AN: Re-watching code geass, was inspired to write this cuz Shirley's death got me all kinds of fucked up, there are some mild AU and semi OOC things going on here, expect some canonical divergence. This is meant to be a more lighthearted, feel-good story.
This is a story of love between an Unwilling Demon and an Innocent angel, they will be star-crossed lovers no more. Some inspiration taken from "Rescue Angels". I took the liberty of making Shirley a programmer/computer nerd. Not a nuclear physicist geek like Nina, but she's real good with electronics.
An unsettling fog had rolled in, it was quiet, time seemed to stand still here, in the grand corridors of the Tokyo mall. There where only 2 beings left in the building.
"No- NO, Shirley don't do this!"
Two souls, one innocent, one filled with hate, two souls bound by fate, never to meet at the pearly gate.
"I COMMAND YOU TO LIVE!"
They cried; one screamed, the other died.
"No matter how many times I am reborn... I'll keep falling in love with you, over and over again Lulu..."
Separated, silence struck down by the bell, one destined to heaven, the other bound for hell.
"SHIRLEY! SHIRLEY! STAY WITH ME SHIRLEY! DONT DIE!"
"I... Love... You..."
"Shirley... SHIRLEY!"
A horrible, pain-filled wail filled the air, Shirley Fenette had been murdered, declared dead by paramedics on the scene, joining her father in death, a grieving mother would commit suicide soon after
He drenched himself in blood, soaked in it, bathed in it, he slaughtered them all, and she watched. She watched as the man she loved suffered, forced himself to commit horrible acts to destroy an evil so deeply rooted into the fabric of society that only more evil could destroy it.
She watched him grieve, watched him cry, watched him kill his father, let his mother die. Watched him drown in misery, a broken shell, the dreadful pull of depression and guilt cast it's spell.
She watched him commit suicide, she watched, screaming and crying every single step of the way as he planned his death, watched Suzaku agree, watched Lelouch's best friend kill him, that stupid gaudy sword pierced his chest, pierced his heart, she wailed, she begged for it to stop, this couldn't be happening.
There was so much blood
They cheered, the people he fought for, bled for, died for, cheered as his white robes where stained red, cheered while Nunnally sobbed, they where so fucking HAPPY and it made her sick... she watched her love die, and they celebrated it like new years...
And then she saw fire, war, hate, Nunnally was overthrown, to Shirley's horror they hanged her. Schneizel broke his Geass, he killed Zero, he became emperor, and the world was set alight in pink flames. She couldn't even register it, she just stared blankly at the holocaust around her, she was surrounded on all sides by shattered cities, desolate planes, and millions of human skulls.
Why? WHY WAS THIS HAPPENING!? WHY DID SHE HAVE TO SEE THIS!? WHY WAS LULU'S SACRIFICE FOR NOTHING!?
"He must be saved, you can save him." A voice... no, it was not a single voice, it was a chorus of voices, a million voices all at once, their words echoing in the void, that got her attention, the idea that she could save Lelouch, it flooded her mind, it made her non-existent heart spark with hope
"Why...?"
"Do not stop the march of time!" She heard Lelouch's voice echo around her. "What I want is tomorrow!"
"Lelouch Vi Britannia made a wish, a wish that saved me, the collective subconscious of mankind... but in order to fulfill his wish I must prevent mankind from destroying itself as well. With him gone, there is no one strong enough to protect the world from the machinations of evil men who would see the world burn and humanity fall."
There was a flash, and she was standing on a floating staircase, the sky was a pale shade of pink-orange, the floor in front of her was made of clouds... and Lelouch stood in front of her, at least it looked like him.
"Lelouch Lamperouge, Lelouch Vi Britannia, Zero, the master of lies who paid the ultimate price for a chance at salvation, must live. He must have a reason to go on, a reason to fight, a reason to survive. You must be that reason." The voice continued. "For if you do not, the human race is doomed to destroy the planet, and themselves along with it, we will all cease to exist." The voice finished, as the image of Lelouch shattered like glass, the clouds lit on fire, and she heard only screaming, making her step back, close her eyes and cover her ears. When she opened them, the clouds where back, and it was quiet.
