Real quick before we start, I want to answer a question. Someone asked me how exactly the trio are able to communicate in the water. Well, in the beginning of the story the trio's suits were able to use close radio communication to speak to each other, but they had to be very close to each other to do so. Once they make it to the lifepod their suits get an upgrade, and with that upgrade the trio are able to communicate better from a farther distance. But if they get insanely too far they won't be able to hear each other. It's like an underwater walkie talkie of sorts.
Also, happy 2024 everyone! Hope you all had a great holiday and awesome new year's eve! Anyway, with that out of the way, let's begin!
Warning! This story will have lots of swearing, violence, and blood/gore. If you don't like that, then this probably isn't for you and you shouldn't be reading this.
"Yes, I am Zero." = Regular speech
What is he up to? = Thoughts
"Where are you, young one?" = Telepathic speech
"Hello, I am your PDA." = The PDA is speaking
/Can you understand me?/ = Sign language
I don't take any credit, nor do I own Code Geass or Subnautica. This story is purely for fun and my entertainment only.
Ch. 16: Is Hiding the Truth a Lie? Or Worse?
"Okay, so here's the plan." Lelouch got everyone to focus back on the main objective, and started handing out orders. "Let's keep looking around here to find the rest of those cyclops fragments and maybe get some other cool blueprints along the way. Once we've got the cyclops blueprint we'll head back to base and build the submarine. Then go give it a test run and investigate the coordinates to lifepods nineteen, twelve, and two if the Sunbeam hasn't contacted us again by that time."
"Sounds like a plan." Kallen agreed with a set frown. Sapphire blue eyes keeping a sharp eye out for anything of interest or danger. Thankfully, while the group did run by a couple more groups of bonesharks. The creatures didn't bother to attack since they had all of the lights in their seamoth off. "Keep an eye out for anything suspicious. I want to try and get home in time for dinner." Even though spongy peeper sounded kinda gross at the moment, the Black Knight was hungry, and would take what she could get.
So the group stayed close to the seamoth, and explored all the craig fields had to offer.
. . .
It took an entire day of travel and searching, but the group finally managed to find all of the blue prints needed to build themselves a Cyclops. Not only that, but the group found the scraps needed to obtain blueprints for a modification station as well. After a bit of research on Lelouch's part, the trio figured out that the piece of equipment served to upgrade their tools into something even greater. An awesome find judging from the high fives that went throughout the group when they were safe inside the Seamoth. Lelouch even found a new specimen to scan and study on the way back home. One quick look at the PDA revealed the giant one eyed, three tendril creature to be called a Shuttlebug.
Their victory was cut short however when far out in the distance everyone could hear a distinct roar. Three pairs of eyes realized that they had started straying a bit too close to the Aurora for comfort, and a second roar from a Reaper Leviathan sounded out. This time sounding a bit closer than before.
With that realization the trio retreated so quickly it was a blink and you'll miss it moment. Everyone decided they didn't want to die today and figured that heading back home was better to be safe than very, very sorry.
Otherwise, it was a solid victory the group truly celebrated over once they arrived back at home base. The trio decided to dine out in the greenhouse Suzaku had been starting to cultivate instead of at their regular table.
Once Lelouch had finished studying the flora to his heart's content and noted everything down in the PDA, Suzaku came to him with an interesting proposal. Seeing as Lelouch had nothing left to study from his flora specimens on the island, Suzaku took the leftover intact seeds for himself to use. The brunette's first step was to plant the seeds from the edible flora on the floating island in multiple growth beds and pots until the place was almost overflowing with them. Though a few select pots were also chosen to house beautiful, non-edible plants. Since they looked nice and were harmless the Lancelot devicer figured they'd make for good decoration besides steel walls and endless ocean.
While animals all seemed to collectively hate Suzaku besides fish, plants seemed to adore the teen, because under Suzaku's careful, caring watch they flourished. It showed that the Lancelot pilot truly had a green thumb for gardening. Something he was greatly pleased with himself since it gave the soldier something else to focus on and help de-stress.
One of the first things to have finished growing was a batch of marblemelons. The group noticed that they had fully matured as they arrived back from the Craig Fields, and what better way to celebrate than trying some new food that wasn't fish?
When the trio bit into the flesh of the alien fruit, all of their taste buds instantly cried out in joy at the juicy flavor from the piece of unknown fruit they had collectively tried.
"Oh my God." Kallen nearly moaned in euphoria as she quickly stuffed her face with another bite. "This stuff is SO good! It's delicious Suzaku!"
"Finally, something to eat that isn't damn fish." Lelouch agreed hastily as he even went so far as to lick his fingers clean. While it was normally undignified, the raven haired teen gave the moment a pass since it was just Kallen and Suzaku with him. That, and they were both doing the exact same thing. Seems everybody was happy to finally have something other than fish. "Well done on the gardening Suzaku. I'm very glad you decided to add this room to the base."
"Mmm, me too." Suzaku half grumbled over a mouth-full of food. The trio focused more on eating their fill than speaking.
Each meal was a true blessing for each individual. With each day that passed, and each fish caught or fruit grown it was a sign of how far the trio had come. From being stranded and clueless, hopeless on a deserted alien ocean wasteland to becoming something even greater and more refined like a well oiled, well-coordinated team. A group with gadgets and machines far more capable and futuristic than Earth could ever hope to achieve in the next 50 years.
So for once, the group sat, and enjoyed the moment as it was. Kallen and Lelouch took the time to help Suzaku with his gardening after dinner. Even though Lelouch got tired too easily and just plain sucked at it while Kallen struggled to only use one hand. Suzaku and Kallen quietly watched with morbid intrigue and unease as Lelouch took the time to dissect one of the couple Shuttlebug fish he had caught. The rest all swam in a separate aquarium from the Peppers and Bladderfish without a care in the world. Suzaku looked a bit green around the gills himself while Kallen could only lightly follow along with the medical jargon Lelouch was rambling about.
