"Speaking"
Thinking/Flashbacks
"Radio/screen-talking"
Telepathy
"You have everything you need, you two?"
"Uh huh," a young blind girl in a wheelchair nodded as her brother hoisted their luggage up, "I think so. We should be meeting everyone now. Right, Big Brother?"
"Yeah, it's about that time," Lelouch nodded. "We should be back tomorrow morning in time for classes. I hope you enjoy your day off, Sayoko."
The maid bowed respectfully with a small, "I appreciate your generosity, My Lord."
Lelouch nodded with a small smile. "Well, I guess we'll be off then. You excited, Nunnally? This will be your first time out of the settlement."
"Yeah, can't wait!"
"Let's go then."
Ashford Academy was considered one of the best private schools not only in Area 11 but also in the entire Britannian Empire. That was saying a lot considering all the other elite schools in the homeland, but Ashford was still rated among the top ten.
Seven of the academy's students from the high school and middle school divisions were waiting outside the gates, eager for an exciting trip to welcome their newest student council member.
"Oh, there's our driver, right on time!" Milly smiled as a limousine pulled up to the entrance of Ashford Academy.
"So everyone's here, right? Let's get going!" a blue-haired teen, Rivalz Cardemonde, eagerly trotted toward the vehicle's trunk before the driver exited the front.
"Wait, no!" an orange-haired girl, Shirley Fenette, cried, "We can't leave, Nina's not here yet!"
"Nina? Is she running late?" Nunnally asked with a slight frown.
"Hold on, I'll give her a call," Milly said before dialing the missing girl's number. After a few rings, the group could hear her pick up. "Hey! Where are you, Nina? The limo's here… For what? Did you forget? It's our welcome party trip for Suzaku! You know, for joining the student council? We've been talking about it all week! …Huh? Really? Oh… that… sucks, I guess. What poor timing… All right, rest up then. I'll have the kitchen staff bring you some chicken soup later. No! No! This is mandatory! We want you bright-eyed and bushy-tailed by the time we're back on Monday, got it? Okay, goodbye."
The student council president sighed as she ended the call.
"Is everything okay? Is she coming?" a red-haired girl, Kallen Stadtfeld, asked softly.
"Nope, unfortunately not," Milly grumbled, "She suddenly came down with a fever this morning, so she won't be making it."
"Oh no! Poor Nina!" Nunnally cried.
"That's unfortunate, but it would be best if she stayed in bed then," Lelouch said. Shirley and Kallen nodded in agreement.
"Oh man!" Rivalz groaned, holding his head, "And here we thought we could finally do something fun as a whole council!"
"You… really care about everyone making it that much?" a tall boy, Suzaku Kurugui, asked.
"Well, of course!" Milly exclaimed, "What better way for you to get to know us than by going on a trip like this? Nothing spells 'get to know you' better than some good quality time!"
"Oh…" Suzaku said, blushing but looking very touched, "I appreciate that, thanks."
"It's nice and all, but now we've wasted money on an extra ticket. It's too late to cancel, too," Rivalz groaned with a pout.
"...Didn't we use our own money for this, though?" Kallen asked, "This trip is a separate expense from the school budget, isn't it?"
"That's true, but it's about the principle of it!"
As the rest of the group continued grumbling, Milly suddenly got a scathing idea.
"Maybe the ticket won't be wasted after all," Milly grinned. "Hey, driver! Wait a few more minutes. I'm gonna grab someone!"
"Huh? Wait, Madam President, who?" Shirley stuttered as she waved after a fleeing Milly.
The uniform sleeves felt slightly scratchy as Rai typed on the laptop that the school was generous enough to lend him during his infirmary stay. It only took Nurse Collette catching him in the computer lab for the fifth time for her to ask Principal Ashford to rent him a school laptop. He found it on top of the school uniform they left on the table by his bed around dinner time yesterday.
Voltron. Ever since Lelouch had said that word, he couldn't get it out of his head. It was like a mantra or a catchy song he couldn't get out of his head. He wasn't sure what it meant or what it was, but the first thing it brought him to was computers. He initially tried typing the word into the search engine but came up empty. Then maybe he thought it was an acronym for something, but he quickly drew a blank on what that acronym could be. Perhaps it was a code word?
As he tried to think of other possibilities, his fingers naturally started typing. Before he knew it, he had written a whole page of basic code for a calculator.
He had no idea how he learned to code like this, but the way his hands moved across the keyboard felt natural like he'd done it most of his life. He found himself enjoying himself. Was there a coding club or something here at the school? Did he ever try to hack stuff? He wouldn't dare try something like that on the borrowed laptop, but he was inclined to try if he ever got a personal laptop.
Like a machine, he filled in the next line of coding, barely even noticing the door to the infirmary opening and the person approaching his bed.
Until his laptop snapped shut.
"Hey!" he protested, looking up only to blink when he was met with the smirk of a particular blonde-haired class president.
"Sorry," she shrugged. "That was the only way I could get your attention. Didn't you hear me call your name?"
"Um… no?" Rai said, blinking again. She called his name?
"Exactly!" Milly smiled, "Anyway, you were gonna have to put that away for a while anyway. You'll just have to put it in here."
Milly slung an open duffle bag next to Rai. Inside, he spotted another uniform, what looked like swim trunks, and some running shoes.
He looked up with wide eyes.
"Wait, I thought you said I could stay here-"
"You can. This isn't us kicking you out." Milly assured, "You're just coming on a trip with us."
"A… a trip? Wha-wait, where are we going?"
"You'll see!" she chirped. "Someone bailed last minute, and we've got an extra ticket. Lucky you, you spend the weekend at a lake resort! How's that for a welcome party?"
"Is… is it okay for me to go?" Rai asked, slowly sliding the laptop into the duffle.
"Grandfather already approved it, so you practically have no choice now."
"...You're not gonna leave me alone until I say yes, are you?"
"Very likely."
"...Okay, I'm coming."
The ride from Ashford Academy to Lake Chūzenji took about two and a half hours. The view outside the limo took them past the large, concrete jungle of the Tokyo Settlement and eventually into green forests. In the distance, they could see Mt. Nantai.
"Oh! It's so pretty!" Shirley squealed as she looked out the window.
