FOREWORD

So, I commented in my first Code Geass/Bloodborne crossover, Lasciate Ogni Speranza, Voi Ch'entrante, that this was a crossover that seemingly hadn't been done before, at least on this website. But that one had Lelouch as the Good Hunter. I had an idea that would be a surprising one.

Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion has no shortage of strong female characters. CC, Kallen Kozuki, Cornelia, various Knights of the Round…and of course, Marianne vi Britannia. While she was revealed to be a villain, I wondered, what if she wasn't? What if she repented?

I thought of her becoming the Good Hunter post-mortem (instead of basically becoming a Horcrux in Anya Alstreim's noggin) would be a good way for her to realise how fucked up she was being in helping her husband and brother-in-law (the very guy who murdered her because he was a yandere for his own brother, and an immortal psychopathic manchild in a literal child's body besides) kill off part of the collective consciousness of humanity. So I held onto this as a bit of a surprise. Hopefully, it paid off.

Also, this isn't the first time I've used this title before, Latin for 'tough mother' (and a name for a layer of the meningeal layers of the brain), but for a Silent Hill/Metal Gear crossover that didn't get off the ground properly.

Anyway, time for the disclaimers. Firstly, there will be annotations, as well as references to dark themes, horror, violence, and the like.

Secondly, there will be spoilers.

Finally, this is a fan-written work. Bloodborne, Code Geass, and the characters and scenarios are property of their respective owners. Please, support the official release. Otherwise, well, Charles zi Britannia will fuck with your memories…

DURA MATER

War is Hell.

Such an overused and clichéd phrase, and one that perhaps is a bad comparison. Hell is a place of eternal punishment, where there is little more than suffering and pain. And yet, it is not just sinners punished in Hell, but even relative innocents. And war has its moments of respite, unlike Hell.

Yet Lelouch vi Britannia knew, despite his age not even being in the double digits, that if any situation could emulate even a fraction of Hell on Earth, it was war. He had thought, in his arrogance and ignorance he knew what pain and suffering were after his mother was murdered and Nunnally was crippled and blinded. And worst still, that bastard of a father not only refused to investigate or even visit his daughter, but when Lelouch renounced his claim to the throne, he promptly had Lelouch and Nunnally exiled to Japan.

The invasion proved him wrong. Oh, he knew his father would consider invading, even with the two of them there nominally as political hostages. But the timing surprised him, as did the sheer speed at which Japan fell to a blitzkrieg of Knightmare Frames. And the fact that a bombing run targeted the Kururugi Shrine, the very place he had been staying at, threw him. Someone had targeted him and Nunnally for death, either their father, or the killer of his mother, and it was sheer fortune that had them both outside at the time.

Unfortunately, the pair of them, along with Suzaku Kururugi, were forced to flee through the battlefield Japan had become since. Despite Suzaku's protests, that meant avoiding Japanese soldiers as well as Britannian ones. After all, the blood of Emperor Charles zi Britannia ran through Lelouch and Nunnally's veins, and the Japanese might take them hostage and try to use them as bargaining chips (a futile endeavour, Lelouch knew, given the way that bastard treated them already), or just kill them outright.

But their luck had run out. A squad of Britannian soldiers, and black ops forces at that, had cornered them in an abandoned building. "Well, well…the vi Britannia brats, and the son of that worthless Prime Minister of Japan," the captain said. "I think we'll be getting a nice bonus from our master for this. Kururugi might be a good bargaining chip alive, but for you two…well, do you have any last words, boy? Make them good ones."

Lelouch, putting himself between them and Nunnally, knew he couldn't shield her from the barrage of bullets to come. And he couldn't think of any defiant words. All he knew was that if a miracle did not come, they would die. But miracles only came along in stories and fairytales.

So it was to his utter surprise when a voice, a hauntingly familiar one, came from behind them. "How about 'send VV my regards in Hell'?"

The soldiers whirled, backing away, revealing the figure behind them, silhouetted in the door. A figure in a leather coat, soaked in blood old and new, and a leather tricorn. Lelouch couldn't see them properly, but they were holding an old-fashioned pistol in one hand, and a sword with a blue-green crystalline blade in the other. And was that a slug curled around their arm?

