Codes And Geass: Embracing Your Inner Megalomania

by Trickster Priest

Augusta per angusta (Through difficulties to honors)

119. Revolution 7: Savior In The Dark

Revolution 7: Savior In The Dark

"Ok, in hindsight, that was probably not the smartest thing I've ever done. But hey, it all worked out-ow"

Clearly Rakshata doesn't share my cheerful outlook, given that she just poked me very hard in the solar plexus. Bartley meanwhile is reading over a datapad, his eyes rapidly moving across the screen as he scrolls. Given that he was responsible for the creation of Kewell Soresi's enhancements, no doubt he's keenly interested in what VV's engineers were able to improve in his absence.

"Not smart, he says. Taking on a cyborg in close combat, even with your own improvements is the definition of asinine, Lelouch. You're fortunate that he didn't rip you limb from limb like your harem is going to when they find out about this, hmph," Rakshata says, rolling her eyes as she finishes writing something down on her clipboard.

Reaching into my jacket pocket, I pull out a joint and prepare to light up, only for her to snatch out of my mouth and glare at me, Bartley joining her with a pleading expression on his jowls.

"My lord, you cannot put yourself at that sort of risk. Had Jeremiah not been there in time, Soresi would have overwhelmed you once you exhausted yourself. It would be better for your own health if you could take time to recover and-"

My own hand held up in a stop gesture interrupts Bartley before he can work up a proper head of steam to lecture me. In his defense, he and Rakshata are more or less splitting the duties of chief medical officer and head of R&D. Something which if one were to think about it, sounds rather absurd given that he was formerly the head of Code-R and a figure of considerable public infamy after I exposed Code-R's depravity.

Then again, he saved my life and has been nothing but helpful since then. Hell, Rakshata herself said a lot of her recent breakthroughs wouldn't have happened without him, and to a lesser degree Nina, helping. Cutting him some slack would be the appropriate response..normally.

"Guys, I appreciate the concern, but we all know that delaying this operation at all is just begging for us to get screwed over like we did at the Siege of Tokyo, again."

THAT pointed reminder brings both my doctors up short. The Siegfried's interference forced a near death experience on me, perhaps even actual temporary clinical death, given how perilous the operation to revive me was.

"Dr. Rakshata, Dr. Bartley, are your ablutions and physics finished, or do I need to wait longer to have a word with my husband?"

…Fuck. Here we go.

Standing in the doorway, one hand on her hip, the other hanging loosely by her side, golden eyes looking directly at me, is my much belabored and aggrieved wife. Oh well, this will hopefully be less painful than our last fight, both in a physical sense, and an emotional sense.

Bartley, being a man well acquainted with the fey moods that are common among my family, reads the room and wisely tugs on Rakshata's sleeve when she is about to protest, shaking his head in refusal. Smart man, this is not a scene they want to be here for.

Throwing her hands up in annoyance, Rakshata hands CC a bottle before she storms out, "Here. Try not to bloody him up too much, we just finished patching him up. And make sure he only takes two of those pills later. If he takes more, I don't give a damn that he's my commanding officer, I'll string him up on a linga for a few hours in the sun!"

Not laughing at that reference and Bartley's confusion at missing the joke takes more effort than I expected. Unfortunately, my good humor dies a swift and unlamented death at the look on CC's face. A look that demands we talk things out. For better or worse.

With the door sealed and locked, the only sound is the click of her high heels as she strides towards the bed where I'm sitting up, shirtless, boots on the floor, various bandages and wraps on the injuries I received bringing down the cyborg assassin a few hours ago. Thank god for Britannian medicine.

"How bad is it? And what are these pills that Rakshata seemed reluctant to surrender to you?" she asks in a clipped tone, eyes unblinking as she looms over me.

Running a hand through my hair and taking a deep breath, I answer, "Amphetamines. I need to fully awake, alert and at my best for this operation. And in case I need to utilize the Balor to it's maximum potential with it's new control scheme."

And what a marvelous piece of engineering that is. A man-machine interface allowed for direct neural interfacing with the Knightmare's systems. By reflex, impulse, and brainwaves, I can command the Balor as though it were my own body. All thanks to the research on Code-R, the Brain Raid technology, and of course, Nina Einstein's programming.

Granted, it's an experimental system that we haven't really tested under the heat of full combat, not to mention it's a one off because no sane person would want the surgery I went through, even if they could survive it. As a proof of concept and idea for progressing science, even someone like myself can only look in awe at what they have created. All of our other KMFs will have a vastly downgraded and less sensitive version installed, one that will only require minor cybernetics and a lower level of mental discipline&focus.

CC looks at the bottle for a moment, then puts it down, sitting on the bed sideways before turning to look at me, taking a deep breath as she-

*smack!*

..leaves a nice red handprint on my pale right cheek. Ow.

"CC, I-" before I can utter another word, my left cheek is struck with a mirrored mark as I wisely take the hint before digging myself deeper. Mara knows I've put her through quite a lot in this marriage, and I probably deserved those hits. So! I'll be a smart husband who can read the room and shut the fuck up for a minute so my wife can vent her ill feelings about what happened.

"I should be angry with you. I should want to wring your skinny neck."

Raising an eyebrow in confusion, I gesture at her to go on, to which she rolls her eyes as she obliges me, "But at this point I've resigned myself to the fact that I can't stop you from doing stupidly honorable and heroic things, no matter how much it pains me to admit that."

Scratching my cheek, I respond, "I'm guessing I'm not off the hook yet. Because it feels like there's a 'but' coming at the end of that last sentence, and I don't mean your bountiful one."

Ha! That at least got her to crack a smile.

"Flirty little bastard. But, as you said, there's a catch. I may have resigned myself to that you're going to do stupid things in the name of your honor, but that doesn't mean I have to let you do them with impunity or save you from getting chewed out by other people," she drawls out, sprawling across my lap like a particularly lazy and naughty cat.

Gah. That, is going to suck. There isn't really a way to avoid taking the proverbial beating and exile to the couch over this however. Disappearing in the middle of the night and taking the Arcadia would likely end up with even the rank and file asking what the hell I'm doing. As it is, the plan CC and I came up with should work. Provided that is, I can secure the Thought Elevator and get Uncle Vincent to come after me.

Given everything the little bastard has done to try and ensure my demise up to this point? Provoking him shouldn't be the hard part. It's the obvious response that he'll make that has me worried.

Namely, piloting the Siegfried against me like last time.

I could claim that I'm not worried about it. That I have a plan for everything….but that's a lie. I might have ideas, but the Siegfried nearly killed me last time. And this isn't the same one as back then, this is a stronger and greatly improved version of the fucking thing. VV has had considerably more time to strengthen it than he would have in my last life. So saying that I'm not worried about fighting it after what it did to me and how long I took to come back from that would be either hubris of a level deserving of immediate death, or an equal level stupidity/self-delusion.

"You're worried," CC quips as she looks up at me, golden eyes with a hint of worry looking up at me.

Biting back a smartass remark, I reach over to grab my cigarette case, which thankfully Rakshata & Bartley did not take away from me this time, "What was your first clue?"

My catty spouse responds to that by reaching between my legs and gently but firmly squeezing my testicles, causing a sharp gasp to escape my lips. That never feels bad, she always knows just how much pressure to use that it feels juuuuust right.

"Lelouch, let's be honest. As much as I appreciate your actually shutting up and letting me have the last word? You're a smug megalomaniacal prick at times. Something is bothering you, out with it, Asshole," she remarks, a knowing smile on her lips as our eyes meet, both our faces upside down from each other as I look down and she looks up.

Sighing as I lie back, inhaling from my joint and then blowing a smoke cloud out, words come spilling out like blood from a severed artery, "...Last time, VV piloted the Siegfried against me. Barring some extenuating circumstances that I guarantee aren't happening this time? I would have died against him back then. I don't actually have a plan for the Siegfried pre-battle. I'll have to do battlefield analysis and hope I can find a weak spot to exploit. And yes, my nerves are both physically raw from the fight I had yesterday, and emotionally raw at the idea of fighting that thing again. There, happy?"

CC's hand reaches up and touches my cheek, gently stroking in a petting motion that I lean into, rubbing against her touch.

"Lelouch, why am I here, if not to listen to your worries and try to assuage them? You're not who you were last time. And that's why I'm not angry about your plan to disappear with a small force to handle the Directorate and come back afterwards. Because I know you. You might not have known the extent of VV's acts of evil or how much he ruined your life last time until after his demise the first time around. But now?"

Sitting up, her shapely hips scoot forward till she's straddling me, emerald tresses hanging down as she holds my chin in one hand.

"Vincent has been the cause of so much misery and suffering that none would dissuade you from this or demand mercy for him."

Her eyes narrow as she finishes her thought, "So I'll give you your opportunity to eviscerate him, Lelouch. BUT!"

Gripping me by both cheeks, she hisses out the next words in a cutting tone, "Do not dare to make a widow of me again. Slake your thirst for vengeance on him and be done with it."

….Well, she's not wrong that I am looking forward to finally putting the fear of me into VV. I didn't really get to enjoy it last time around. Considering that he literally did ruin my entire life and I would never have had the idea to destroy Britannia or kill my father without his impetus-hmm.

Well, never is perhaps too strong a word in families with familicidal tendencies like mine. But it would have been far less likely.

"You have only a few enemies left that I will let you do this for, don't waste my generosity, husband," CC states curtly, letting out a slow breath as she sits back in my lap.

"You're being..awfully generous and understanding about this. I was genuinely expecting to get my cute ass pummeled by now."

CC's lips curl into a catty smile as she responds, "I intend to sit back and watch as the rest of our little family takes out their displeasure at your recent actions upon your person, probably with a pizza and a glass of Sangiovese."

