A/N: ALRIGHT! Finally trying to get back into this after a long time of not updating! Procrastination ftw! Why am I writing this now? Because I'm procrastinating from my schoolwork. Yup. Epic. Anyhow! I don't remember where I was originally going with this story, but I hope you all enjoy the idea that I've come up with instead. :3
The next few months were rather annoying and emotionally draining with everything going on. After the attempted capture of Suzaku by the Black Knights, Usagi learned from Lelouch that Euphemia has learned his identity. Why her brother chose to reveal himself to that evil creature of all people was beyond Usagi, but the boy waved it off and insisted that Euphemia would keep their secret.
"You seriously think that she'll keep something like that under wraps? You know how she feels about me. By protecting you she's doing the same for me and yet you think she's trustworthy with that sort of secret? Are you on crack?" Usagi growled, following after her brother through the house as he started getting ready for the festival that Milly had been planning for all this time.
"Usagi, calm down."
"Don't tell me what to do, baka! You're going to get us all killed!" she groaned, tugging at her hair and leaning against Lelouch as he finally stopped moving.
Laughing at his sister, the boy pat her head and smiled as he gave her a wink. "If you go bald I have a feeling that may put Suzaku out a bit," he teased, causing Usagi to scowl and smack him upside the head in response. "Ow. Anyway, if Euphemia keeps us safe then maybe she's trying to reconcile with you. Did that ever cross your mind?"
"Nope. Not when she's a crazy bitch who took my knight," Usagi answered simply, waving it off as Lelouch sighed, shaking his head.
"She's really not that bad, you know."
"To you, maybe. She likes you."
"You know, you sound like a bitter chess player when you say that. He's not a piece in a game."
"Can't you let me be five for once?!"
"We're seventeen years old, Usagi."
"Oh shut up."
The rest of the day was rather hectic, from what she could remember. The dark-haired girl sighed as she wandered into the house to go get Nunnally, only to be greeted with her younger sister sitting at the table having tea with Euphemia-of all people. Usagi tensed at the sight of the other female, crossing her arms over her chest as her violet eyes narrowed dangerously. "You. What're you doing here?"
Euphemia looked up from her cup, genuinely surprised to see her half-sister before her and putting on a smile as she stood and wandered to Usagi's side. The dark-haired girl pulled away as Euphemia attempted to hug her, standing beside Nunnally's wheelchair as her grip on herself tightened. "You didn't answer my question."
"I ended up running into her when I was at the festival with Rolo," Nunnally explained, reaching up and touching her sister's arm as she frowned. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you…"
"No, it's fine. I'm just surprised, I guess," Usagi answered gently, her expression softening as she uncrossed her arms and touched her sister's hand, looking from Nunnally to Euphemia once again.
"Euphie and I were just remembering the time we fought over Lelouch when we were kids. Do you remember that? And then Lelouch ended up choosing mother because he couldn't choose between us? Then he hid behind you for the rest of the day?" Nunnally smiled, giving Usagi's hand a squeeze. Usagi felt a bitter smile cross her features, her gaze still fixated upon Euphemia before her as she felt her blood boil.
"Yes, sweetheart, I remember that. It was a long time ago, wasn't it?" she asked, mostly directing that question at Euphemia as the other princess nodded.
"It certainly has been a long time, Usagi. I've missed you," the girl answered, smiling at her half-sister as Usagi tensed once again. She didn't like this. Not one bit.
"We were about to go get Lelouch, would you like to join us?" Nunnally offered, squeezing Usagi's hand once again to get her sister's attention. Usagi smiled, nodding slightly as she squeezed back.
"That sounds like a marvelous idea."
"I want you to know that I didn't do it to spite you. About Suzaku, I mean,"
Usagi blinked, staring at Euphemia as she felt her sister look at her from behind her sunglasses. What in the hell was she talking about? How did she even know about what was going through Usagi's mind?
"I was told how my decision upset you, and I wanted you to know that I did it for you," Euphemia answered, watching her sister closely as Usagi narrowed her eyes, causing Rolo to stiffen from behind Nunnally's wheelchair and Lelouch to raise an eyebrow. "I knew you two were friends, and since you were in no position to make him your knight, I wanted to make sure that nobody else could. Maybe one day I can convince father to bring you all back. That was my intention, anyway. And then I would relinquish him to you once you were back."
