Suzaku stands in front of the monitors in C2's command center. The past week had been extremely stressful, due to a number of factors.
First of all, he is a hunted man now. The news had been playing constantly about Lelouch's and his plan, and his face had been plastered on every corner. He had spent the past week cooped up inside this command center without anything better to pass the time than staring at one of the several monitors. He wasn't even sure what half of them were there for.
Suzaku hated inactivity. He'd much rather be out in the world, throwing the reporter's words back at them.
It really didn't help that they had gotten it right, for once.
They had figured out the Zero Requiem.
Second, one of Lelouch's old followers had shown up. He insisted on calling himself Orange, but if memory served, he used to be Jeremiah... Jeremiah Guttwall? Something like that.
Suzaku knows that he is deeply loyal, but he had arrested him once. And almost gotten him executed. It might have been put aside while Lelouch prepared his ultimate plan, but now...
Third, Nunnally kept searching for the man, who was actively avoiding her. He had greeted them at the door, only for him to notice C2 had taken off her false face. He beckoned her over and they had a quick discussion which ended in him going up a flight of stairs and not coming down.
Well he did come down, but it was mostly to harass Suzaku. As soon as Nunnally got within twenty feet of the door he manages to dissipate into nothing before she could get there.
Last of all, and most distressing to Suzaku, Lady Kaguya and Kallen are being unusually withdrawn.
Kallen always had a sad, thoughtful look on her face, lying down using her hands as a pillow, staring up at the ceiling.
She'd talk to Suzaku if he sat down next to her, but he had yet to get her to answer polysyllabically. Suzaku isn't sure, but he thinks he notices her face harden slightly when he approaches.
Suzaku hates to admit it, even to himself, but it hurts his feelings. He had been there for her for the last twelve years, and he had grown fond of her. But all she sees is the person she hated, her rival throughout the war, who had replaced her beloved leader.
Lady Kaguya spends her time in the small kitchen, cooking for the eight residents (Anya had shown up with Jeremiah.) She maintains a cheerful smile when she knows people are watching, but when they leave her smile slips. Suzaku had become good at noticing these types of things. She didn't want to talk at all, except to say "I'm glad you are alive."
So here Suzaku sits. Three monitors blink at him, showing updates to the world's infrastructure, or something. Looks like India made some sort of trade pact with the Great Russian Coalition. Endless fun, these monitors.
Behind him the door opens.
Suzaku swivels around and finds Kallen smiling wanly at him. "H-Hi."
She clears her throat. "I just wanted to say that, um, I forgive you for tricking me for so long. I was thinking about it, and... Well, Lelouch wanted you to do this, right?"
Suzaku nods.
"So, it's not fair to accuse you." she hesitantly holds her hand out. "Friends?"
Suzaku pulls himself out of his chair and shakes her hand. "Friends."
Her whole body relaxes.
"Actually, I think I should apologize for not telling you as well. At first, I was just trying to follow Lelouch's orders of tell nobody. Once I had figured out how to play my role, I decided to tell you, but... Well, you were always so happy until I reminded you that I wasn't Lelouch behind the helmet."
"And don't forget the fact I might have just decided to snap your neck right there and then."
Suzaku grins. "That too."
Kallen points her thumb at the door. "Want to practice sparring? We haven't had a chance to for about two or three weeks now."
"I'd love too. These computers get really boring really fast."
o-o-o-o
C2 looks around the dinner table. The man is absent, but everyone else is present. Suzaku and Kallen are both swearing profusely, sporting bruises, but both are smiling and chatting animatedly. Orange and his adopted daughter, Anya, happily eat their meal in silence. Lady Kaguya eats as quickly as her impeccable manners allow her too. Nunnally keeps looking over her shoulder and around, trying to get a glimpse of the man's Geass.
"Nunnally," C2 gets her attention. "He really doesn't like that you are doing that."
"I kinda figured that out for myself." She turns back to her plate and pokes at the rice. "I'm just really, really curious. I'm not sure if it's me or the Geass though. It seems to want to see it or something."
C2 Leans back in her seat and crosses her arms. "I'd suspect it's a bit of both, really. You are naturally curious, which contributed to you getting that Geass. Geass powers are like a wish, I'm sure you've been told that before. My best guess is that your wish was to be what other people needed you to be, and that Geass certainly helps in that regard."
"I wonder what my Geass would be." Anya startles the group with her question. Se had hardly spoken her entire stay so far.
C2 thinks for a bit, but Suzaku answers. "You'd probably be able to take people's memories, or have a really good memory."
Anya's facial expression remains constant, but she gives off a vibe as if she's thinking.
"What about Kallen?" Nunnally asks to nobody in particular.
Kallen is the first to speak. "Is 'bring people back from the dead' possible? Because that's pretty much my wish."