Ack.

"The other reason is that I myself have been where you are. Harboring an unquenchable lust for vengeance is an old and familiar feeling to me, my dear asshole."

Letting a smoke cloud billow out of my mouth, I wrap my other arm around her, stroking her emerald lock, looking up at the patterns in the dissipating smoke. What a fine pair we are.

"One witch to another, eh. Well, warlock in my case. I suppose Uncle Vincent would be my Jean D'arc, wouldn't he?" I mutter, thinking about what my moody wife is referring to..and suddenly realizing something.

My head inclines down to look at her exquisite face, "You never did tell me, you know."

Agate eyes close as her arms wrap more tightly around me at that remark, causing a slight wince on my part from where she's grabbing, "What she did to me, you mean?"

Rueful low laughter issues from her lips, a sound that tears at my heart, already anticipating that I'm going to hate hearing this. Oh well, I knew she was a headache when I married her. But she's MY headache.

"You once demanded I speak the truth about the vile deeds I did in another life. As your husband, can I not ask you to lay your troubles on me to help you bear it?" I whisper to her, nuzzling our cheeks together in a gesture of shared affection and empathy.

Smiling sardonically at me, my crazy but lovable other half sits up, crossing one arm under her breasts, the other tapping her cheek, "I suppose I have no choice but to oblige after such an earnest request like that."

Taking a deep breath, CC swipes my J and takes a long deep toke on it, letting the smoke form around her in a cloud before speaking.

"Let us look back to the hundred years war, towards the latter end of it. France is torn apart by war between the house of Valois, and the House of Plantagenet. And in this dark and terrible time, a young girl is given a power and a curse she doesn't understand."

CC takes another toke with her right hand, her left gripping the sheets till I place my own over it, gently holding it till her hand loosens to intertwine with mine.

"In a small village called Domrémy, in what is now the department of Vosges, this girl, destitute and alone, traumatized and fearful from her ordeals and the terrible times she is in, takes refuge in a barn to escape the summer storms harrying her."

As stories go, this is a rather cliched beginning in terms of the starting elements. But let's see where it goes from here.

CC passes back the joint as she continues her tale, "Of course it didn't take long for the youngest daughter of the farmers who owned the land to discover a stranger in her family's barn the next morning. Pleading for mercy, the young girl asked for shelter in the name of christian charity. Being a religious minded girl, the daughter, named Jeanne, of course said she would help. And thus the abandoned girl and the farmer's daughter began an unobserved and budding friendship."

Hmm. Now how did this go wrong? For go wrong it did, somehow. No one could express such vile and enduring hate like CC has without a cause behind it.

"Jeanne and I..it was a strange and unique experience at the time. I, a former slave and girl who had been leading a life of gay pleasures for a time, only to be ruthlessly killed and ostrazied. And she, a peasant farmer girl and daughter of a local official."

This sounds like..can it be?

Twirling an emerald lock in her fingers, my witch continues to expound, "It was two years later, not long after Jeanne turned sixteen, that I made a decision. She and I were thick as thieves, near-sisterly in affection, and perhaps..with a promise of more in the future."

Her hair twists as she shakes her head slowly, "So I thought to give her one of the only things I could offer, something that would protect her, to safeguard this woman I had come to care for from the terrors and trials of this deplorable age."

A sickly sweet smile creeps onto her lips, one tinged with bitter regret and remembered pain as the other shoe drops.

"It was perhaps one of the worst mistakes of my entire life, that I gifted her a geass."

Before I can react to that pronouncement, she expounds upon it, "At the time, I had little to no conception of what I was doing. Or how the power of the king could affect the human psyche. I knew I could grant abilities to people, but for some reason, certain people stood out to me as..more interesting? Worthy? It's something I know instinctively and can't really explain in words. At the time, I just knew it and didn't really question why. It wasn't till later in my life that I realized what the people I granted this power to had in common."

Had in common, eh. Heh. Of course, what else could it be?

"That all consuming need, the beckoning flame of glory, they were called to the divine ambition. Though I suspect many didn't desire to go the full distance," my deep voice echoes in the room as I muse outloud.

CC nods as she expounds on her tale, "That's not always true, but it is called the power of the king for a reason. Certain kinds of people tend to be the ones who do best with it, relatively speaking. And let's face it, I have a type."

We both smile at that one for a few seconds before neither of us can keep a straight face and start chuckling and giggling respectively.

My right hand reaches out and holds her cheek, "It's ok, Bitch Tornado. I'm here. I know you don't want to talk about this. Hell, you think I wanted to expound on the miserable failure of my last go around?"

The pointed reminder about the elephant in the room causes her to wince as I hold her cheek like she's made of porcelain. And perhaps emotionally at the moment, she might as well be.

"Whether it was something she saw during the contract, thoughts of my own desires that she was not prepared to consider, or some hidden mania buried in her psyche, I neither know nor care at this point. Whatever the case, Jean went mad," she solemnly states, her eyes meeting mine in a stoic stare.

"Immediately after the contract settled, she started screaming and backed away from me on her hands and knees. Proclaiming me a whore of Satan out to corrupt her with the dark powers of hell. I..I tried to reason with her. This was the first person I'd cared about in many years at this point. But every word I spoke was spurned as a trick of the devil. And in those days?"

A hollow black laugh bubbles from her throat, "In those days, men feared damnation more than death."

"It did not take long for my former friend to organize a mob against me after publicly accusing me of being a witch out to stain her immortal soul."

Resisting the urge to say a smartass remark, because now is really not the fucking time, I lean forward and kiss her, holding her chin, pulling back after a moment. Small comfort perhaps, but it's what I can offer.

CC tries and fails to smile at the gesture, but what she says next makes it clear that this tale is nowhere near done, "Jean testified in front of her entire village, calling for justice in the name of god and France. She claimed that god himself had come to her in a vision and declared she would be savior of her country, and that the first trial of her crusade, was to see this devil's consort punished for her wicked sins."

"...You don't have to go into detail about what they did to you, I understand you're not enjoying retelling this-" "No, I need to talk about this. There's a reason I'm elaborating, so please, let me continue."

Very well, if that's what the lady wants.

"The humiliation was crude and misogynist, the torture was the kind of depravity only medieval minds could conceive of, and the rape?" she scoffs at that last one.

"The rapes were horrifying not merely because I was far from numb to the pain and terror as I would be centuries from then, no. What made them so painful to endure, was Jean watching as it happened, and not only doing nothing to stop it, but visibly enjoying the sight."

….And it just keeps getting worse. Story of both our lives huh? My hand runs through her hair, trying to provide a steadying presence.

Her voice wavers a moment as she resumes, "It hurt because I knew that she knew how I felt about her, and she used that to hurt me in the cruelest way possible. Taunting me, mocking me, letting me know she was relishing my misery and getting off on it."

Taking a deep breath, CC closes her eyes, sitting up in place, clenching her fists as her brow furrows, "At that moment, after I resurrected from the flames of my death by fire to 'cleanse the unholy taint from my soul', I made a decision. That I was done being a victim, and that I would seek retribution for my pain and misery, from the world itself if necessary."

Agate eyes open, and in those shimmering golden portal, I see a familiar image, a feeling that I know all too well.

"It was then, in the ashes of my own corpse, that the Witch of Britannia was born."

The feeling being one I have known in this life and my last: the undying flame of vengeful hatred against an uncaring world.

"Following that, I took time to hone my skills, learning the ways of blade and war. As it turned out, hate was a strong motivator for training hard. When I heard of Jean's rise to infamy as the 'Witch of Orleans'? I knew she had used the power I gifted her for her own ends. Being of peasant stock, I had no loyalty or feeling for my homeland, not after years upon years of misery and pain inflicted upon me for things beyond my control and because I was a woman," she snarls out, baring her teeth in a hateful grimace.

Beautiful succulent lips then twist into a cruel and vicious smile as she speaks, "So it was with no regrets that I sailed to England, subsequently betraying France by becoming the antithesis of their Saintess, La Sorcière de Britannia." (The Witch of Britannia.)

While some would cower or express unease at the vision of darkness in her visage, the demoness who cowed France holds no terror or secrets for me. After all, why should a demon king fear his other half?

"You can imagine the whore's shock when I rode out against her at the fields of Patay," she chortles, crossing her arms under her breasts with a vicious grin.

To which I respond with a smirk of my own, "I don't have to imagine that much, I did see some of your memories of that campaign. You looked absolutely ravishing, bitch tornado."

The cackle that escapes her lips hearing that sets my ardor ablaze. Pity we don't have time for that.

"To her credit, Jean sadly recovered quickly enough and proceeded to taunt me about the ordeals I underwent at her hands back in Domrémy. All while loudly boasting about how god himself had chosen her as his instrument to free France from Britannia, as a 'sword of justice,' ", she growls, almost spitting the words out in her obvious distaste and venom.

"Justice? A holy maiden? Don't make me laugh. She was an insane peasant girl coasting on the power of her geass and the fanaticism of stupid shortsighted men with small dicks and weak egos."

Catty, thy name is CC.

"After months of skirmishes and raids against each other, including a climactic battle where I led the defense of Paris itself against her forces, we finally fought a decisive battle at the siege of Compiègne. A campaign which could have easily swung to Jean's favor had the bitch not been utter garbage at logistics and managing her army. She had to disband most of her army due to the countryside being unable to support the numbers and was forced to proceed with a mere four hundred men."

Ok, THAT'S funny. And now I'm the one laughing out loud at this story. I guarantee she included that anecdote just to amuse me because she knew I'd appreciate the humor in it.