While the redhead knew first aid since being in the Black Knights. Lelouch's medical observations and notes took everything she knew to a whole new level.
Then of course, Lelouch and Suzaku helped Kallen out with her disabled arm. The two boys looked over her wounds with a hopeful outlook. All that was left from the attack by the Sand Shark were the raised scars of a hard fought battle. The fresh pink scars clashed with Kallen's white skin making for a rather weird zebra-stripe pattern. There wasn't any need to use the med kits anymore. All that was left now was to hope and pray that Kallen's nerves weren't permanently damaged or destroyed in the attack.
Lelouch focused more on the physical diagnostics while Suzaku helped with the physical therapy portion of the equation. Seeing as Lelouch was more the brains and Suzaku the muscle it worked out rather well.
At one point in a session however, a spark of hope reared its head over the fiery redhead, and she managed to twitch two of her fingers.
"Holy shit!" Kallen swore, the breath knocked out of her lungs as if a Stalker had slammed into her at the sight. Lelouch was startled out of whatever notes he was making and focused over on his female companion in surprise and confusion over the fuss he had missed. The PDA showed a quick glimpse of a strange claw blueprint in the process of being made before he abruptly shut the PDA down. Kallen wasn't focused on any of that however, instead she stared at her hand as if some miracle from God had occurred. She nearly rubbed her eyes as if in disbelief, but when her shocked blues met Suzaku's ecstatic greens Kallen knew that what she had seen was real. "They twitched! I twitched my fingers!"
"You can move your fingers!" Suzaku nearly bellowed in his overwhelming enthusiasm at this sudden, pleasing discovery. "Thank Kami up above! You can twitch your fingers! We're making progress!"
"They did?" Lelouch asked in disbelief. In an instant the teen was kneeling by Kallen's side of the bed and took a quick hold of her arm. The action served to cause another twitch to happen from Kallen's index and middle finger. "Oh my God. You did… They did." In a rare action of affection that was starting to become normal, Lelouch quickly leaned forward and enveloped Kallen in a full body hug. Arms wrapping above her shoulders and cape extensions following the action as he whispered in a shaky voice. "Thank God. For a few days I didn't think- I was worried-"
"Lelouch!" Kallen, in an equally rare display of affection, returned the hug with vigor. She wrapped her arms tightly around Lelouch's waist and nearly squeezed the life out of him in her glee. "Lelouch I'm gonna be able to move my hand again! It's working!"
The physical therapy increased after that, and more time continued to pass on in 4546B. One time, while Suzaku was off gathering supplies, Kallen asked Lelouch a question that nearly sucker punched him in the gut.
"So, how long until I can fully move my hand again so I can pilot the Guren when we get back to Earth?" Kallen narrowed her gaze towards her hand, but she only managed to get her fingers to very lightly clench into a half fist two times before having to stop. This feeling of helpless exhaustion was a very new and annoying experience for her since she was naturally strong and athletic.
Lelouch blinked, his dual-colored eyes widening a fraction as the question fully took root in his head. His brow furrowed as he looked down towards the group to avoid any direct eye contact with Kallen.
"I… I'm not too sure about that Kallen." He stated gently, before quickly veering away from the question. "Let's just take this one step at a time, hm? Focus on getting all of your fingers to move as if to make a full fist before moving onto something more complicated."
"What do you mean by that?" Kallen raised an eyebrow, and when she noticed Lelouch was more focused on prodding her arm with his thumb she narrowed her gaze on him. "Lelouch, answer me. Honestly." Of course she could sniff out the moment something was up with the genius. It was just his luck.
Honesty.
That was the issue, wasn't it?
But what if the truth hurts more than a lie? So far, Lelouch has been perfectly honest and truthful in his intentions with both Suzaku and Kallen when it came to survival and finding a way off of 4546B.
But lately Lelouch found he wasn't being completely honest with them. Something he already knew since the moment he landed on this accursed planet.
Kallen knew about what his geass did, but she didn't know the full extent to which he could use it. All of the terrible, manipulative things he's done behind her back and the rest of the Black Knights back on Earth. She didn't know the truth about his heritage, or one of the main reasons why he fought back so vehemently against Britannia. Against a dictator that was actually his own father.
Suzaku knew of Lelouch's royal heritage, and so he knew exactly why Lelouch became Zero to begin with. Down to every reason Lelouch could think of. For his sister's wish, for his mother's death, for his father's cold, uncaring attitude. For a brighter, better future, but also for the sake of justice, revenge, and hatred. Yet, Suzaku didn't know the true dangers of his geass either. He knew even less than Kallen did since he didn't really ask questions about Lelouch's geass or what it did. Kallen didn't seem to have filled Suzaku in on the blanks either. The brunette was either too focused on other things to take time to ask, he just plain forgot, or he simply thought it just had something to do about how they got to 4546B in the first place.
Most importantly, Suzaku didn't know that Lelouch had used his geass on him too.
"Can you feel this?" Lelouch questioned in return instead. His finger dug into Kallen's wrist right above her pulse point.
Her features scrunched up at Lelouch's deflect, but decided to comply anyway. "I can feel the pressure, but I can't actually feel you touching my arm. What does that have to do with my question Lelouch?"
"Your motor functions may seem to be improving, but your sense of touch and sensation have barely improved at all. You can feel pressure, but you can't feel my fingers when they skim over the area. Can you feel this pain?" The raven haired teen quickly pinched the skin on the top of Kallen's hand, and with no reaction from her he quickly increased the pressure until the answer was obvious. "No, you can't."
