A/N: with the delay of the next chapter of my three-story cycle, the Sunrider crossover specifically, as I wait for the finished chapter to come back to me. I decided to post one of the stories with some pre-made chapters I was stockpiling for a future release. To give you guys something to enjoy while I wait for my beta to finish the Sunrider crossover before moving onto the other two main stories of my three main story cycle.
I chose this one, because it was more complete in development and where I wanted to go beyond a few things, I'll save for the end of the chapter.
For now, this story begins right before the invasion of Japan where some unexpected events happen, which Lelouch, Suzaku and Nunnally get drawn in, which is just the beginning of a much bigger conspiracy they unknowingly get caught up in. As legends who have once died are freed to walk about their world much more.
I want to also take this time to give thanks to authors Seerking, Fan of Fanfics21, Ultimate Black Ace, OBSERVER01, and Albion676 for their input in helping develop the story's plot, and Homu Labs for their helpful videos on the lore.
Without further ado, let's begin. I regrettably couldn't find a beta for this story, so I hope it works for you guys.
Chapter 1
The Pink Elf
"You should give up, Lelouch," a young boy said.
A few feet away, Lelouch, a young ten-year-old boy with black hair and purple eyes wearing a white shirt and black shorts, was tangled up in the fishing line from the fishing pole he was having trouble using.
"I'll catch a fish, Suzaku, so help me!?"
"Brother, maybe you should calm down."
The girl who spoke, Lelouch's sister, three years younger, had wavy sandy brown hair, wore a pink jumper and red shirt, and was seated in a wheelchair. She was with Suzaku, the ten-year-old boy with brown hair and green eyes dressed in a black shirt with tan shorts, helping the girl with her fishing pole.
"Sorry, Nunnally," Lelouch said, calming down before, after a few minutes, he managed to untangle himself.
"Let's hope your brother never ends up stranded on a deserted island," Suzaku said half-jokingly.
"Very funny, Suzaku," Lelouch remarked, visibly annoyed.
Lelouch looked over at his sister, who caught several fish thanks to Suzaku's efforts in helping her.
Ok, I need to try this again and catch SOMETHING!
Casting his line out, this time not catching part of his clothes. The bobber remained still above the ocean for several minutes; then, as some floating debris and seaweed floated nearby, Lelouch's line tightened, and he got a bite.
He felt accomplished and proud when he caught a fish, but he was determined not to lose it. Despite struggling against the fish, Lelouch fought to reel it in before the line snapped. Fortunately, Suzaku helped him and together they successfully caught the fish.
"Wow, Lelouch, you must've hooked a big one," Suzaku complimented as the two worked together.
"Come on, how much of a fight this fish must be putting up," Lelouch said as he struggled, growing fearful the line could snap.
"Just a little more; I see something in the water," Suzaku said, nudging Lelouch to step back to help pull it in.
"You can do it, brother!" Nunnally cheered.
Lelouch struggled harder as the rod began slipping from his hands, but he tightened his grip as he and Suzaku took more steps back.
"I see something, almost there," Suzaku said.
The pair unceremoniously fell back as they managed to pull what Lelouch had caught out of the water, and it wasn't a fish Lelouch had caught. The two were stunned by what Lelouch had reeled in; instead of a fish, a young girl with long pink hair around their age. She was covered in seaweed but wore a white shirt, white pants, and matching shoes.
"Was it big brother?" Nunnally asked, which, thanks to her blindness, didn't see what Suzaku and Lelouch pulled from the water.
"Uh, yes, it was," Lelouch said, regaining his composure.
He and Suzaku knelt next to the girl, who, to their surprise, was still breathing. He was confused, but after turning her over, they found she was wearing a mask that must've been giving her oxygen.
"Her pulse seems normal," Lelouch said, checking the girl's pulse.
"How did a girl end up in the water like this?" Suzaku asked, wondering what had happened. "I don't see any ships, but I can't see where else she could've come from. Did her ship run afoul of the Britannians beyond the coast or something else?"
"It's possible since I don't know how else she could've been drifting in the water like that?"
But her outfit isn't something a kid her age would typically wear either, Lelouch observed.
Suzaku removed the mask while Lelouch tossed away all of the seaweed that had been covering her.