Taking a breath to stop laughing, I ask the obvious question, "So how did you beat her?" Because clearly she did something different.

Tapping a finger against her cheek, she replies, "I knew she'd go after me if I gave her an opening. So I had my men start spreading rumors that we were to have a feast and revelry that night. And knowing the reputation of Britannians, she'd assume they were too drunk and horny to put up a fight."

White teeth shine in a devilish grin, "She saw me topless, spilling wine across my breasts as I imbibed, and seeing men at arms seemingly intoxicated and disarmed, she chanced a raid if only to capture me for herself. Margny never heard such malevolent laughter as what I let loose that night when Jean was overwhelmed by my quite sober and alert forces hiding in the trees around the camp lying in wait."

Welp! There goes my self control.

"Hahahahahahahahaha!"

Is it dirty tactics? Ha! He who calls a man a scofflaw for not adhering to the 'rules of war' is a fool who deserves to lose. There's no honor or pride in war, and Jean was foolish enough to let her desire destroy her. Even if I weren't Britannian, I'd have no sympathy for her based on this tale of her performance on the field of battle alone. Whereas my witch queen?

She proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that she had the mettle and the will to win.

"The tales of Jean's defeat truly do not do justice to the utter shock on her expression when she was defeated by me. Both because her geass failed to affect me, and because it turned out I was a much better swordswoman than her when she didn't have an army protecting her," CC chortles with a vicious grin across her face.

Taking a puff of my J, I consider what the official history knows of the Witch of Orleans' fate. This part is well documented, but one wonders what secrets were lost to the mists of time.

"Records state she was dragged to England in chains by you and put on trial. So what are they not saying?"

Twirling a lock of her hair, CC coyly replies, "Bishop Cauchon was extremely angry that Jean wouldn't crack under torture and didn't appear to have done anything truly heretical to the Catholic faith. What the records don't say is that England, owing to their celtic heritage and cultural ties to the Danes from the failed invasion and subsequent counter-invasion, were largely humoring the lords and continental powers with Catholic ties. The king at the time was a child and the trial was a farce to placate the masses and lords."

Makes sense. Though Britannia didn't fully break from the Catholic church for some time, it was well known that the christian faith didn't make much headway on the isle.

"After a week of trial sessions and public interrogations, I spoke with one of the lords presiding over the trial, Sir Richard of York, and over the objections of the bishop, arranged a little surprise for the next day's session. Namely, entering the courtroom myself and saying hi to Jean. The harlot was struck dumb with terror at the sight of me, which was fortunate, because her geass and natural charisma was gaining her some sympathetic ears. Not enough to prevent her demise, but I didn't just want her to die."

"I wanted her to suffer."

The sheer relish in those words is enough to make my spine shiver. One can only imagine what it was like for the people in that courtroom back then.

"I personally testified to every crime Jean committed that I could conceivably think she was capable of, which not coincidentally was almost the same list of offenses she accused me of some years ago at my trial for witchcraft. When she naturally lost her composure and protested at their taking my word for it, something Cauchon himself took issue with, seeing as I was a woman also committing heresy by dressing as a man and fighting, the proceedings rapidly got out of control. Something that in hindsight I should have attributed to her geass."

Interesting. None of what I'm hearing now was in the history books I read.

My musings are cut off as CC continues weaving her tale, "Not realizing that at the time due to my immunity, I simply knocked the bitch unconscious with a left cross to the temple. Sir Richard of York silenced the court and ordered Jean taken back to prison. The next day I finished testifying and just before Sir Richard was to pass sentence on her, I raised my hand to address the court. Their attention held, I asked that Jean be burned to death as the vile wretch she was, for nothing less would be enough to wipe the stain of her presence from English soil."

"And the bishop?" "Sir Richard took him aside after the trial and told him that the matter was closed, and that Dame CC, the Witch of Britannia, had done a great service to the nation, her reputation here being above reproach, and that the laws of the catholic church held no sway here. The night before her execution, I paid Jean a visit along with a few friends."

Why am I not surprised?

Rolling my eyes as I look up at the ceiling, their gaze turns to give her a flat stare, "I'm going to dislike this, aren't I?"

And of fucking course she shrugs at that remark.

"You've made your feelings on such things clear. All I did was enjoy myself the same way she enjoyed my despoilment back then. The only difference was, she was a virgin, and deserved what she got."

Mara damn it, woman. My response to that flippant remark is to flick her in the forehead and glare at her.

"CC. I understand Jean made you suffer a great deal. And that you are not that person anymore. But so long as you're my wife, you will not despoil or threaten to do so to anyone else. Death is enough. Am I understood?"

Because I'll be goddamned if I have to put up with that shit from her.

Sheepishly, she smiles meekly and nods, "Yes, dear."

Leaning forward, I plant a kiss on the red flick mark adorning her forehead, which coincidentally was right in the middle of her code, "You're not that person anymore. We both know you can do better than that. So, tell me what you were driving at. Why the tale of dead and buried ghosts of vengeance?"

Looking straight at me, golden agate to royal violet, she answers the question I've been wondering since she began this tale.

"Fine, just let me finish, it's nearly done anyway. Jean proclaimed her innocence all the way to the pyre itself, claiming I should be the one to burn and not her. I took great pleasure watching that whore burn to ash."

Taking a deep breath, she takes my left hand between both of hers, "So when I say that I understand your deeply held and sincere wish to make Vincent pay for everything he's done, you can trust that I know from whence I speak. And that is what I was driving at. You are NOT immortal."

Figured something like this was coming. Considering what she's been through, it's only natural she would be trepidatious of what we're walking into.

"Do whatever you have to in order to strike the little ball-less bastard down. But above all else Lelouch, do not lose yourself to your rage and hatred of VV. Hate him all you desire, but do not let that hate direct you in the battle."

My right hand rubs my chin as I consider her advice for a moment, before answering, "CC, I know what I'm doing. Everything is going to go according to-"

Her hands lash out, one grabbing me by the shoulder, while the other latches onto my testicles with a vice like grip, yee gods woman, calm down!

"I swear to fucking god, if you get your smug hubristic ass killed, I will find a way to bring you back JUST to castrate you for your abject stupidity and cruelty in putting me through that AGAIN!" she hisses at me, the words increasing in volume till she's near screeching in my face, breathing hard before releasing me and turning away with a huff.

….Gods be damned.

"Alright, I'll concede I richly deserved that. And that I have been a rather poor excuse for a husband in this marriage of ours. Although?"

Arms wrap around her waist as I pull her back to my lap, nuzzling against her neck as she turns her face away from me, wiggling on top of me, "Whatever happened to your not chewing me out?"

Turning her head back at that remark, her contralto voice answers with a haughty and regal tone, "A woman, especially a diva, is allowed to change her mind at any and all times. And I am CC after all. It's only natural that I am the pinnacle of my sex."

With an exertion of self control, I manage to respond without laughing, "So. This is what it's like hearing someone else with my level of ego. It's a novel experience."

Scoffing, CC raises an eyebrow at that quip, "Do you want me to grab your balls again?"

Letting my tongue out, I lick her cheek, then smile lustily, "Don't threaten me with a good time, bitch tornado."

Resting against me, her long emerald locks draped around us like a sea of green, CC sighs, "Take the criticism to heart, asshole. You know exactly why I said it."

I nod slowly, taking in a deep breath, "I understand. If my dear and endlessly understanding wife is telling me something this serious, I have no choice but to abide by her wishes."

And honestly, it's how she shows she cares. In terms of emotional torment, trials, and travails, few can claim to have gone through what she has. So her taking the time to let me know how she feels and how important it is to her?

I can honestly say I'm touched.

Smirking triumphantly, her hands start working on removing her dress, "There. Was that so hard? Now loose the pants, I want to cuddle for a few hours before we get to the Directorate."

When a woman tells you something in that sort of tone, only an idiot tells her no.

"Anything?" "Negative, sir. There is no radio traffic or signals for a four kilometer radius."

Perfect.

"All operatives move into position. Q-2 has command of all infiltrator forces, Orange has command of ground troops. Set charges and prepare to hold position."

Last time…ugh. That was a horrific shitshow any way you slice it. The Directorate is a death trap fortress. Our losses in the siege were terrible, and the toll it took on morale was not worth it in the long run. Not to mention the cost to my own soul.

Not this time. This time, we do things differently.

Taking a deep toke off a J, watching the smoke dance before my eyes, it strikes me that this is something I didn't do last time. True, I came here with a plan and a grudge to settle. However?

At the time, VV's full treachery and vile deeds were not known to me. And by the time they were, he was already long since past.

"All assault squadrons, commence bombardment on my mark!" I shout, hands tightening around the seat, my teeth grinding together, a low animalistic growl pulsing in the back of my throat.

For everything you've done to me, to my sister, to those I love, to every innocent victim of this madness you and my father crafted over the last fifty years…time to die, VV.

"Knock, knock, Uncle Vincent."

With a flick of a mental switch, I open all comms frequencies, taking a deep breath, the Balor's engines and systems humming around me.

"ALL FORCES, MARK!"

Cruise missiles, beam weapons, high explosive charges, all of those are but the opening chorus of this symphony. All to force the man I hate the most next to my brother Schneizel to recognize the threat I pose and to draw his attention.

Aha! There we go! We're getting return fire from the ground, looks like enemy KMF units and ground turrets. I know you're here, somewhere..

"VINCENT VICTOR ZI BRITANNIA! I KNOW YOU'RE HERE! COME AND FACE ME, MONGREL! IF YOU REFUSE, I'LL SHATTER THE CENTER OF YOUR BASE! GET OUT HERE AND FIGHT, YOU LITTLE BASTARD!"