"And?" Kallen raised a single eyebrow. "Isn't that a good thing?"
"Not feeling any pain is good, but only for so long." Lelouch answered as he helped flex Kallen's fingers for her since the most she could do at the moment was barely move them, more like twitch them. "After too long it's a sign of damaged and dead nerves. Your nerves are used to help send sensory information to your brain and in return your brain sends back a response in the form of a motor motion or function."
"Okay, get to the point."
Seeing as Kallen wasn't going to drop it until she got a straight answer, Lelouch gave in. "I'm saying that while you may be able to move your hand a little bit. The chances of it returning to full functioning capacity is low, very low." When the predicted reaction on Kallen's face appeared and the distraught look entered her eyes. Lelouch closed his own eyes tightly and turned his head down to the ground. "I didn't want to tell you, especially since you had just started to twitch your fingers and move them of your own accord again. There was still a chance, but with the lack of sensation…" He trailed off, seeing as whatever else he said obviously wouldn't help. Kallen pulling her hand out of his loose grip was proof enough of that. "...I'm sorry." He whispered into the quiet room.
"So what? Am I going to be able to pilot the Guren again when we get home or not!" Kallen snapped. Her frustration at her slow progress and her devastation at this revelation turned into anger. An anger she was unleashing on the closest thing in her vicinity, which was Lelouch himself.
"...No, probably not." Thankfully, Lelouch was much more familiar with anger, and was able to take the lashing fairly easily.
"What the hell are we gonna do then?!" Kallen demanded back, her voice getting louder as her distraught became greater and greater. "I'm the strongest pilot we have in the Black Knights! I'm the only one that can take Suzaku on head to head when he's in the Lancelot! I'm in charge of protecting you both on and off the battlefield! I can't do that when I can't pilot the Guren! I-"
"Will focus on your physical therapy and try to get as better as you can." Lelouch interjected swiftly. His purple and red eyes suddenly bore into Kallen as if digging into her very soul.
"But how can I!"
"Simple, because we're not on Earth right now." Lelouched answered back plainly. "We're on 4546B. A place where knightmares and the war between Britannia and Japan don't exist. Here you have time to recover as much as you can, and whatever you cannot gain back on your own I will do something to make up for it and make it better." He got closer to Kallen, until his face was scant inches away from her own shocked one. "You may not be able to pilot the Guren now or ever again just as you are, but I swear to you this Kallen. I will find a way for you to fight again. No matter how long it takes me, I'll find a way to turn this around into something better. I swear it."
Lelouch couldn't force himself to say the word promise. It felt too binding, too certain when something like this was clouded in uncertainty. A promise was something he only gave to someone he cherished the most, like Nunnally, or when he basically already had all the aces up his sleeve, like when he saved Euphemia from the JLF.
He couldn't promise Kallen anything, but he can give a swear, a vow, that he will certainly try his best to make it better.
And he already had an idea thanks to the schematics he's been getting from 4546B and very rare help from the PDA.
. . .
The new development of Kallen's had resparked a great flame within the group. One that had dimmed since the first trip to the Grassy Plateaus. One the trio had thought was lost completely thanks to the expedition to the Aurora. One even the Sunbeam's promise of salvation hadn't even reignited.
A flame of hope, and with it, determination and action.
It was time to stop waiting for someone to come to them, and take action themselves. That first course of action was to create the submarine that would lead them deeper and farther across 4546B, the Cyclops.
The trio quickly switched gears with Kallen's slow yet fruitful recovery of the movement of her hand. Lelouch took over the physical therapy sessions that started happening much more frequently than before. Suzaku in the meantime, took off into the Creepvine Forests and Grassy Plateaus to gather all of the needed materials necessary to create the Cyclops. The brunette took two bags and a sea glide with him on his journey, which consisted mainly of getting gold, silver, and lead. Since everyone knew what dangers lurked in which environments it started getting safer for the trio to split off and do separate things now that they knew what was coming and what to look out for.
Kallen took to the Shallows in the meantime while Suzaku and Lelouch were gone. The redhead carefully searched the crevices, nooks, and crannies for any lime deposits, scrap, and quartz. At the same time, she deftly swam away from any Crashfish with better ease than before. Either that or she took in the warning growls the fish gave off and moved on to a safer location. The ace pilot's goal was to gather as many resources as possible for future use, but it was mainly titanium she searched for.
It's always a search for titanium on this dumb planet. Kallen grouched to herself as she struggled to drag her recently obtained loot back into the base with only one usable hand. Always. Thankfully, she didn't have too much of an issue with it and got everything she had grabbed inside eventually.
Lelouch, when he wasn't helping Kallen with her physical therapy and getting closer to her, took the time to take the Seamoth and explore the rest of the Lifepods. The raven haired teen first stopped back at Lifepod 19 where Officer Keen once resided now that the Seamoth could reach its depth, but just barely. There the revolutionary found some abandoned PDA logs relating to Keen and the Captain of the Aurora's sacrifice to bring the ship down close to land. The best find though was the data box that contained the blueprints for an ultra high capacity tank. An upgraded tank that contained much more oxygen than the ones the trio were wearing now. The item required the modification station to be made, which was something the group had also recently obtained the blueprints to as well thankfully.
His second stop was to Lifepod 12, a Lifepod that once held the occupant named Danby. The lifepod itself had also crash landed into a brand new, much darker environment than any of them had ever seen when it was night.
"...Yeah, no. Fuck that." Seeing as it was a new environment with unknown variables, Lelouch turned back. The genius decided that it was best to wait for everyone to regroup before they all went there to explore it together during the day.
