(A/N: Happy New Year, folks! Welcome to the continuation of the Mao mini-arc, but not its conclusion. More on that at the end of the chapter)
21st Day of the Wyvern Moon
After morning classes, Zero held an unusually rare class meeting in the Ashen Wolf classroom down in Abyss. Usually, they only saw him in the evenings.
"Rare for you to hold a meeting like this, Zero. You okay?" Balthus asked him.
"An incident occurred last night before lecture where I found myself at the mercy of a dangerous foe. He has the power to read minds. C.C. has informed me of details of him that I will share with you now. Kronya, Yuri, her and I have all encountered this foe. He is very dangerous.
Lelouch used the projector overhead to show a photo that was taken by security camera at the tram station yesterday.
"He is called Mao. He has it out for C.C. and now, by extension, myself. In order to get to her, I imagine he plans to go through me," Lelouch told the wolves. "He can read your thoughts up to 500 meters away, so he's likely to avoid crowds. If you see a man looking like this, contact me immediately."
Shamir, who was here for this meeting, spoke up. "Why haven't you told the knights about this? We could put out a manhunt and have him captured before dawn tomorrow."
"Mao has seen my face and knows all of my innermost thoughts. That means he's firmly aware of my identity behind this mask. If cornered, I'm concerned he will reveal it. I can't have that," Zero stated.
"Understood. Does that mean you want me to take him out on sight?"
"If you can, that would be ideal, but remember, you need to be more than 500 meters away," Lelouch told her.
"Got it. I won't line up a shot within that distance," Shamir acknowledged.
"This is probably as good a time as ever to talk about who knows what, right Zero?" Yuri asked.
Zero nodded. "Yuri knows my full identity. He's been hiding it from you all at my behest and I thank him for it every day. C.C. is a wanted vigilante from Britannia. I can only be your leader thanks to her. And Kronya has seen my face and knows my first name. The former happened during the incident with Aelfric. The latter occurred only yesterday after the incident." Zero left the part out where he told Kronya his name. It helped fuel the narrative that Mao could just blab it.
"So, what do we do if we see this guy? High tail it and run."
"No, he can read all the way down to the subconscious. Just alert me, or Shamir, and prepare to disengage only to re-engage. Yukiya, I'm going to need you to be watching security monitors frequently," Lelouch told him.
"You got it, Zero," Yukiya replied.
Zero directed his focus at Constance. "You particularly, Constance. I recommend stepping out of or into shade, whichever changes your mindset when you spot Mao. The change in your behavior may help you give him the slip the most, or act as bait if you're alone."
"I shall do as you command!" Constance exclaimed chipperly.
"Mind if I sigh when I see him?" Hapi asked.
"Only if no one's around. I don't believe he can read the thoughts of animals, only people."
"Got it, good to know," Hapi replied, chuckling mischievously.
"We have no idea what he could be thinking or if he's already scheming his own counterattack," Zero told his group.
Kallen's hand shot up into the air. "Zero! If you'd like I could get the Green Pheasants involved! We're connected to the JLF and so if Mao tries to escape to Japan—"
"That's appreciated, but wholly unnecessary," Zero shot down. "Mao is unlikely to leave Rome at this time. However, if that changes, I'll be sure to contact you immediately."
"Oh…okay," Kallen responded, sounding disheartened.
"Lastly, before you're dismissed, this Tuesday, I will be discussing our battle strategy for the Battle of the Eagle and Lion. Shamir, since you are neither a professor, not a student, just a hired staff aide, you're exempt from this meeting if you choose," Zero responded.
"Got it. I'll use the time wisely," Shamir replied with a nod.
"That's all for today. DISMISSED!"
Lelouch believed that this would be enough. With the Black Knights on high alert, surely he would be able to catch Mao—or in Shamir's case, shoot him—before he posed a problem. However, he couldn't shake the unsettling feeling that he wasn't doing enough. No, not using the knights or the JLF like Shamir and Kallen had suggested, but more…that he had overlooked a possibility, even ones he'd dismissed. Sure, he could talk to Shez and Byleth, but doing so may as well have been saying to them "Hi, I'm Zero." Granted, Mao might actually go after them, but they were big girls, they could handle themselves. And Lelouch knew that he had plausible deniability if he didn't say anything to them.
No, the biggest issue was Nunnally's necessary protection. That meant he had to be the one to have eyes on her. To that end, he spent more time with his sister that day than he had in weeks, barring the day she came home from Leicester. However, Lelouch couldn't shake his nervousness and as he and Nunnally had tea in the garden, he couldn't help but use his free hand to keep clicking a pen. Nunnally was blind and there was so much noise around them she didn't notice.
However, lurking in the shadows by the shrubbery, someone else did take notice. They were not a knight. They were not an Ashen Wolf. It wasn't Kronya. And it was someone Lelouch was oblivious entirely to the current presence of.