He has no choice. While he may not know that I'd be reluctant to blast the Thought Elevator, he can't take the chance that I will fire. And that means-here it comes!

"All forces fall back! This is MY fight! Concentrate on keeping them boxed in and cordoned! No one gets out! Provide fire support for me only from maximum range, none of you stand a chance against-!" I bellow, watching sand swirl in a whirlpool rapidly nearby, something vastly and powerful pushing it's way to the surface from deep below.

Suddenly an enormous slash harken almost bigger than the Balor's chest bursts out, going straight at me! A lesser machine would dodge, or try to fire on it. My warbeast however, is not so easily deterred! Three of the orbs on my back disengage, moving to the front of my machine in a triangular formation, an energy shield of pink hexagons forming into the space between, a shield large enough to halt his attack in mid flight, I hope.

It's a risky move standing there to tank this, but I need to know, I need to know if the shield is strong enough to hold against him. If not, this will be a much more difficult battle. If I can't trust my mad scientist on this, I might as well hang up the mask.

Seconds pass at a snail's pace as the harken moves towards the Absolute Defense System shield, as I prepare to move to the side, just in case it fails.

A flash of light sparks from the pink energy, nearly blinding me as the green harken digs into the shielding, trying to break through the barrier…in vain! The shield is holding! I can block the Siegfried's harkens! Hahahahahahha!

Time for something appropriate to mark the occasion, and block any transmissions out. Let's see..huh. Well, why not. It seems fitting right now.

The Siegfried rises from the dust, slash harken retracting as it floats over to loom over the Balor….right then. Just breathe. You've beaten this thing last time, and this is your second time fighting it this time. Don't fuck it up.

"Well well well. So it seems that fool Soresi failed after all. I suppose it's my fault for thinking that he could accomplish a simple task, even with his sister's life in the balance. But then, you know all about failing one's siblings, don't you Lelouch?"

Closed transmission. Thank Mara for small mercies. The delay is helpful for CC's teams to get into position, so indulging the miniature goblin isn't a bad notion. And it would be hypocritical of me to claim I didn't want to get a few licks in.

"Not half as much as you failed Charles, Uncle Vincent. What would he think if he knew it was you who killed my mother and then lied to him about it?" I snidely remark, blowing a cloud of smoke from my mask, the video screen connecting in that moment to show VV wired up in the Siegfried's cockpit, turning his nose up at me with an aristocratic sneer.

"Such a pity blood will tell after all. You have so much of my little brother in you, it's such a pity that your mother's french whore blood taints it. The greatest mistake I made in this life was not simply killing you and your sister that night at Aries Villa. Fortunately, life is full of opportunities for those with proper insight as to how to exploit them. Such as your redheaded eleven trollop for example, he he he he he," he giggles, a sinister smile crossing his cherubic features. Grrrr…

I fucking knew it. There's no reason Charles and Mother would be arguing about what happened to Kallen like that, no reason Kallen could end up up in the clutches of the likes of Bradley unless…unless someone had deliberately engineered it. Suspecting that VV did it and hearing him gleefully admit to it is something else entirely.

"Why?" "Hmm?"

The eyeslot on my mask pops open, red shimmering in my eye, veins around my body glowing and casting a baleful gaze in the cockpit as I lean forward, a deadly cadence in my tone as I speak.

"Why did you give my Red Queen to him? Was it because she was like my mother? Or was it all just to hurt me? To make the pain of my losing to your monstrosity sting all the harder when I awoke again? Answer me, uncle."

VV sneers, an ugly foul thing that betrays the blackened heart within him, "What does it matter? Whether it's because she was an Eleven trollop, or because you are everything I hated about your wretched mother, my answer is the same. Because I could. And because a halfbreed dog like you and your bitch deserve no safety or succor. You should have died eight years ago, just like that little cripple almost did at Aries Villa. Good bye, nephew. I'll be sure to give your last regards to Charles."

And with that, the signal ends, and the Siegfried moves. And only one thought echoes in my mind, one overwhelming desire, as my music switches on.

"Die, VV."

待ちに待った復讐を楽しみます！ (I'm going to ENJOY savoring this long awaited vengeance!)

行け 疾風のごとく 宿命の剣士よ

闇にまぎれて

Yuke kaze no gotoku sadame no kenshi yo

Yami ni magirete

(Go like the wind! Swordsman of fate...

Slip into the darkness)

With a mental gesture, the six realms revolving disengage from the Balor's back, forming a spinning circle in behind me as the quad Hadron cannons in my warbeast's shoulder open with a barrage, red&black energy blasting out like a thunderbolt.

何故 戦うのか

それは剣に聞け

正義だとか 愛など 俺は追いかけない

Nani yue tatakau no ka

Sore wa ken ni kike

Seigi da to ka ai nado ore wa oi-kakenai

(For what reason do you fight?

Ask your sword!

Things like justice and love always elude me)

Damnation! Even the quad cannons can't break his fucking shield?! Three orbs quickly form a shield in front of me as the Knight Giga Fortress knocks me aside with a charge, sending my head to the back of my seat with the impact.

"Is this the best that Zero can muster? Hahahahahaha! If this is all you're capable of, then I don't know what Charles ever saw in you!"

Harkens fly out from the Balor's fingers, trying to get a hold on the little bastard, my attention divided between trying to get a clear shot and dodging the harkens firing at me-what the?!

"Gah!" I cry out as a previously hidden slash harken on the front deploys, slamming into my defense barrier, the impact forcing the Balor down to the ground. Gritting my teeth, I try to reorient myself as the sound of my uncle's childish and demented giggling rings in my ears.

Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! I can't manage the Absolute Defense System if I can't predict his attacks! Why?! WHY IS THIS SO MUCH FUCKING HARDER?! He's an arrogant child who's never faced any adversity in over forty years, he's never cared for anyone except maybe Charles and he has nothing to fight for except his demented vision.

SO WHY CAN'T I BEAT HIM?!

闇に生まれ 闇に忍び 闇を切り裂く

遥かな 古から 受け継いだ 使命だから

Yami ni umare yami ni shinobi yami wo kiri-saku

Haruka na inishie kara uketsuida shimei da kara

(Born in the darkness... hiding in the darkness... cutting the darkness apart!

Because, this mission has been passed down since ancient times!)

"My lord, are you alright?! Do you require aid against this treacherous varlet?!" "Asshole, what's wrong?!"

Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! You're all distracting me and I can't concentrate if I'm focusing on any of you while I'm fighting the Siegfried! Thanks to the neural interface, the fucking thing can react as fast I can in the Balor! Not to mention I'm getting impact feedback and feeling some of the pain of what my warbeast is experiencing!

Sand kicks up around me as a bright orange Akatsuki flies past, firing rockets and radiation wave missiles at the Siegfried, a squadron of similar machines following up behind him, guns blazing at the massive machine. No, Jeremiah!

"ORANGE! GET BACK! THIS IS MY FIGHT!" I bellow at him, the Balor standing back up, six realms revolving spinning behind me as I take to the air again, murder in my eyes as the hadrons switch to shotgun configuration, spraying energy blasts in a wide pattern at the Siegfried.

行け! 疾風のごとく 魔戒の剣士よ

月満つる夜に 金色になれ

Yuke! Kaze no gotoku makai no kenshi yo

Tsuki mitsuru yoru ni konjiki ni nare

(Go like the wind, Makai Swordsman!

On a full-moon night... be gold!)

There has to be something I can use to break his shield! Think! How did I do it last time?! ….It won't work that way this go around.

Cornelia isn't here with knowledge of the schematics. And this version of the Siegfried is more powerful than last time.

Fine then! Time to trust in Rakshata's designs, my own ability as a commander, and a pilot!

"Orange, draw his fire! We need to divide his attention!" I yell out, strafing around the machine using the six realms revolving to shield Jeremiah and myself, taking what shots I can at the infernal device.

VV snorts over the comms channel, "A futile attempt. Well then, let's remove the pests from the board, shall we?!"

Pests-no! No! NO!

雄おしき姿の 孤独な戦士よ

魂を込めた 怒りの刃 叩きつけて

時代に輝け 牙狼!

Ooshiki sugata no kodokuna senshi yo

Tamashii wo kometa ikari no yaiba tataki-tsukete

Jidai ni kagayake garo!

(That is the heroic form of a lonely warrior

Put your soul into it! Smash that furious blade in!

Make this era shine! Garo!)

With that defiant proclamation, the Siegfried turns it's back on me and begins spinning at high speed, diving at the soldiers I ordered to fire on him and to stay away from his range. A range I gravely miscalculated, because I didn't account for enhanced reflexes of an immortal being connected to the controls like myself and Jeremiah.

Once again, a scene that has haunted me for the last year plays out before my eyes. The Siegfried moving to slaughter everyone under my command, and I, watching helplessly, unable to stop it from happening. What can I do, what can I do, what can I do-?!

"MY LORD, WATCH OU-!"

The only sound I hear is the pulsing of my own heartbeat, as Jeremiah, brave, loyal, steadfast Jeremiah, takes a direct hit from a slash harken through the middle of his Akatsuki, the attack ripping through as it cleaves it in half, sending it hurtling to the ground. A hit, that would have struck me dead center, had he not taken it for me.

…what have I done?

Facing down the enemy who brought me so low last time, who ruined my life and so many others…and my own weakness and lack of resolve has just killed Jeremiah…

The wing binders on the back of the Balor light up as the orbs return to their proper place, and then?

I dive.