"Yeah," Kallen nodded with a serene smile, "I'm glad they kept most of the greenery when they built the hotel by the lake."
"Have any of you… been here before?" Rai asked, awkwardly trying to start a conversation.
"I have once," Suzaku smiled. Another name for this lake is the Lake of Happiness. My father took my mom and me here a couple of times on vacation."
"For most of us, this is our first time out of the settlement," Rivalz added, grinning giddily.
Rai frowned slightly, tilting his head, "Why haven't you? Left, I mean?"
There was silence for a bit. For a moment, Rai wondered if that was something he shouldn't have said, shrinking slightly inward.
"I… I guess there was never a need?" Shirley shrugged, "The settlement has everything. Shopping mall, restaurants, and the academy offers almost everything else."
"Yeah, no need…" Kallen frowned, glaring back to the passing forest.
"Well, Nunnally usually can't travel very far, so I prefer to stick close to her in case she needs me," Lelouch answered.
"Oh, big brother…" Nunnally sighed, looking down slightly.
"Oh, sorry, Nunnally!" Lelouch gasped, eyes wide in panic, "I didn't mean-"
"No, it's okay. I understand." Nunnally reassured him. "I'm happy I can come with you this time, though."
"Yeah," Suzaku nodded, smiling, "Like old times, right Lelouch?"
Lelouch nodded. "I suppose so."
"I'm honestly surprised you agreed to let Nunnally come along, Lulu," Milly said, "Considering how overprotective you usually are of her."
"I guess you can't really blame him," Rivalz said, "I'd be way overprotective too, if one of my siblings was like this. Ah! No offense, buddy! Really!"
"None taken, Rivalz, I get it." Lelouch waved off.
"Well, we can stop the depressing talk. It looks like we're here!" Milly exclaimed as the limo pulled out of the trees to finally reveal the crystal-blue lake. They had already spotted several tourists speckling the beach, sunbathing, fishing, or playing frisbee. They even spotted one steamy couple making out.
(Kallen gagged when she saw that).
People were swimming, boating, and water skiing on the water. They even spotted a parasailer.
"I think this is going to be a fun little holiday for everyone!" Milly grinned as the limo finally pulled up to the resort entrance.
"All right, looks like we're all settled in!" Milly announced after they had met in the hall after checking into their rooms. They had to make a couple of arrangements as they originally would group Nina & Shirley in one room, Kallen & Milly in another, Rivalz & Suzaku in another, and the Lamperouge siblings would get their own room. Now that they had another boy with Nina absent, the room assignments had to be shuffled around. Rivalz & Suzaku kept their room assignment, but now Shirley and Kallen were sharing a room, and Lelouch reluctantly agreed to let Nunnally stay with Milly while he and Rai bunked together. He only agreed to this because his and Nunnally's room would be next to each other, and he trusted Milly the most out of all the girls so far. Sure, Milly had the reputation of a She-Devil, but during the Lamperouges' first days at Ashford, Milly had been a massive help to both the siblings when they were settling in. He would trust the president for one night with his baby sister.
"Now that that's done, what should we do first? Go swimming?" Shirley suggested.
"We could rent out one of those boats and try some water skiing! Lelouch and I have tons of savings from our trips downtown!" Rivalz said.
"You two and your gambling!" Shirley groaned, shaking her head.
"Could we all go and do our own thing?" Rai asked. Honestly, all he was interested in was finishing that code on his computer. He felt like he was so close to cracking something, whether in the code or in his brain. Maybe both. Maybe he could finally figure out what this Voltron thing was…
"It would be best we at least stayed in small groups," Lelouch argued. "Not just for Nunnally's sake, but Suzaku's too."
"Huh? Why Suzaku?" Rai asked curiously.
"Um, well…" Shirley hesitated, "It's because-"
"Because he's only an Honorary Britannian," Kallen cut in bitterly. "If he's seen wandering around, he may be harassed by security or the other tourists here. Heck, even with us, the front desk still gave us a hard time."
"I have my ID with me," Suzaku defended, hand hovering over his pocket.
"And that did you little good at the front desk now, didn't it?" Kallen argued.
Rai winced a little at that reminder. When they were checking in, the hotel receptionist was fine with all of them, but when Suzaku went for his key, he turned away like he had finished everyone. Milly tried to work her magic a bit, but the receptionist was stubborn. He only finally complied when Lelouch stepped forward and asked him to please hand over the key. Everyone was surprised that the man listened, but before anyone could ask Lelouch how he did that, he was already wheeling Nunnally to the elevators.
Rai personally didn't get it. What was the big deal about Suzaku being different? And what did they call him? An '11'? Why were they calling him a number? Now that he didn't have his head stuck in a computer and his head cleared of Voltron for a moment, he noticed he didn't see any tourists who looked like Suzaku. If he did, they mostly did menial work, like mopping the floors or wading tables in the restaurant they spotted in the back.
Whatever was happening, Rai didn't even need his memories to know it wasn't right.
"You can stay with Big Brother and me if you'd like, Suzaku," Nunnally eagerly offered, rolling up in the hotel-provided wheelchair. (Lelouch personally would have preferred Nunnally had her custom electric wheelchair, but it wouldn't fit in the limo).
Suzaku smiled, "Thanks, Nunnally. That okay with you, Lelouch?"
He shrugged, "I'm fine with it, but I wouldn't want to keep you away from the… more exciting things you could do here."
"Is that your way of trying to say you'll just slow him down, Lelouch?" Rivalz teased, resulting in said boy frowning and the rest laughing.
"That's honestly what you get for skipping gym to go and gamble, Lelouch," Shirley added.
"Ha ha! As amusing a conversion this has become, I propose we do one activity together as a group first, then we can go off and do our own thing." Milly decided, "How's that sound?"
"What should we do then?" Kallen asked.
"I think I saw a hiking trail not too far from here," Shirley said. "The path looked paved, so it should be okay for Nunnally's wheelchair."
"Sounds good to me! We can take a group picture at the end and frame it in the student council room!" Rivalz said.
"I'm all for it." Suzaku nodded.
"Sure," Kallen shrugged.
"What do you think, Lulu? Nunna?" Milly asked the siblings.