Usagi looked from Euphemia to Lelouch, more than a little confused and slightly uncomfortable as she watched the pink-haired girl closely. Now this was getting weird. Was Euphemia seriously trying to help her? Why the hell would she do that?
"Euphie, it's impossible. You know that the emperor isn't going to bring anything back, or anyone," Lelouch commented, trying to ease the tension the girl had created as Euphemia looked into the distance with a sad smile.
"I just don't want to see anyone unhappy ever again."
Yup. That was a riot. Usagi rolled her eyes, standing from her spot and smoothing out her skirt before she started down the stairs, only to feel her wrist caught in Euphemia's grip. "I mean it, Usagi. I can't bear to see you or anyone I care about unhappy… Please, accept my apology. I didn't mean for you to be upset with me, and for that I am sorry."
The raven-haired girl rolled her eyes, pulling herself from Euhemia's grip and jogging down the stairs away from her siblings. She stopped only for a moment as she felt footsteps follow after her, knowing it wasn't Euphemia by the way they sounded, only to feel Rolo wrap his arms around her from the side and give her a squeeze. Usagi sighed , kissing her brother's temple and wrapping an arm around his waist as they started off towards the booths, not really in the mood to watch Suzaku toss the pizza dough with the knightmare.
"I've offended her, haven't I?" Euphemia sighed, looking to Lelouch for an explanation.
"Only a little, but she'll get over it," Lelouch nodded, watching his brother and sister move from booth to booth, only a little jealous that his younger brother understood his twin a lot more than he could ever know.
"I still think she's up to something," Rolo offered after a few minutes of silence and Usagi just gave him a look.
"No shit, Sherlock."
"No need to get snippy with me! I'm agreeing with you!"
Usagi sighed, rubbing her temples and leaning against Rolo as she popped a dumpling into her mouth. "I know, I'm sorry. Bad day, you know?"
"Yeah… I know."
Unfortunately neither of the two had an opportunity to say more because the next thing they knew, people were crowding around the spot on the steps where they had been moments earlier. "Oh for the love of-" Usagi growled, facepalming at the sight of everyone crowding around Euphemia, but soon a bit of panic rose in her chest as she started scanning the crowd for Lelouch and Nunnally. It wasn't long before Rolo pulled her along by the elbow and led Usagi to where their siblings were hiding, the girl thanking the heavens that nothing happened to them. Crouching beside Lelouch as Rolo checked over Nunnally for any sign of injury, Usagi peeked over the table of the stand and frowned as she saw the sub-viceroy in the hand of Suzaku's borrowed knightmare frame. Welp. She couldn't blame him for doing his job, could she?
"Hey Lelouch, guess what?"
Usagi raised an eyebrow as she looked at her sister, who smiled in Lelouch's general direction as she continued. "Euphie says that she and Suzaku are becoming very close now."
Lelouch's eyes widened as Usagi stared at her sister, knowing that Nunnally hadn't heard the part of Usagi and Euphemia's conversation on the steps about Suzaku being Euphie's knight, but even then Nunnally was too naïve to realize how this affected her older sister. "They make a nice couple, don't you agree?"
Rolo stiffened at Nunnally's words, watching Usagi stare at her sister in disbelief. What gave Nunnally the idea that Euphemia and Suzaku were anything more than friends, or whatever they were? Unless… Usagi narrowed her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest as she glared at Euphemia, wondering what she was planning. She was too busy being pissed and not really registering what was going on until Euphemia declared that Zero should join her in creating the "Specially Administrated Zone of Japan." Usagi felt a growl form deep in her throat, sensing her twin doing the same as the two of them glared up at her. Hearing the comments about Euphie obviously doing this because she was in love with an eleven, Usagi's geass flashed angrily before disappearing once again as she looked from Lelouch to Rolo, who looked just as furious. She had played them. Euphemia had played them all. She wasn't just after Suzaku, she was going after everything that the Lamperouge family had been waiting for years to do. She was sabotaging the whole rebellion.
The pink haired girl caught the look on her brother's face and let a small smirk form, soon turning into a smile that was press-worthy as she looked over to Suzaku. The brown-haired boy didn't know what to say, staring at the princess with his wide green eyes as she chuckled and turned back to the camera. Let the games begin.
"You can't seriously believe her, can you?!"
"Of course I can! She's my princess; she wouldn't lie about this kind of thing!"