There weren't any tall stone structures or deep drops that lead into nothing in this biome. The only real impressive feature that this biome had were the various sized, bulb-shaped plants scattered across the ocean floor and clustered together like fungus. Most of the bulbs were rather small with a few of the bunch being medium sized that was half the height of the humans themselves.
The ones that stood out though, certainly stood out the most. That being the biggest ones were like the size of a one story house.
"Woah." Kallen and Suzaku breathed as they had to crane their necks up to try and look at the top of one of the massive bulbs. The plants were all a bright purple, almost obnoxiously bright, and on each bulb there were smaller, glowing cyan bulbs growing off of them as well. It was certainly uncanny and something different from what they've all seen so far.
Once Lelouch managed to pry a couple pieces of the bulb bushes off to collect as samples he quickly turned back to the Seamoth. "Come on, we're almost towards the Lifepod's coordinates."
While there was a pod of Reefbacks currently swimming in the area that didn't mean the place was totally safe either. Their cries echoing out in the ocean soothing to the trio now unlike when they first encountered them. The Reefbacks being present meant that they were safe from any leviathan class predators, but unfortunately that didn't include the predators that were much smaller. Bone Sharks frequented the area heavily, as if it was their home. It was a good thing the group decided to travel during the day, otherwise they would've been hopelessly lost in the dark and constantly getting attacked for having to turn the Seamoth's lights on.
Just as the group arrived at Lifepod 12, which was again desolate and destroyed like all the others, each person within the Seamoth spotted a strange flash of light in the distance. All of their heads snapped up to attention at the strange sight. It was like a flash of electrical lights and sparks in the distance, but it kept moving all over the place and was getting closer. It looked like a bunch of fairy lights dancing in the water frankly.
"What is that thing?" Kallen questioned gruffly as she expertly brought the Seamoth low to the sea floor right by the destroyed Lifepod. Just as she did that, the strange lights finally came into full visible view.
What was thought to be a bunch of small, glowing creatures turned out to actually be two very big and long creatures. While they weren't as tall as the hunched Bone Sharks the group had recently encountered, they were certainly much longer than them. The electric sea creatures were huge, serpentine-like, and were composed of a segmented body broken up into eight portions each. Around each portion of the rotating bodies were four prongs that were mainly red, but had those glowing cyan lights at the end of each prong. Between these prongs, sparks of electricity bounded from prong to prong all over the creature.
The dorsal side of the creature's scaly hide was a dull green color, while the underbelly of the beast was a light tan. Its head and tail segment each had six electrical prongs all around it, while the rest of the body only had four. Two turquoise colored eyes sat in hollowed out portions of the head as a form of protection, and its mouth was stuck in a permanent frown that had a ton of small, sharp teeth lining the top row of the mouth.
"It's an eel." Lelouch whispered softly as the two creatures slowly passed by without a care in the world, not noticing the three smaller humans within the darkened Seamoth as they passed. "Those bouts of electrical discharges? It has to be similar to an eel back on Earth."
Just as the terrorist finished saying that, a shrill hiss echoed out in the waters, causing everyone to tense. Kallen slowly turned the Seamoth just in time to see three Bone Sharks begin charging towards the two eel-like creatures. The group watched as an all out brawl suddenly broke out within the ocean's waters, and for once it didn't involve them.
"Why are they fighting each other?" Suzaku questioned softly as they all watched two of the Bone Sharks manage to bite their sharp teeth into the segmented body of one of the eels. One going for the tail and another going for the neck portion of the much bigger beast.
"The electric discharges-" Kallen began, but cut herself off as the new creature let out a loud electric buzzing noise that definitely did not sound like any creature on their planet. It belonged more to some electrical appliance, but that was the only warning the creature made before a super bright shock and a ton of electricity suddenly burst out from the creature. The electricity instantly traveled into the two Bone Sharks, frying their brains in the process. Through the jerking and spasming of the two predator's bodies, the one biting near the head jerked harshly enough that a loud snap filled the ocean's waters.
The electrical discharge suddenly ceased completely, and together, all three deceased animals slowly sank to the ocean floor. Even the cyan glowing prongs on the unknown creature weren't glowing anymore. The yellow blood escaping the eel barely visible in the ocean waters before it was dissipated into the watery current.
"The bright light of the electricity must've aggravated the Bone Sharks into attacking." Kallen uneasily finished as the last eel-like monster gave another burst of electricity to fend off the third Bone Shark before turning tail and swimming away as quickly as it could. The last Bone Shark was temporarily paralyzed, but as soon as its jittering stopped it quickly gave chase towards the glowing creature with a cat-like hiss of aggression.
The altercation was over within five minutes, and just like that all was quiet and serene within the ocean again. Three new bodies were left behind from the incident to decompose on the seafloor before something else finds and feasts on them.
"Let's go." Lelouch shook the sight off and quickly exited the Seamoth. "It won't be long until more predators could show up at the scent of blood from those corpses, so let's make this investigation quick."
"Roger." Suzaku agreed as he too left the Seamoth while Kallen stayed inside to play as look out.
While the Britannian soldier took the time to quickly search through the desolate Lifepod, Lelouch quickly swam over to investigate the dead creatures that killed each other. The eel creature's neck was bent at a weird angle, showing how it died in the swift and unexpected altercation.
Swimming down directly towards the dead creatures, Lelouch took a moment to scan the new creature to add its information into the PDA's database. Once that was done the revolutionary quickly took a moment to use his knife and cut out the eyes of the Bone Sharks and broke off the boney claw-like extensions on the creature's fins to store them for future study. Then he turned towards the unknown creature, and after taking a moment to debate what he should take Lelouch snapped off a few prongs, took the creature's eyes, and even a few of the small teeth and scales the unknown monster had to study later on back at the base. Lelouch only took a moment to look at what the details the PDA gave of the eel-like creature, of the Ampeel.