C2 tosses a sad smile her way. "If it was, then I think a lot more people would have it. I have seen a Geass that lets you recall a version that only you can see, constructed from your memories. It... didn't end well."
One look at the look on C2's face was enough to convince Kallen.
Once again, Suzaku answers. "I think it would have something to do with fighting. Mine seems to be geared for combat, like the the former knight of one's Geass. Lelouch's and Emperor Charles' seem to be more tactical."
C2 looks up at the ceiling. "Mao's Geass was tactical too. Mine was more pedestrian, really. What good is making people love you in battle?"
Suzaku blushes slightly.
"Pervert!" Kallen slugs him in the shoulder, hard enough to make him wince.
"Who is Mao?" Lady Kaguya joins the conversation for the first time in a week.
"Oh! That's right. Suzaku, you remember him right? He kidnapped Nunnally."
"That guy had a Geass?"
"Yes. He could read minds. It activated permanently and he was forced to read everyone's mind. It REALLY didn't end well."
"I'm reminded of a quote I heard once." Kallen bites her lip. "It's supposed to be a curse. May you get everything you wish for."
C2 gestures with her fork while she swallows a bite. "Exactly."
"So what happened?" Lady Kaguya persists.
"He went mad and thought I loved him. He manipulated Shirley, causing her to attack Lelouch. Then he went after Lelouch, as well as trying to smuggle me to Australia in a suitcase. Using a chainsaw."
"Please... we just ate..." Orange's face starts to match his green hair.
"Er, so then he kidnapped Nunally, and Lelouch ended up Geassing himself to forget a plan so Suzaku could free her. Of course, when you came to get Lelouch, Suzaku, he read your mind."
"I wondered what that was. I was never able to figure that out."
"What will happen to us when our Geass's become permanent?" Nunnally asks quietly.
"I suspect Suzaku might have a problem similar to Mao's. Fortunately, I know a way we can block it, but it would be permanent."
"We'll deal with that when it comes to it." Suzaku state firmly.
"As far as Nunnally? I have no idea. Her Geass is kind of generic. Maybe we will know once she starts showing side affects from using it too much."
Nunnally nods her head.
Kallen stands up from the table. "Thanks for the food, Lady Kaguya." She gives a small bow. "C2, can we talk in private?" the two of them head into another room as Lady Kaguya heads for her room and Jeremiah and Anya head for theirs. Suzaku and Nunnally start on the dishes.
Behind them, a polite cough sounds out.
Behind them is a graying old man. He smiles at the puzzled faces. "Nice to meet you both. My name is Gregor. I'm the man behind the mask."
Nunnally looks at the Geass power above his head. "It's the same as Lelouch's, but-"
"I'm way too old? Yes, Lelouch would be thirty about now, wouldn't he? I'm currently fifty-three." He sits down in one of the chairs as the two go back to washing the dishes. "I was one of the previous Emperor's test subjects. Charles, not Lelouch. He had an entire underground facility where he made Geass users en masse. I was just a kid when I got my Geass. I remember being bullied and wanting nothing more than to tell them to stop. I got my wish, didn't I?" His smile turns rueful. "I ended up killing my best friend by accident with it. I locked myself away for a long time, only to be found by C2 on her journeys after Suzaku took over for Zero. We established this small facility to monitor the goings on around the world to try to extend the peace Lelouch sacrificed himself for. It seems that this time, we might have failed."
Suzaku and Nunnally finish up and the three wander into the room that had been converted from cavernous storage room (complete with fake corpse. Kallen had hada fit when she had connected this to the ransom video.) into a sitting area.
C2 and Kallen have finished their discussion, apparently, unless their secret talk had been about the latest fashions. C2 looks up when Gregor walks in, slightly surprised at first, but quickly getting over it.
"You two busy?" Gregor asks.
"No, not really. Why?" Kallen stretches her arms out to the sides and stands up. "If it can wait until tomorrow, I'm really tired."
Gregor nods. "It's not important at all. Have a nice sleep."
Kallen snorts as she leaves. "If you would let me shop for a mattress, maybe."
With that, everyone else says goodnight.
o-o-o-o
C2 and Gregor share a room. They had gotten used to it over the years, and it aided them when they needed to talk during the night. Like right now, for instance.
"We need a new Zero." Gregor says.
"Yes. But who? We have no idea who we could use. Suzaku's completely out of the picture, I don't think Kallen would be that great, Orange certainly wouldn't do."
"We should attempt to convince Lady Kaguya."
They both chuckle for a few seconds.
"But seriously. We need to look for a candidate, as soon as possible."
"Should we tell them? I'm sure that they have good ideas as well."
"Good point. We'll figure this out tomorrow."
o-o-o-o
Unseen by any in the sleepy house, a man with purple eyes looks at the building and grins. Then he fades back into the shadows from whence he came.