"I think that's fine. That okay with you, Nunnally?"
"Yeah! Let's go!"
As Shirley said, the hiking trail that led into the forest surrounding Chūzenji was paved and not too steep, so pushing Nunnally up wasn't a huge chore as everyone enjoyed the fresh forest air.
"Oh! Kallen! Shirley! We should totally check out the onsen they have here after this! It will give plenty of privacy for us to talk, wouldn't you agree?" Milly asked with a grin.
"Talk about what?" Kallen asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh, you'll see." Milly winked.
"Prez, you're not thinking about anything creepy, are you?" Shirley asked, blushing and shrinking back slightly.
Milly didn't get a chance to answer as they entered a small, outlooking platform.
"Let's stop here for a minute," Lelouch called over. "This looks like a nice spot for some pictures."
"Nice eye, Lelouch!" Rivalz grinned, already reaching for his camera in his backpack.
"Wow… even though we're not super high up, it really is beautiful," Rai commented as he looked over the outlook.
"...Yeah, it is," Kallen mumbled with a small smile. Despite all that the Britannian Empire had destroyed about Japan, they had left a couple hidden pockets like this mostly untouched. Kallen could tell that even though the concrete path was a new addition, the designers and construction had done their best to retain the natural beauty and forests surrounding Chūzenji and Mt. Nantai. It was almost like the war from seven years ago never happened.
Has it really only been seven years since all this happened? Kallen thought in buried shock as everyone lined up for a photo.
Seven years since the war.
Seven years since Japan was lost.
Seven years since Area 11 was formed.
Seven years since Britannia took everything from her people.
She struggled to keep a decent smile on her face as a kind couple took a few pictures of the class after Rivalz rushed over to join the group.
"Thanks so much!" Shirley thanked the couple as they returned the camera.
"These are going to look great on the wall!" Rivalz grinned as he looked over the footage.
"It'll certainly be a fond memory to look back on–Nunnally!"
Lelouch's sudden yelp drew everyone's attention when they saw the younger girl slowly pushing her chair away from them… nearly off the path!
Suzaku sprinted over to her before the wheelchair could slip off the concrete and abruptly pulled it back on.
Nunnally grunted at the sudden movement before looking around, confused. "Huh? Wait, what's wrong?"
"Nunnally, you were about to roll off the path!" Lelouch exclaimed as he ran up next to Suzaku.
"Oh, I was?" she murmured, "I… I didn't notice."
"Are you okay, Nunnally?" Shirley asked, kneeling next to her chair.
"Yes, I'm fine. Sorry, I didn't know the path ended there."
"Why were you so close to the edge?" Rai asked, face laced with concern.
"I… I thought I heard someone calling for me," the little girl explained.
"Calling for you? You mean calling your name?" Suzaku asked, looking at the others. Everyone shook their heads, looking just as alarmed and confused.
"Well… not my name exactly, but I just felt… drawn to something, I guess?" Nunnally struggled to explain.
"Uh, according to the map, the path doesn't diverge that way at any point…" Rivalz trailed off, pulling out a brochure from the hotel.
"Does it say what's over there?" Kallen asked.
"Nope, just forest… though it looks like some people have walked down that way before," Suzaku pointed out. Everyone noticed that the ground had been disturbed in the area, so some people had walked off the path to explore the forest before.
"Hm?" Nunnally tilted her head, "There it is again…"
"You're still hearing things, Nunna?" Shirley asked.
"Well, not really 'hearing,'" Nunnally waved her hands slightly, "it's more like just a feeling. I don't know how else to describe it."
"...I think we should go," Lelouch finally said, "I don't like this."
"Hold up," Milly interrupted before anyone could move, "Nunnally, do you get a bad feeling when you 'hear' whatever it is?"
"Bad? Not… not really, I guess. Why?" Nunnally asked.
"Milly… whatever you're thinking-"
"Oh, calm down, Lulu," Milly said, "I'm not suggesting anything dangerous. Besides, Nunnally's rarely been wrong about things like this, has she?"
"Wha-wait? Are you saying you want to go off the path?" Suzaku asked. "I don't know if that's a good idea."
"Hey, don't think of it as breaking the rules or something. Think of it as a game where Nunnally is the leader!"
"...You want Nunnally to lead us to whatever is calling her?" Rai asked.
"No! Absolutely not!" Lelouch protested.
"Lelouch, Nunnally said it didn't feel dangerous, and even if something happens, seven people will be here to protect her." Milly reasoned. "Besides, look me in the eye and tell me you're not curious yourself about what's going on?"
Lelouch grit his teeth, but he couldn't deny it. Ever since Nunnally lost her sight, her other senses seemed to skyrocket. Her sense of touch alone was honed enough that she could tell if someone was lying just by brushing a hand over their palm. And it was true. Nunnally's intuition has rarely been wrong, either.
"Well…" Lelouch struggled to think of an excuse. "Well, we can't take her wheelchair off the trail…"
"I can carry her," Suzaku offered. "Rai and Rivalz can trade off with me if I get tired. Is that okay?"
"Yeah, that's fine," Rai replied.
"Sure!" Rivalz nodded.
"Suzaku, you're supposed to help me be the voice of reason!" Lelouch snapped.
"Yeah, I-I think we should head back to the hotel. I don't like this," Shirley shook her head.
"I… actually would like to know what's happening," Kallen spoke up.
"Well, it looks like you've been outvoted, Lulu," Milly smirked. "Come on, don't you trust your friends?"
Lelouch growled under his breath. It didn't help that Nunnally was looking in his direction, almost pleading to say yes.
He really hated that look because it was one of the few things he could never say no to.
"Fine!" he conceded, throwing his hands in the air.
"Yes!" Milly fist-pumped with a grin.
"Well, then, Nunnally, hop aboard the Suzaku Express, which will be leaving momentarily!"
As Suzaku crouched down to give Nunnally a piggyback ride, Lelouch and Rai helped her out of the wheelchair and onto Suzaku's back. She wrapped her arms around her friend's neck as he righted himself, adjusting his grip.
"You good, Nunnally?" Rivalz asked.
"Mm-hm," the blind girl nodded with a happy grin.
"All right, where to? Straight?" Suzaku asked.
