Turn 01

The Awakening

A faint light broke through the curtains of the white hospital room and reached the patient's eyelids. Even though no one else would have been bothered by it or even noticed the thin ray of soft yellow, the boy's eye twitched a bit and he slowly opened them. At first everything was just a blur to him, his brain couldn't register any specific outlines of anything. He gently turned his head to the source of the light, before moving it to from where that annoying beeping was spreading. Some colorful lights were shining on whatever those things were and it made the frail boy somewhat confused. Where... is this?

The young student tried to move, but soon came across a problem: not only did his body felt weak beyond belief, but there were also some kind of wires and other mechanisms connected all over him. Only then did he realize he even had a mask on his lower face, which was meant to let him breathe better. This all confused the young patient greatly and he tried to remember what could have led to him being in this situation.

And then, all of a sudden, all the of past events' memories flooded into his mind. The Geass Order, his own power, the mission he was sent to do, Ashford Academy, Zero, the Black Knights, his big brother Lelouch and the sacrifice he made so save him when Lelouch's own comrades turned against him. He, Rolo, died in order to secure the life of his only family.

And yet, here he was, alive, even if not so well.

When those thoughts finally entered the boy's mind, he groggily brought his hand, connected to a few wires and a hospital drip, to his face and roughly removed the oxygen mask. Without looking his other hand's pale fingers found the wires and took them out one by one, ignoring the pain it brought. Some different sounds began spreading from the machines, but he paid no mind to it. There were also some sort of small metal plates on his chest, but before he had a change to remove them as well, the hospital room's door opened and a young female walked in with a paper file in one hand. But when she saw that the patient inside was very much awake and even began changing things on his own, her brown eyes widened and she retreated back into the corridor. She seemed very young and was probably taken aback by such actions.

But Rolo wasted no time. He hastily ripped off the metal plates off his chest, which made the main machine change the beeping into one full sound, and let down his frail legs difficultly and slowly sat up. Guess pushing the Geass into overdrive really took a toll on him it seemed. It was a miracle how he even managed to survive. But still...

The door opened once again and this time what looked like two nurses and a doctor came in. One of the women immediately went over to the machines, and the other came to him, while the doctor stood in front of the boy's bed. He was a man in his mid sixties and had this strong aura around him. He didn't waste any time and spoke:

''I see you've finally awaken. But you shouldn't do that, your body is still very weak. Please, lay down.'' The doctors voice was deep and calming, though some worry could be also heard.

Rolo held an indifferent expression as he said the following words:

''Sorry, but I do not have time for this.''

Immediately afterwards he tried to activate his Geass, but a burning pain slashed through his right eye and his chest, which made the boy gasp loudly and clench both of the areas in pain. The nurses looked frightened and tried to get him to lay down by force as much as they dared. Since Rolo was in a rather unpleasant shock and instantaneous agony, he didn't resist too much. My Geass... Didn't work?

''Please, don't struggle, it'll only make it worse for you.'' The elder man said gently and he observed the young boy, though visible alarm too entered his eyes. ''I take it your name is Rolo Lamperouge, am I correct?''

The student didn't reply. Even though the pain had already vanished, he still clenched his chest area and covered his closed right eye. He had to be careful now – it would be best to first figure out how much they know before answering any of their questions. His Geass didn't work right now, so he had no advantage in this situation. Furthermore, the nurses didn't waste time and were already connecting the torn-off wires and mechanisms to him once again. That he did not like at all.

''Well, Rolo, we managed to contact your school, but they didn't seem to know any of you relatives or friends. And since your heart was and is very unstable and weak, we took the liberty and implanted a cardiac stimulator in your chest. It makes sure your heart works and doesn't let it stop.''

At that the boy's visible eye widened and he slowly took his hand off the other one, bringing it to his chest area as well as the other. Could that be it? Could that be what stops my Geass? You would think that it would only solve the problem of my heart stopping whenever I activate my Geass, but it seems the other way around has happened... My heart probably has to stop in order for the power to work.

"Now, could you tell us if there is someone we can contact about you?"

Rolo stiffened at this and turned his eyes to the window. Lelouch was the first thing that came to his mind, but he quickly shook that stupid thought out. Last time he saw his big brother they were escaping from the Black Knights, and he didn't know how much time has passed since and in what situation Lelouch was now in. It was obviously too risky to mention him. But other than that... What should he say? Maybe he can fake a memory loss, but that could also bring more problems. He needs to come up with a believable lie and quick. Something what wouldn't connect him with anyone, let alone the Black Knights.

"No." The boy finally spoke, still gazing out the window. "I live by myself at that school. My parents abandoned me and I have no idea where they are."

That earned some sorrowful glances from the nurses, but the doctor didn't give up.