"So my brother caught a girl?" Nunnally asked, overhearing parts of the conversation. "Is she a mermaid?"
"No, I am pretty sure she isn't," Suzaku said, wondering what to do.
Lelouch picked up the mask, wondering how something so small could've provided enough air to keep her alive in the water. The girl began stirring as he examined the mask, trying to figure it out. Opening her eyes were light blue eyes and pink pupils; even more surprising were the elfish ears under her pink hair. The girl's eyes closed in response to the sun shining down on her as she slowly sat up.
"Uh, you should take it easy. Are you alright?" Suzaku asked as the girl tried to get up.
"Where did you come from?" Lelouch inquired.
"I-I think I was on some kind of ship, a science ship, I think," The girl replied as she brought one hand to her forehead.
Likely whatever had sent her into the water had knocked her out, and the shock was enough to cause some slight memory loss.
"I remember there was a fight as we tried to escape, and then an explosion, then nothing," the girl replied as her memories tried to piece themselves back together.
"And you drifted here; it's a miracle you didn't drown," Lelouch remarked.
"I guess I am lucky," The girl said before politely introducing herself. "My name is Elysia, but you can call me Ellie."
"I am Suzaku, that is Nunnally, and this is Lelouch," Suzaku said, providing introductions. "Uh, do you have any family we could contact?"
Elysia considered that for a moment before shaking her head.
"No, I don't have anyone."
Lelouch was about to ask a question when a noise drew his attention. Looking for the source, the young man saw a pair of young girls swimming toward them in a lifesaver. They were doggy paddling frantically as if fleeing from someone or something. Lelouch assumed they were girls judging by the voices he could hear in the distance. It wasn't long before she neared the shore where they stood, and Lelouch saw what was driving her to swim so fast; a shark was chasing her as he could see its fin on the water's surface.
There wasn't anything Suzaku and Lelouch could do, but the pink-haired girl stood up before conjuring a pink crystalline javelin. She hurled the javelin with a shocking amount of strength that seemed impossible for a girl her age, but the spear barely missed the shark's head. However, the projectile transformed into a wall of crystal before the shark, causing it to crash into the sudden wall. Lelouch couldn't tell if the wall stopped the shark, but the large splash due to the impact will have likely stunned the shark and stopped it in its tracks forcing it to swim around. The pink-haired girl's act gave the fleeing two girls much-needed time to distance themselves from the shark as they drew closer to the shore.
By the time the shark was able to resume its pursuit, the girls who had been swimming frantically to escape the shark reached the safety of the shore, causing the shark to turn and head back to sea.
What was that!?
Lelouch turned to Suzaku, who seemed stunned by Elysia's creation of a crystal spear. The young man found that somewhat reassuring, fearing he might've hallucinated the whole thing.
"I hope that didn't freak you out?" Elysia asked.
"What was that?" Lelouch asked but was denied an answer as Suzaku went to tend to the exhausted girls, barely able to stand as the pair walked to the trio before collapsing. Likely, whatever adrenaline rush helped the girls outrun the shark was utterly spent as she could not move. At the same time, a large lump of hair on the head of the girl with short brown hair began moving, revealing a small kitten with light brown fur, dark spots, and lighter brown fur on its mouth and belly leaped off the girl's head.
"Pardo, are you alright?" Elysia asked, kneeling next to Pardo.
"Pardo!?" Suzaku, Nunnally, and Lelouch asked at once.
"Yes, she's my friend, but her full name is Pardofelis," Elysia replied.
"And the cat," Nunnally asked as it leaped into Nunnally's lap to rest.
"I am not sure; she never owned a pet cat before, so I don't know where she or he came from," Elysia replied.
"Ok, but are those cat ears and tail real?" Lelouch inquired, pointing to the long cat tail and ears on Pardo.
"They are?" Elysia answered chipperly.
"And how are they normal? Was she some science experiment? Did you two escape from some hidden lab aboard a ship," Lelouch said, trying to make sense of everything.
"You know you shouldn't ask a girl so many questions like that?"
"Maybe, this isn't a normal situation, and of course, that crystal wall you made, that crystal weapon, and your friend Pardo, of course, people will ask questions about that."