"The Ampeel is a powerful and inquisitive predator found inhabiting the deeper waters of the reefs and bulb bush colonies.
Electrical Prongs: Torso-mounted prongs generate a powerful electrical current which the Ampeel uses to incapacitate its prey.
Jaws: A large, flexible jaw, studded with sharp teeth. If a faster, stronger, and hungrier predator lives on the reefs, it appears to avoid the Ampeel.
Assessment: Avoid or incapacitate."
Okay, so it probably hunts mostly on opportunity. Lelouch theorized to himself. So long as we don't get too close to it it should leave us alone. Good to know.
A distressed hiss echoed out in the waters just as Suzaku and Lelouch met back up to head back to the Seamoth. The two boys looked up just in time to see the same Bone Shark that gave chase a few minutes before fleeing as quickly as it could. Kallen placed the Seamoth between the creature and the two divers, but the sea monster gave them no mind as it fled as quickly as it could, spazzing out a couple times as it did so.
"Get in, we're leaving." Kallen ordered, and seeing as they had nothing left to gain from here, the two boys quickly complied. Just as they got comfortable inside the Seamoth, Kallen abruptly jerked the steering wheel to make the Seamoth jerk up.
"Ah!"
"What the hell?" Lelouch snapped.
"Sorry! Sorry!" Kallen apologized rapidly, tipping the Seamoth just a tad to see what she had just evaded. "But those things nearly ran into me. I didn't want to risk getting too close to them since they can manipulate freaking electricity."
The other two occupants of the Seamoth looked down out the window to see that same eel creature from before giving chase to the Bone Shark that had gotten away. The creature moved much slower than the shark, but it was certainly persistent since it still gave chase. Along with the first eel, two others that were actually bigger than the first followed right after.
Clearly, the group of eels weren't happy that their friend got murdered.
"...Let's just get out of here and back home." Suzaku finally commented as the gang of eels chased after their enemy and vanished back into the ocean. "Maybe we finally got a message from the people on the Sunbeam finally."
"It has been a while." Kallen agreed as she moved the Seamoth in the direction of home base. The group leaving the Bulb Zone as they decided to call it and heading back to familiar territory.
"That's nearly all of the Lifepods we've managed to explore." Lelouch commented as they passed by a small herd of Reefbacks. One of the bigger ones turned to address the much smaller submarine, but soon turned away in disinterest immediately after. "The only one we haven't explored yet is Lifepod 2."
"And that one is 500 meters below." Suzaku added in with a frown as he handed over an abandoned PDA log and data bank drive to Lelouch to upload to their PDA. "So we won't be able to explore that one for a while since we need to upgrade the Seamoth more."
"Thanks." Lelouch said as he quickly got to work with the PDA.
"Well, the Cyclops can probably go much deeper than the Seamoth." Kallen reasoned as they entered a Grassy Plateau biome. "So once we get it built we can head towards that Lifepod and check it out if we don't get rescued by the Sunbeam by then to pass the time."
"We have everything to make the Cyclops too now." Lelouch agreed as he finished implementing the stuff Suzaku found into the PDA. "So it sounds like a plan. In the meantime, here, listen to this." With that, Lelouch played the PDA log that was in Lifepod 12.
"Okay, I admit it." An unsure, terrified male voice admitted to the silence of the uncaring PDA. The three humans in the Seamoth listened in rapt attention. "I'm not really a doctor. I know that's what my ID says, but I never have been." The man explained quickly as if confessing all of his sins, before muttering off to the side. "Cheated the medical exams." Instantly after saying that, the man began to justify himself. "What does a doctor these days need to know about manually resetting bones? When was the last time a top surgeon actually cut someone open? That's what the robots are for!"
"They have actual robots that do all that stuff?" Lelouch muttered, fascinated at the idea, and immediately the thought of a miniature knightmare frame appeared in his mind.
"Shush." Kallen chastised quickly, causing Lelouch's face to scrunch up just a tad.
"Hmph!"
"Doctors these days read diagnoses off of computer readouts. For that, I'm perfectly qualified." The man stated haughtily, but that arrogance was overwhelmed by the unease rushing through the man's frantic tone. "But what good is it when I'm not connected to the main network?... I'm bleeding. I've got glowing green pustules growing on my hands." Everyone in the cockpit of the Seamoth had their eyes widen at that disturbing statement. "I run a self-scan, and it tells me I've got skin irritation. The only thing I studied in medical school was how to lie convincingly. What the hell do I know about how to treat an alien disease?!" A shaky rush of breath escaped the man's lips as he whimpered in pain. "I think I'm actually going to die down here."
Once it was clear the recording was over everyone looked at each other, unsure of themselves.
"Didn't we see one of those Sand Sharks with glowing green patches all over its body?" Suzaku questioned as his eyes turned to Lelouch. Both teens instantly thought back to when they explored that ship wreckage back in the Grassy Plateaus the very first time. When they got cornered and nearly killed by a maddened Sand Shark.
"You're right." Lelouch agreed as he looked through the PDA to try and find anything relating to such a disease. "It did, but that guy in the PDA log was right. I can't get any information related to any alien diseases since this PDA isn't connected to the main network. The only thing I can do is scan one of those creatures with that disease to get any possible information on it."
"But now we know that we can get sick from it, because that guy had it too." Kallen stated.
"It's probably just a zoonotic disease transferred through contact." Lelouch dismissed easily. "We haven't been showing any symptoms of glowing green pustules on our bodies, so the guy probably got attacked by one of the creatures out there that was infected with it and got the disease himself."
