Rescue Angels
Wanda: Well, finally this story is starting to really kick off! Fly, butterfly, fly fly fly.
Shirley: (biting nails) Crap, I am so nervous!
Wanda: (laughs and throws arm around her shoulders) C'mon, it's gonna be great. Just you watch!
Shirley: Somehow, I don't find that very comforting coming from you. When you want a setting to change, you blow things up!
Wanda: Yeah, doing that to Azkaban felt pretty justified though.
Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass.
Chapter 3: Rebellion of Words
The package arrived in the middle of the night; Shirley nearly tripped over it when she opened the door to her dorm room. Picking it up, she noted the lack of postal marks and quickly stashed it away deep in her closet. She would have a look at what Euphemia had sent as part of 'the plan' once she was done with the school day. Right now, she had a new student to meet.
Her hand slipped into her pocket, where the hard drive that Euphemia had given her was resting. She didn't trust to leave it behind; she'd destroy it once she had uploaded the relevant data. Shirley frowned, I probably need to talk about how and where to upload it with Euphy.
Lightly she made her way to class and waited. Sure enough, Suzaku was introduced about five minutes after the bell rung.
Shirley cast her eyes over at Lelouch. As usual, his expression gave little away, but his lip twitched upward when Suzaku spoke. They had been very close as children, hadn't they? Lelouch obviously hadn't elaborated much when she asked him that the first time, but with what she knew now it could be safely inferred. They clearly cared a lot for each other, and if she and Euphy had it their way, that wouldn't change this time.
History class was brutally boring, and more propaganda than facts – though that was to be expected. Shirley was honestly surprised that Kallen was managing to maintain her poker face throughout the lesson, because the teacher liked to impress that Japan 'never had a chance' when discussing the takeover.
They reached break eventually; Shirley got up alongside Rivalz and Nina since both of them were staring at the new transfer student.
"See something you like?" She suggested teasingly. Nina flushed and Rivalz sputtered indigently, alleviating the uncertain atmosphere somewhat. Then Shirley stepped forward and stood at the edge of Suzaku's desk.
"Hey, haven't I seen you somewhere before?"
Suzaku looked up in surprise, and smiled when he recognized her. "I know you; you were the girl at Shinjiku yesterday."
"Yup. Thanks again for sending those two boys off." She offered him her hand. "I don't think I introduced myself yesterday; I'm Shirley Fenette."
He smiled and shook. "Suzaku Kururugi."
"Welcome to Ashford Academy." Shirley said, before waving pointedly at her fellow Student Council Members. "I'm on the Student Council here. If you'd like to be shown around later, we could help you out."
Suzaku smiled bashfully. "Thank you. I admit, I wasn't expecting much of a welcome."
Lelouch stood up at that point. Understanding instantly, Shirley straightened up and said, "I've gotta run. See you later, Suzaku."
"Later," Suzaku said with a nervous smile. The orange haired girl walked back towards her friends; the green haired girl was staring nervously at him which had been more like what he had expected. Movement near the door caught his attention. Lelouch paused in the doorway, before tugging at his collar and moving on.
Suzaku's breath hitched; and he got up and followed his old friend to the roof of the building.
**~Later~**
"That cat is going to be more trouble than he's worth!" Shirley laughed, petting the newly christened Arthur on the head. Lelouch couldn't agree more; how that bloody animal had managed to wander so far with his Zero helmet he wasn't sure. But it probably wasn't a good sign.
At least Shirley and Nunnally seemed to find it amusing.
Lelouch's eyes followed Shirley as she carefully handed the cat to his little sister, before leading her hand to his back. Nunnally gently stroked Arthur a few times, and the pissy cat calmed down almost instantly. There was a chorus of gushing and 'aww!' all around her; if he was any less cynical Lelouch might have joined in. That was Nunnally's power. She brought out the best in people.
"Look at you, Nuna! You've tamed the beast!" Shirley laughed.
The sweet sounding noise gave Lelouch a slight shiver. The orange haired girl was laughing and smiling warmly, and it was starting to make him feel...odd.
Shirley was certainly an oddity among people that he knew; she was extroverted and utterly sincere, warm and friendly without any strings attached. Lelouch – though he certainly wouldn't describe it in so many words – found this side of her almost intimidating. He wasn't afraid of her in any way, of course – but he saw the world as a cold, harsh place full of opportunistic vultures at the best of times. Someone as sunny and sincere as Shirley didn't fit in to that vision. Someone who was used to seeing the dark sides of others – and exploiting them – was left at a loss of what to make of an individual like that.
She was untouched by the savagery of those who ruled their world. What would become of her if she experienced it? What would happen to that warmth and welcoming kindness?
Lelouch shook his head. Her father is a respected scientist, and fairly well liked everywhere, he told himself. He's good enough at his job to be considered an asset to the Empire, but far enough removed from the government itself to not suffer the consequences of the Empire's destruction. No matter what happens, her position in life should be fairly secure...unless things get out of hand.
I don't plan on that.
"Something up, Lulu?" The outcast Britannian prince blinked out of his thoughts at the sound of his nickname. Shirley was the only person who called him that, and she was looking over at him. Her eyes were glowing. "You look like you're a million miles away!"