"Who is the other girl?" Suzaku asked, pointing to the white-haired girl who collapsed.
Unlike Pardo, she had no strange features other than having long white hair and a fair skin complexion, wearing the same clothing as Elysia and Pardo.
"Uh, I don't think I know her," Elysia seemed to be at a loss until a thought came to mind. "Have you, by chance, heard of Fire MOTH?"
"No," Lelouch replied, surprising the young girl.
"The Honkai," Elysia asked, but Lelouch shook his head. "Herrschers?"
"I haven't heard of those, too," Lelouch answered.
The elfin girl was stunned, seemingly expecting such information to be common knowledge to everyone.
"I suppose then I am going to have to explain some things," Elysia conceded.
"Uh, why don't we care for your friend and her companion first? Maybe we can feed her some of the fish we caught after we prepare them," Suzaku suggested diplomatically.
Lelouch glanced at Pardo, who didn't look to be in great shape due to her extreme exhaustion, and the kitten on Pardo's head was resting in Nunnally's lap, much to the latter's delight, who had been petting it. The white-haired girl was unconscious, so it was a question of when she would wake up.
"I suppose you are right," Lelouch said before deciding to help carry the fish back to where they had prepared a fire and all they would need to cook the fish they had caught.
"I'll carry the other girl to the fire once we have a place to lay her down ready," Suzaku offered.
Unknown to the group, hidden from their sight using optical camouflage, a sphere-like device the size of a basketball was hovering overhead, observing their movements.
Far from shore where Lelouch and Suzaku had been fishing, a large and sleek vessel of three-hundred meters long, three-hundred feet wide, and nearly the same feet high. It was aerodynamic, designed to fly through the sky or under the sea, but its smooth polished white surface was meant to render it invisible to the naked eye. It was even intended to be invisible to radar and any sensors, but now it lay at the bottom of the ocean with a large hole in its starboard side.
This was the task of a much smaller vessel, identical in general design, but it appeared based upon a high-altitude aircraft with a long main body and two wings extending out near the end. The craft floating underwater near the wreckage had released dozens of black-sphere-like drones to investigate the wreck and the surrounding area.
They had arrived as quickly as possible, but the sinking had happened hours ago. The crew aboard quickly expanded their search radius to find survivors. However, the conflict between the Britannian Navy and its air force against the Japanese Navy and its own air force was hampering their search efforts.
They feared how the Director would react upon finding out; they all knew that ship's cargo was very precious to him. So much so he never kept that said cargo in the same place and kept it on the ship that lay at the bottom of the ocean, the Second Chance, on the move out of fear; keeping them in one place was risky. Or rather, the Director feared what could happen if they woke and didn't want to risk that either.
With little warning, a spilt in the air aboard the bridge occurred before expanding into a circular-shaped dark portal.
The men and women aboard the bridge began swearing in fear, expecting the Director, a man in his late thirties, exited the portal. He had light blue hair extending past his shoulders and a scar across the bridge of his nose. He had pale blue eyes and wore a black tunic-style uniform, black boots, and a red band around his right arm with a Heron swooping down to seize prey printed upon it.
"Status report," The man commanded firmly, his face unreadable as stone, yet the air of discipline the man excluded prompted the ship commander to approach and salute, which the new arrival returned.
Although thankful it wasn't the Director who showed up, the commander, a young man with brown hair and green eyes wearing a similar black uniform, knew this man reported directly to him, so he was fearful.
"Sir, we've investigated the wreck; the priority cargo hasn't been found."
"My daughter is among those you call cargo; I'll warn you once to mind your choice of words," The man said calmly, but his words scolded the frightened commander.
"Forgive me, sir, but we've investigated much of the surrounding area. We've found no signs of them, but we've confirmed that the crew aboard perished with the ship from the remains we've found."
"I see, so they are possibility awake and alive?"
"That is a strong possibility, sir," The commander agreed. "We have been monitoring communications between the Japanese and the Britannians while scanning their ships for any sign of them."
"What of the escape vessel?"
"Gone, sir, but we are trying to track it."