"How?" She asked, desperation clear in her voice. "I... I'm not smart like him, I don't have his Geass power, I don't have money or influence, I don't have an army... I... I'm just me..." She cried. "I want to help him, but I don't know how and... He's dead... how can I save him if-"
"I am C, the collective subconscious. I am both my own being as well as the culmination of human experience. I am the thoughts, memories, and lives of everyone that ever is, was, or will be. Human History does not need to end here, there is so much more potential, humanity can survive and thrive if they work together, and on their own they can reach for the stars... but that is not possible if he is dead. Therefor... I must break a rule. I can only do this once, there will be no second chances... miss Fenette, I am capable of turning back the clock, reversing the flow of time and undoing the events that have taken place."
"Time travel is possible...?"
"Under ordinary circumstances no, thankfully for you this is no ordinary circumstance."
"But I still don't know how to save him, how can I save him if I have no way to help?"
C seemed to only chuckle at that.
"Silly girl, you are all he needs... however, if you wish for power, I can help. Miss Fenette, I would like to offer you a contract."
"A contract-" She whispered. "You mean like the one Lulu made to get his Geass?"
"Very clever, you catch on quick, yes, I shall offer you a Geass before you depart, one that may tip the scales in your favor. The terms of this contract are as follows, in exchange for this power, you must do everything you can to protect Lelouch Vi Britannia, be it from his enemies, friends, or himself, do you accept?"
Yes, yes, yes, a thousand times yes.
"I accept the terms of your contract!"
"Very well... go forth, Shirley Fenette, and make your own path, be it as an angel of Justice, or one of Vengeance."
The world went white.
When she opened her eyes, she was sitting outside in the Ashford Academy courtyard... she felt the warmth of the sun and the touch of a light breeze, she heard the muffled sound of rumbling car engines in the streets, the chirping of birds, the conversations of classmates around her, a slice of radish with lettuce and light dressing was on her tongue, it tasted so good...
She was alive...
She had to take a moment to just absorb everything, and keep her heart from exploding in her chest. There was no way it was all a dream, it was too vivid, too real, she really did go back in time... she had to be sure.
Quickly reaching into her breast pocket, she pulled out her phone and checked the date... August 16'th, 2017.
It actually happened, this was real, she was back.
Lulu...
Her body almost moved on it's own, she scarfed down the rest of her Lunch and sprinted as quickly as high heels would take her, her shoes clicking against tile floor as she made her way to the clubhouse, today was an early dismissal, meaning no classes after lunch. Lelouch would be in there for the Student Council meeting-
She practically barged in, her body shoving the door open as she frantically looked inside... and there he was, sitting at the table, one hand on it, the other propping up his head as he snored lightly... yesterday was Shinjuku... bile rose in her throat... she knew now what happened that day, the indiscriminate slaughter, her heart ached, her conviction only growing as she slowly walked towards him, she couldn't take her eyes off him, worried that if she did he'd vanish...
He had to confront his brother, and then kill him. Even though he didn't know Clovis well, hadn't seen him in years, even after such horrible acts, he couldn't quite cope with what he had done, she remembered him getting ill and running into the bathroom to throw up. He said it must have been something he ate, but she knew full well it was him being torn up over what he had been forced to do.
He was hurting, her Lulu was hurting.
She walked over and sat down next to him, quietly reaching up... she bashfully poked his cheek, feeling his warm skin, he groaned a little, his head turning a little. She had to stop herself from crying and trembling, taking a moment to calm down, smiled and closed her eyes, gently rubbing his back. He stirred, but didn't speak or make a move to leave or stop her, so she kept going, just slowly running her soft hand up and down his back, applying light pressure. They stayed like this for a while, until they heard the other member's of the student council approaching. Knowing that he wouldn't want to put up with Milly's teasing, and certainly not wanting to deal with it herself, she slowly backed away and stood up, beginning to walk over to her usual spot-
"Shirley." She heard him speak her name, it was quiet, soft, it made her stop in her tracks, her eyes widening as her heart skipped a beat, she turned her head so that her left eye gazed upon him. Green met purple, and she could not look away. Her heart skipped a beat a second time as he smiled lightly at her, it was a small, appreciative quirking of the lips, but it was everything to her.