"Uh huh!" Nunnally pointed straight ahead.
"Okay! Off we go!"
"Come on, everyone, let's go!" Milly called as the rest of the council followed behind her.
"Stop… that way!" Nunnally pointed to the right as the group had just finished climbing a steep hill from the left. The trees were getting thicker the further they got from the path, but even though some of them were trailing behind, no one had expressed a desire to turn around. It seemed everyone was now curious where Nunnally's senses would lead them.
"Oh, that's a bit of a climb," Suzaku said. From where he stood with the young girl on his shoulders unless they found a switchback, they'd have to pull themselves up onto the next bank.
"I can climb up and pull her up," Rai offered, catching up to the Honorary Britannian.
"That's probably the best idea… looks like a couple other people will need that too," Suzaku chuckled, looking back at the rest of the group.
Milly, Rivalz, and Shirley were keeping up fine, though Rivalz was starting to look slightly winded. Lelouch and Kallen really seemed to be struggling. Both were breathing heavily and nearly keeled over, and Kallen's legs were even slightly shaking.
"I think we're almost there," Nunnally said, "The voice is getting louder."
"Sounds good, Nunna!" Milly called, "You heard her, you two, final stretch!"
"...Sounds great!" Kallen coughed, holding her hand up.
"...Finally…" Lelouch breathed softly. Luckily for him, no one heard him.
As Rai lifted himself onto the bank, he swore he felt a small current of… something run down his fingers. Was this similar to what Nunnally was talking about? Why did it feel familiar?
Voltron… He shook his head, getting to his feet and turning around to help everyone else.
Once everyone else was brought up, Suzaku carefully maneuvered Nunnally off his back and hoisted her up.
"We've got you," Lelouch said as he hooked his hands under one of his sister's arms, Rai grabbing the other. With Suzaku pushing from below, they gently sat Nunnally down on the bank's ledge while Suzaku pulled himself up.
"I can take over from here, Suzaku," Rai offered as the teen dusted himself off.
"...That okay with you, Lelouch?" he asked.
Wiping the sweat from his face, Nunnally's brother nodded vaguely, "That should be fine."
"Here, Lulu. It looks like you need it," Shirley said, offering the lanky teen her water bottle.
"Thanks," he rasped, snatching the bottle from the swimmer and chugging nearly half the contents. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Kallen guzzling the giant water jug Rivalz had handed her. He had to give credit where it was due. She certainly knew how to stay in character.
"Hey, is that where Nunnally is leading us?" Milly asked, pointing a little more up the hill. As Nunnally was readjusted onto Rai's back, everyone else followed her gaze. They could barely make it out. It looked like an opening on the side of the hill.
A cave.
"Guess we're about to find out," Rivalz said as Kallen handed the jug back to him.
"This had better be good…" Kallen muttered as she wiped the remaining droplets off her lips.
As the group trekked up the hillside, they finally found the cave Milly saw.
"Whoa…" Shirley breathed when they peeked inside.
Inside the cave, images were carved all over the walls and on the ceiling. Of…
"Oh, isn't this… isn't this that, um… What's that Eleven story? The one with the white tiger?" Rivalz asked, snapping his fingers, trying to remember.
"Byakko, the White Tiger," Kallen answered, marching toward one of the drawings.
"Yeah, that!" Rivalz said, pointing at her.
"These… don't look like tigers, though," Lelouch said, eyes squinting at one of the drawings. This one wasn't just of the feline. It had people carved next to it, carrying objects, and they all seemed to be looking up at a carved-out sun.
"Hmm, what do you think, Suzaku?" Milly asked as she snapped a couple of pictures, "Do you know any stories about Byakko?"
"A little bit," Suzaku answered, craning his neck to gaze at the ceiling, "but I don't recognize any of the stories they've carved here."
"Hey… call me crazy, but this looks more like a lion to me," Shirley said, pointing at another image. "If it was a tiger, wouldn't they have carved some stripes out?"
"It's a Blue Lion," Rai blurted out from the cave's entrance.
Everyone's head snapped to Rai.
"...A what lion?" Kallen asked.
Before Kallen could finish, Nunnally piped up from Rai's back.
"Why did we stop? We need to keep going!"
The group blinked, "We do? Why, Nunna?" Shirley asked.
"We need to go down!"
"As in… back down the hill, right?" Rivalz asked.
Nunnally shook her head fervently. "No. Forward. But down."
Lelouch sighed. He would admit this little diversion turned out to be more interesting than he thought, and he was happy that Nunnally got to have some fun, but the line clearly had to be drawn somewhere.
"Nunnally, even if that were possible, it's best we turn around. I'm happy you had some fun, but going further would be too dangerous. And I don't mean just for you."
"He's unfortunately right, Nunnally," Suzaku said gently, "besides, there's no way forward. It's a dead end."
"Oh…" Nunnally mumbled, frowning.
"Hey, don't feel sad, Nunnally," Rivalz smiled, placing a hand against one of the carvings, "I mean, we still found something cool-WHAT THE?!"
The second Rivalz's hand touched the cave wall, the carving suddenly lit up! Bright blue neon lights pulsed across the cave walls, almost seeming to bring the carvings to life around them.
"Rivalz… what did you do?!" Milly demanded, backing away from the wall.
"Nothing! I touched it!"
"Huh? What's happening?" Nunnally asked.
A tremor under their feet drew all eyes to the floor, and just like the walls, the floor began to glow too, as large cracks started to break the cave apart!
"Run!" Shirley screamed, but it was too late. The floor gave way under their feet.
Fortunately, instead of falling to their death at a lower level of the cave, the friends found themselves landing in water. A rapid, flowing river that swept everyone deeper underground.
"Nunnally!" Lelouch shouted before a wave of water crashed down, pulling him under.
"I got her!" Rai shouted, having turned around and grabbed the younger girl as they had started falling, landing back-first in the rapids. He heard her scream as he covered her head and held her close.
Suzaku managed to drag Lelouch back to the surface, but the triumph was short-lived as the river suddenly dropped off, waterfalling everyone into a shallow pool below.
Dazed, wet, and cold, the group struggled to get their bearings.
"Nunnally!" Lelouch gasped as he got to his feet.