"I see, so that means someone with appropriate mechanical skills removed the tracking beacon," The scarred man quickly deduced with one hand on his chin in contemplation. "Only one person without knowing where it was hidden could've figured out where it was and how to remove it quickly. They likely suspected the ship had a tracking device on it."
"If escape was their plan, then, of course, they would find it first." The man said before a thought came to him. "The sensors in the satellites we have in orbit can find them, adjust them to search for ion trails; all of our ships use ion engines when in flight."
"Yes, sir!" The ship's commander replied before hurrying to relay his orders to a crew member.
"Commander, one of the drones we've dispatched to search the shores of Japan has picked up something," a female bridge crew member called out.
Displayed on the main screen was an image of Elysia, Kallen, and Pardo in the company of Suzaku, Lelouch, and Nunnally, along with a small kitten.
"So three of them have been found; any sign of the others?"
"None, sir; we've dispatched dozens of drones to search shores within reach of the wreckage and where the ocean current would carry them," the female operator replied.
"Understood; keep them under watch for the time being. Perhaps the others might show up, or we might discover who helped them escape?"
"What?!"
"Given our security and protection protocols for them and the ship, it's highly unlike they awoke on their own. Someone clearly helped them, but who," The scarred man replied before a small electronic earpiece in his right ear vibrated, indicating a call was coming in; he put a finger to the device to accept the call. "Yes, Director?"
He listened to the caller on the other end.
"Yes, the ship was sunk, no doubt by the Britannians or the Japanese who fought it belonged to the other. The conflict has already erupted between Britannia and Japan; it's only a matter of time until the Japanese lose their Navy and air force; the Britannians completely outnumber them."
The man was quiet as he listened to the response of the man on the other line and his next question.
"Yes, I am afraid much of the internal damage was likely caused by Kalpas when he was released from cryogenic slumber. No doubt he was less than happy about his current state; the resulting rampage caused the failure of the ship's stealth systems." The man listened to the caller's reply and his next question. "We haven't found any trace of them, but the escape vessel is gone, and all of the ship's crew and personnel have been confirmed lost with the Second Chance. It's more than likely they are all alive, sir."
Once more, he listened to the caller's response before providing an answer in turn.
"Yes, sir, I've already given the order for our satellites to be used in such a manner to track their ship. However, we have located Elysia, Kallen Kaslana, and Pardofelis. It seems they made it to Japan's mainland; they are at least ten miles south of Shimokitaba, where a group of children has found them." The scarred man answered before the caller had a question for him. "Yes, sir, they should've finished identifying them."
The man came up to the console and peered over the operator's shoulder. The operator had just finished identifying the children with Elysia and Pardofelis.
"They've been identified as Suzaku Kururugi, Lelouch vi Britannia, and his sister Nunnally," the man replied as he listened to the response on the other end, which the scarred man noticed a pause before he told him something that surprised him. "Yes, sir, I understand. I'll take care of it if something does happen. But what of Elysia, Kallen, and Pardofelis? Respectfully, sir, we know none will want to return to cryogenic slumber."
For the final time, the man received his orders while attentively listening to the caller's response.
"I understand, sir. I will handle it," the man responded before ending the call with the Director. The Director will be sending an agent to help us. Meanwhile, we need to keep a close eye on them and monitor their movements. Should we also carry a rifle with the Suppression Compound?"
"Yes, we do, sir, in the armory," the commander replied.
"Good, I may need it later, but focus on the search for now. But, have someone contact a man named Ruben Ashford for me and arrange a meeting as soon as possible."
"Yes, sir," The commander replied with a salute.
The man thought internally, Please be well, Griseo; Father will find you soon.
Later that day, Pardofelis regained consciousness as her nose smelled a wonderful aroma causing her eyes to open up. The smell was fantastic, and she felt warm too, which prompted her eyes to snap open before sitting up and eagerly searching for the smell's source.
"I told you it would work," Elysia chimed happily.
Pardo saw that she had been lying near a small propane stove providing both warmth and the means to cook the fish, Nunnally, with Suzaku's aid, had caught. The kitten riding on top of Pardo's head earlier happily indulged in one of the cooked fish.
Elysia smiled, offering Pardo a cooked fish.
"This should help you get your strength back," Elysia said, offering the fish.