"Thank you."
She felt giddy, a blush marking her cheeks as she smiled brightly and looked away, clasping her hands together, she hummed merrily as she walked over to her seat and sat down, just in time for Milly to barge in
"GUTS!"
'That fucking pervert!' Shirley fumed internally, her hands balling into fists as she stood outside taking a deep breath, in through the nose, out through the mouth, she was livid. Milly, the lecherous old man that she was on the inside, couldn't help but make the same snide comment about her body, but it was even worse because this time she directed Lulu to take note of it! The embarrassment!
"You're a 10, from what I've seen in the girls bathroom anyway, that body of yours has been filling out quite nicely, wouldn't you agree Lulu~?" The words of Milly Ashford echoed in her head, and Shirley turned bright red.
'Milly you BITCH! I'll get you for that!' She took more deep breaths, forcing herself to remain calm even as the words of the blond she-devil echoed in the back of her head... however... She felt she wouldn't mind if Lelouch looked more closely at her...
She let out an eep and lightly slapped both her cheeks, shaking her head, her orange hair wafting about in the breeze behind her.
'BAD SHIRLEY! KEEP YOUR MIND OUT OF THE GUTTER!' She admonished herself internally. "I've been spending too much time with Milly..." She whined, dropping her hands and letting her head hang as she tried to compose herself
She had a mission, a mission from... well... she supposed they where literally god by all accounts so there was that. She took a minute to think, mulling over her options... she was no Lelouch, she couldn't plan nearly as well or as fast or as far ahead as he could, she knew that, but she would still try. She put her hand up to her chin, supporting it by placing her other hand beneath the elbow of the first as she paced, deep in thought.
She spent what must have been an hour doing this as she ran over each possibility and it's outcomes in detail. Not all the future events even, just what she should do now, her first course of action, it was mind-bogglingly difficult to decide on a path. But after recalling all the details and going over the facts, she finally came to what she believed to be the best option. She left the school, and prepared to embark on her first operation
She went home and got changed out of her school uniform, throwing on a T-shirt and sweatpants, and then tossing on a white hoodie, she grabbed a scarf and used it as an improvised mask that covered her mouth and nose, with her hood up, only her eyes and the skin around them was visible... she waited until it was dark out and she slipped outside, remaining unseen and unheard by her parents. The Tokyo settlement had no real crime to speak of, not inside the walls, too many soldiers, too much police enforcement, nobody dared do anything within the main city, it was suicide. So she was safe to walk out and go where she needed...
The residence of the Viceroy was the palatial estate plopped down in the middle of the settlement, it was the seat of government for Area... 'No, not an Area, for Japan...' She said shaking her head, her head poking out of an alleyway, she may not have been an expert on security but she knew how to avoid cameras, she saw them on the poles of the streetlights. Thankfully they had a few blindspots, perhaps intentional, perhaps not, it didn't matter, the colonial government had their hands full and wouldn't be working at full capacity, security would be lax as they recovered from the battle in the ghetto, they wouldn't suspect a break in, not so soon.
She looked both ways, making sure there where no other Cameras in hidden locations that might pick her up, and ensured no cars where coming. After confirming the coast was clear, she ran across the street and jumped, her hands landing on the edge of the security fence. She was much more athletic than Lulu, and most girls for that matter, morning jogs, her swim team, and her usual trips to the gym all ensured she was quite fit. So it was a breeze to vault over the fence, and she landed on her feet without a problem on the other side. She quickly looked for her target-
There, an air duct, and a large one at that, she slinked towards it, pulling a screwdriver out of her pocket she quietly removed all the screws holding it in place and slipped it off, gently leaning it against the building. She then slipped into the vent and began to crawl...
It was a hell of a trek, she had to scale 90 degree metal incline every once in a while, broken up by crawling on her hands and knees across the ceiling of various floors, it took at least an hour by her guess, perhaps 2, and by the end of it she was a sweaty mess, beads of it dripped down her exposed skin and pattered on the metal floor. She breathed heavily as she just laid there for a moment, closing her eyes. After taking some time to collect herself, she peered out of the vent, looking around the viceroy's office. She saw nobody inside, only furniture which included a desk with a computer on it, her eyes narrowed as she looked at her objective.