"Oh for the love of god Suzaku, you're really starting to piss me off with that whole 'my princess' thing," Usagi growled, crossing her arms over her chest as she glared at him, causing the boy to give her an equally angry look on his face.
"Maybe you're wrong about her, ever thought about that? She's really not that bad, Usagi."
"Are you KIDDING me?!" she demanded, causing Suzaku to wince at the shrill tone of her voice. "Euphemia is a crazy woman who doesn't care about anyone but herself!"
"That's not true!" Suzaku snapped, narrowing his eyes at her as Usagi blinked in surprise. Something was off about him. She just knew it. Something wasn't quite right with how he's turned on her and she was determined to find out what was going on.
"Why are you suddenly on her side? What happened to doing this because you had to?" she asked quietly, looking him in the eye. Suzaku looked instantly guilty, staring at the floor as his fists clenched. There it was. The tell-tale sign. "You've been sleeping with her, haven't you?"
Suzaku's head shot up, a look of disbelief on his features as Usagi felt her expression harden. "I knew it."
"No! Usagi it's not what you think!"
"Really now?! I think it's exactly what I think and you've just been screwing around with her behind my back and just trailing me along for the ride! One princess isn't enough for you, is it, Suzaku?!"
The boy recoiled at her words, his green eyes shining with pain as he stared at her, looking like a puppy that had been kicked by its master for no good reason. The girl whirled on her heel, her hair flying behind her in the process, and she started making her way down the hall once again. "We're done, Suzaku. Have fun with your whore."
She made it most of the way through the school, not hearing him come after her, and soon she found herself at the courtyard once again. Collapsing onto a bench nearby, Usagi buried her face in her hands and sighed, rubbing her temples as her geass started showing her what could have happened between her sister and Suzaku, only to have Usagi push the visions away. She wasn't in the mood to see those sorts of things.
She didn't know how long she'd been sitting there, nor did she feel like checking a clock, but eventually she felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to find Suzaku's superior from the engineering core smiling down at her. "Hello Usagi. May I borrow you for a moment?"
"Lloyd! I found her!"
"Marvelous! Now come over here!"
Usagi followed Cécile to where the strange man was flitting around a giant thing covered by a black tarp, and raised an eyebrow as Lloyd turned to face them, grinning like an idiot as he walked over and shook her hand "Lloyd Asplund, at your service milady."
"Nice to meet you?" she blinked, watching him closely and looking from the crazy man to the giant covered thing before them. "Can you tell me why I'm here?"
"Of course I can, Usagi! I'm not an idiot!" Lloyd grinned, letting go of her hand and stepping back towards the thing, gesturing for her and Cécile to follow him. "I've been told you're good friends with Suzaku, are you not?"
"Well… Yeah, but we kinda had a falling out…"
"I'm sure you two lovebirds will make up. He, like most men, is not very bright when it comes to women and their feelings, but he cares about you too much for a fight to keep you apart," Lloyd answered with a shrug, causing Cécile to stare at him in disbelief. Since when did he get so mature? "Now then! Usagi despite the fact that you and Suzaku are in a bit of a rough patch, would you say that you would still fight for him?"
"What the hell are you talking about? I have no way of fighting anyone at all let alone-"
"Just answer my question!"
Usagi sputtered for a moment, waiting for her thoughts to stop conflicting and start making sense as she took a deep breath. Suzaku had been her best friend for years, and she'd loved him for that entire time. It hurt that Euphemia was taking him away from her, but the girl knew that if she didn't fight for him, who would? Looking back up at Lloyd, the girl felt her eyes narrow dangerously as she gave him her answer. "To the death, I would."
"Good to hear."
"Kill the elevens! All troops, exterminate all the elevens!"
"Don't let any escape! Kill them all!"
Screaming. Bloodshed. The bodies of countless Japanese people falling to the ground with a sickening thud. Babies crying from being recently orphaned, the screams of Suzaku on the intercom. The world was falling apart. At least, that small corner of the world was. Something was terribly wrong. That zone of Japan Euphemia talked about. Something was wrong, terribly, terribly wrong.
Usagi kept her eyes closed for the entire flight. Lloyd and Cécile had cut her training short when the news broadcasted the massacre. Her Geass was acting up, and it was getting on her nerves, but she could see everything that was going on. Everything.
