouch!" Milly yelled.
He's tired because of what happened in Shinjiku, Shirley recalled. Lelouch, are you hurting because of killing Clovis? Even though he slaughtered all those helpless innocents, he was still your half brother. After a second of thought, she reached out and gently touched his arm, stroking the back of his hand with her fingers.
Lelouch looked up at her, surprise in his eyes. "Shirley?"
"Are you okay, Lulu?" She asked softly.
Lelouch blinked, as though clearing his mind, before tilting his head slightly. "I'm fine, Shirley. I'm just tired." He said.
"You sure?" Shirley repeated.
He blinked again, before nodding more firmly. "I will be. Thank you." Hearing that warmed her heart; she nodded and lightly squeezing his arm.
"Aww, that's so sweet," Milly cooed, quickly startling the twosome out of their moment. Shirley rapidly returned her attention to the papers, flushing slightly. "She'd be a very pretty catch, Lelouch. I've seen as much in the change rooms."
"Really, Milly?!" Shirley sputtered, embarrassed by Rivalz's loud laughter. Lelouch seemed a bit flustered by it too, though he quickly schooled his face into a calm, deadpan mask.
Eventually they did manage to complete the budget, and they left the room as a group. Rivalz was delivering a bunch of bad jokes, Milly was being her usual dirty minded self, while Nina nervously laughed along with them. Lelouch was quiet as usual, though a few times his lips were quirking upwards.
Shirley simply absorbed this warm atmosphere with her eyes closed. She had missed this so much. It's worth risking everything to preserve this little pieces of happiness, she thought.
"They used poison gas?!"
The orange haired angel was rudely snapped back to reality by the raised voices in another classroom. Uncertainly the foursome walked into the classroom where several people were leaning over their TV screens. Shirley dug her nails into her palm.
"Wow, check out the footage of those dead elevens!"
"Ew, god! Get it off screen!"
All those people...
Shirley took a few steps forward and looked at the screen over a boy's shoulder, ignoring Rivalz's alarmed warnings.
The images were sickening. Often people died in heaps, having trampled each other in their desperation to escape the firing squads. Blood caked the ground, leaving dried red brown pools everywhere on the street. Shirley's heart wrenched horribly when she spotted a number of children among the dead. Little girls and boys, young as Nunally and even younger. All of them terrified. All of them dead. All because Clovis wanted to keep his family's twisted secrets.
Someone grabbed her wrist and pulled her back. "Don't look, Shirley." Lelouch said, turning her around to face him.
Shirley nodded weakly. "I...I have to go." She burst down the hallway and headed straight for the nearest bathroom. Stumbling into one of the stalls, she vomited twice and pressed her side against the wall, her breath heaving erratically. She felt a sharp prick at the edges of her eyes; three gold tears dripped down her cheeks. A soft, mournful song echoed in her ears. The warm sensation spread through her shoulder blades. Those poor people...!
Her wings shimmered partially into existence, lying low so she could see them in her periphery vision. Shirley took a deep breath and straightened up slowly. Fairly certain she was alone, she stepped out of the stall and stared into the mirror.
In her reflection, she saw a golden symbol in her left eye. It looks like Lulu's... She raised one hand to her face, lightly brushing her hair away. The wings – her wings – flared slightly. Those people...if only someone could have protected them.
The geass glowed brighter at that. Shirley felt a warm flood of power through her limbs, and she nodded at her reflection.
Rescue the souls.
"I will," She whispered.
Shirley blinked her tears away, causing both the wings and the geass to vanish. Washing her hands, she stepped outside to find Milly and Rivalz waiting for her.
"Shirley! Are you alright?" Milly asked, looking unusually serious. She put a hand on her friend's shoulders. "I can't believe those idiots played that footage in a classroom."
"I, I'm better now. Thank you." Shirley said nervously. A moment later, Lelouch emerged as well, while Rivalz hurried over to him.