She reached into her sweater pocket, tightly gripping a USB stick. She gave the office one last glance before slipping her hand through the grate and unscrewing it from it's place. Once the screws had been removed she gently popped it out of it's slot and slipped out onto the floor, getting up onto her hands and knees, she popped the grate back in place, picking up the screws and putting them in her pocket, she briskly walked over to the computer, turning on the monitor, she used her skills from her COMP-TIA classes to gain access to the government's servers. It was easy enough to find what she was looking for, idiot left their password and username on a sticky note tacked onto the side of the monitor, it was a very recent file near the top of the uploads.
She quickly sifted through it, her bright green eyes flicking across the page, she quickly took out her USB and slotted it in, and began to copy them onto the thumb drive.
Her ears picked up footsteps approaching, her eyes widening, they flicked down to look at the progress, it was only at 73%. She grit her teeth and turned off the monitor, letting the PC run in the background to continue it's file transfer, and walked back over to the vent. She popped the grate off, slipped inside as quickly as she could, and put it back in place.
Just in time as well, she watched with baited breath as a dark skinned woman with Silver hair walked into the office and stepped towards the desk... she recognized this person, and her eyes narrowed dangerously, she bared her teeth, barely containing an enraged snarl... this woman nearly killed Lulu a couple times, and ultimately helped in the betrayal of the black knights. At least indirectly, she caused Zero Requiem, she caused Lelouch's final fall into despair.
But as much as Shirley wanted to kill the wench, she didn't have a weapon on her, and couldn't afford to be caught. She had a Geass but she wasn't even fully aware of what it could do. And if she had a gun she would make far too much noise, so she watched as her blood simmered and she imagined killing Villetta Nu.
She sighed in relief when she saw Villetta pick up her purse, grumbling something about knowing she left it in here, letting out a sigh, and leaving. The door closed with a click and Shirley let out a breath of air she didn't realize she was holding, her head thumping against the floor of the vent and she groaned. Pulling herself back out, she ran to the computer and turned the monitor back on.
Download complete
She pumped her fist, a smile on her face beneath the scarf. The first stage was complete, now she had to get out of here with her data and start on stage-II. Quickly pulling the drive out, she erased all evidence that she'd accessed the computer, shut the monitor off once more and then went back to the vent. Slipping the grate back on and putting the screws back on before starting on her return trip. And it was much easier going down than it was going up. She had been tempted at first to take her shoes off going up, but she needed her shoes to have some friction and grip the walls so she could climb, and now she needed them to slow her fall as she slid down the sharp inclines and crawled out of the metal tunnel
She pulled herself out of the same hole she came in, and like before placed the grate back on, screwing it back in place before looking at the fence. She stepped back a few feet to get a running start, and jumped when she was at the right distance. She clambered over, a bit slower than before, exhausted from her trek. She ran back across the street and into the alley, avoiding the cameras as she went.
Shirley jogged home, wanting to get there as soon as possible, she walked up to the door and touched the handle... locked
Shit
She went around the back, looking at where her room was, she lived on the second floor. She gulped. The only way to get up there was using some vines. So she reluctantly, and carefully gave the vines a tug, when they didn't rip off, she slowly started to climb them. Keeping her feet on the brick wall, one free hand reached out to pull her window open, sliding the screen up, she climbed onto the sill and pulled herself in. She fell on the floor with an audible thud and an 'oof'
Apparently her parents heard that
"Honey are you alright!?" Her father yelled from across the house, she bit her lip as she thought up a quick lie.
"Yes daddy, I was just practicing my hand-stands, I was thinking about joining the gymnastics club!" She grimaced, not a complete lie, but not really the truth either, regardless, she had to keep their suspicions off her. Her parents trusted her, she was young, but extremely responsible and well behaved so they rarely bothered her.