"Ha! I'm just trying to catch my breath," Lelouch responded. Suzaku chuckled, clearly thinking about them nearly falling out that window.
"Do you need to sit down?" Those emerald green eyes always seemed like they were trying to see into him.
Shirley was a pretty young girl; Lelouch was capable of acknowledging it, though he rarely gave such things a thought. It threatened to distract him, after all.
"It's not that bad."
"We should be heading back inside," Milly announced. "The official state funeral for Prince Clovis will be starting by fourth period."
Lelouch's expression darkened. And out of the corner of his eyes, he saw concern flash through Shirley's eyes as she looked at him.
It startled him. Was he that easy to read? It must be because of the narrow miss he'd had today. Lelouch straightened up and walked over to her, placing a hand on Nunnally's wheelchair. "Shall we go in?" He asked her.
Shirley straightened up, blinking. The intensity was quickly marshalled out of her eyes, which she had put some visible effort. Was she embarrassed that he had noticed her?
Milly made a whistling noise somewhere behind him. Shirley blushed and started walking forward. Lelouch rolled his eyes slightly and headed inside with the rest.
**~Later that Night~**
Shirley took a deep breath of cool, clean air and looked down at her laptop. The door was carefully locked, and she had doubled back at least once to be absolutely sure that no one was following her. She had just input the hard drive into her computer and was waiting for it to finish loading, before standing up and spinning in a circle. The tails of the dress outfit she was wearing floated slightly in the breeze.
It was a very lovely outfit, and it certainly made a statement. Carefully she adjusted her mask, which fit her like a glove. The butterflies in her stomach were flying wild; when the slender black phone rang she nearly jumped out of her skin.
Quickly pulling it out, she hit the talk button and tentatively asked, "Euphemia?"
"Yes, it's me. So the phone works! That's great."
"Yeah, I admit I was kind of nervous. That's why I called you earlier this evening - sorry about that."
"It's okay, I understand; I was too. Did the costume I sent you fit?"
"Like a glove. It looks amazing, by the way!"
Euphemia's giggle echoed through the connection. "Thank you. I thought the color and thematic differences from our compatriots would be fitting."
"It certainly makes a statement!" Shirley sat down next to her computer again. "Okay, all the programs are available, but I need a high ranking encryption."
"Use mine."
"Won't they be able to trace yours?"
"Only my siblings and my father would be privy to what I've accessed. None of them think I'm capable of this. To them I'm just a jewel in the crown."
A couple keyboard clicks later, and all the videos regarding Clovis's genocidal order, and the few connections to the Geass project, were ready and waiting. Shirley, with consistent suggestions from Euphy, proceeded to carefully edit the videos together for maximum shock value and explosive information – without betraying C.C. or the truth of the Geass itself. This took a couple hours, but adrenaline and nerves had already ensured that neither girl would sleep much tonight.
Taking a deep breath, Shirley said, "I have a few lines that I think would suit it, but could you repeat them to me while I'm recording? It wouldn't be quite as dramatic if I stuttered half my lines..."
"Of course, Shirley. Do you have a camera?"
"Yeah, it's built into my computer."
Shirley straightened up, and activated the built in camera. The first two takes were broken up by her breaking up thanks to her uncertainty, but Euphemia kept encouraging her. By the fourth take, she delivered the planned lines with a firmness that surprised her.
"See? You did great that time." Euphemia said warmly.
"Thank you, Euphy." Shirley said, letting out her breath. "Okay..." She sat down and proceeded to edit in the rest of the video together. Once that was done, she let out a shaky breath, unknowingly quoting her beloved in the process. "This is wearing me out..."
"I know." Euphemia sounded tired as well. "We're almost done."
Shirley nodded and leaned forward, placing her fingers on the keypad again. "Okay, okay...activating the scrambler; thanks for sending that to me...aaaand, we're online. Where should I upload the video too?"
"With my access code, we can put in on every TV for miles around if we do a little careful maneuvering. Go to the Britannia News main website; there's a back door to their broadcast page I can walk you through."
Shirley followed through the back door and opened up the video. With some coaching, she locked it into a continuous loop that would last through the rest of the night until the end of the next day, and putting it behind a firewall so taking it off the air would be very difficult.
"It's up," She whispered. "You're sure they can't track it to my computer?"
"That's what the scrambler was for. It's top of the line, don't worry about it yet." Euphemia said. "Let's try and get some rest...and don't forget to hide the costume."
"Of course. Good night, Euphy."
"Good night."
**~The Next Day~**
**~With Lelouch~**
It was probably a good thing that everyone was staring at the TV.
Thanks to that, it wasn't obvious how utterly blindsided Lelouch was when the the TV in class had been turned on, only for Clovis's voice to flutter through...repeating the same words he had uttered that day at Shinjiku.
The teachers had tried to change the channel, but every single one was showing the same video. It was an eclectic mix of footage of Clovis and the army that day in the ghetto, a black screen with a strange figure, and the monotone delivery of common propaganda.