"Oh, thank you so much, Elysia," Pardo exclaimed happily before accepting the fish and promptly consuming it until only bones and its head remained.
"Thank Nunnally and Suzaku for catching it," Lelouch grumbled as he tended to the fire before Suzaku lightly elbowed him.
Pardo tried to say something, but her mouth was still full of food, causing Lelouch to shake his head at the cat-girl's lack of table manners.
"She was probably starving and exhausted from such a swim," Suzaku scolded Lelouch. However, he silently agreed Pardo lacked good table manners, which could've been because she was starving terribly too.
"It sounds like your friend must've been starving," Nunnally commented, confirming Suzaku's unspoken point.
"So, what happened? I doubt you two were in the ocean for some extreme exercise," Lelouch inquired.
"No, but honestly, I am not sure why we were on that ship?" Elysia said as she struggled to recall details before an explosion sent her flying into the ocean.
Yes, I remember waking up inside a cryogenic capsule, Elysia thought as she remembered what happened.
"Elysia, please wake up. We have to move," a familiar voice called to her as she slowly gained awareness.
"Huh!?"
Elysia's vision was blurred, but slowly the figure kneeling above her came into focus, revealing an older woman in her late twenties with long bluish-purple hair and purple eyes wearing a white shirt and pants identical to what she was wearing.
"Elysia, please open your eyes. We don't have a lot of time. Kalpas is on a rampage," the older woman warned.
The sound of alarms caused Elysia's eyes to snap wide open, fully alert yet deeply confused.
"Where, how!?"
"There is no time to explain we need to go; Aponia has the others," the woman explained, urging Elysia to her feet.
A sudden explosion rocked the ship they were on.
Now fully understanding the seriousness of the situation, Elysia got to her feet. She ran alongside the older woman as alarms continued to echo and an occasional explosion rocked the ship. They passed by several spider-like machines, which ignored them in favor of the source of trouble, which Elysia assumed was Kalpas.
As the pair tried to navigate the streamlined white passageways, their path ahead was blocked by smoke from fires caused within the ship. The older woman saw an emergency case on the wall and quickly opened it to provide a mask for herself and Elysia.
"Use this; it should provide breathable air for hours," the older woman explained before donning her mask.
Once Elysia did the same, the pair entered the smoke-filled passageway. Despite low visibility, the older woman knew where to go and had little trouble finding her way around.
Eventually, the older woman led Elysia up a ladder before opening a hatch.
Before her was a big blue ocean as far as the eye could see.
Confusion and curiosity filled Elysia's mind, but something in the water suddenly caught her eye. It was something long and cylinder-shaped traveling below the surface, and when it hit the side of the ship, an explosion, and then nothing.
"Are you alright? You seemed out of it for a moment?" Lelouch said, noticing what he could only call Elysia, being distracted.
"Sorry, I recalled how I ended up in the ocean. The ship we were on was sunk; I saw something speeding towards the ship under the water," Elysia said before adding as she placed a finger on her chin. "There was an explosion, then I woke up here."
"It sounds like a torpedo," Suzaku said, to which Lelouch nodded in agreement.
"Britannia might've sunk it," Lelouch said; although it could've been the Japanese, he had no way of proving who was responsible. He was willing to pin the blame on Britannia out of bias, and they would be the most likely to shoot first and ask questions later.
"That might be true," Suzaku said in agreement.
"Britannia?" Pardo and Elysia asked, stunning both Suzaku and Lelouch.
"You're joking," Lelouch asked, uncertain how to react.
"Hey, Lelouch considering what probably happened, maybe they took a blow to the head for something," Suzaku whispered to Lelouch.
"I suppose," Lelouch replied quietly, reasoning that was a plausible explanation, but it didn't quite explain Pardo's cat-like features and Elysia's elf-like features and strange powers.
Were they part of some science experiment or something? Lelouch wondered, but the smell of cooked fish soon awoke the second girl.
"Uh," the white-haired girl said as she finally came too. "Where are we?"
"I guess Pardo's friend is now awake," Elysia chirped.
"Well, we kinda met as we were escaping the sinking ship we were on," Pardo commented after finishing a cooked fish.
"Who, what's your name?" Elysia asked.