いつの日か おまえには わかって欲しい

戦いだけに生きた 俺の胸の内を

愛にはぐれ 愛を憎み 愛を求める

わずかな安らぎさえ うち捨てた誓いだけど
Itsu no hi ka omae ni wa wakatte hoshii

Tatakai dake ni ikita ore no mune no uchi wo

Ai ni hagure ai wo nikumi ai wo motomeru

Wazukana yasuragi sa e uchi-suteta chikai dake do

(Someday I want you to understand...

...my heart after a life of non-stop fighting

I left behind love... I hated love... I yearned for love

I swore that I would even give up every bit of peace)

"NOT THIS TIME! NOT NOW, NOT EVER!"

Strike after strike after strike of the six realms revolving slams against the Siegfried, the thunderous clang of metal and static of energy clashing resonating throughout the field, the Balor firing Hadrons in rapid bursts as it hurls itself at the Siegfried, the visage a clear match for my own as tears run down my cheeks.

"I WON'T LET YOU TAKE ANYONE ELSE FROM ME OR ANYONE ELSE YOU'VE WRONGED! DEATH COMES FOR YOU, VV!" I scream as I use the six realms as an improvised club by connecting them together via their magnetics and using the shared inertia&mass to slam the Siegfried aside so I can see if Jeremiah is-arghh! No! Not now!

My teeth grit as my phantom nerve pain starts acting up, my form momentarily paralyzed as I try desperately to breath past it, fingers fumbling to grab a quick injector of medication so I can-!

立て! 修羅のごとく 魔戒の剣士よ

運命の歌の 命ずるままに

月夜に輝く 孤高の戦士よ

迫り来る影を一網打尽 叩き斬って

気高く吠えろ 牙狼!

Tate! Shura no gotoku makai no kenshi yo

Unmei no uta no meizuru mama ni

Tsukiyoru ni kagayaku kokou no senshi yo

Semari kuru kage wo ichimoudajin tata ki kitte

Kedakaku hoero garo!

(Stand up! Become like the Asura, Makai Swordsman!

Follow the song of fate's commands

That aloof warrior shines in the moonlit night

The approaching shadows... cut them all down at once!

Nobly howl! Garo!)

"CHECKMATE, NEPHEW!" VV crows triumphantly as the Siegfried is suddenly right next to me, two pylons deploying from it's sides, pylons that cause my eyes to widen in horror and remembered agony.

And once again, my world becomes PAIN.

ARGHHHHHH!

My entire body is on fire! I can't move, I can't breathe, everything is agony! GYYYYYAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!

"Hahahahahahahaha! Farewell Zero! A short and undistinguished life leaving nothing of import or worth is all that will be written on your nameless grave!"

VV's demented cackling is but a minor undercurrent to the symphony of crushing TORTURE I am enduring. No, gods be damned, no! There has to be something, ANYTHING! SOMETHING I CAN DO TO STOP HIM!

"You know, for an Eleven parasite, Genbu Kururugi had quite an excellent idea with how to handle that little crippled bitch. Perhaps I'll let her see what's left of you before her first client in her new profession enjoys her, hahahahahahaha!"

"G-g-g-gyargh!" I gurgle out as my vocal cords fail to process words, entire body spasming from the electricity as my teeth clench together, struggling not to bite my tongue off and bleed to death.

NO! IT CAN'T END HERE! NOT LIKE THIS! I HAVE SO MUCH MORE TO DO, TO SEE, I HAVE TO CONQUER THIS WORLD TO SAVE IT FROM ITSELF! I HAVE TO PROTECT THE ONES I LOVE!

I CAN'T DIE HERE!

Images flash through my mind, my uncle smirking as he presides over his cult, my father gazing down imperiously at me, a skull emblazoned with geass upon it's brow, my mother laughing as the Sword of Akasha rises, my beloved Suzaku turned heartless enforcer, Shirley's silent corpse staring up at me, my sister Euphemia with a smile born of madness on her lips, an endless series of recriminations, regrets and misery, all set to the sound of breaking machinery as my mind drowns in a sea of pure unrelenting malice…

…Perhaps…perhaps it was a fool's errand after all. Maybe I am damned, my existence a mistake that does not belong in this world, as Suzaku said to me long ago…

It's..going dark now…forgive my friends, my loves..in the end…I wasn't strong enough to bear the weight it seems..

What? What is this? One last vision of horror and misery to torment me? Go, leave me in peace. I already know I'm headed to hell anyway, what more do I need to see-?

CC?

Where is this? No…when is this? She hasn't worn the prison outfit in almost a year. A church? ….Oh no. I know this moment. The end of everything, the last bit of suffering I endured.

Zero requiem.

…She's crying. Were you praying for me, even then, even with how badly I misused you and treated you that time?

….It will happen again. My wife will cry over my burned and shattered corpse. Just like she did then, and just like she did when I nearly died last time to this metal monstrosity.

…..No.

I reject this fate. I reject this cursed destiny that brought me low in my last life. I WILL NOT BE DENIED! I WILL NOT MAKE HER CRY FOR ME AGAIN!

Suddenly everything changes, the darkness around my heart lifts as though a veil had parted, and I'm back in my body…albeit still getting electrocuted. Fuck, what can I do to get out of this?! I may have pulled myself out of..whatever the fuck that was, but I'm still stuck!

"-ord, varlet!"

That voice!

With a supreme effort, I turn my eyes see on a shape on one of my monitors, a familiar, albeit bloodied form directing suppressing fire at the Siegfried with his hand.

JEREMIAH!

Thank Mara, he's alive! Alright, how do I get out of this? Think Lelouch, THINK! There has to be something I can-!

OF COURSE! The Balor's controls are mental, I should still be able to do something! The pain is intense, but? Compared to the pain of losing her again? It's not nearly enough. And now that I can focus without that cloud of misery, which I am attributing to some geass related bullshit, I can look for some sort..of…THERE!

Uncle, you arrogant bastard. In your zeal for victory, you've dropped your guard, both literally and figuratively. The Siegfried is no longer moving, and thus not deploying it's invincible shield. All because he was so eager to finish me off.

行け! 疾風のごとく 魔戒の剣士よ

月満つる夜に 金色になれ

Yuke! Kaze no gotoku makai no kenshi yo

Tsuki mitsuru yoru ni konjiki ni nare

(Go like the wind, Makai Swordsman!

On a full-moon night... be gold!)

A mistake that will cost him dearly! This is a gamble, but if it works..

The Balor's eyes gleam as the chest piece opens, the iris retracting to reveal THE EYE, the most powerful weapon of my warbeast. There was no opportunity to use this previously due to how fast the Siegfried was moving…along with whatever was affecting my own mental state. Trying to just blast the forward armor of it would be pointless, and likely result in a slash harken in the gut.

But what happens if the attack is one that cannot be dodged?

Energy pulses in THE EYE, and then converges into a beam of destructive power, but not at the Siegfried! No, the beam pulses outward and strikes one of my orbs, and then is split&reflected in three directions!

One at the Siegfried itself, and the other two at more of the orbs, the process repeating until all six are reflecting the beam among themselves and at the Knight Giga Fortress, the spheres spinning around the enemy as the beams cut into it's structure.

"What the deuce?! Cease your futile struggles, Zero! There's nothing you can-argh!" VV screams as the protrusions deploying the electric field explode, finally freeing me from the deadly energy.

Gasping for air as I lie back in my chair, my left hand reaches for an injector, carefully moving it to my arm near a vein before depressing the trigger to release beautiful glorious relief from the miserable state of my current condition. If the Balor wasn't as well constructed as it was, and this suit wasn't more resistant to electricity as a consequence of being built to accommodate my cybernetics….I'm certain I would have died from a heart attack there.

Rakshata and Bartley will probably chain me to a bed for a few weeks after this, not that I won't deserve it and probably need it.

But for now?

"All troops…"

Now, I think it's time for some well deserved and long overdue retribution.

"Get that fucking eyesore out of my skies. Fire at will."

雄おしき姿の 孤独な戦士よ

魂を込めた 怒りの刃 叩きつけて

時代に輝け 牙狼!

Ooshiki sugata no kodoku na senshi yo

Tamashii wo kometa ikari no yaiba tataki-tsukete

Jidai ni kagayake garo!

(That is the heroic form of a lonely warrior

Put your soul into it! Smash that furious blade in!

Make this era shine! Garo!)

Hadrons join bullets, missiles and cannon shells in a crescendo of violence in the air, the Siegfried buckling and tearing as pieces begin falling from it, the bulk of the knight giga fortress spiraling downward in a barely controlled crash.

"DAMN YOU! DAMN YOU! DAMN YOU! WHY WON'T YOU DIE, YOU WORTHLESS FRENCH MONGREL?!"

Lunging with the right arm of the Balor as I hurl myself at the falling wreckage, the claws stab into the armor plating, seeking to wet their talons on my uncle's blood. And judging by the widening of his eyes, it would seem he's finally realized how utterly fucked he is.

"VINCENT!" I howl at him as the Balor's arms stab deeper and deeper into the recesses of the machine as the Siegfried finally crashes to a flaming halt at the bottom of the cavern, right near the thought elevator.

No more running, uncle! Your reckoning is long long called for!

"NOOOO! STAY AWAY! GET AWAY FROM ME, YOU DEMON!" he shrieks as he squirms backward from the claws, fingers jamming on buttons till one lights up red-! SHIT!

Energy builds up in the Siegfried as the yggdrasil drive overloads in my face, hurling the Balor backwards to right in front of the double doors emblazoned with the symbol of Geass.

" I WON'T FORGET THIS HUMILIATION! I'LL FIND YOU, NEPHEW! I'LL FIND YOU AND DESTROY EVERYTHING YOU'VE EVER LOVED, I SWEAR IT!" VV screeches, crawling out from his escape pod, then ducking into a tunnel, narrowly dodging the slash harken I launch at him! FUCKKKKKKKKK!

FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK! AGAIN THE LITTLE BASTARD GETS AWAY! GOD FUCKING DAMNIT!

"VV, YOU LITTLE SHITHEAD RAT FUCKING GOBLIN! YOU WON'T ESCAPE ME! I'LL SEND TO A HELL UNLIKE ANY OTHER! DO YOU HEAR ME, VINCENT VICTOR ZI BRITANNIA! DO YOU HEAR ME?!"

行け 疾風のごとく 宿命の剣士よ

闇に光を

Yuke kaze no gotoku sadame no kenshi yo

Yami ni hikari wo

(Go like the wind! Swordsman of fate...

Bring light to darkness…)

Breathing hard as my hands grip the armrest of my chair, I only notice the incoming transmission light beeping after a few moments. Mentally opening the comms channel, my eyes catch the worried, then relieved, and finally aggravated gaze of my wife, her fingers tapping her biceps as she glares at me.

"Asshole, what did I tell you just before this?"

Eep.

"In my defense? I was reasonably sure I'd just gotten Jeremiah killed. Annnnnd there may have been something geass related messing with me? I'm not sure what though," I mutter, nervously laughing like a man who knows he's utterly screwed. Shiiiit.

Clearly she wasn't expecting that response. Truthfully, I assumed that I wouldn't have to worry about geass since I wasn't planning to go into the directorate…speaking of which?

"Look, it was looking extremely touch and go-" "You self absorbed half cocked braindead son of a whore!"

CC takes a deep breath, rubbing her forehead in annoyance, "How bad was it? I've only heard bits and pieces that you were acting stupidly and the fight went badly for you before things turned around."

Gingerly, I unlatch the mask, causing a gasp to escape her lips as I crack my neck to the side in relief.

"...I almost died, again. Something..something was wrong. I came into that fight doing everything I shouldn't have, everything you warned me against. And it was only one thing that pulled me back from the brink of death."

The raised verdant eyebrow means I have her attention and I best not waste it.

"You."

Before she can respond, my mouth is moving, words flowing from the heart, "CC, I saw my life flash before my eyes. Along with other things I don't really have an explanation for. But the last thing? The very last thing I saw just as I was ready to give up and let myself go, to die for all my sins in this life and the last?"

Eyes close as I take a deep, albeit painful breath, "I saw you, kneeling in prayer at a church, tears in your eyes, as you, a woman who as far as I know, has never believed in any sort of higher power or deity, prayed for me."

Ugh. Really need to knock the fuck out for awhile after this. I'm almost certain the painkillers are the main reason I'm functional right now.

"The thought of you crying over my corpse, again, that I could disappoint you and break your heart in such a despicable manner a third time, that was enough. That single thought gave me the strength of will to free myself from the malaise that had ensnared me and turn the tide upon VV. You, my dear wife, my witch queen, saved me again."

As my eyes open, I'm struck dumb at the sight before me. CC sniffling as she wipes at her eyes, a smile that glows brighter than the desert sun upon her lips.

Sighing as she shakes her head, "I swear you'll be the death of me, husband. Did you at least pulp the little imp?"

"...No. He self-destructed the Siegfried and fled down a tunnel. And I'm in no condition to pursue him. Let's finish this and go back to everyone so I can get my ass reamed like I deserve," I reply, wincing as I hold my side. Probably bruises, I hope. The last thing I need is more internal injuries.

"Tche. So the little goblin will be back."

My head shakes slowly from side to side, "Yes, but he won't be anywhere near the threat he was. He won't have this place as a powerbase anymore. Now, is your part of the operation done?"

CC sighs, closing her eyes, "It's done. No one is getting out of here through any of the regular exit passages, unless Vincent dug ones I'm not aware of. But considering what you're planning, I doubt it will matter."

It shouldn't, no. But better safe than sorry. Last time, I made a great many mistakes. And how I handled the directorate was most definitely one of them.

"Then, please join me. I'll be near the hole in the cavern our fight caused."

A nod from her, and the transmission is cut. It was left unsaid, but I suspect we both could use some comfort from each other after that.

Shortly thereafter, the Balor is floating over the hole in the cavern, arms folded, the six realms revolving rotating around it's back, myself laying back in the cockpit, head in CC's lap as she frowns intently, looking down at the Directorate.

"Are you sure you want to do it this way? You yourself said this was one of the things you regretted intensely from the last time," she softly whispers to me, stroking my cheek.

Fingers on my left hand tighten as I hold up, eyes closed, my voice resonating throughout the cockpit.

"Yes, it was a mistake. But after much careful consideration, racking my brain for alternatives and soul searching?"

Burning red light shines from my eyes as my veins light up, the baleful orbs looking up at my wife as she meets my gaze.

"My mistake, was how I did it. The Directorate did need to be destroyed, there's nothing that can be saved here."

Six shapes fly out from the Balor, the orbs positioning themselves in specific locations in the sky as the Hadrons and THE EYE open their gunports. Inside the Balor, CC pulls out a multi frequency detonator, only for my right hand to reach out and close my hand around hers.

"We'll do it together. I couldn't have done this without your help, and I'd rather share the burden of the sin we're about to commit than make you carry it yourself. What's one more sin between spouses, eh?" I chuckle, breathing harder than I expected at the effort. Painkillers must be wearing off, dam.

A casual upturn of her lips for a moment is all the indication I need that she appreciates the gesture.

"Attention, all Black Knight personnel. Report in if you have not cleared the area. We will NOT be returning here and I would prefer to leave no trace if at all possible, nor do I want any of us caught up in what is about to happen."

Checking, checking..all green. Everyone is out of range. Aerial units standing by. And Jeremiah it seems found a Sutherland for himself, excellent. A few units grabbed what was left of the Siegfried's cockpit and hauled it out of there. The main body was totalled, but we got the schematics off the black box, so rebuilding it is theoretically possible. Assuming Jeremiah wants to use it, given what it did to me twice. It wouldn't be right to force him into doing so, but I'll make a sincere effort to convince him of the merits.

Bah, at this point I'm just stalling. Primarily, because what I'm about to do is most certainly a mortal sin. But I see no other choice.

"All Black Knights?"

Deep breath. Inhale..

"By Fire Be Purged."

Exhale.

Missiles scream throughout the sky before impacting, semtex explosions underground casting sand, rock, and smoke into the air, hadrons cauterizing sand into glass, all while THE EYE casts it's terrible gaze, the beam striking a single orb and reflecting both downward and to one of the other orbs nearby, blasts cutting a line of burning death into the cavern roof over the directorate.

In truth, it only takes a few minutes of continuous bombardment before a furious rumbling and shattering of earth begins beneath us, the rock cracking and shattering, sand and stone collapsing into the depression in the ground, gravity and inertia sealing the doom of all who dwelled beneath us and called this place home.

There is no screaming, no blood, no bodies of scientists, cultists, or child soldiers to trouble my vision in this iteration. And yet, they still appear before my mind's eye.

…It is ten minutes later that the rumbling collapse finally stops, leaving a vast sinkhole with sand pouring in, the only sign that a city once lay beneath the dune and rocky outcrops here.

"It's over. The Directorate…is no more."

VV may or may not have escaped from the collapse. Odds are my bastard uncle got out somehow. But not through the Thought Elevator. I was watching it like a hawk, there's no way he got through. And now?

Now it's buried under metric tons of sand and rock, impossible for anyone to access. Whether that will impede the Ragnarok Connection, I don't know. But at least it renders passage through the network of doors inaccessible.

The sound of fingers snapping prys me from my idle thoughts as CC glares crossly at me, "How badly are you injured from all of that? And the truth, don't sugarcoat it."

やれやれだぜ。 (Gimme a fucking break.)

"The painkillers I injected into myself that were keeping me functional, are wearing off. I am in a considerable amount of pain and would like to knock the fuck out as soon as possible. Can we please just go so I can get yelled out by everyone including my doctors and then go the fuck to sleep already?" I rasp out in a pleading tone, which may or may not sound a bit whiny. At this point, I could not care less about how I sound.

Naturally, CC cannot resist smirking as she flicks me in the forehead, "Of course, asshole. You've more than earned your glorious welcoming committee, oh ho ho ho ho."

The Balor needing me awake and mentally coherent to pilot it is the main reason I am not simply conking out right here and now. The second I'm out of the cockpit, someone is carrying my cyborg ass to the infirmary…which will probably be Jeremiah. Mainly because I doubt he'd trust anyone else to do it.

"Milord?"

Ugh, not now. Feels like my body is made of ancient stones piled in a cairn overgrown with moss and-

"Master Zero? We have arrived."

Already? Blearily, my eyes open, and almost immediately I regret the action. Standing there, looking at me with arms crossed, her blue eyes glaring fire, is my champion and ace, Kallen. Absently, I note Jeremiah kneeling next to me as I look around and realize I've been laid out on a cot to rest with an IV drip connected.

"Heard you almost got killed, again. What the fuck happened, you smug jackass piece of shit?" Kallen growls out, teeth showing as her arms tense in frustration and anger. Yep, saw this one coming. Somebody was bound to find me first when I came back and chew me out.

The melodious contralto of CC rings out from somewhere out of sight, "Try not to hurt him too much until Rakshata and Bartley get to poke at him, Tsundere-chan. He is still alive after all."

Thank you oh so much for the sterling and immaculate defense, Bitch Tornado. Truly a steadfast effort protecting your vulnerable and weakened husband. It almost makes me want to thank you with a studded paddle to your backside.

"So a funny thing happened out in the Gobi Desert. It involved a giant orange, a midget, and an eight year long vendetta."