"If the truth about the project comes out, I'll be disinherited." Clovis droned. He stood up from his chair in the G1 – in the G1! - before gesturing with one hand, a cold smile on his face. "Deliver this to all forces – purge the Shinjiku ghetto! Leave no one alive!"
Students screamed, buried their faces in their hands, and several puked with the following images of gore. Pirated video footage from ghetto cameras showed brutally honest depictions of the prince's forces going in and summarily executing Elevens – longer shots deliberately lingering on the bodies of mothers and children.
"Since being brought into the fold, Britannia and Area 11 have walked down hand in hand towards the path to peace," the propagandist drawled, just as a pregnant woman was shoved down and filled with lead after having tried to escape.
Nina Einstein had clamped both hands over her mouth, while somewhere on Lelouch's right Rivalz moaned that he was going to be sick.
"Leave no one alive!" Clovis's voice repeated. "Leave no one alive!"
Kallen froze up, her muscles tense as a rope stretched to its limits. She wanted to scream in rage and denounce what she was seeing, but she would risk giving herself away.
Who's doing this?! Lelouch wondered, his brilliant mind racing as he watched the footage go by. Only someone deep within Britannia could have gotten their hands on this! But who would dare commit this...who would benefit from it?
"Guys...?" Shirley walked into the room, yawning loudly and rubbing her eyes. "What's going on...? Where is everyone?"
"Shirley, you've got to come see this!" Milly grabbed the startled young woman by the arm and dragged her over to the screen. Lelouch noticed the dark circles under Shirley's eyes and the sleep deprived look on her face.
Eventually, the footage faded straight to the dark screen, the only light coming from the stars in the late night sky.
Whoever made this, Lelouch noted, they were smart enough to edit in a background. I doubt this is where it was actually shot...
"Hand in hand, walking towards peace. Is that what that was?"
It was a female voice. Young, strong and somewhat distorted by a microphone. The camera shifted, lowing itself until a new figure fully emerged from the darkness, a recorder and data disk held in one hand.
Lelouch sucked in a sharp breath. The figure was dressed fully in white, with a trench overcoat hanging down to her ankles. The white dress pants were studded with costume diamonds just above the shoes and at the waist, while the shirt was long sleeved with the image of a golden angel painted across the chest area. The shoes were combat boots painted white, the usual black laces replaced with gold strings. A hood shadowed the young lady's face, her hair clearly tucked underneath it. Covering the rest of her face and eyes was an ornate white face protector, with a light blue one way visor. She stood tall and proud, frowning at the camera.
Whispers erupted across the class. "It's just like with Zero!" "Another one?!" "Do you think they're connected?" "He must be bringing out all the rebels-!"
"Mothers, Fathers, Sisters, Brothers, Sons and Daughters, all slaughtered. Is that Britannia's Peace?" The young woman in white asked coldly.
The classroom fell into uncertain silence.
"When in peacetime are innocent civilians butchered like this? When in peacetime is the truth of such a massacre concealed?"
Suzaku's hands were trembling. Lelouch wondered what he was making of all this.
"As you can see now, it was not terrorism, or poison gas, that ended these people's lives. It was the order of a man who is now being celebrated as a martyr. They spoke so much of bringing Clovis's killer to justice, but where is the justice for the people he slaughtered?! Helpless civilians, butchered in their homes? And for what?"
"Well, if we're speaking of truth, let me give you some, right here and now!", The woman roared passionately, squaring her shoulders and glaring through the camera and directly at her listeners.
"What was so precious to a Prince of Britannia that he would demand such a thing? A weapons project. The project General Bartly called 'Code R'. The goal was to create a weapon of great destruction. It would be a weapon that could, if it came about as they wished, could change warfare as we know it. They experimented on people – on children! - to bring this about!"
Quick flashes of images in various laboratories passed by the screen. Lelouch watched them with no small amount of trepidation, but while he saw many strapped to operating tables, he saw no one that even slightly resembled C.C. Nor was there any symbol shown that looked like his Geass.
But if you had that information. Why not share it too, in this rage against the Empire? You must have seen her, if you know that much. Lelouch thought quickly, staring as the young woman in white appeared again amidst the cries of alarm and disgust among the students. Why not reveal that? Why not tell more?
"Is that your peace, Britannia? I don't know if that is a peace worth much. Will you tenderly memorialize a genocidal murderer, but let his crime go unpunished? If you seek murderers, perhaps you should look no further than your own reflection!"
The young woman stretched her arms out for emphasis. "What are you so afraid of, that you would do this to keep it hidden?!"
Then, she brought her arms in and crossed them over her chest. "Perhaps you are right to be afraid. History could tell you; that empires built on cruelty alone rarely last."
Who are you? Lelouch wondered heatedly, staring intently at the woman.
The white clad stranger raised her chin in a gesture of defiance. "I am the voice of those who have suffered at your hands. I will not fall silent until justice has been given to them."
At that, the screen cut out.
End Chapter
Yup! There's the girls' first splash, and intention to start changing things. Of course, this means that both Britannia and Zero are going to have a vested interest in our 'mysterious' Lady in White, but can they catch an angel? Cornelia might find herself temporarily distracted from Zero, seeing as she'll have to cover up any further prying into 'Code R'.
Read and Review please!