Disclaimer: I own nothing of Code Geass, nor of Guilty Gear, nor to a lesser extent, BlazBlue. I do own this story, and all the inspirations along with it. And of course, the brain where the ideas came from.
Ah, you're all here. My heartfelt apologies, honored lords and ladies, the summons... it was late in coming and I- I have no excuse.
Yes, let us get right on it. Good evening to you all, young masters.
Let's see, what shall I tell you tonight...? I know we covered the stories of the ancient medieval, and perhaps the story of young Merlin would be... ah, do you have a suggestion, Prince?
The Dark Era? B-b-but I'm sure everyone's quite familiar with that story, am I right? (And I'm not sure it's appropriate for everyone here...) You insist? B-but, my pardons, it is-
Your Majesty! Yes, yes of course! Right away!
Ahem.
A long time ago, when the very first skyscrapers clawed for the sky, a great, terrible beast was unleashed from his prison – the Black Beast. His awfulness was such that it made the sky black, and his breath was as foul as his visage. He had a hundred gaping mouths and a thousand eyes...quite a terrible Beast indeed. He was so evil that he ate people day in, day out, and he was never satisfied.
But one day, a group of heroes arose to challenge the Black Beast. Each had strange powers of their own, and with these they slew the Beast, flinging his black heart back into the darkness of his prison. Mankind was saved, but not unchanged.
For the people wondered, how had the Beast that neither arms nor show of might could vanquish, been bested by these heroes? The answer was simple of course. Magic.
Yes, a marvelous display Princess, His Majesty must be proud. I'm sure you will become the best Mage in the Empire. Indeed... The world then knew of magic, and fought to contain and control it. That began the second part of the Dark Era, when great fantastic beasts were awoken and strange magics were unleashed.
It lasted for a long time, that is, until our glorious Imperator, your forefather, His Augustness Emperor Frederick I invented the mechanical Knightmares.
Who can tell me what Knightmares are? Settle down, I shall call...Yes, Second Prince.
"Magic constructs"? Why yes, that is the gist of what they are. They were crafted for the sake of magic. No, better - to control magic. (I can't really go technical with this...) Wayward magic would be contained within and by these Knightmares.
A wondrous invention, but its birth was not without its problems. Because by then, the Empire's secret enemies had unleashed their own frightening magics on the human race. The Gears were born at the same time as the Knightmares.
Gears were one of those fantastic creatures, from their birth their bodies were infused with magic, and when they grew, they would have powers unmatched. But they were a cut above: monsters they were, but they had also once been men. Super-men? You could call them that... (That maid-Gear's unnerving me...)
They became so powerful, that they banded together under a single banner and declared war on humanity. It was then that the Empire's Knightmares were perfected, the first Knights of the Round sent to combat the magical prowess of these Gears. The rest of the world watched as the war was met on both sides with such display of magics the world shall never witness again.
A fierce conflict: the likes of which shall never- no, of which I hope I shall never see. Entire cities were leveled, continents ground to dust, islands sunk without so much as a whimper, it was almost like the Beast had returned. No, Princess, it did not, nor shall it, thank the Emperor!
It only ended on the day, the day of First Triumph, when our own August Emperor strode out inside his golden Knightmare to confront the leader of the Gears, who had called itself Justice, on the field. A foolish name to take...
It was a titanic battle, surrounded on all sides by the fallen bodies of man, Knightmare, or Gear, the Emperor and Justice fought with such fury, such magical might; fighting for the survival of their race. Someday, you can be taken to visit the- ah, never mind. (That was a close call there, anything more and the Consort would've asked for my head.)
In the end, humanity prevailed; Justice was defeated, and our Lord emerged victorious. Our glorious Empire flourished...and continues to flourish to this day, despite the insidious plans of our enemies. The remnants among the Gears were absorbed into our society, becoming loyal servants, and never again did they become too powerful to control.
And that was the end of the Dark Era, thank the Emperor. The era of After Justice was inaugurated once Emperor Frederick I returned to his palace, and now, three hundred years since, we live in peace. A peace bought by the blood of your forefathers, the Royal Family...
Two years to the date specified on the paper, the above passage was found among the notes of the disappeared scholar who had been a retainer of the recently deceased Consort, Lady Marianne, though why he sought to transcribe his own passage is a mystery. Being one of the suspects in the assassination of the late Consort, his disappearance raised numerous questions, and so his room within Pendragon was searched.
The room had traces of burn-marks along the walls, with numerous scraps of burnt paper scattered in the corners and below the furniture, which lead the Head Inspector to suspect agitation, though sensory ars magus conducted on the premises detected no such emotion within the last seven days. The only other interesting fact to the case came after the still visible paper scraps were reformed and studied under high-level ars, and it read:
To wit...the secret...divulging...certain death...
...she trust...children are the hope,"...
..."Our time shall come...protested...