"Let's be extra careful anyway. Just in case." Suzaku finished.
"Indeed." Lelouch hummed in agreement as he worked on the PDA. The teen's eyebrows rose high as he looked at the rest of the new stuff the PDA had just added in. "We should definitely investigate that last Lifepod too, because Lifepod 12 just gave us the blueprints needed to make a propulsion cannon."
"A what!" Kallen exclaimed, so surprised that she hit the brakes on the Seamoth to make it come to a stand still. The sudden action jarring the two individuals not in a seat and causing their heads to jerk forward, nearly hitting the dashboard.
"Hey!"
"Watch it Kallen!" Suzaku said aloud as he braced himself with one hand and rubbed his neck from the light whiplash he had just obtained. "That hurt."
"Sorry." While Kallen was certainly excelling very well in piloting the Seamoth it seemed she still had a bit to learn. Her eyes snapped over to Lelouch as he reoriented himself. "But really? A propulsion cannon!"
"Yes, a repulsion cannon." Lelouch reiterated as Kallen brought the Seamoth back to full speed again.
"We HAVE to get that thing built, like right now." Kallen firmly spoke as she brought her full attention to what was in front of her. "That thing will be so useful against smaller predators like Stalkers and Bone Sharks. Especially since we already have the blueprints for its upgraded counterpart the repulsion cannon thanks to that visit to the Aurora."
"Definitely." Suzaku agreed, the teen rubbing one of his arms as he spoke. "Every time I think this place couldn't come up with anything more futuristic, we get something like a freaking propulsion and repulsion cannon."
"I for one, cannot wait to get my hands on one to look at." Lelouch stated. His tone of voice sounded very pleased at the aspect.
Suzaku gave his best friend a deadpan look. "Just make sure not to go overboard with it okay? We don't need a bunch of fish getting blasted all over the place."
"No promises."
. . .
Finally, the moment everyone was waiting for had arrived.
Once the three divers found a space big enough to build the cyclops Suzaku placed down the mobile vehicle bay on top of the ocean's calm waves. The four little drones buzzed out of the construct to whirl around the three teens as they gently floated over the waves.
Lelouch took the initiative, climbing up onto the mobile vehicle bay and looking down at the construction options available thanks to the PDA. He turned to look over at Suzaku and Kallen. "Do we have everything?"
"Yup." Kallen responded as she looked into her bag and Suzaku looked through his. "Three plasteel ingots, three hunks of enamel glass, three hunks of lead, a bottle of lubricant, and an advanced wiring kit. It's all here."
"I'm surprised that the machine only needs these few things to make something that's apparently 54 meters long." Suzaku admitted idly as he and Kallen started handing the stuff up to Lelouch. While the heavy plasteel ingots were placed on the floor of the mobile vehicle bay, the rest was easy for Lelouch to handle with the help of his cape extensions.
"That's true." Lelouch agreed as he finally initiated the start of the build process for the Cyclops. The process said it would take around 2 hours to complete as the little machines started breaking down the materials provided into microscopic bits and pieces. "But I certainly won't complain about it since that means it's easier for us."
"Same." Kallen nodded firmly as she zipped her bag back up and threw it over her shoulder. "Well, seeing as this process is going to take a while I propose we head back to base and check up on it later."
"Yeah, I'm actually pretty thirsty-" Suzaku's words broke off as he suddenly cleared his throat before coughing a couple of times. When Lelouch and Kallen looked back to him, the brunette simply shrugged them off. "Sorry, it's just that my throat is a bit dry."
"Let's head back in then, perhaps we'll finally have a message from the Sunbeam." Lelouch idly spoke as he carelessly jumped back into the water. Both Kallen and Suzaku pulled out their seaglides to follow after him.
"Can't you just check on the PDA to see if there is anything?" Kallen questioned as the two caught up to the speedy revolutionary.
"Well, yes, but I don't really see the point." Lelouch said as he pulled out the PDA to carelessly look and see if any new radio transmissions had arrived. "I take a quick glance at it every hour and still haven't seen any new- Oh my God we actually do have a new radio message." Lelouch cut himself off as he rapidly blinked his eyes and brought the PDA closer to his face as he re-read the new notification.
"Yes!" Both Kallen and Suzaku cheered while the Lancelot pilot did a fist pump.
"Took them long enough!" Kallen exclaimed as she put her seaglide into overdrive. "Let's hurry it up and see what it has to say then!"
"Whoo!" Suzaku hollered in elation as both soldiers sped through the water causing Lelouch to figuratively eat their bubbles.
"Hey- hold up!" Lelouch yelled as he forced his cape extensions to go faster as well. "You guys are going to run the batteries in your seaglide dry!" It wasn't long until the raven haired teen caught up and even slowly surpassed the two in an unprompted race. While Lelouch was the first to wrench the hatch to their base open there was no determined loser since Kallen and Suzaku both arrived back at the same time.
The moment everyone shook the water off of their bodies everyone was scrambling to the radio eager to listen to the message provided to them. It was Kallen who managed to hit the button first despite Lelouch's head start.
"Aurora, we are approaching the planet now, and we have a landing site for you that's…" Avery Quinn trailed off as he hesitated for just a moment. "Well, it's better than the alternatives." His voice grew confident and firm once more. "We've sent you the coordinates. It'll take us a couple days to align our orbit, we should be able to establish direct contact with you during that time, then we're coming to get you." Even over the cheering of the trio, the captain's voice was still audible. "Cross your fingers the weather holds, and don't leave us waiting. Sunbeam out."