Perhaps not the smartest thing to say, given that Jeremiah holding up a hand in a stop gesture is the only reason she's not bitchslapping me.

Inclining his head upward, my knight's smooth baritone voice fills the room, "Lady Kouzuki-Stadfelt, I understand and sympathize with your frustration at my lord's flippant tone. But I must beg your indulgence and patience, as my lord has narrowly survived a harrowing ordeal at the hands of his uncle, Vincent Victor zi Britannia, piloting the Siegfried. Though he was victorious, he was nearly electrocuted again during the battle and subsequently is in a rather fey mood following VV narrowly evading capture."

Kallen's face goes through a number of different expressions, including paling at the mention of how I nearly died the last time I encountered the Siegfried, before finally settling on tired and frustrated.

"Alright, let me in there. I promise I'm not gonna hit him, he's been through enough today," she grumbles, rubbing her forehead, the other arm crossed across her chest.

With my safety reassured for the moment, Jeremiah nods and moves aside for Kallen to take his place kneeling by me, bringing me to…huh. About tits high given her kneeling position.

Her hand holds my cheek gently, lips pursed in a mixture of emotions, eyes wet as she sighs.

"You scared the shit out of everyone by disappearing like that. Tohdoh and Cornelia are both furious at you, Laila is crowing that you're in trouble, Euphie is worried sick, Milly wants to tan your hide, I want to slap you across the room, and oh yeah, Nunnally is cross and demanding you explain things to her."

Urk. Shit, shit, shit, shit. And judging by the smug smile my tsundere is wearing, she knows exactly how much that last one hurts.

"Since I can't hit you for your well deserved idiocy, I can at least watch you squirm as your sisters and everybody else metaphorically rip you a new one. But I want to know one thing before I carry your ass to the infirmary, 魔王様。" (Lord Demon King)

Sarcastic tone aside, this question is probably not optional to answer.

"Why didn't you take me with you?"

….くそ。 (Fuck.)

Wincing as I raise my arm up halfway, reaching for my jacket pocket, fingers fumbling in my vest pocket "Can I at least get a quick smoke first? My painkillers are either wearing off or falling down on the job."

Giving a moue of distaste, she reaches into my pocket, fingers poking around until she pulls out my cigarette case and lighter, taking out a J and fitting it to my lips.

"Here, sit up a second. I'm not letting you smoke lying down," she whispers, lifting my head up with one arm as she clicks the lighter on, flame and sweet cannabis smoke wafting in front of my eyes as I inhale.

Ahhhhhh.

It doesn't take very long for the medication to start helping and taking the edge off the pain I'm in. And since she's giving me a raised eyebrow, further delays are not advised.

"Bluntly Kallen, you would not have helped. In fact, your being there would have been a hindrance."

Before she can unleash a verbal broadside, I interrupt, "Kallen. Try to recall what happened to you the last time you encountered the Siegfried. And then take five seconds to remember who was piloting it this time."

To her credit, she connects the dots rather quickly.

"You didn't want me to get hurt. Because you guys think he was the one who put me through-" "No, he confirmed it. Even gloated about it."

If my red queen could grow horns or set things on fire with her gaze, both would be happening right now.

"What the fuck, Lelouch!? I'm a big girl, I can make my own decisions! And why does that justify me not helping you take the little shit down?! You do this every fucking time, thinking you know better than everyone and that you can hide things to protect us!"

My attempt to get a word in edgewise fails miserably as she holds my cheek, my J falling from my fingers as tears run down her eyes, "How am I supposed to protect you and keep you safe when you won't trust me to do it?"

Somewhere deep inside my soul and memories, a similar conversation plays out, one from long long ago…

"..Lelouch…what am I to you?!"

Even hearing the echo of that conversation, the last time she and I spoke in that cursed first life, it is enough to destroy any resolve I have remaining.

"I...I could not risk it. Not against him. Vincent Victor zi Britannia would have targeted you first and foremost, just to hurt me. And before you object or say a damn word, you will let me finish my explanation!" I yell at her as I see her getting ready to object.

Gritting my teeth and fighting back the urge to cry myself, I continue, "The Siegfried was the worst possible matchup for you and the Guren. It was armored to the point of absurdity, controlled by electronic signals translated from nerve impulses, possessing an electric field that nearly killed me twice, and that's not even counting the fucking electromagnetic defense forcefield it generated."

Breathing hard at the exertion from getting worked up, I struggle to sit up, continuing to speak as I do so, "It is not a question of whether he could prick your emotions and provoke you into action. It's a question of whether you could stop him from attacking you outright given the Guren's inability to take him down. And what I would do to stop him in return. THAT is why I made sure you were not there."

Because I know myself. I sacrificed everything at the betrayal to keep her alive once, why wouldn't I do the same to protect her from my bastard uncle?

Gently, but firmly, her hand pushes me back down on the cot, before subsequently sweeping me up in her arms, "Next time, tell me that then. Don't pull this sneaking around behind everyone's back bullshit. Milly was right, you're a fucking idiot who thinks he can take on the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune and a sea of troubles by himself. Well, guess what, asshole?"

Sniffing as she shakes her head, "You're not alone. Maybe I couldn't have helped you this time. But you think it's ok that I have to worry about your cute skinny ass instead of you worrying about mine? How is that fucking fair, HUH?!" she snarls at my face, glaring and daring me to contradict her.

A cough draws both our attentions to Jeremiah, standing there with a chagrined expression.

"Your majesties, I must defer to Master Lelouch and concur with his opinion. I myself also nearly died to a slash harken from the Siegfried. And it took the use of THE EYE along with most of our forces firing on it to finally bring the infernal machine down. So his assessment of what your presence would have meant on the battlefield is likely correct, as damning as it is."

Red eyebrows furrow at that statement, her arms shifting to better hold my weight. Some men would likely find it emasculating to be princess-carried by a woman. In my case, it tickles me pink and sets my heart aflutter. Besides, Suzaku already did it to me once, why should Kallen doing so bother me?

"Much as I want to tell you both off for disrespecting my ability as a pilot, Orange wouldn't misrepresent how bad it was. I can trust you not to lie to me, but you're…gah! You've got this stupid overprotective streak of everyone around you that's as cute as it is fucking aggravating!" she throws her head back, yelling upwards, letting a deep breath out.

Gods be damned, she is adorable when she's flustered. Thankfully, I have enough self preservation not to say a god damned word and alert her to it right now. Especially since I'm in arm's reach and enjoying the ride of her oh so muscular and enticing form.

"Kallen." "Hmm?"

Letting my head droop bonelessly in my grip, I let my voice respond faintly, not trusting myself to speak louder at the moment.

"...I'm sorry. I'll try to trust your judgment more. We both know I get blinders on when it comes to those I love being endangered."

Biting her lip cutely, Kallen curtly turns her flushed face away, "You are so lucky I love you enough to put up with your shit. Orange, stick his mask on. We got somewhere to go."'

Picking up the discarded mask and screwing it onto my head, my loyal knight expresses a query, "Your majesty, might I inquire as to the health of Lady Sayoko? I regret that I wasn't available to be near her-" "That's where we're going. Come on."

Shrugging as she marchs down the corridor holding me like she's carrying a feather pillow, I relax, enjoying the surprisingly comfortable ride, though that may be the airbags on her chest cushioning any jostling, heh.

A short time later, we are in the infirmary and…oh.

For once, my vaunted powers of speech and rhetoric are at a loss at the sight before me. There in the sunlight streaking in from a window, is Sayoko Shinozaki, slumbering in a bed and sitting up as she holds a newborn infant with epithantic folds around his eyes and features that have a distinctly occidental look to them.

Inclining my head towards Kallen as I tilt to the side in question, she quietly answers, "He was born about ten hours ago. They've been sleeping for the last few. Last thing she said was to bring you and Jeremiah here as soon as you got back."

The man of the hour, meanwhile is staring with wonder in his single organic eye as he gingerly approaches the bed, settling in the knight's pose, a gloved hand reaching out to touch the face of his child.

"おかえりなさい、あなた。" (Welcome home, darling.) the now very awake and amused Sayoko says, gazingly lovingly at her husband, Kallen and myself feeling like awkward voyeurs to this moment.

"た-ただいま、さ-さよこ-ちゃん。" (I-I'm home, Sa-sayoko.) Jeremiah haltingly replies, stuttering over the Japanese. Heh, this was worth delaying the screaming from Rakshata&Bartley.

"Oi."

I turn my eyes from the heartwarming sight back to Kallen as she gives me a flat look, "So what was it you didn't want to tell me? I can tell you guys left something out about that fight. And take the mask off, Zero."

Oh, that. With a grunt of effort, I raise my arm up and disengage the locking mechanism on the back of my mask, letting it fold up and subsequently pulling it off to lay in my lap as I consider how to answer a question that I'm honestly not sure myself what the answer is.

"Something strange happened during the fight with VV. I was…it's hard to describe. The closest equivalent would be a geass, I think? But it wasn't like any I'd ever encountered before. It felt like a black pit opened up inside my heart and threatened to devour me from the inside. When I was being electrocuted by the Siegfried? It felt like I was drowning in a sea of darkness and misery at the end. That I should just give up because nothing I did made any kind of difference."

Taking a deep breath as I shudder in her grip, I let myself speak faintly so as not to disturb my knights in their reunion, "There were visions, things…things I failed at. Things I feared. Things I had no conception or understanding of."

Her grip tightens on me, muscles in her arms tensing, brow furrowing in thought. See if you can make more sense of that than I can, Tsundere-chan.

"So how did you get out?"

Million pound sterling question. I know what I did and what I thought. I just don't know why it worked.