As can be seen, what could be salvaged was indecipherable in message, and the investigation was then halted by order of his Highness Emperor Charles in the aftermath of the scandal that followed soon after the Consort's unfortunate death.
End report
Senior Scribe -deleted Arm Code P-2150-
Noted,
Head Inspector -deleted ArM Code P-2150-
edited 2210.5.5 "factual inconsistencies"
edited 2210.5.10 "removal of irrelevant facts of P. L and P. N's affair"
edited 2210.5.11 "by Royal Order, removed all instances of subject's name"
Crown Prince -deleted ArM Code CzB-100-
-deleted ArM Code F-0098-
)()()()()()()()(
November the 21st, 2210
Area Eleven, or the Eleventh Sacred Preserve of Humanity
The youth jogged in the night, breath misting out before him in steady puffs. He looked at his watch. He still had time. He adjusted the goggles set before his eyes, pulling them to the top of his brown hair. The clear, green pupils of Suzaku Kururugi smiled, or at the very least, gleamed optimism in this dark hour.
Only a few residents were walking the sidewalk just as he, and they each waved when he did, though not as enthusiastically as Suzaku. He jogged past memorials and late-night traffic jams, past the old Tokyo Tower and the numerous ruins that had once been Old Japan, before the Calamity. He stopped, briefly, before an appliance store where the latest details on the sakuradite scandal affair by the former Minister of Finance was being reported by a blank-faced woman whose face was multiplied on the many screens, before continuing on.
His destination was near. The airport guards let him through without fuss; he briefly idled his thoughts on how the Ashford symbol was most times more than enough to get to anywhere in the Preserve, he'd have to thank the Secretary for it later. Well, it was her orders after all, so... He shook off those thoughts, unbecoming of an aspirant.
Inside, he ceased his jog, it was inappropriate, so here he walked in a fast pace, eyes squinted before the numerous bright neon lights that blared useless things (to him), yet he did stop in reverent awe before a life-sized statue of the Hero of Thunder, who was on a humble, stone pedestal in the middle of the reception area. He paused to reflect on his aspirations, never let it be known that Kururugis did not have ambition!
He turned from the statue and promptly stiffened. He held that for a second before relaxing and giving his brightest smile, as he walked towards the two were supposed to be his charges.
There was a boy, and a girl. The boy looked to be of the same age as he, black-haired, with the distinct features of Britannian descent. The girl, who sat asleep on a wheelchair (he'd been warned of this particular disability), seemed the fairest little one he had ever seen, defying the bombastic Britannian norm by quaint petiteness. "An ethereality that bordered on fairy-ness", he would remember later on.
As the girl was asleep, he came to the boy, stopping a few inches and bowed. "Good evening. I am Suzaku Kururugi, student-aspirant. Lady Ashford tasked me to pick you up, so here I am, to lead you to your dwellings."
The other youth seemed to blink, eyes swivelling towards him, and Suzaku noted how it seemed so much in a daze, as if he were half-asleep. Suzaku wondered if he should wave a hand in front of the guy's eyes, but no, that would be most inappropriate.
At length, the boy blinked again, and finally seemed to see Suzaku. The eyes refocused on him, widened, and assumed a faint light of animation. "Ah... who am I?"
Suzaku wanted to chop the guy in the head; he restrained himself and answered, "You are Lelouch Lamperouge, are you not? I was tasked to retrieve you, and-" He looked down at the girl.
"My name's Nunnally," the girl replied with a giggle, causing Suzaku to jolt. Was she not asleep after all? "And yes, this is my brother, Lelouch. We are both Lamperouges, that is true. I apologize, he has not had a good night, my brother has, no good sir, he has not."
"No, no, it's no trouble," replied Suzaku in his own daze. "I was just confirming, because...er, ah," The girl giggled and held out her hand and he took it. She shook it up and down, in a handshake. "Nice to meet you, Suzaku. I hope we can be friends." It was then that he finally saw, that the girl was blind.
And just then, the other boy, Lelouch's voice seemed to return to him, tinged with a conviction that hadn't been there before. "Yes, I am Lelouch Lamperouge. That is my name."
The two boys crossed glances at that moment, one eerily stony and the other warm, but frankly shocked, before they too shook hands, a firm shake. "Pleased to make your acquaintance."
Author's Note: As I was writing my tribute fic one cold New Year's Eve, I was struck with a blinding inspiration. It was so bright and incandescent, like the sun, that I had to look away. But it gave me no choice, I had to look. I had to see this.
This fic is a spur-of-the-moment thing. Unlike my other works, there was no forethought to plot, characters, settings, endings, etc., I just let my fingers do the typing, from the very start, down to the finish. I have no idea where it will lead, and it scares me, because this story seems like the worthiest to pursue, as if it had been shot straight from the other side to torment me. Something is telling me to continue, despite misgivings, and my mind is desperately trying to find a way to cope with the explosion of ideas that came with the inspiration. B, this is again for you, wherever you are, you son of a bitch.
Merlin out.