"Finally!" Kallen cheered as she brought both Suzaku and Lelouch into an unprompted group hug. "We're saved!" Suzaku smiled and joined in on the action while the sudden movement startled Lelouch. The terrorist's extensions jolted outwards for a second, before slowly lowering. He too soon joined in on the hug, and a very small smile appeared on his face as well.
The smallest of blushes was growing on his pale white cheeks until the hug was broken.
"Once we get out of here we can start focusing on a way to go back home." Suzaku said happily as a reminiscing look appeared on his face. "I can see Euphie again."
"I'll be able to hug my mom." Kallen joined in on the Eleven's train of thought. "Get reunited with the Student Council!"
"Oh God, Milly is going to kill us for missing so many meetings." Suzaku agreed with an eager nod of his head.
"I'd rather take Milly's wrath than stay a second longer on this planet." Lelouch stated as he looked out the window towards a passing Peeper. "I'll get to see Nunnally again, and C.C."
At the mention of the immortal witch, it was like a balloon had been popped. Fantasy and a happy ending turning into cold, harsh reality as everyone remembered what was truly waiting for them back home.
Of the Holy Britannian Empire and the Black Knights. Of Zero.
"Back to fighting against each other." Lelouch murmured as everyone looked at each other uneasily. "Of lying and tearing each other apart." Kallen looked away bitterly as Lelouch mentioned lying, and Suzaku's gaze darkened the longer Lelouch spoke.
"... But that can change, can't it?" The brunette objected softly, before his voice started to rise louder. "If you guys just gave up and stopped fighting-!"
"Oh cut the bullshit Suzaku." Kallen abruptly snapped at him. An angered glare on her features as she started her rival down. "There's no way we're gonna stop fighting against Britannia. Not unless we're dead!" The fact that the redhead was clumping her and Lelouch together surprised the revolutionary, and when their eyes met Kallen only gave a single nod of her head.
I'll still follow you. Is what that single glance conveyed, and Lelouch breathed in deeply at the decision. At Kallen still willing to give her trust and loyalty to him despite all the lies he's spun. All the truths he's still keeping from her, though she doesn't know it.
"But it's hopeless!" Suzaku yelled back, his voice rising as if that would give him the edge needed to win the argument. "Britannia won the war against Japan! The only way to make Area Eleven better again is by changing Britannia into something good from within! Why can't you two just accept that?"
"Because we can still fight and free Japan ourselves!" Kallen rebutted back hotly. "Because some people can't even get into the system in the first place. Because everyone at the top of the Britannian hierarchy are corrupted, selfish bastards that think of nothing but themselves and how they can better help themselves like pigs even at the cost of others! Especially at the cost of others depending on your race and nationality and their political viewpoints." Her hands clenched into fists. "The fact that a nation condemns you based on what nation or race you're born into shows that there's no hope for such a tyrannical empire. People can't just change how or where they're born, and the way the empire is made is used to exploit unfair ideals such as those to help the rich get richer and the poor get poorer!"
"We of the Black Knights give people what they've been desperately searching for the past seven years and beyond, hope." Lelouch added in much softer than his other two compatriots. For once, the terrorist didn't feel comfortable getting into an argument against his two closest friends over a topic like this. "Even if you somehow manage to accomplish this dream of yours there will always be the fact that Britannia hangs over everyone's heads like a guillotine waiting to fall. Even one misstep in a direction Britannia doesn't like could lead to everything falling apart and causing Area Eleven to end up right back where it started after the war. It would be a constant life of fear for the people of Area Eleven. People don't want to always live in fear, Suzaku." Perhaps the way Lelouch spoke that so gently made it sound even worse for the Honorary Britannian. Like his best friend was trying to speak down to him as if Suzaku was a kid instead of an equal individual at Lelouch's level.
"And your methods show that how?" Suzaku questioned stiffly. "By causing landslides that suffocate entire cities and blowing up ships parked in harbors? By using voodoo magic on everyone to do your dirty work while you suffer no consequences with that- that geass of yours!?" The Lancelot pilot gestured frantically at Lelouch's face, or more specifically that damning red eye of his.
Lelouch's eyes widened just a smidge, Suzaku having hit a nerve somewhere inside the teen's cold, hardened heart that had begun to thaw and melt. Yet, despite the urge to yell and lash out at Suzaku, the revolutionary refrained. Instead, he squeezed his eyes tightly shut as if to will away his rampant geass. "I didn't mean to lose control over it." We all Lelouch said instead.
"That was a damn low blow Suzaku." Kallen hissed, the redhead stepping in front of Lelouch as if to protect him like a proper bodyguard should from both physical and verbal attacks.
"What do you mean low blow!" Suzaku threw his hands out wide. "He's admitted to using it on you! And you're his best soldier and pilot! If he's willing to use it on you what's to say he won't use it on me?! Or the other Black Knights?! What about Euphie!"
"I'd never use it on her and you know it Suzaku!" Lelouch roared out like a creature having been stabbed. "I'd never use it on Euphie!"
"But you'll use it on everyone else I bet." The silence to Suzaku's point was thick and telling.
"I have been given this power to help make a change in the world." Lelouch stated so softly it was like a whisper of icy wind. His eyes narrowed towards his biggest obstacle back on Earth. The most stubborn obstacle too. "If you expect me not to use it to help me advance in my goals then you're a fool. I won't deliberately handicap myself when I have an opportunity to advance forwards against an empire that controls over one third of the world."
"But it's not even necessary!" After taking a moment to back off and take a deep breath, Suzaku was back in the debate. "Look, despite what you all think of my idea I do have a goal." Olive green eyes looked to the outside world of 4546B. The base was suddenly suffocating in tension. "You guys might not know this, but the Knight of One has the option to choose an Area for their own." Both rebels raised a single eyebrow at the admission, and Suzaku looked back at them without fear. "I plan to become the Knight of One so I can have Area Eleven and change it back into what it used to be, back into Japan."
