Word Drama VIII

Ryukyu Government Bureau
Naha, Okinawa, Ryukyu Republic
September 23, 2017

Well, that could have been a lot worse, C.C. thought to herself as she took another bite of her pizza slice, feeling as though the lifeblood had been drained from her six hundred year old or so body. She had known for a long time – since the initial days of the Black Knights in fact – that this day would come. The day in which she would reveal it all to a captive audience. That Zero was in fact the exiled Prince Lelouch vi Britannia, that he did have a supernatural power called Geass that allowed him to perform his "miracles" – to put it lightly – that his quest to liberate Japan and take the fight to Britannia was as much for vengeance for his deceased mother and blind/crippled sister as it was to create a utopia for the latter to live peacefully in. It had all come out in one segment or another, but eventually C.C. had given everything out, leaving nothing unspoken.

Her audience had been quite varied at that. From the Black Knights' senior leadership to the remainders of the JSDF that had sheltered in Ryukyu following the Second Pacific War to Kaguya Sumeragi and the remainders of Kyoto House, virtually every power player from the Black Rebellion had heard her explanations with rapt attention. Reactions, again to put it lightly, had been mixed among them, ranging from the expected outrage toward Zero's deceptions – as well as the true cause of the SAZ Massacre and the events that followed – to belied understanding for his motives to actual reaffirmations in his leadership. Naturally the debate that followed had been long – longer than it had taken to explain it all, C.C. suspected – as well as at various volume levels, but eventually Ohgi, Tohdoh and the other faithful had managed to reign everyone in. It also helped that C.C. had affirmed to them that Lelouch had not in fact used his power on any of them – save for one at least, though she needed not mention that – and that they were able to so much as question the possibility meant so. From that, it took a few more words from her, but she managed to eventually convince everyone what they had all already understood. That, regardless of his origins or where he had come from, they needed Zero.

That had all been less than an hour ago, and C.C. was still reveling in the newfound silence and openness of her present domain. She didn't know where the others had gone – though she suspected that Ohgi, Tohdoh and the other military types were already at work beginning the Order's reformation – nor did she really care. The fact was it had been a very long ten days since the Black Rebellion, and the literal Hell that had followed it, and she was completely and utterly spent. Perhaps a bit better off than the others – after all, she had seen so much death and destruction in her centuries long lifespan that such things did not bother her as much as others – but spent she still was. Once she completed one more task – outside her pizza at least – she was going to crawl into the nearest bathtub, and then the nearest bed, no matter where they were. Everyone else could plan for whatever was to come, at least for the next day or two. But again, there remained that one final task for her before she could rest.

Fortunately, she had not needed to wait for long for the object of that task to reenter the room. Licking the excess cheese and tomato sauce from her fingers, C.C. did not stand nor turn to face the muted Kallen Kouzuki as she came up to her impromptu dining table, but the Code Bearer grinned all the same. "At last," she proclaimed. "I was wondering how long you would remain obstinate."

Despite that, Kallen remained silent and unexpressive. Strange, C.C. felt, but nonetheless rose from her seat and at last turned to face the proclaimed Ace of the Elevens.

"As promised, you now have your answers," C.C. went on. "Everything you wanted to know about Zero, what he was fighting for, what you were fighting for. It's all in front of you, and just as apparent."

Again nothing but silence, as well as that worn yet hardened gaze. Even so, C.C. knew there was something there. Something stirring inside Kallen, though it had not yet reached the surface.

"So, Kallen Kouzuki," C.C. pressed further, very curious and she slowly circled around the Guren pilot. "What will you do now, with Japan behind you and Tomorrow before you? Will you continue to fight? Or will you end it all here and now?"

The circle complete, C.C. came to a stop in front of her again. This time the immortal fixed her fellow Black Knight with an uncharacteristically hardened gaze of her own.

"Do you even know what you will do?" C.C. questioned that much more. "Do you even know what you want?"

Upon that last inquiry, Kallen at last responded.

"Geass," she spoke that single word in a near whisper, but still firmly. "I want Geass."

C.C. actually blinked toward that answer in visible surprise. Of all the things she had expected Kallen to say, that had not been among them. "May I inquire, as to why?"

Kallen sniffed toward that. "What does it matter to you? I thought you would not care who you contract with, so long as the contract is fulfilled in the end…"

"I'll be the judge of that," C.C. responded just as firmly, taking up the ace on her challenge. "Lelouch was a powerless little boy that wound up straying into a battlefield, where he would have met his end without ever having the means to fight. You are nothing like him Kallen."

The intensity between the two women was quite palpable now, as both remained unyielding to the other.