"My name is Kallen Kasalana," Kallen replied, rubbing her head. Suddenly her stomach growled very loudly, much to her embarrassment.
"Here you go," Suzaku offered.
"Thank you," Kallen said before accepting the cooked fish. Once it was in her hands, she quickly consumed it, leaving only bones and the head.
She is either famished or has quite the appetite, but at least her table manners are better than Pardo, Lelouch thought.
Lelouch wanted to start questioning Kallen; perhaps there was a chance he could get some answers from her. Unfortunately, something in the sky caught his attention; he heard the sound of jet engines, a lot of jet engines.
"Are those planes? There are a lot of them," Suzaku said, curious, but curiosity gave way to worry when he realized the direction they were heading in and how many they were.
That's too many planes flying toward the sea in formation like that unless…
In the distance, sirens could be heard, which Suzaku and Lelouch realized could mean one thing.
War had just broken out between Japan and Britannia.
"We need to leave now," Lelouch said with alarm.
They were in no immediate danger, but staying near the shoreline would be dangerous. Thankfully, Suzaku shared his concern and quickly began packing their fishing gear.
"Lelouch take the bags; I'll carry Nunnally," Suzaku said after packing everything.
"What's going on?" Elysia asked, sensing the alarm in the air.
"War has just broken out between the Holy Britannian Empire and Japan," Lelouch answered with a grim expression.
"War," Elysia said, shocked that something like that was happening. "This country is being attacked."
"Yeah, by Lelouch's homeland, Britannia," Suzaku said, as he just finished getting a worried Nunnally onto his back to carry her.
"Homeland, but I don't know what Britannia is," Elysia said as Pardo finished off the last of the fish.
While still shocked by Elysia's lack of knowledge, Lelouch sighed as he decided to give her a short summary.
"Come on, I'll tell you as we move," Lelouch said, gesturing for Elysia, Kallen, and Pardo to follow. "The Holy Britannian Empire is one of the world's three superpowers, and arguably the largest, but undeniably the most aggressive of the three."
"Aggressive," Pardo said, speaking with her mouth full of fish.
"Yes," Lelouch said, ignoring Pardo's lack of manners. "The Holy Britannian Empire was built from the defeated remnants of the British Empire, which had lost against the newly born Europia United led by Napoleon Bonaparte at the twilight of the Age of Revolution. Fleeing their lost homeland, the remains of the British Empire remade themselves into the Holy Britannian Empire after escaping to their colonies across the sea. Vowing to never allow such a defeat to happen again and driven by the desire to rebuild stronger than before, Britannia aggressively expanded across the rest of the continent they had escaped to. Subjugating anyone who stood in the way."
"That's terrible!" Pardo exclaimed, swallowing her fish.
"That's Britannia," Lelouch answered simply. "After seizing the American Continent, they began spreading beyond the Pacific Ocean, conquering islands. This process was slower due to the limitations of maintaining conquered lands across the sea and distance from the homeland for proper support. Eventually, they believed they had the right to conquer the world, which was officially driven out by some beliefs and proof in the theories of Charles Darwin. However, it was more to ensure no country could ever bring them to the brink of collapse again."
Such countries never existed that I remembered, so this world is entirely different, Elysia thought, having listened carefully to Lelouch's explanation while searching her own memories, trying to deduce what could've happened.
"So, what do we do?" Pardo inquired, obviously scarred.
"First, we need to get away from the shoreline; if Japan loses to the Britannian Navy, it won't be long before they land forces," Lelouch said, but he feared Japan would lose.
Britannia wouldn't invade the world's key supplier in Sakuradite without the other two superpowers responding, so that means they must've had their attention diverted. This means they are attacking with an enormous invasion force, seeking to seize Japan before the other three superpowers could react, Lelouch deduced carefully in his mind.
Sakuradite was vital for technology and military development, and Japan provided more than seventy percent of the world's supply. Thanks to this, a small country like Japan became an economic powerhouse capable of influencing world affairs to some degree. It wouldn't surprise Lelouch that besides Britannia, the other two superpowers wished to control Japan to have complete access to their Sakuradite mines.