"You really think it'd take just you telling me to shoot you? Oh Lelouch, you have a lot to learn about me," Lelouch raised an eyebrow at Euphemia, watching her closely as she took the gun from his hand and toyed with it. "You'd be surprised at my powers of persuasion, Euphie."
"Oh?" she smiled, her grin widening as he narrowed his eyes and attempted to get the gun back from her. He didn't like that look on her face. Not one bit. Maybe Usagi was right about her having an ulterior motive.
"Why don't you show me your true self?" Lelouch asked, staring at Euphie and watching her face contort in that familiar way everyone else's expression did as they processed a command from his Geass. Euphemia's sweet smile turned dark as she smirked at him, quirking an eyebrow in amusement. "You really want to know what I've been planning? Fine. I was planning on killing you, and Suzaku too. Make it look like Zero tried to harm me and my knight rushed in to defend me. Sure, you'd be a martyr for two seconds, but after I killed all the Japanese, who would be left to avenge you?"
Usagi's eyes shot open, wandering to where Lloyd and Cécile were at the controls and searching the screens for any sign of Suzaku and her brother. Euphemia had already killed dozens if not hundreds of Japanese. Dropping the Lancelot onto the battlefield for Suzaku to enter, Lloyd grabbed a hold of Usagi's arm before she could leave from where he and Cécile had stationed themselves at the control panel. "Wait, Usagi. Suzaku can handle himself."
Blowing her bangs from her face in frustration, the girl nervously braided her long hair behind her and secured it as she watched the Lancelot frame search for Euphemia. Thankfully, in the distance, Usagi caught sight of the Gawain, which was Zero's knightmare. Tugging at the collar of her white flight suit, the girl grumbled in annoyance. This was annoying! Sitting on the sidelines doing nothing while others got killed was not something she signed up for.
"Oh my, this is turning into a mess…" Lloyd commented, watching the lights on the screen start to rumble before them and Usagi narrowed her eyes, slipping away while Lloyd was distracted and Cécile had her back turned.
"Guinevere knightmare frame activated, launching now."
"What?! She can't do that, can she?!" Cécile screeched, launching herself at the controls to try and stop it as Lloyd held up a hand to stop her.
"Let her go. She obviously didn't like sitting around here not being able to do anything. We'll just be here when she gets back."
"But-!"
"Trust me, Cécile. She'll be fine."
"Die, Zero!" Euphemia shrieked, trying to get the gun to stop jamming as she replaced the ammo and looked up at the figure before her. Lelouch sighed, pulling out his own gun and taking aim at her, only to have it shot out of his hand by a third party. Zero growled as he caught sight of Suzaku, running over to them as he screamed for Euphemia to run. "You see? He still prefers me over her, and yet where is she? Off back at school, I assume. I heard about their fight, though. Couldn't have happened at a better time. Tell me, Lelouch. Do you think she'll still care when you and Suzaku don't come home today?" she asked, raising the machine gun to the knight as he approached, still running at full force towards them.
"EUPHIE, NO!"
The gun went off, multiple times, and Suzaku screamed in agony. Tackling the princess to the ground, Zero wrestled the gun from her grasp and threw it out of her reach, hearing his friend hit the ground with a sickening splat. Staring at Suzaku from where he had pinned Euphemia down, Lelouch felt his breath catch in his throat. "No, he can't be-"
"NO!"
Zero stood quickly, catching sight of a white and gold knightmare coming at them at full speed as the familiar, anguished cries of Usagi filled the air from the intercom. The Guinevere knightmare scooped up the barely conscious Lancelot pilot, despite the fact that C2 and Kallen both tried to stop her, and effectively knocked the Guren out of the way as she sped back up towards the command center. Lloyd and Cécile raced towards the elevator, the woman gasping and feeling tears spring to her eyes as it opened to reveal the bloodstained Guinevere pilot cradling Suzaku in her arms. "Save him! Save Suzaku!" Usagi shrieked, blood freely dripping from both her and the boy as tears sprang to her eyes once again. Looking Lloyd and Cécile in the eye as she spoke, her Geass activated and created an environment that only the two of them could hear her for her next statement. "By the order of Serenity vi Britannia, save him! Save him now!"
A/N: … I dunno what to say about this chapter. I was in my brain and this kinda came out, and now it's on the internet. I hope it wasn't too crappy! Still trying to get the hang of writing this story again!