"She's here," Rai sputtered, spitting water as he pried his hands off the girl's head.
"Lelouch?" Nunnally whimpered as she felt around before her brother clutched her hand.
"Thank god…" he pulled his sister close to him.
"What happened?" she asked, shivering.
"Looks like we fell deeper into the cave," Suzaku said, looking up with a frown. "Question now is, how do we get out? Does anyone have a signal down here?"
"I could check if my phone was actually working right now…" Milly sighed as she held up her now water-logged phone.
"Same…" Rivalz moaned, looking like he was about to cry as he held up the camera. "The camera's busted, too."
"Urgh! What are we going to do?!" Kallen growled.
"Guys… what's that over there?" Shirley asked, pointing ahead.
Everyone looked over and could vaguely make out a bright glow on the other side of the cave.
"What is that?" Milly asked.
"I don't know." Lelouch shook his head before standing up with Nunnally in his arms. "But let's find out."
Leading the way, Lelouch led the group deeper into the cave, only to come up short when they found the source of the light.
"Lions are everywhere…" Rivalz breathed as they beheld the gigantic, robot blue lion sitting before them. It was larger than any knightmare frame they had ever seen. It is so large that it could likely crush a Sutherland under a single paw.
"Wh-what is that?!" Shirley yelped, taking a step back.
"What? What is it?" Nunnally asked, only to gasp. "Wait… does this mean we're here?"
"Nunnally…? Are you saying this is what was calling you?" Suzaku asked.
"I… I think so…"
"So… Is this the Voltron?" Rai whispered to himself, but was still heard.
"What did you say?" Lelouch demanded, looking at Rai suspiciously.
"Voltron… wait, you've said that word before when we first met you." Milly realized.
"Yeah, yeah, I know!" Rai insisted, "I haven't been able to get that word out of my head! I couldn't figure it out because I couldn't remember anything. All I knew was that I had to find 'Voltron' or something bad was going to happen!"
"Who told you that?" Lelouch pressed.
"I don't know!" Rai shouted, clutching his head and breathing heavily.
"Lulu, stop!" Shirley protested, getting between him and Rai, who looked close to having a breakdown.
"Big brother!" Nunnally exclaimed, clutching his collar tightly. This gesture seemed to calm Lelouch down, but the distrustful look didn't leave his face.
"Okay, let's all calm down," Suzaku said, holding his hand placatingly, "Look, let's take a closer look at the lion. Maybe we can find some kind of identification on it or something. All knightmare frames have something like that."
"I think that's more than a knightmare frame, Kururugi," Kallen argued.
"Either way, that's the best option we have so far," Milly decided. "Let's take a closer look."
After everyone calmed down, the group approached the blue lion. Coming closer, they could make out more details about the lion they hadn't noticed before. For example, the lion wasn't completely blue. The blue was mainly on its head, shoulders, torso, and around its paws. The rest was primarily gray and silver; there was also some red detailing around its shoulders.
"Is that some sort of forcefield around it?" Kallen asked. "How are we going to get through that?"
"That's a good question," Lelouch agreed. However, he was nearly knocked back when Rivalz suddenly jumped slightly in front of him, shifting anxiously.
"Rivalz, careful!" he snapped.
"Oh, sorry, Lelouch. Sorry, Nunnally."
"What are you doing, Rivalz?" the younger girl asked.
"I…" the blue-haired boy paused, "Um… is it just me, or does anyone else feel like this thing is staring at them?"
"...I think it's just you…?" Shirley answered, though she sounded less sure than she probably wanted to sound.
"Seriously, those eyes are following me!" the boy insisted, but kept walking closer regardless.
Milly made it to the forcefield and frowned thoughtfully as she pressed a hand to the surface.
"Hm, it's cool," she observed as the rest of the group caught up.
"Anyone see a way to get through this?" Suzaku asked. "Maybe we can find an opening or a hidden keypad or something."
"Or we could just knock," Rivalz shrugged and knocked on the forcefield.
He honestly wasn't expecting anything to happen, but he suddenly yelped when a surge of what felt like electricity coursed down his arm. The forcefield fell with a flash, revealing the majestic lion underneath, its golden eyes shining brightly as the ground rumbled once again.
Before anyone could move, the cave disappeared before their eyes. In its place was a cloudy sky, seven colored streaks soaring above their heads like shooting stars. The lights joined as one, and in their place was a figure with red and green arms, yellow and purple thighs, and blue and orange shins. His body was mainly black, but a blue glowing 'v' was spread over his chest, and a gold horned crown perched on his head. With a swipe of a flaming sword, the starry universe vanished, returning the group to the underwater cave where they still stood.
"Did… you guys saw that too, right?!" Rivalz exclaimed, looking around wildly.
"If you mean we saw seven lions just like this one merge together to form a giant, awesome robot, then yes, yes, we did!" Milly almost squealed.
"I get it now! It makes sense!" Rai proclaimed with an incredulous smile. "That had to have been Voltron! It had to have been!"
"And this blue lion is only one part of it!" Kallen added in realization.
"If that's so… where are the other six then?" Nunnally asked.
"That's the big question, isn't it?" Lelouch answered. "If it's part of one whole, why is it on its own here? It's obvious this cavern has been closed off for years, possibly centuries. If anyone has had contact with this lion, they haven't been back for a while now."
"Um," Shirley said, "sorry if this is a weird question, but Rai, you said something bad would happen if you didn't find Voltron in time, right? So, if this is only part of it…"
Shirley's question was cut off when the blue lion suddenly lowered its head. Said girl squeaked and hid behind the closest person she could find (Rai). Everyone else also tensed, ready to run if the lion tried to make a snack out of them. However, all the lion did was open its mouth, revealing a small ramp inside and extending out… right in front of Rivalz.
"...Well, you gonna go in, Rivalz?" Milly asked, quirking an eyebrow.
"Um…" he hesitated.
The group suddenly heard a loud splash behind them.
"What was that?!" Shirley yelped.
"Um, yeah! I'm going in! You guys coming? Great!" Rivalz rambled as he scrambled up the platform. Everyone else followed closely behind. They weren't sure what fell in the back of the cave, but if the cave collapsed, being in the lion was better than being crushed. That, and the curiosity of what the inside of a giant knightmare lion could be like.