If they intervened in the war, they wouldn't be fighting to save Japan but to take it for themselves, likely fighting one another over the small nation. Thus, Lelouch realized Britannia was racing against the clock to seize Japan before the other two superpowers could intervene, likely meaning they were invading with a considerable force to overwhelm Japan as quickly as possible.
It was just a question of how large this invasion was.
As Lelouch hurried along the path leading away from the beach, they were met at the end by two men in suits, they were Japanese, but upon seeing Lelouch and Nunnally, they pulled their guns on them.
"Suzaku, put the girl down," One of the men in suits insisted politely.
"What do you think you are doing?" Suzaku demanded.
"Following orders, now put the girl down!"
Before anyone could do anything else, gunshots rang out, surprising and frightening everyone until Lelouch realized the men didn't fire their weapons. The suited men collapsed onto the ground dead, having been shot in the back before they could shoot.
"Your Highness, are you alright," a voice shouted as a man in his early twenties with a tanned complexion, orange eyes, and short, neatly combed teal hair.
He wore a dark green and light green battle uniform dress, black boots, a supply belt, and a pistol in his hand.
"You, who are you?"
"Private Jeremiah Gottwald, your highness," Jeremiah said while holstering his weapon. "It seems I was just in time."
"What's going on?" Nunnally asked, frightened.
"You killed them?" Suzaku said, shocked he saw the two men lying dead before him.
"I had no choice. Unfortunately, I had been told Prime Minister Kururugi was considering killing you two to secure a deal he had struck with Britannia; it seems their fears were confirmed," Jeremiah replied.
"WHAT?!" Suzaku exclaimed in disbelief. "Who told you that?"
"Mr. Taizō Kirihara, he had been growing suspicious of the prime minister, but I'll gladly tell you more. We must flee this area; the Japanese Navy and Airforce are suffering heavy casualties. It's only a matter of time before they invade Japan's mainland."
To prove the truth of his words, Jeremiah drew what appeared to be a radio, but it had been modified to read military chatter. Jeremiah turned it on, and the voices spoke Japanese. While Lelouch understood it to a limited degree despite trying to teach himself, Suzaku understood it clearly as a look of horror appeared on his face.
"We need reinforcements; we're being overwhelmed!"
"Sorry, sir, but the Brits are attacking us from the South, East, and North; we're being overwhelmed. It's like they brought their whole god-damn army down on top of us!"
"Commander, we just lost two more squadrons of jets!"
"The Yamato has just been sunk; I repeat, Brit subs just sunk the Yamato! We've lost the Admiral's flagship!"
Suzaku's face paled as the blood drained from his face. He heard the different voices as panic and fear mixed with determination to face the Britannian Forces to the bitter end despite knowing they were hopelessly outnumbered. It was stranger that Pardo, Kallen, and Elysia understood the Japanese language despite never hearing it, but Kallen, on the other hand, was familiar with it. They were shocked by how badly the battle was going, even though they weren't familiar with human wars.
This sounds like when the Fire MOTH in Australia were being overwhelmed by the Honkai commanded by the newly awakened Herrscher, Elysia thought; she was worried about what was happening but wanted to know why this world was having wars with humans.
Beyond humanity's war with the Honkai, she could never recall such conflicts, raising the questions she had in mind further.
So I am in Japan, but this doesn't like the same Japan I was in when I met Yae Sakura, Kallen thought; she had many questions she wanted to be answered.
Lelouch wanted to question Jeremiah more, but he knew with the conflict with Japan and Britannia having started and going as badly as Lelouch feared it would, they couldn't linger. Because he couldn't trust this man, Britannian or not.
"Your Highness," Jeremiah said, seemingly aware of his distrust of him, "I understand you have no reason to trust me, but I failed your mother once when I was a guard at the Aeries Village. I shall not fail again and allow her children to die. At least trust that my loyalty to Lady Marianne remains strong, so please trust me enough to give me a chance to prove it."
Lelouch was conflicted while Suzaku was still processing the war and Japan losing, but he knew staying here would be a mistake. Yet he knew going with someone he was hardly familiar with could be a bigger one. The decision and the weight of how it could affect him and Nunnally was thrust upon him, and the lack of time didn't help, but Elysia placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Lelouch, what you chose, I and Pardo can help you," Elysia offered, reassuring.