"Oh, that's great sweetie! Good luck, but don't stay up much longer, I'm making pancakes tomorrow morning!" Her mother said this time, and Shirley sighed in relief, letting the back of her head thump against the hardwood floor, she was exhausted and felt the burn as lactic acid finally hit her muscles. She was used to a good workout, but tonight was a bit much. Slowly, she wrenched herself up off her floor and peeled off her sweater. Her shirt had gotten soaked in sweat due to her strenuous night, making her forest green bra visible through the clear white fabric, she wondered if Lelouch would appreciate the view-
Her cheeks burned bright red as naughty thoughts entered her mind and she shook her head again, more rapidly this time, making her hair fling about behind her.
She pulled the drenched T-shirt up... it pulled on her tightly bound breasts and dragged them up a bit before finally getting it off, and they dropped. She tossed the old one into a hamper and slipped a new shirt on before plopping down in her office chair, and quickly plugging her USB drive into her laptop. She made sure the volume was turned down before opening the files and watching, she had to be sure, she had to see for herself, to know for certain she got the right files, if she fucked up it was unlikely she'd be able to do what she did again.
She watched, and only minutes into the footage, she threw up, picking up her garbage can and leaning over the side of her chair, she wretched into the can and coughed, quickly closing out the videos before she had to look at it anymore.
Yup, these where the correct data packets alright. She shivered as she got to work, she couldn't finish stage-II tonight, there where things that she needed and didn't have quite yet, but she could at least get everything organized, so she created a bunch of different folders, re-formatted all the files and saved them to the correct locations. Once she had everything put together, she reached into her mini-fridge next to her desk, guzzled a bottle of water, and let herself fall onto the bed. She curled herself up into the covers and slept.
Hours later, Shirley's eyes opened up warily, blinking a few times, she rubbed them, and blinked them again, her vibrant green orbs stared out the window looking at the sunrise. She vaguely remembered a knocking sound waking her up, it echoed through her dream, a dream she could not seem to remember... but given there was a wetness between her thighs leading up to her crotch, she was pretty sure it was a good dream... god damn her hormones and god damn being a sexually frustrated teenager... and god damn being unable to remember good dreams!
"Honey, I made breakfast! Come eat before it gets cold!" Her mother said from behind the wooden door, and Shirley smiled a little... at least she was gonna get pancakes!
After a delicious breakfast and a MUCH needed shower, she changed into her white hoodie and sweats and went out, she had shopping to do. She made her way to a nearby electronics store in the mall and looked around for a bit. She could technically do what she needed to do just with her phone, but she didn't want to risk her cellphone containing any sensitive materials in case, for whatever reason, she was suspected of treason and had her personal belongings confiscated.
So she bought a new laptop, a cheaper one that would be used only for her double life, once she brought it home she'd transfer all the files she took onto her new one and remove any evidence from her original. She also got a relatively inexpensive camera with a recording function that she needed, a small soundboard to set up a voice-changer, and a greenscreen to cap it off. And then she went on the most dangerous part of her mission.
She had to find a secluded space, away from any other witnesses, no cameras, no other recording devices. Just her and her equipment, there was only one place she was likely to get that. The ghettos.
Walking through the ghettos was already dangerous just as a Japanese person, as a Britannian? You're basically dead the moment you set foot on those streets, not unless you're packing heat. Shirley didn't have a gun, and likely wouldn't for a while yet. She was on a time limit. She didn't have the luxury of going through all the hoops of gun registration and she wasn't about to try stealing one.
So she walked out into the Ghetto, alone and unarmed with nothing but her new PC with the files she needed, her camera and tripod, the green-screen, voice changer and her phone, most of it stuffed into a large backpack. She made sure to be as stealthy as possible, creeping through alleyways and in the backstreets, away from the main roads, hopping fences and ducking through ruins. Until she found what she needed.
An old abandoned warehouse in the dilapidated commercial district, she walked up the stairs to the higher floors, found a mostly empty room and went to work. She set up a greenscreen on the wall, turned on the camera, and her voice changer, making sure that nobody could see her face through the live broadcast she had on her laptop off to the side and began to practice for her upcoming debut.
Today was the day, Phase-II had been completed, after hours of being a stuttering mess and fumbling with her words before getting it right, and then hours more making sure the files where correctly categorized and ordered, she made her way home. And from then on she rested, waiting, later that day the Viceroy, Jeramiah, announced that they had found the killer. She of course knew it was all crap, that the one to do the deed was a just and righteous young man, whom was still at large.