"Whoa!" Rivalz exclaimed as he continued to climb the ramp up into what looked like the cockpit. A single, large chair was in the center.
"Huh, okay then…" he murmured as he inspected the seat before sitting down. "All right, this is actually kind of cool-whoa!" Rivalz jerked forward as the seat slid in and locked in place.
Slowly, the rest of the council filed in, too, as several holographic screens opened, displaying different diagnostics in a language no one recognized. Buttons lit up on the dashboard in a soft blue, just like the lion itself. Finally, the front main screen lit up, showing the cave where they came from.
"Wow! Okay, this is really cool!" Rivalz exclaimed with a grin.
"Okay, any thoughts I had that this was some sort of top-secret Britannian knightmare are officially scrapped," Kallen said, "because there's no way they have invented something like holograms yet."
"You think it's some kind of alien spaceship?" Milly inquired.
"Aliens?" Nunnally asked.
"Milly, don't be ridiculous," Lelouch shook his head.
"Actually, to be honest, Lelouch, I'm starting to lean toward the possibility," Suzaku confessed.
"'When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.' Sherlock Holmes said once upon a time," Milly quoted proudly.
"So… we're inside some sort of alien spaceship cat-head?" Shirley anxiously summarized.
Just as the words left Shirley's mouth, Rivalz felt another jolt of energy run through him, from the top of his head all the way to his toes. The world around him faded, and all he could hear was a loud, soothing purr that made his hair stand on end.
"Whoa! Did you guys just hear that?!" asked Rivalz, looking back at them, eyes wide and a little spooked.
"Hear what?" Rai asked cautiously, a strange sense of foreboding creeping up on him.
"Um, sorry if I sound crazy, but I think it's talking to me!" Rivalz explained before turning back around and examining the controls.
"Like… this?" he asked nothing in particular as he hesitantly pressed a couple of buttons on the closest hologram. He honestly had no idea what he was doing, but he figured following the lion's directions was the best option right now.
He must have hit the right buttons because the blue lion jolted and leaped to its feet, roaring loudly. Announcing its excitement as it accidentally tossed a set of legs to the back of its mouth. They landed with a yelp.
As the rest of the group gasped in shock, Rivalz grinned and grabbed hold of two handles in front of him.
"Okay, got it! Now, let's try this!"
"Simon, you hold still for your father!"
"All right, let's have a smile! On three! One… Two… Th–"
The lake behind his wife and son exploded.
As if in slow motion, the man blinked, losing his grip on the camera as he looked up like he'd just witnessed a giant dragon burst out of the lake behind his wife and four-year-old son.
Well, not a dragon, but a bright blue lion knightmare frame! And it was huge!
"What the-?!
Whatever else he was about to say was drowned out as a canopy of water crashed down on the family of three.
They weren't the only ones caught up in the shattered serenity of the Lake of Happiness. The hundreds of Britannian tourists and resort employees Britannia and Eleven alike bore witness to as the blue lion flew into the sky. Boats that had been fishing or bobbing gently on the water were suddenly swept up by turbulent waves, capsizing or sliding to shore, where terrified sunbathers and vacationers scrambled to get out of the way. Those fortunate enough to be further from the lake could only stare in horror, several scrambling for phones, cameras, or other recording devices as the lion flipped in the air and would have landed back in the lake if not for the rockets on its feet igniting.
Roaring mightily and like a surfer catching a tidal wave, the blue lion glided over the lake's surface before leaping into the air again, corkscrewing into the sky.
The reactions on shore paled in comparison to the blue lion's passengers. Shirley, Milly, Rivalz, and Nunnally were screaming at the top of their lungs as they held on to whatever they could grab for dear life. Meanwhile, Kallen, Suzaku, Rai, and Lelouch braced themselves against the walls and ceiling of the cockpit while Lelouch also held on to Nunnally, who was nearly choking him with how tightly her arms circled his neck.
"RIVALZ!" screamed Kallen as the lion did a few more flips midair, "YOU ARE THE WORST. PILOT. EVER!"
"CAREFUL, RIVALZ, WATCH OUT!" Suzaku shouted as the blue lion dove into the lake once more before leaping back out and bounding up the side of Mt. Nantai, thankfully in the opposite direction of the tourist resort. The lion seemed so overjoyed about being freed from its underground prison that it didn't seem to care about any damage it could have caused behind it.
Rivalz laughed like a wild man between his screams, grinning from ear to ear despite everything!
"Isn't this awesome?!" he guffawed from his seat.
"Make it stop, make it stop, make it stop!" Shirley shrieked, looking close to breaking down in terror.
"I'm not making it do anything! It's like it's on autopilot!" Rivalz exclaimed.
Just as the blue lion crested the top of Mt. Nantai, its back leg rockets fired again, this time soaring straight into the sky.
"Rivalz! Where are you going?!" Lelouch shouted, panic and adrenaline thrumming in his head as he struggled to stay on his feet.
"I just said it's on autopilot!" Rivalz snapped back before suddenly tilting his head. "Wait-what?! Alien ship?! What the hell are you talking about? How are we supposed to stop something like that?!"
"Is it talking to you again?!" Milly demanded, "What's it saying?!"
"Okay, well, um," Rivalz stuttered in the face of Milly's intense gaze, "I-I mean, it's not really 'talking' to me, per se. It's more like putting images into my head. Kind of…"
"An alien ship? Is one coming? Here?!" Shirley asked, looking pale and eyes wide before she gasped. "Does it want the lion? Why-why don't we give it to them then?!"
"No!" Rai exploded from the back. Until that moment, he had strangely been the calmest of the group, with only a faraway look in his eye like he was experiencing a memory. Now, his eyes were wild and full of terror.
"Rai?" Nunnally managed to ask, still clinging to her brother, but blindly gazing at their newest member with a concern that matched most of the others.
"We can't! We can't hand it over!" Rai rambled hysterically. "They're monsters! They destroy worlds! We can't bargain with them!"
"What do you mean?!" Lelouch demanded sharply, "Who's 'them'?!"
Rai didn't seem to hear the older sibling as he babbled. "They won't stop! Not until everything is dead!"