"Open fire!" the leader of the squad snapped, but the figure wasn't there anymore. Instead, they seemed to blur, and the heads of at least two of the squad went sailing off their bodies, borne on a fountain of arterial blood. In another instant, they aimed the sword arm, the one with the slug curled around it, and suddenly, a cluster of tentacles burst out of a portal in space, wrapping around more of the squad and crushing them into meaty pulps. Shots from the pistol took out more. Within seconds, only the leader was left alive.

"Get good, you filthy amateurs" the figure sneered.

By this point, the figure had their back to Lelouch and his companions, even as they snatched the submachine gun from the leader's hands, and bent it almost as casually as one would bend the walls of a cardboard box. "…What are you? Who are you?"

"The what is a tricky thing to answer, at least now," the figure said in that impossible voice. "As for the who…Lelouch, darling, think quick!" The figure threw the hat to Lelouch, who barely caught it, even as he stared at the long, dark mane of hair that spilled out.

"Impossible…IMPOSSIBLE! YOU CAN'T BE HER! YOU…MFFGBLE!"

The reason why the man's panicked screechings of denial cut off was because the figure, a woman, a woman with an impossible voice, now clasping his head with a single hand. "Yes, well, I am a little surprised at it myself. But don't worry, I'll make it quick, though I can't make any guarantees as to how painless it'll be. So, do you have any last words, boy? Make them good ones."

"PLZZ! WKUN MHK ADYL! SPUR MEH, END…"

At this, the figure cocked her head. "Bored now." Then, her hand tightened on the man's skull. It burst like a balloon filled with offal and blood, and as the would-be killer sagged to his knees, and then collapsed to the floor, blood and brains oozing onto the floor, she flicked her gloved hand, wiping off the blood. Then, she reached down, and plucked a radio from the man she just killed, and activated it.

Eventually, a high-pitched, child-like voice emerged, cold, calm, and oozing with an adult malevolence that did not belong in such a voice. "Well? I hope you are reporting because you have succeeded in killing that whore's spawn."

"Now, now, Victor, is that any way to speak of your nephew and niece? And right in front of them, no less?"

A gasp of shock from the other end of the connection, before the voice said, "Impossible…you…you were dead! I saw your corpse! I gunned you down myself! Watched the light leave your eyes!"

"I got better, Victor. Not that I was expecting to, but…well, what can I say? Oh, and tell Charles that I'm divorcing him. Seeing since he's letting you try to murder my children, he's either bought whatever story you spun him, despite your vow to create a world without lies, or is banking on Ragnarok reuniting them with him. By the way, I'm done with Ragnarok. Let's just say I've had a change of perspective, and, well, I've decided that letting you use the Sword of Akasha is going to make the world a very boring place. You're basically using it to spay the entire human race. Well, you'd best gird yourself, Victor zi Britannia. I am coming for you and Charles, and your demises will be the thing of legend, making the deaths during the Emblem of Blood pale by comparison."

"Is that supposed to scare me? A Code-Bearer?"

"Oh, Victory, Victory, Victory-woo…it just means I either have to get creative, or…well, there are fates worse than death. I've learned that during my time away. Toodle-pipski, Victor. I'll be seeing you and Charles very soon."

With that, she dropped the radio and smashed it with her booted foot. Then, the impossible woman spoke over her shoulder. "Lelouch, Nunnally, and whoever you are, I promise I will explain everything, but first…" Suddenly, the woman yelled, "CERA! I KNOW YOU'RE NEARBY! GET YOUR SCRUMPTIOUS FRENCH DERRIERE IN HERE, OR I WILL CURSE YOU TO BE UNABLE TO ENJOY PIZZA HUT UNTIL THE END OF TIME! AND I WILL SHAVE YOUR HEAD, I KNOW HOW MUCH YOU LOVE YOUR HAIR! I DO TOO, THAT'S WHY I WILL USE THE HAIR TO MAKE A WIG FOR MY DOLL! SHE LIKES A BIT OF DRESS-UP!"

Lelouch stared at the woman as if she was utterly insane, but not long afterwards, he heard a young woman's voice say, "There's no need to shout. And you're looking good, for a dead woman."