"You have power. More than enough power as you are now," C.C. continued, despite herself. Not too long ago she would have accepted that request straight away; as said, it didn't matter who she contracted with, so long as the contract was fulfilled. But not this time, for whatever reason. "What reason do you have to possess this Power?"

For a long while, the two women remained as they were, both gazing directly into the other's eye as that question remained between them. If there had been any spectators present, it would have been questioned which of these two would break first. Which would ultimately give ground to the other in this strange contest.

That question would soon be answered however, as Kallen found herself closing her eyes.

"It's not power that I want," Kallen admitted, her voice having softened considerably as she willed herself on. "As you said, I have more than enough of that."

She looked away somewhat as she went on. "You said one thing before. That Geass is ultimately a curse on the one it is bestowed upon."

"Yes," C.C. confirmed with a nod. "In the end, those who hold the Power of the King are condemned to solitude."

C.C. noted how Kallen seemed to grimace to that, but went on anyway. "As Geass gains strength, it will eventually take on a force of its own, well beyond any measure of control," she explained. "And so the user will be forced to apart from all others, lest the Geass consume them as well."

Kallen nodded herself, taking it all in seemingly. "If…" she began to speak again. "If one who holds Geass is cursed to remain apart from those who do not have it…"

Slowly, she turned to stare back at C.C., her eyes hesitant but still determined to go on. "Then what if there is another?"

Again C.C. actually blinked in surprise. That was certainly one question she had never heard before.

"What if there is another that is also cursed?" Kallen continued, her voice wavering with her gaze but still holding firm. "Could…could they stand together…?"

C.C. felt the urge to sigh, but managed to renege from it. Despite her prior surprise, she somehow should have seen this coming. "I would not know Kallen," the immortal admitted. "In my experience, those with Power drive each other apart as easily."

Once more Kallen nodded, but yet remained determined still. "I suppose that is a chance I will take then," she stated, resolution now taking hold of her voice as well as her stature. Slowly the ace forced the lingering hesitance away and visibly readied herself.

Again despite herself, C.C. actually smiled toward this. It appeared that all of her assumptions toward this woman had indeed been true.

"Be aware Kallen, there will be no turning back," she warned. "Once you accept the Power of the King, it will remain with you to the end."

Kallen herself smiled at that. "I made a similar vow to Lelouch not to long ago," she stated with affirmation. "So it's all the more fitting that I share his fate. His burden."

This time, C.C. nodded in approval as she moved straight up to Kallen. "As you wish then," she said, this time staring into Kallen's eyes in approval. Indeed, as C.C. took Kallen's hand, there would be no turning back from this.

I propose a deal Kallen, C.C. transmitted as she and Kallen both felt a stream of energy rush between them. From that stream of energy, Kallen felt an image enter her mind. That of two grey reflections of Earth, one above and one below, against a distant sun.

In exchange for this power, you must agree to make my one wish come true. Accept this contract and you accept its conditions, while living in the world of humans you will live unlike any other. A different providence. A different time. A different life.

More images soon followed. That of the Sigil embedded into stone. Various figures in white, also bearing the Sigil on their bodies. The silhouette of Jupiter.

The Power of the King will condemn you to a life of solitude. Are you prepared for this?

Again Kallen sniffed. If she was to remain away from those without the Power, so be it. For no condemnation would keep her away from him.

Yes, Kallen declared in turn, wholly and without any further hesitance. I hereby accept the terms of the contract!

C.C.'s smile only deepened toward that. Then, Kallen Kouzuki… she declared as well. I deem you worthy of Geass!

It was over in an instant, yet it felt as though eons had passed in that one room. Releasing her hand from C.C., Kallen turned and walked back silently. As C.C. continued to watch her, the Guren pilot at last spoke.

"I see…" she began, her head still turned. "This light… this euphoria… so this is how he felt that day…"

Kallen's head tilted down toward her hands, gazing straight toward her palms. And beyond.

"With this, I will remain by his side forever on," she continued her declaration. "Wherever he leads this world, whether he is to be praised and despised, I will never abandon him."

She lowered her hands, now gazing directly ahead.

"For if he is a demon, then I am a dragon," Kallen went on. "I shall burn and devour his enemies, ensuring that the paradise that he so envisions, no matter for what or for who he has envisioned it, comes to fruition. And thereafter shall I follow him to Hell and share in his damnation, for that, and that alone, is why I have gained this curse," she stated in finality, wholly accepting of her destiny. "For that, and that alone, is why I have gained this power."

Only then did Kallen turn back to face C.C., her new partner. The Sigil alight within her left eye.

"The Power of the Queen."