"We've just met not too long ago," Lelouch pointed out.
"Yes, but I am always for making new friends. Besides, where would we go? So we'll stick with you since you and Suzaku saved me by pulling me from the water, so I owe you one," Elysia offered with a bright smile.
"Yeah, because where can we go?" Pardo said, clearly worried because this land was foreign to them in every sense of the word.
"I'll come too. I have no idea where I am or how I came to be considering," Kallen said, letting her words trail off. "You've helped me, so I want to repay your kindness."
"I…I…I guess I have no choice," Lelouch said reluctantly after considering his options.
"I swear you shall not regret your choice, but please. You and your friends must come; we need to leave now," Jeremiah said, his voice a mixture of relief and urgency.
The group fled, and Suzaku barely regained his composure, following them as Jeremiah led them to a waiting vehicle to flee the area.
Britannia's invasion of Japan would soon begin following the inevitable defeat of the Japanese Navy and Airforce.
A/N: well talk about out of the frying pan and into the fire, we have both Elysia, Kallen Kaslana, and Pardo back from the dead, and stuck in the bodies of small children. I will say part of it was intentional, which will be explored in the next chapter with Dr. Mei being an exception, which will be explored later. But I will hint that Kallen wasn't meant to be brought back as a child as the process that brought her back was unfinished in that her body was being aged to its original age before it was interrupted when she was freed. Ato was someone I didn't intend to bring into the story, because I had some very serious reservations, and still nervous about using one as a major character, as an alternative so I wouldn't need to introduce him early in the story until absolutely needed.
This was admittedly done too to ensure the characters could be involved in events of the story even the light hearted stuff, because one thing worth mentioning is that Elysia, whose character was tricky to work with as someone who is cheerful all the time, meeting and becoming friends with a certain Student Council President.
Life at Ashford Academy will definitely not be dull XD.
And another reason was of course pairings, and speaking of that I've created a poll on my profile page to gauge among you which pairing with Lelouch would be the most interesting, although I originally thought to keep out certain characters, which fellow captains reading this can guess who and why. BUT I decided to say "screw it", throw them up on the poll and see what happens and what kind of feedback I get.
Winning the poll doesn't ensure their status as main love interest, however it does win them more screen time and opportunities since as author I do hold final say, but you are welcomed to convince me via PM or review, I am very curious about people's opinions. Also on a side note I did consider a harem or a threesome, but I concluded a harem wouldn't work, unless we want to count Vill-V who basically a one-woman harem lol. A threesome maybe, but that would greatly depend on the characters and if they be open to it. I did include two characters on the poll from Honkai Star Rail which is about sixteen or so years from now, but I figured the characters on the poll are within the same age group as Kiana, Lelouch and others will be.
Now don't take this to mean I am adding Honkai Star Rail, mostly due to it doesn't take place until after Honkai Impact. But there are still some things I can use to further the story.
On a last note regarding pairings, I am planning on a pairing between Jeremiah and Murata Himeko later in the story, so that's a confirmed pairing.
The rest of the Flame Chasers, will appear in the coming chapters and part of the reason I am going this way is because I want to space out everything to give time for everyone especially those not familiar with them to get to know them before I introduce the others. Given how many there are and the cast size of this story in general, but I'll do my best to keep things interesting.
At some point the group will visit the Earth of Honkai Impact, so yes the worlds are identical with history diverging at certain points, but separate. Something that will be elaborated upon in later chapters, and for eagle eye captains reading, yes I know about a certain detail regarding Pardo, and that was intentional for plot purposes.
Why Jeremiah is there will be explained in the next chapter will be next week unless I get the Sunrider: Mask of Zero chapter back from my BETA, which the update will be pushed to the following week. I've completed a couple of the chapters for this story before hand so I could post at any time, but I rather wait a week or two and see what feedback I get.
In the meantime vote on the poll, I am allowing big votes to be made up until twenty votes or so, which I'll limit the number of votes to be cast by that point.
In closing, thank you reading, I hope you enjoyed this story while I wait for my beta to complete work on one of my three current stories, thanks in advance for any reviews, follows and favorites.