"I'll have my grandfather yell at them for you," Milly promised. "Hopefully the ones responsible for that gas attack will get caught, and punished."
Shirley nodded silently. Clovis has been punished; but it wasn't just him.
"You sure you're okay? You too, Lelouch? Come on; let's get to our next class."
~Line Break~
"How was your day, sweetie?" Andrea Fennett asked as Shirley reached home, as she always did whenever her father had the time to be with his family. Her daughter's eyes brightened up a bit, and she stepped forward and gave her mother a tight hug. "Oh, nice to see you too! Work was quite exhausting today, right Joseph?"
"Yeah." Her father let out a tired sigh, rubbing his forehead. "They've been keeping me busy down in the lab. How was school, Shirley?"
"School went okay, though not much else happened today." Shirley admitted. "I think everyone's a little distracted by the gas leak at Shinjiku."
Joseph grimaced slightly. "I hope you weren't watching any of that footage."
"A couple of boys were looking." Shirley half lied, not wanting to worry them. "But Milly got them shut down."
"Good for her. Kids these days...they're all so desensitized to this violence. It's disturbing."
Andrea nodded. Wanting to direct the conversation elsewhere, she said, "Do you have any homework from today?"
Shirley nodded. "Yeah. I'll go work on it up in my room. Call me when dinner's ready, will you?" When both her parents nodded, she headed up the stairs, walked into her room and dropping her bag on the floor. She collapsed against the bed, feeling a heavy weight on her chest.
There's so much I have to loose now. Shirley thought anxiously. How am I going to keep them all safe? What if they find out about me? I could find myself followed – by some soldiers, or...
Shirley shuddered violently. A cold voice, followed by slow clapping, echoed through her mind. The slight twist of Mao's cold smirk appeared in her mind.
If I can protect my father, will Mao still come after me? Yes; he was really after Lelouch. Mao will go after anyone who he cares about to hurt him...Shirley pressed her hands against mattress. If it's going to be either me or Nunally, I'd rather it be me. Poor Nunally wouldn't even be able to run if he came after her.
But how do you stand against someone who can read your mind?
Shirley grimaced. Out of all the characters she had run into during this nightmare, the only one that truly terrified her even still, was Mao.
**~The Next Day~**
"I'm glad you found our lab data!" Shirley smiled hesitantly while handing Nina the chip back. She used to find Nina's computer skills cool, but now whenever she saw the green haired girl glued to a desk, all she could think about was the horrifying creation that had manifested after Princess Euphemia's death.
The day had felt agonizingly slow; she kept checking the TV for the news she knew was coming. More than ever she wished she could talk to Euphemia; the anticipation ate away at her, and pretending to focus on school work was almost impossible.
To that end, Rivalz's antics were something of a relief. Shirley resisted the urge to roll her eyes and pressed her indignation when he pulled out that bottle of champagne – possibly smuggled from his workplace, she could never be sure. This time she profusely apologized when Kallen ended up getting soaked – she'd been too surprised and mortified last time before the others offered to show her to the showers.
"Why are you pacing, Shirley?" Nunally asked her in the evening as Shirley made her way around the room, trying not to make it obvious that her entire attention was on the TV that Rivalz had just switched on. "Is something wrong?"
"Oh. It's nothing Nuna. I'm just thinking of a project I have to do, and how much work it's gonna take." Shirley made herself giggle self consciously. "I guess I'm nervous that I've bitten off more than I can chew."
"Try not to think about it too hard, okay Shirley?" Nunally offered. "If you let yourself get overwhelmed, you won't be able to manage anything."
Shirley smiled and gave the small girl's hand a gentle squeeze. She was probably right. "Thank you Nuna. You're very wise for your age."
"We interrupt this program for an important news broadcast," The TV droned as Lelouch and Kallen both joined them in the ballroom.
The screen flickered and went to the royal palace. "I'm broadcasting world wide alarming news from the palace. It is my unfortunate duty to bring the news that Prince Clovis, Viceroy of Area 11, has been found murdered by a gunshot wound to the head."