"Kallen, I can tell you what I did. But I don't know why it saved me. Mayhapt you can make more sense of it than I can. At the last moment before I gave up on everything, I saw..something heartbreaking. I saw CC kneeling in prayer, praying for me as I was about to die. She was crying, her face a sepulcher mask of sorrow."

Her breath catches, shock evident in her blue eyes at the vivid and raw description.

"At that moment, something changed. I knew then I had a reason to live. I would not let her or any of you cry for me again."

Is she smiling? No, not quite, it's more wistful.

"A lot of girls would be jealous, you know. Hearing that you came back from death because you refused to let her cry for you. You don't have to sugarcoat it, I know you love her the most out of any of us."

Oh hell no. We are not having this conversation.

Irately, I groan in aggravation, my side aching, "No. Hell no. I am not picking between anybody. I am the god damn Demon King of the Sixth Heaven. I can give my heart and body to whomever and how many others I fucking want and that includes you, Tsunde-"

The rant I'm building up gets stopped mid-sentence as Kallen gives me a quick peck on the lips, smiling bashfully, "I said most, you smug prick. And I know you don't play favorites, even with her. Would you rather I didn't say anything about how it sounded though? Your pinky sister said somebody needed to keep you honest. Doesn't that sound familiar?"

The knowing and somewhat smug tone that she said that last word...oh. Well I'll be damned. Great minds think alike.

"That Euphemia and CC both came to the same conclusion independently says more than enough about how I feel about you and your character, Fire Crotch-chan," my tenor voice warmly purrs at her as my head rubs against her like a catnip dosed feline. Which..isn't too far off from how I feel.

"I can still drop you, dick." "So why haven't you?"

Biting her lip, she looks down, "Gonna make me say it, huh? Fucking fiiiine. I like holding you like this. It makes my heart beat like a taiko drum when I carry you like a princess. Regardless of if you are only one half the time. And you have no idea how relieved I was that you were ok after fighting your psychotic midget uncle. There, fucking happy, you unbelievable son of a bitch?"

It would be so much more believable if you weren't smiling as you said it, Kallen.

"My lord, might we have a moment of your time?"

The two of us blink out of our shared eyelock to look over at the bemused faces of my knights as they look on. Doesn't bother me much, Kallen on the other hand? Well, she's getting delightfully red faced at being observed.

"Giddyup, mine fateful steed. Our royal presence is requested," I proclaim with a grin so smarmy that it is a wonder Kallen doesn't drop me here and there.

With Sayoko taking the bed, and my current enfeebled state, Kallen elects to set me down in a chair, albeit with a slight drop and a flat look on her face. Definitely paying for that last remark later. But as I like to say, worth it.

"Was it a difficult pregnancy, Sayoko?" I inquire, taking off a glove so I can pat her shoulder.

Smiling wryly as she rocks her…oh. I never asked for the child's sex. Whoops.

"He wasn't too difficult once he and I reached an understanding. ね、きょじ-くん？" (Right, Kyoji-kun?) she remarks to the now named Kyoji as he slumbers peacefully in her arms.

Kallen's face softens as she looks at the picture of maternal bliss, an unspoken urge that she doesn't want to voice readily apparent on her face, something Sayoko notes with a knowing smile.

"Kallen-chan, would you like to hold him?", a question which immediately puts her on the spot and causes her eyes to bug out.

"M-m-me?! But I can't-I don't know how-!" she stammers only for me to reach up and pull on her sleeve.

"Support the body with your arm, use your other hand to hold the head up, babies don't have the neck muscles to support their heads for a while. Your arm should be like a cradle supporting Kyoji's back. Anything I missed, Sayoko?" I inquire, gingerly pulling out a joint to smoke, only to pause as I'm about to light up at the flat stares being directed my way.

Oops.

"Let's pretend I didn't do that," I affirm with an all too innocent smile as I gracefully put my cigarette case back. Clearly nothing happened at all there. Any allegations to the contrary are slander and calumny.

Kallen gulps, but lowers her body, nervous tension self-evident in her posture and stiff movements. That won't do. Time for some..corrective action.

"Yipe!" she squeals at the smack to her ass courtesy of my errant hand. Clumsy clumsy me.

Gripping the chair to ward off the fresh bit of pain that movement cost me, I assert control of the situation before Kallen can start a fresh barrage of outrage.

"Q-1. You are too tense. I am hereby ordering you to relax, otherwise you might wake little Kyoji. Am I understood?"

A bit overkill perhaps, but better than making Sayoko scold her or ruin her post-birth happiness in some other way. And it appears to have done the trick, as other than glaring at me, she seems to have relaxed enough to hold him properly. I'll likely pay for it later, but such is a problem for future Lelouch, who presumably will be in better spirits and health.

"So, Kyoji huh. I kinda thought you guys were going to pick a Britannian name," she mutters, a faint smile on her lips at the peaceful expression on the boy's cherubic features.

Hmm, it would appear there's a story there as Sayoko is trying very hard not to giggle as Jeremiah preens.

"I am proud to say that after much discussion, we reached a compromise. Our son's name is-!"

Before he can loudly exclaim it to the heavens, Sayoko coughs and points at Kallen holding her son, shaking her head in the negative. Credit where it's due, Jeremiah probably has experience at this sort of thing from when Nunnally was a child. Hence why he took the hint right away.

"Your pardon, my lord and ladies. Our son's name, is Kyoji Dantes Shinozaki Gottwald," he pronounces, hands on the lapels of his jacket, a proud and triumphant smile on his lips.

"And we'd like you to be his godfather, Lelouch-sama," Sayoko states, bowing her head demurely, as I meanwhile nearly fall out of the chair in surprise at this random turn of events.

"Godfather? Me? You're kidding, right? I know you two are my knights, but I would never ask you to do this as a sign of loyalty to-" "I swear to god I will kick you, baby or no baby, Lulu."

Raising an eyebrow at the blatant insubordination from the tsundere, she raises one back as she continues her train of thought, "Stop browbeating yourself for five seconds and ask them why. I guarantee they've got a better view of you than you have of yourself."

Well, I did say I'd trust her. T'would be poor form to make a liar out of my own words so soon after saying them. Not to mention she'd probably smack me if I tried to argue with her, injury or not.

"Alright, why do you want me as his godfather? Don't spare my feelings, I want the unvarnished truth."

Hand over his heart, the knight of Orange begins to elaborate, "My lord, after all we have been through, all we have suffered and gained, even your revealing to me the truth about your Lady Mother, yet even now you still claim to have cause to chastise your character?"

As that thought percolates in my brain, and my, isn't this a strange turn to hear from him, he elucidates his thesis, "I submit to you, my lord and master, my king, that you have a gross misconception of your own self-image and as such, my beloved and I believe that not only are the finest choice for a godparent we can conceive of, but that our conferring this title upon you shall help serve as a guiding light. The world we are seeking to create, the new and better place, will be the world my son will grow up in. And for that, I think we may both agree that no price is too high, Master Lelouch."

….Gotterdammerung. Part of me wants to mouth off at him putting me on the spot like this. I don't get put on the spot, I put other people on the spot!

But? That's a petty and childish impulse. Jeremiah is right, we're fighting this war for those we love and our families. And..well…begrudgingly, he may have a point about my depression and guilt.

"I suppose having to explain everything that was done in his name when he grows up will be a fun conversation," I muse, rubbing my chin as I sit up in the chair, taking a deep breath as my mind cycles through what to say for this occasion.

"Kallen, can you bring him closer? I don't trust myself to hold him right now."

Nodding, she carefully moves to sit on the bed as I lean in to look the child in the-oh, he's awake? And what striking eyes he has. Nunnally will adore him.

"He has your eyes, Jeremiah," I whisper, gently, pressing a finger to the boy's cheek as he gurgles, calmly looking at me with wide and innocent eyes. No time like the present.

"By my authority as Demon King of the Sixth Heavens, and future ruler of this world, I, Lelouch vi Britannia, Zero, do hereby swear to protect and nurture Kyoji-Dantes Shinozaki-Gottwald as my own blood and kin, instructing him and safeguarding him for as long as he or his parents desire. Thus do I claim the title of Godfather to this child with the blessing of my knights, Jeremiah Gottwald, the Knight of Orange, and Sayoko Shinozaki, 37th successor of the Shinozaki-Ryuu. This oath I so solemnly swear upon all I hold dear."

D'aww, he's smiling. That's adorable. Even his sucking at my finger-...and that's…less adorable. The drawbacks of being around infants I suppose. Bad enough this suit got electrified, now it needs dry cleaning from baby spit up.

Sighing as I reach into my lapel pocket for a hankerchief, I gingerly wipe Kyoji's mouth, the infant cooing at me as I clean him, before nodding for Kallen to hand him back to his mother. I'll try to keep your parents alive, kid. It's the least I can do. Nobody deserves to grow up like I did.

"Fuck it, go ahead and laugh. And then call the doctors, because I feel like passing out for a few hours," I comment, my voice bleary as I sway in the chair, only to be caught by Kallen, who sweeps me up into her arms, concern easily evident in her expression, Jeremiah and Sayoko looking at me in alarm. Annnd that would be the stimulants/painkillers wearing off I presume. Either that or I'm just exhausted.

"God damnit, I keep forgetting how high your pain tolerance is. Come on, let's get you in a bed so the docs can fix your char broiled ass up and I can watch Rakshata&Bartley rake your skinny ass over the coals," she quips exasperatedly, one of her hands ruffling my hair, and I think the other one is grabbing my ass. Turnabout's fair play it is.

A raspy chuckle is the only response I can manage to that quip of hers. Even I think that was funny, and I'm the one who almost died, again. Seems gallows humor is propagating among this crowd.