"That doesn't explain anything!" Kallen shouted back angrily.
"Guys, stop!" Suzaku shouted, putting himself in front of Rai. "He obviously can't answer anything right now!"
"He's scared, Lelouch. We all are!" Nunnally tugged on Lelouch's collar. "What do we do?"
Lelouch focused on his sister's hand by his neck, taking a deep breath and collecting his thoughts. "Whatever's happening, we need to be vigilant. If we're about to encounter hostiles, handing this lion to them is the last thing we want to do. We know nothing about their intentions. For all we know, once they have the lion, they could turn it back on our planet."
Lelouch's statement seemed to take the group's attention away from the panicking Rai, who was trying to pull himself back together, and now everyone was glaring at a new target. Shirley, who was now shrinking away from their stares.
"...Oh," she muttered in soft realization. "I didn't think about that… Sorry."
Moments later, the blue lion exited Earth's atmosphere, and the group gazed in amazement at the millions of sparkling stars that had enveloped their vision.
The picturesque scene was shattered when a violet flash cut through the blackness.
The group gasped in awed terror at a spaceship about many times bigger than the blue lion. Unlike the sleek, majestic look of the lion, this ship was sharper, darker, and more sinister. A noble feline as opposed to an intimidating dragon.
"No way, that thing's real…" Milly whispered.
No one looked more terrified than Rai as he peaked up from where he knelt on the floor. He looked like a cornered animal staring down the jaws of a ravenous beast.
"...They found me…"
If someone heard him, they didn't have time to respond as the UFO suddenly started firing at them. Purple and violet lasers streaked past the blue lion like deadly shooting stars.
"Get us out of here!" Kallen screamed at Rivalz.
"Hang on!" Rivalz shouted, wrenching the ship's handles back. The blue lion took off, dodging laser fire from the purple ship. Rivalz honestly had no idea what he was doing, but the lion seemed to make up for the lack of experience as even in the midst of this dire situation, Rivalz could feel the lion guiding his hands, pulling levers, pressing buttons, and maneuvering like he'd been flying it all his life.
It was creepy.
"Okay, I think I know what to do!" Rivalz shouted, white knuckles clutching the controls.
"Rivalz, careful! This isn't a video game!" Suzaku warned.
"Yeah, which is good, because I always suck at those kinds of video games!" Rivalz replied as the lion zig-zagged past the alien ship and twirled away from it once more. Rivalz pushed down on the right level, and the lion's mouth opened wide, firing a powerful blue laser of its own directly at the side of the ship. It sliced through it like a hot knife through butter, leaving explosions dancing across the side.
"Let's try this!" Rivalz grinned as he flew the lion closer this time, scraping the lion's claws on the other side like a cat dangling from living room curtains, leaving deep gashes and causing even more explosions.
"Not bad, Rivalz," Lelouch commented with a small smile.
"Okay, let's get these guys away from our planet!" Milly proclaimed.
"Right!" Rivalz nodded as the blue lion sped away.
"Lord Zarkon, the escaped prisoner, and his people found the Lion. It attacked us and is heading out of the system."
"Follow that lion and alert all ships in the area to intercept. Capturing the lion is your first and only priority."
"Yes, Your Majesty. Full power, after the Lion!"
Good news, the alien ship had turned away from Earth.
Bad news, it was now chasing the blue lion along with its eight passengers.
"Oh no!" Shirley gasped when everyone saw this.
"They're gaining on us!" Kallen shouted.
"Brother, what's happening?" Nunnally asked.
"We're being chased right now, Nunnally, but don't worry, we'll outrun them," Lelouch said, hoping he sounded confident enough to not frighten Nunnally further.
"...It's weird, though," Suzaku said, "They're not trying to shoot like before. They're just chasing!"
"So… is that a good thing or a bad thing?" Shirley asked, tears starting to gather in her eyes.
Milly suddenly inhaled sharply, pointing out the window. "Guys… look at that!"
Following her gaze, the group gasped, too. On the side, they spotted an ice-covered sphere, barely the size of Earth's moon, gliding past them. No, the moon didn't glide past them. They flew past the moon!
"That's one of Pluto's moons, Keroberos," Rai whispered.
"...That means… we're at the edge of the solar system right now!" Lelouch realized in both awe and horror.
Suzaku shook his head in disbelief, "That's impossible! It takes years for the most advanced spaceships just to get to Mars. We got out here in five seconds!"
Suddenly, a swirling, sparkling… thing appeared directly in front of the lion, looking like a vast swirling whirlpool made up of stardust.
"What is that?!" Shirley shrieked.
"What is what?!" Nunnally shouted back, tears of both fear and frustration starting to run down her face, hating that she couldn't see what was going on around her while her brother held her tight.
"Uh, this kind of sounds crazy, but the lion's telling me to go through there!" Rivalz hastily explained.
Strangely, as the lion crept closer, everyone else in the lion felt something similar—like they needed to go through it, too. But why?
"Is it telling you where it goes?" Kallen asked Rivalz urgently.
The boy shook his head, "No, it's not saying anything."
Milly frowned before turning to the student council vice president. "Lelouch, I think you're the one that can make the best call here. What do we do?"
Lelouch blinked, catching the hidden meaning in Milly's words. Out of all the members of the group here, only Milly and Suzaku knew Lelouch's, and by extension, Nunnally's, true identities. That of a prince and princess of the Britannian Empire. Exiled, yes, but that didn't change what ran in their blood. 17th and 87th in line to the throne.
But that wasn't all. While he was only starting off this next role, he was also Zero, the mysterious masked freedom fighter of Area 11. He had only made one public appearance when he rescued Suzaku from a false charge and had initially planned to take his crusade further. With the help of this mysterious ability the woman C.C. had granted him in Shinjuku, he would meet Britannia's, his father's, forces at every point he could, he would rally the support of the Numbers, the Japanese, and once he had built up his army to be large enough, he would banish the empire from the land they wrongfully took seven years prior. He would return the land to her people and establish a new world order.
A world order where people like Nunnally, his precious little sister, could live in peace.
…But that plan would have to wait for now. There wouldn't be anybody to save Japan if he died here and now with everyone else.