"Lelouch, it's awful!" Nunnally cried, prompting her brother to hurry to her side.
Shirley, meanwhile, just felt the hairs on the back of her neck standing up. It's starting again.
"Prince Clovis has been taken from us! He fought for peace, for justice!" Shirley covered a noise of outrage with a cough. Peace and justice! The corpses he had left behind in Shinjiku testified to the contrary! "He died a martyr!" Lelouch's eyes hardened. Shirley briefly wondered what he was thinking before the news she'd waited all day for arrived.
"The suspected murderer has been caught. The accused is Private Suzaku Kururugi, former eleven and honourary Britannian!"
Are you seeing this, Euphy? Shirley wondered, thinking of her fellow angel. What are you going to do? Does the Mission start here?
**~With Euphemia~**
Princess Euphemia li Britannia strode through the hallways with purpose, with two guards escorting her. Neither had the nerve to ask her why she was entering the detention centre; the usually gentle princess's eyes were hard and focused. Her shoulders were set and she refused to speak to any of the guards when they attempted to direct her away upon reaching the entrance. "Your highness, they're in the middle of an interrogation," Major Viletta Nu started.
"Silence," Euphemia snapped furiously, before taking a cleansing breath. The major had taken a nervous step backwards at the sheer coldness in her voice. "I command you to open the door for me, Major." The purist paused before reluctantly opening the door.
Euphemia's heart leapt when she saw the interior. "Princess!" Margrave Jeremiah exclaimed, leaping out of his seat. Kewell Sorsei stepped away from the table, surprise and alarm written across his face. And lying on the floor, his hands and face visibly bruised with blood dripping down one cheek, was Suzaku Kururugi. "My lady, I wasn't expecting-"
"What is going on in here?" Euphemia demanded, silencing the man. "Why is this man bleeding?"
Jeremiah quickly stood up, bowed slightly and began, "My lady, this man has murdered your beloved late brother-"
"He is accused of the murder," Euphemia responded stoically, frowning at him. "He has not been convicted. How dare you mistreat our prisoners like this? This man is a citizen of Britannia!"
Jeremiah took a small step backwards, alarm written plainly across his face. "I, he's only an honorary Britannian, your highness."
"Lord Jeremiah." Euphemia's voice became uncharacteristically cold. "Are you letting your personal history cloud your judgment?"
"I..." Jeremiah paled and looked down at his feet, clearly taken off guard at the attack on his past. He swallowed and said, "His prints are on the gun, your highness. I merely wish to bring you and your family justice for another senseless tragedy."
"Is this how you'd have the world see us? I will not have my brother's final days be characterized by this sort of petty brutality!" Euphemia snapped. "You and your fellow purists will cease assaulting this man at once, or I will have you all demoted down to the rank of Private, is that clear?!"
Jeremiah paled. "A, As you wish, your highness. Absolutely." He bowed his head and stepped aside.
Euphemia then walked around the table and knelt next to Suzaku. The young man was looking at her with utter awe; like she was something he had never seen before. "Help me, please." She directed at her guards. The two lifted him off the ground and righted the chair.
Suzaku let out a relieved sigh. "Thank you, your grace." He said quietly, coughing painfully.
"See to it that the injuries he has received are treated." Euphemia commanded the flabbergasted and slightly frightened purists."The courts will bring me the truth about my brother's death, and I will not accept any other judgment. This had better be the last I hear about this."
"Yes, my lady," Jeremiah whispered, having been effectively put in his place. Euphemia nodded and made to leave, only pausing in the doorway and casting a look over her shoulder at Suzaku. He was clearly making an effort not to stare at her. Warmth flooded her chest, and she had to force herself to leave.
He was under suspicion for killing Clovis, after all. She had to act indifferent for now.
End Chapter
Euphy's already hard at work. I've always loved her determination.
Read and Review please!