She didn't have warm and fuzzy feelings for Suzaku however. Whilst she could understand his pain, and didn't entirely blame him for what happened, he was still Lulu's best friend, and yet he showed no hesitation in plowing that sword through his chest and skewering her prince's heart. At the end of the day, Suzaku murdered Lelouch, that was a fact.
Needless to say if he where to meet his end, she wouldn't be particularly concerned... but the young man was important to Lulu, so she'd begrudgingly tolerate his presence and pretend to be nice once he got to Ashford.
Shirley had tried to comfort Lulu, talk to him about it, he visibly reacted to Suzaku being alive and charged as the killer, so she could use that as an excuse to get closer to him. Alas, over the course of those few days before the procession where Zero would make his entrance onto the world stage she couldn't get a hold of him. She supposed it was due to him being busy making his own preparations. She was disappointed yes but understood how important it was to Lulu so she simply waited it out. She spent it biding her time by practicing her coding skills and manipulating hardware.
And now, it was time to see the fruits of her labor. She walked down the street, hood up, head down, backpack on as she swept silently through the crowds, she giggled, thinking of herself like an assassin from one of those games that Rivalz liked to play. The whole crowd blending thing was on point, because she was perfectly camouflaged in the background of the hustle and bustle of everyday people going through the motions. Her hood tilted up, and her eyes landed upon the Hi-TV tower, the green orbs narrowed as she slowly started moving to the righthand side of the crowd she was walking with, and once she reached the building she took a sharp right.
She entered the front door casually, looking around, she took in the front lobby, abuzz with activity in preparation for Jeramiah's silly parade. Good, she'd go unnoticed, just another body in the crowd. She walked over to the far wall on the left side, they left a map out juuuuuuuust for her. She flipped through the pages hanging from the board on the wall, her eyes quickly scanning each of them... there the server room was on the 8th floor, south side. Her eyes glinted across the maps again until she found what she needed, and casually walked down the hall and into an elevator.
Some people where dressed more casually, others in business attire, she didn't stand out too much compared to the others. As far as they all knew she was a new hire, or a janitor that got called in, or contracted Tech Support...
She grinned beneath her scarf, tech support... yes that was a good one, Janitor too, except instead of cleaning up a mess she was about to dump a few thousand skeletons out of someone's closet.
They reached the 9th floor and Shirley walked out with her hands in her pockets, heading into the bathroom, she shut the door behind her and then locked it. It was a single person restroom, so she had just enough time and privacy to do what she needed. She reached into her backpack, pulling out a rope with a 4-pronged curved hook attached before opening the bathroom window, she latched the hook onto the window sill and gave it an experimental tug, when it stayed in place she nodded. Tying the rope around her waist and slung her backpack over her shoulder before taking a few steps back, and then jumping out the window, back first.
The hook kept her from falling, and her body swung towards an 8th floor window, her feet landing below the opening, her hands reached out and she yanked the window open before swinging inside. She untied the rope, clapped her hands, cracked her knuckles and smiled.
Jackpot!
She was in the server room now, normally this place was locked down tight, and it was from the main hallway, but nobody expected someone to scale the side of the building 8 stories into the air to get to this place, and the windows helped with ventilation, because server rooms could get hot very quickly if the air conditioning failed. It was almost too easy.
The firewalls were a joke to her, rudimentary at best, they'd stop some amateur from messing around, but not someone who took programming seriously. She simply pulled out her laptop, plugged in, and within minutes she was deep in the guts of Britannia's dirty little propaganda network for Area-11. And so, she began to ROYALLY fuck their shit up without them even realizing it. It wasn't instant, she didn't make changes to the live server, not yet, she emulated it on her laptop, all their files, all their TV programs, all their videos and pre-recorded set pieces, she had access to all of it, and at the click of a button, after she was done making all her edits, she would unleash hell.
She just had to be patient...
Lelouch was not nervous
The hand holding the detonator was shaky because he didn't have anything to drink and had been pushing himself a lot lately, he was bouncing on the balls of his feet because he was excited. He was not nervous.
He felt a bead of sweat trail down his forehead, drip down his nose and onto the glass interior beneath his chin, the suit was hot, he was NOT nervous.