"But there must be someone we can-"

"There isn't, I told you." Rolo interrupted him, snapping. Thinking for a moment, he added: "Unless you count the director, who took care of all the formal things." Sure, it wouldn't be good if he mentioned Lelouch, but Rolo didn't have a choice.

"Good, thank you. We'll contact him directly then." The elder man nodded and glanced at he file he had in his hand. "Now there are a few other questions I wish to ask-"

"Who brought me here?" The boy cut him off him again. A certain thought entered his mind and he grew suspicious. Rolo was certain that he passed out in that knightmare, so whoever found him must have contacted the authorities about it, or they should have done that. If that was the case, the doctor wouldn't be asking about his school, but instead about the knightmare. Heck, if they knew about it, in the time he was unconscious they would have surely found out about his connection to the Black Knights. So the only reasonable explanation for this is that the one who brought him here didn't say anything about the machine. The question is, why?

''Oh, it was a girl about your age. You are very lucky that she found you and took you here in time, otherwise we wouldn't have been able to save you. I believe she also performed a manual resuscitation, which is quite impressive for a girl this age. But since still quite a lot of time had passed before we were able to give you full medical treatment and your body was barely clinging to life at that point, not to mention that your heart received an incredibly strong attack, you fell into a coma for quite some time.'' The doctor explained seriously and looked directly into the boy's eyes.

''And how long was that?''

''Fifteen weeks.''

Rolo was, to say the least, taken aback by such information. He was out more than three months, and so much could have changed in that period. Now he definitely couldn't waste any more time here. But that isn't going to be easy.

''Alright, so now, if I may, I'll ask a few questions, regarding your health.'' The doctor opened the file and took out a pen. ''The most important one – how are you feeling now? Does it hurt anywhere?''

''I feel fine.'' The boy answered indifferently and quickly changed the position of his hands, so that they would be laying on his chest crossed. Rolo knew that he had to say everything was alright, otherwise they wouldn't let him out anytime soon.

''Are you sure? Your records indicate that you lack some important vitamins and minerals, but that's to be expected. You should feel weakened, which is normal. We'll write you on some physiotherapy activities to help strengthen your body.'' The elder man talked as he wrote down in something in that file. ''Now that you're awake, we'll also to run a few tests on you to determine if your body is functioning normally.''

Rolo's eye twitched a bit in annoyance, since it was obvious they weren't planning on letting him out anytime soon.

''And how long are you planning on keeping me here?'' He asked, trying to hide his growing irritation.

''I can't say for sure, but until it's certain that your body has recovered.'' The doctor said simply and rose his gaze to the young patient. ''Now, we'd like to know how did you get in such a situation that you requested immediate medical attention?''

The former Black Knight bit his lip and looked down. What should I tell them? I guess I could just...

''What did the girl who brought me here say?'' The boy slowly asked. He had to be certain.

''That she found you unconscious in the forest and immediately brought you here. She didn't knew anything else.''

''I see...'' The young student appeared to the other as if lost in thought. If he was out for three months, it wouldn't seem strange if he had some memory issues. It wasn't the same as forgetting his family member though. This shouldn't cause to much trouble. ''To be honest, I don't quite remember. The most recent events seem blurry to me.''

''I understand.'' The man nodded as he took a note. ''That isn't surprising, it's common for people who woke up from a coma to have memory issues. But don't worry, it'll come back eventually.''

Rolo just nodded and looked up at the doctor. This is so troublesome...

''Alright, that'll be all for now. We'll let you rest now. Your breakfast will come shortly.'' The elder man said and was beginning to leave with the nurses, before Rolo stopped him.

''Excuse me, but, about this girl... Could I see her?'' He asked. There was something suspicious about her, he had to know what. There has to be a reason for hiding the truth, there always is.

The doctor looked at him and smiled gently.

''Of course, if that wouldn't tire you too much.''

''No, I'd like to meet her as soon as possible, please.'' Rolo said politely. The best course of action now was to play nice. It would be troublesome to try and get out without being able to use his Geass.

''Alright. Oh, by the way,'' He added suddenly and took out a black bag out of his white gown's pocket. ''These are your belongings we found on you.'' One of the nurses took the bag and handed it to Rolo. He was surprised he had anything at that time, but maybe his memory was indeed a bit scrambled up. ''Goodbye for now.''

The young Geass wielder waited patiently until he was all alone in the room before slowly opening the bag. There were only two things inside: his newly acquired pocket knife and...

Rolo's chest tightened and he let out an inaudible gasp at the sight of his phone and that locket Lelouch gave to him on his birthday. For some reason this moved the boy quite a bit. So much time had passed since they were separated, so many things could have happened in that time. His pale fingers gently clenched the cold metal heart and he closed his eyes.

Brother... I'll come to you, I'll find you. We'll be able to be a family again, I promise.

~End of Chapter 1~