A young woman, either in her late teens or early twenties, strutted into the ruined building, dressed in a kimono, though she was clearly Caucasian. She had a long mane of lime green hair framing beautiful features, and golden eyes that put Lelouch in mind of a cat. However, she looked bemused, which was a good word for what Lelouch felt at this situation.

"Like I told Victor, I got better. Okay, that sounds flippant, far more than it is, but…I'm back. And no, it's not through a Geass. Let's just say it's an unbelievable tale, more unbelievable than my being back from the dead. Oh, and I'm done with Ragnarok. Though if you still want your wish fulfilled…I swear to you, Cera, on the holy gods and saints of Pizza Hut, that I will find a way to fulfill it. Does that sound reasonable to you?"

The woman called 'Cera' eventually nodded. "I will hear you out at least, but…I want an explanation, Marianne."

"And you shall receive one, Cera," the figure said, turning to face Lelouch, Nunnally, and Suzaku. "And so will you all."

Lelouch stared in disbelief at the woman revealed. A long mane of dark hair framed gentle and yet beautiful features. Violet eyes looked at him with sadness and longing.

But Lelouch knew those features. They belonged to a dead woman. Marianne vi Britannia, aka Lady Marianne the Flash, former Knight of the Round, aka Marianne Lamperouge. One of 108 consorts to his father, and supposedly the only one he loved, though he felt that was a lie in light of what happened after her death.

And Lelouch and Nunnally's dead mother.

"…Mother?" Nunnally whimpered, clearly recognising her voice. "But…but how?"

The woman who wore their dead mother's face hurried over to Nunnally, pushing past Lelouch gently, before kneeling and examining her. Whatever she saw there made her scowl, her face twisting into a furious expression. "Charles…you used your Geass on our daughter? You violated her mind, to protect Victor? And who shot my daughter, who paralysed you, Nunnally? Oh, I am going to make them pay when I find out. But first…we need to get you kids out of here."

"We're not going anywhere with you!" Lelouch snapped. "Get away from us, you impostor!"

"Impostor? Did you forget who distracted Nelly when she was chasing you after that comment you made about wedding Euphie?" the woman said, taking off her gloves and throwing them onto the ground, where they disappeared in ripples of light. "Do you remember who introduced you to the works of Shakespeare? And if you recall correctly, I was present when Clovis overturned the chess table after you got him into Fool's Check. And then, on my last night alive, in my original body, anyway, before Victor came along and gunned me down…I told you to look after Nunnally, no matter what. And I'm so proud of you, my son, for doing so, even in an active warzone."

She drew him into a hug, along with Nunnally, and it was at that point that he accepted it, no matter how impossible it was. This was his mother. Or else he'd gone mad.

With a gesture from Marianne, a strange lantern appeared, seemingly out of thin air. "Now, let's go," she said. "I can explain the rest once we're safe…"

And what a tale it was. Lelouch wouldn't have believed it, had they not ended up away from Japan, and in some strangely serene landscape, a garden surrounding a small hut, filled with gravestones. It was beautiful, and yet somewhat melancholy.

Aside from their mother, the only other person present was a tall, pale woman dressed in a dress and a shawl. Her hair and eyes were as pale as her skin, and her hands had joints like a doll's. Yet the woman was very much alive, speaking with a vaguely Slavic accent if he didn't know any better.

Apparently, his mother's killer was none other than their uncle, Victor zi Britannia, who was also apparently immortal and stuck at the age of a pre-pubescent boy. So too was Cera, though she insisted on being called 'CC'. The reason why Victor murdered Marianne? He felt jealous of how close Marianne and Charles were, closer than he felt he was with Charles. His spite was so great, he also wanted to murder Marianne's children.

Marianne died, though her soul did not join those within something called the World of C. Rather, somehow, she was re-embodied on another world, forced into a contract in a city called Yharnam. Bound to this realm, the Hunter's Dream, supervised by the crippled and curmudgeonly Hunter Gehrman.

She was forced to hunt monsters of all kinds within Yharnam, bathing the streets in blood. Yet she managed to save some lives. But she learned of a horrible conspiracy, one where a corrupt church danced on the strings of malevolent gods. Many of those gods, she slew, as well as madmen who had beckoned their horrors from the cosmos. She even fought a near-namesake and one with even greater skill, and only barely managed to spare her.