He swallowed a lump in his throat, it was dry, he should have just had some water before he left and he'd be perfectly fine, tea with Nunnally earlier didn't count.
The car came to a stop
"You dare desecrate his royal highness' personal transport!? Get out of there!"
Showtime, the flag of the empire burned away, revealing none other than Zero, the man of miracles, nobody knew who he was, not yet, but they would, very soon.
"I am-" He paused for a brief moment. "Zero!"
So began the back and forth.
"Show's over Zero! Take the mask off and step away from the transport!" Jeramiah Gottwald barked, raising his pistol into the air, he fired a single shot, and a team of Sutherlands dropped from the skies, taking up positions around the masked man and his patchjob truck, and the Orange Knight lowered his pistol to aim at Zero
In response, Zero raised his free hand from beneath the cloak and brushed against his mask, only to instead raise his hand higher and snap his finger, the back hatch fell apart, revealing-
Jeramiah gawked at the masked man, and Villetta froze up, both staring in horror as they recognized the poison gas canister
"I'm sure you know what this is, do you intend to shoot me? What if you miss?"
Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuck-
"What do you want Zero!?"
"Simple, this for Kururugi!"
"Are you mad!? This prisoner is accused of killing a prince!"
"Be that as it may, you have the wrong man, if you wish to know who really killed prince Clovis then look no further!"
"Y-you mean...!?"
"Yes, the one to take the life of prince Clovis stands before you! The one to kill him was none other than myself!" Zero flung his arms out to both sides, letting his cape billow in the wind, a cameraman approached closely who seemed to actually be excited, aiming his camera at the masked man. It was a dramatic spectacle.
Before Jeramiah could speak, there was a shrieking sound, that of a microphone being messed with, it became clear that the PA system across the Tokyo settlement where having some sort of trouble, which confused everyone, including Zero, this was not expected- His head, and the heads of all other onlookers flicked to look at the TV monitors all across the city, they all fizzled out, the view of Kururugi's procession had vanished, replaced by noise and static, the screens buzzing until a new image flickered onto the screens. It was prince Clovis! But not in real time, it was a camera view of him sitting on his throne in the G-1. Everyone was confused... but as Clovis began to speak, all the purists put the puzzle together as to what they where watching, and they turned ghostly pale at the implications.
"If word of her gets out, I'll be disinherited." His voice said, cold and heartless, the tone of the real prince Clovis, not the actor, but a man who would consign an entire city of people to death.
"Prince Clovis La Britannia commands you! Destroy Shinjuku ghetto! Leave no one alive!"
What happened next could only be described as an orchestra of violence, the Britannian army cheerfully engaged in wanton slaughter, footage of Sutherlands running down pedestrians and gunning them down, one even stepping on a child, it made a horrible crunching, squelching sound as their body was pulverized and blood gushed all over the sidewalk, covering the purist Knightmare's foot with red liquid, and they just laughed while the civilians screamed.
Death Squads ripping people out of their homes, they begged, pleased, got on their hands and knees and bargained and cried, nobody listened, they got mowed down and the soldiers treated it as a casual day at work
Tanks fired HE shells at crowds of people, APC's gunned them down with autocannon fire, but no matter how many died, the screaming didn't stop, there was always more to kill
In Ashford Academy, Milly dropped her teacup, and it shattered on the floor, her mouth slightly agape and tears running down her face, Rivalz brought a hand to cover his mouth before he ran to the garbage can to puke his guts out, and Nina brought her hands up to her head, covering her ears and shaking her head, trying to deny what was happening. It was the same all across the school and the settlement... and across the empire, because the procession for the trial was an international broadcast, Every Area, the Homeland, and other nations abroad got to see what was happening.
"I HAVENT HAD THIS MUCH FUN IN AGES!" The voice of Jeramiah, clear as day, yelled over the loudspeakers, causing the man to sweat profusely, his hands holding the gun shaking. It was heard over the sounds of the crowd, confusion, shock, anger, the curtain had been pulled back and they didn't like what they where seeing. Blood, fire, smoke, death, the pained cries of the dying, it was vivid, the images burning into the minds of all onlookers.