Now, it was time for Lelouch to exercise his strategy to determine whether he, his sister, and his friends lived or died now.
He glared back at the swirling vortex in front of them. Who knew what lay on the other side if they chose to push forward? Due to the in-fighting between Earth's superpowers, space travel was not something Earth had looked into very closely. Not when they invented their warmongering knightmare frames. Why take to the stars and waste resources on the unknown when you can direct it to familiar territory and simply take everything on Earth's surface instead?
In other words, with so little information about what lay within their own solar system, who knew what else awaited them beyond the stars? Would they be walking into a different death trap on the other side? What were the chances they'd ever get back to Earth? How long would it take for people to realize they were missing? While he trusted Reuben Ashford to keep his and Nunnally's identities under wraps for a while, there was only so much yellow tape he'd be able to bypass before authorities started digging deeper. Police, at the very least, would pull hotel footage from the resort to confirm that was their last known location. Once they ran his and Nunnally's faces through facial recognition, there would be no stopping authorities from alerting Cornelia and, by extension, the royal family. Any hope of a normal life when they returned would go up in smoke.
There was also the matter of Kallen's old resistance group. They had been told to lay low until he contacted them again as Zero. But once Kallen was announced missing, he knew those people would start looking for her themselves. He didn't know them personally yet, but he could tell from the two interactions they'd had, in Shinjuku and before Suzaku's trial, that they were all close. They'd pull out all the stops they had available to find their missing compatriot.
Meaning, that if anyone from that group got arrested, he'd have to start over from scratch. Find another resistance group where he could start building his army of freedom fighters.
However, things could get even worse if they didn't deal with the threat directly behind them. This alien ship was clearly after one thing right now: the blue lion. A lion that he had learned was a piece of a giant superweapon, and the lion alone had the potential to wipe an entire Britannian military platoon with a single blast. If one lion could cause that much damage, what would Voltron as a whole accomplish? And in the wrong hands?
From what he'd observed from Rivalz and Nunnally so far, this lion seemed to have some kind of sentience. It had actively called out to his sister to come find it and lead everyone here and then seemed to have 'chosen' Rivalz to pilot it, even though his friend had had zero combat or piloting experience.
The lion certainly seemed to know what it was doing and understood more about the situation than they clearly did. Because of that, he highly doubted they'd be able to turn it around and go back to Earth. Plus, even if they did accomplish that, the alien ship behind them would no doubt continue pursuing them and then attack Earth to get to the lion, endangering millions of innocent lives back on the planet.
There was really only one option open to them right now.
"Push forward, Rivalz," he ordered.
"Huh? You serious?!" his friend asked, looking back at the ex-prince.
"Lulu, why? We don't know what's through there!" Shirley protested.
"That's true, but whatever's happening, this lion clearly knows more than we do. Even if we could turn around, we'd lead an unknown hostile back to our home world. There's only one option, and that's straight ahead of us now!"
"He's right!" Suzaku nodded. "If we go back, people will die for sure!"
"Not like Earth's in any position to deal with an alien invasion right now anyway!" Kallen added.
"...Will we ever come back, Lelouch?" Nunnally asked.
"We will," Lelouch answered immediately. "One day, we will." Lelouch would make sure of that. He had no intention of leaving the revolution he started unfinished.
"Looks like we have no choice but to trust the lion," Milly summarized, looking at Shirley, who reluctantly nodded and swallowed. Rai also silently nodded.
Nunnally bit her lip before clinging closer to her brother. She would be lying if she said she wasn't scared, but as long as she had her brother with her, she had a feeling everything would be okay.
Seeing that everyone was determined, Rivalz sighed, but shared the same feeling as his friends.
"All right. Guess we're ditching class tomorrow."
With this final declaration, Rivalz pushed the lion to speed forward into the swirling vortex. It swallowed the lion. The alien ship missing it by a sliver.
AN: So... as you can see, it seems I ended up making a few more changes than just minor edits. The most obvious one being that the Paladins have an additional member with them tagging along from the start. Nunnally!
So, due to that, this is clearly about to become a very different story compared to the first version. Remember, the whole reason Lelouch risked going back to Earth early was for Nunnally's safety, but with Nunnally with her brother already, they'll need another reason to go back to Earth early... if that ends up happening. I won't spoil anything, but so far I am planning an early Earth arc for this version too. How it happens will be a very different though.
Also, before anyone complains about the fact that Nunnally is the one to sense the Blue Lion, but doesn't end up its pilot, keep in mind that in Voltron canon, Keith was the one to sense the Blue Lion's energy in the desert, but he never pilots the Blue Lion. Now whether or not Nunnally will become a paladin (temporary or permanent) is still up in the air for now. We'll have to see. She will have a role to play regardless.
Code Geass timeline wise, this time it takes place after The Stolen Mask episode. So Suzaku has just been enrolled at Ashford, and Cornelia hasn't attacked Saitama yet. What that could mean for some Code Geass events... you'll have to see. I mean, it's not like a giant robot lion just burst out of Lake Chūzenji causing mass panic that will need to be dealt with right away... right? :)
In other good news, I will keep the old version up for you guys. From your comments, it seems a lot of you still enjoy the old version, so I won't delete it on this site. :)
And so far, the polls are telling me to keep the Lions old names. I'm actually a little surprised by this one, because I personally think a couple of them are a little cringey looking back. There's also the fact that the creators of Legendary Defender actually came out and shared the 'genders' of each of the Voltron lions (Black, Red, and Yellow male. Green & Blue female). At the time, it wasn't really a detail that mattered much to me, but if I do end up changing any of the names, it will probably be the Black Lion because now I am debating making that lion male (leader of the pride and all that).
I hope you enjoyed this chapter I will start working on the next one tomorrow, but if I don't finish and upload it by November 7th, then it likely won't be up until after the 19th (when I get back from vacation). Just a little heads up.
R&R and see you next time! Love you all!
PS: Some people have been asking if I will include Roze of the Recapture in this fic. Answer: No. If any characters do show up, it will be as brief cameos or mentions, nothing more. Sorry if that disappoints some people, but... I did not like that sequel. I never liked the rebooted Code Geass movies in general (exception being Resurrection. That one was decent). So yeah, this fic will be following the original timeline.