"But there are multiple flaws in your plan." Lelouch pointed out instantly, everyone finally starting to lower their voices back down. Everyone was still angry and uneasy with each other, but yelling just seemed like a waste of energy at this point. "Not only is there currently a Knight of One that you'd need to defeat and kill to claim that position, but the only reason you've even come this far is because of me, because of the threat of Zero." Lelouch gestured to himself with his cape extension. "Without me constantly being in your way you never would've made it past a foot soldier, and the only way you could ever get even a slimmer of a chance at becoming a Knight of the Round is by a very marvelous feat. Something even the bigotry of Britannia cannot argue against since you're an Eleven."
Kallen looked between Lelouch and Suzaku, before giving the latter an impatient expression. The fire in her eyes not having dwindled in the slightest. "See?!" She exclaimed. "Can't you see such an advancement for someone who isn't a Pureblood Britannian is impossible Suzaku? You're making your dreams and hopes so far out they've become delusional! The only way you'd even get a ghost of a chance at being a Knight of the Round is if you captured Zero or something."
"Then maybe I will."
.
.
.
The silence was ice cold at this point, everyone stopping whatever they were about to say in shock at Suzaku's declaration. Nobody knew what to say about that statement. Kallen's expression was one of speechless shock, and you could see the instant Lelouch closed his emotions and expressions off from his face. Even the Eleven himself seemed surprised at the words that came out of his mouth, but he slowly shook it off. A deep scowl on the brunette's face.
Suzaku refused to look anyone in the eyes, Lelouch especially. If he saw the sheer hurt and betrayal that was in his best friend's darkened eyes the Honorary Britannian might come undone. Instead, he looked at the metal floor of the base as he spoke quietly.
"... That's what it will all come down to anyway, won't it?" Suzaku said rhetorically. Nobody wanted to speak to the other anymore. "In the end, once we get back to Earth nothing will have changed. We'll still be enemies fighting on opposing sides between Britannia and Area Eleven. I'll have to fight against Kallen in the Guren and eventually try and either kill you or capture you as Zero unless you both quit." Suzaku squeezed his eyes tightly shut. "I really don't want to do that, but if you guys give me no other choice..." He trailed off and turned his head away completely. "...then I'm sorry."
Lelouch's cape extensions twitched from where they were tightly wrapped around his body. Kallen glared at the ground as if somehow it was the one responsible for all this pain and arguing. Just a few minutes ago they were celebrating as friends and partners. Now it was like a stone wall had been erected between everyone.
"... What the hell happened to you Suzaku?" Lelouch broke the dark silence with a soft question. When the Britannian soldier finally gained the courage to look over his best friend's way, Lelouch had tipped his head down enough for his hair to cover his eyes. Kallen took a few steps back, as if to exit out of the conversation entirely. "What happened to the boy I had become friends with to cause him to become such a pessimistic, Britannian suck up defeatist? What changed you into someone who would rather suffer in a dream that would sooner get themselves killed than achieved? When in the past no matter how many times you lost to me in chess you'd always demand a rematch. Saying that as long as you tried hard enough and kept at it, you'd eventually beat me."
Suzaku opened his mouth to respond, but whatever he wanted to say never came. Instead, only a feeble response was given. "And that moment I beat you at chess never came to pass Lelouch. No matter how hard I tried I just couldn't win. That was a long time ago, and people change." For better or for worse wasn't said. It didn't matter either way.
"It all stems back from your father, doesn't it?" When green eyes widened in shock and fear, Lelouch knew he hit the nail right on the head. "I don't care what you think about that moment, but all I can see are the facts. Suzaku, while it must have hurt you so deeply to kill him, you have to understand that your decision was right. You saved countless lives from a man who wanted to act rash and stubborn on a dream that was no longer feasible in a do or die attack that he knew wouldn't end in his favor. Surely even he had to have known that despite how headstrong your father was." When no response came, Lelouch continued. "I think you need to really dig deep and take a look at yourself Suzaku, because this path you're going down is rather similar to that of your father's. It will only end in pain and regret."
Finally, Lelouch forced his cape extensions back and slowly walked away towards the hatch of the base. Wordlessly, he opened the hatch and left, and when both Kallen and Suzaku looked out the window to see where he was going they were relieved to see he was only going to check on the progress of the Cyclops.
When the two soldiers looked at each other, they immediately looked away. Eventually, Kallen reinserted herself back into the equation, but only said one last thing. "I think it would be best if we all gave each other some space and time to think. I… have a lot I need to think about and process."
It was quiet for a long moment. "Yeah." Suzaku agreed softly, but by the time he had said that Kallen had also left the base to go off somewhere. Possibly to follow after Lelouch, possibly to just go be by herself. "You're right." Having to take a deep look at himself and the path he had taken, Suzaku found it almost as painful and torturous as living sometimes.
The Honorary Britannian went straight towards his garden. Hoping that some hard work in the soil would help take his pain and stress away and help alleviate some of the anxiety he felt deep inside of himself.
Oh no, another fight has broken out between the group. Hopefully they'll be able to reconcile it soon. Otherwise they might be in some big trouble. Of course when something good and nice happens to them I just have to come in and rain on their parade with sad times. Oh well.
Anyways, if you have enjoyed the story so far leave a REVIEW, Follow, and Favorite the story so you can keep track of when chapters pop up. Because FYI, I don't have a posting schedule and I just post whenever I feel like it.
Otherwise, I'll be seeing you guys in chapter 17! -MoonlightWright