And then, at the end of it all, Marianne was forced to face Gehrman, and then, his gaoler, the Moon Presence. She fought, and she prevailed. And then, she ascended.

"It took me a long time to come to grips with being what is effectively a Great One," Marianne said with a rueful smile. "Even this body you see is not my true body, not anymore. I am the Hunter's Dream now, a refuge for all who need it, and this body is merely my avatar, a projection of my original human self. And I intend to ensure the Hunt never has to happen again. I was a soldier, I was the Knight of Six before I caught Charles' eye, I know how hellish war can be, but that wasn't war. That was slaughter that I hope none of you ever witness."

"…Was there any other way?" Suzaku asked quietly.

"…I tried to find one. I failed. I died so many times, it was a curse. I did manage to save some people, but others…still, there is a bright side."

"Like what?" Cera asked.

"My apotheosis means that I can become a source of Healing Blood," Marianne said. "Not as much as Oedon can, but it should have less if not none of the side-effects. In other words, I may be able to restore Nunnally's ability to walk. Her eyesight should be an easier fix, I hope."

"…You think so?" Lelouch asked.

Marianne nodded, turning her gaze to her son. "Lelouch…I will admit, I've done things I am not proud of, things I am ashamed of. I collaborated with your father and uncle on a plan that was monstrous and atrocious. But dying, ending up in Yharnam, becoming a Great One…it gave me perspective. It helped that I had a confidante to speak with." She indicated the Doll, or rather, Galatea, as she had called her.

Galatea bowed. "I live to serve you, Marianne. Once, it was a purpose I was shackled to. Now, it is a pleasure, for you treat me not as a slave or servant, but as a friend and a person." She turned to the vi Britannia siblings and Suzaku. "And I am pleased to meet you all, people whom she holds in high regard. She and I had many discussions, about life, death, power, corruption, godhood, and morality. We learned much from each other."

"And she helped me come to a realisation, about myself, what I was willing to do in pursuit of an ideal. And she helped me remember that, above all else, above being a Great One or a former Knight of the Round or one of the many consorts of Charles zi Britannia…I am a mother. And I promise you, Lelouch and Nunnally, I will be the best mother I can. And, if you wish, Suzaku, I can adopt you? I could see how close and protective you were to my children."

Suzaku was struck dumb. Lelouch frowned. Not in any jealousy: Suzaku had become a friend during the months spent in Japan, almost like a brother. No, it was something else. "Mother…what is Ragnarok?"

"It's a very long story, about the madness of two brothers while pursuing an ideal, one that would have hobbled the human race and stolen its future. It's a madness I admit that I suffered myself. But my eyes are open now. And I promise you, I won't leave you again, not if I can help it."

Lelouch didn't know it, but his mother's vow was utterly sincere. It held within it a promise to shake the foundations of the so-called Holy Britannian Empire, and destroy the plans of two brothers to kill God. A promise to stay by his side and his sister's, to cherish them and guide them. A promise to revolutionise their violent and cruel world.

But that was in the future. What mattered was the now. When kith and kin were reunited, and bonds renewed and reaffirmed. When a mother's love could move Heaven and Earth to be with those she cared for once more…

THE END

STORY ANNOTATIONS:

Wow. Now there's a turn-up for the books.

I originally intended for this to have Marianne confronting Charles and VV with a long-winded 'reason you suck speech' for them both, but I'd pretty much done the same thing for Lelouch calling out Suzaku on his many, many flaws in Lasciate Ogni Speranza, Voi Ch'entrante, and I wanted something a little fresher. And in the end, this story is about Marianne coming to realise what she was in danger of becoming, and prioritising being a good mother to her children. Plus, it makes a better badass entrance for Marianne to slaughter a killsquad sent by VV. Thank goodness Nunnally was blind at the time, she would have been scarred for life.

I also like writing Marianne as being somewhat crazy-awesome, a bit like how I write Lily Potter. I saw it being done in SeerKing's Code Geass: The Prepared Rebellion as well as Nemesis13's Code Geass works. Here, it's partly because of her going through the events of Bloodborne and coming out with her sanity a little cracked. It was her love for her children that kept her going in Yharnam and the Hunter's Nightmare.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this oneshot.

No numbered annotations this time.