Britannian Propaganda was very carefully manufactured to give the commoners a sense of righteousness, the idea that Britannia was just, and kind, the idea that they where of superior morals and Intelligence, and now, in mere minutes, that whole image had been torn asunder and left as a pile of scraps to be lit on fire, the videos soon came to a stop, they froze up and then vanished, replaced now by a figure, a woman in all-white clothes. They stood with their hands in their pockets, staring into the souls of everyone watching, even Lelouch, beneath his mask, eyes wide, felt the figure pierce his soul as they stared unflinchingly at the camera.
"My fellow Britannians-" That alone was enough to make everyone gasp in shock, it was a Britannian doing this!? Lelouch was floored, he thought that surely no other Britannian would go as far as he was going, and here they where, on the same day at the same time too! The crowds where shuffling, anxious, angry, they looked at the soldiers guarding the procession not with respect but with angry glares. The figure's voice was distorted much like his due to a scrambler of some sort, not unlike his own as Zero.
"- My name is Angel, you may be wondering, why it is I had to show you those videos, the reality is that I needed to show you the truth..." They paused for a moment, taking a breath. "Look at yourselves! You are people, yes? Of course you are! And so are they! All those beings that live in the ghettos, the few that accept the paltry offerings of honorary citizenship? They are people! JUST LIKE YOU! Britannia has been poaching them! Enslaving them! Burying them in mountains of their own dead friends and family! Your military is not a brave bulwark protecting you from evil! They are THUGS! They are RAPISTS AND MURDERERS! They relish in the slaughter, take solace in the bloodshed, they feed on the pain and misery and death of those who they deem lesser than them! They call them terrorists, pretend they are noble and just when in reality they do nothing but poach innocent people like animals!"
"My fellow Britannians! You common folk who have kept your head down for so long, are you going to let this happen!? Are you going to let this evil go unquestioned!? Unpunished!? When you yourselves could very well be among the dead if you had been born to a different mother or father, are you going to persecute an entire race for something they cannot control!? WILL YOU LET THAT HAPPEN!? OPEN YOUR EYES! SONS AND DAUGHTERS, MOTHERS AND FATHERS! AUNTS, UNCLES, COUSINS AND GRANDPARENTS! STAND UP! SAY NO! REJECT THE NOBILITY WHO PROFIT FROM BLOOD! REJECT THEIR EVIL! REJECT THEIR TEACHINGS! REJECT ALL OF IT!"
"EVIL DOES NOT WIN JUST BECAUSE IT EXISTS, IT WINS WHEN GOOD MEN AND WOMEN IGNORE IT! IT WINS WHEN GOOD MEN AND WOMEN FAIL TO ACT! SO ACT! BRING IT DOWN! THE SYSTEMS THAT KEEP YOU DOWN, THE SYSTEMS THAT DEMAND YOU SACRIFICE YOUR MORALS, YOUR PRINCIPLES, YOUR VALUES SO THAT THOSE AT THE TOP CAN GET FATTER AN WEALTHIER OFF YOUR HARD WORK! DESTROY IT! DESTROY IT SO THAT SOMETHING BETTER MAY BE PUT IN IT'S PLACE!"
"I BESEECH YOU! RISE UP AND FIGHT, FIGHT THEM WITH WORDS, WITH YOUR WALLETS, PICKET AND SIT IN, GO ON STRIKE! GO TO HONORARY BUSINESSES! CHARITY FOR THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN WRONGED BY THE OPPRESSORS! AND WHEN THEY ROLL UP WITH THEIR TANKS, THEIR GUNS, THEIR KNIGHTMARES AND DEMAND THAT YOU MOVE?! STAND STRONG, STARE THEM IN THE EYE AND TELL THEM 'NO, YOU MOVE'! DOWN WITH THE NOBILITY! DOWN WITH THE ROYAL FAMILY!"
The figure pulled up a flag, 13 stars aligned in a circle over blue canvas in the upper left hand corner, with stripes of red and white, they raised it high, and it billowed in the wind. "LONG LIVE THE REVOLUTION!"
All hell broke loose
AN: I hope you enjoyed this little experiment, I have the next chapter of Code Wars about half way done so there's that, please review if you like it.