That was when someone else made their presence known. "Oh, Lulu! Nunna! I don't think I've seen you two looking so cute together."
Lelouch glanced to his left at the person that had just come trotting up. Dorothea Arnault. Despite her openly friendly demeanor, she's a street rat that rose to stardom, seeking a way to keep herself there. In effect, she hates herself for becoming the very thing she still despises. But… he thought, watching her converse with Nunnally, their conversation white noise to the thoughts his own anxiety was consuming him with, …she's an honest person. "Say, Dorothea, I hate to be so direct, but do you think I could ask you a question about your early life?"
Dorothea blushed, putting her fingers over her face. "Ah, huh?" Lelouch asking more about her. A deep, personal one. Her heart thumped inside her chest.
"It's just…you always come across as someone very street smart, more than me anyway. You also seem like someone who, once they make a grudge, doesn't let it go. Tell me, hypothetically speaking, if you wanted to get revenge on someone, to really hurt them, and you were still on the street, if you had never become a songstress, what would you do?"
Hearing the opinion of someone else that could have easily ended up in Mao's position, a starving homeless teenager, Lelouch felt was a way to see if he'd missed something. He couldn't think on Dorothea's level. He'd been born with a silver spoon in his mouth and then lost everything. She had nothing to start with.
Dorothea frowned, looking greatly concerned. "Lulu…are…are you okay? I mean…personal questions are one thing, but that's a little…"
"Oh, sorry, just writing a script for something and I thought I'd base it on true emotion," Lelouch responded, smiling as he waved his hand across his face. "If it's too heavy, you don't have to answer. Don't mind me."
Lelouch didn't know it, but Dorothea wasn't the type of person to simply take his deflection at face value. She'd spent too much time around fake smiles to not know when to spot one.
"Lulu…if you want help with something…you can just say it," she said.
"I did," Lelouch responded.
Okay, so the question itself was genuine, just not the motive behind it. That was even more concerning to Dorothea whose heart went out to Lelouch and his sister. "It's…a lot to dump on a person," she said. "Lulu…what are you entangled with? I know we're just classmates, but you know you can rely on the Black Eagles if you need help if it's not something too serious. Zero's probably a better option if you need something of that nature."
Lelouch did his best to look disappointed. "Yeah, probably."
"Hey, it's fine," Dorothea smiled at him. "Listen, you did so much for everyone yesterday, why don't I take you out to dinner tonight? You know…" she then mumbled three words.
Nunnally turned her head to where she knew Lelouch was sitting, then back towards where she could smell Dorothea's perfume. She then gasped. "Oh! I just remembered! I'm supposed to help Hilda at the greenhouse." She wheeled herself away. "See you later, big brother!"
Before the completely confused Lelouch—neither Nunnally nor Hilda had greenhouse duty this week—could respond, Dorothea took Nunnally's seat. Then, when Lelouch reached for the tea tray to start stacking things, Dorothea held his hand. In contrast to how sweaty and cold his were, her hands were warm.
"Come on, let a girl spoil you just once," Dorothea requested.
Lelouch tried to pull his hand away, but Dorothea's grip was a bit too firm for a loose pull, so he left their fingers connected for the moment. He turned his head away from her and her concerned puppy eyes.
"Attempting to elevate your social status by being the first girl to take the Lelouch Eisner out on a date is a cruel move, Dorothea Arnault."
The shock and coldness of his response, let Lelouch break Dorothea's guard and lift his hand out of hers. He stood up, faced away from the tea table towards the shrubbery.
Dorothea stood up behind him. "I mean…sure, yeah, you could see it that way. But…Lulu…why can't you just accept that people want to help you? Why are you so cold to everyone unless their use is convenient in that moment. People have feelings you know." She got up right behind him and put her hands on the back of his jacket. Her forehead and bangs pressed against his shoulder. "Do you really want to live in a small world of only you and your sister? Because that's how you're acting right now. But…I've seen your kindness. Shirley's seen more of it. You do good things because they're right, Lelouch. You say things that give people hope, then you go and act like none of it matters, like you're punishing yourself. It's hard to watch."
Lelouch tilted his head towards the sky. "Have you ever looked in a mirror and thought: is this me? Is this who I am? Or is there a mirror behind this mirror, and I'm only staring at a mirage?"
It was poetry, for the most part, but poetry Dorothea understood. She backed off. "Not being who you are doesn't mean you have to treat the rest of the world as an afterthought," she said, still looking sympathetic and concerned. She then took a deep breath. "You know what? No! 9 o' clock. I'll wear something nice. You come to my dorm room. I'm not taking no for an answer. Trust me when I say you need this. And if you stand me up, I'll…I'll write an opera about you, about what a cruel heartbreaker you are to everyone that knows you and to the world…" She tilted her head up, eyes shut. "And then I'll sing it in your face."
"All right, all right, nine o' clock. I get it. Fine," Lelouch surrendered, sighing and sounded a bit less bitter. He turned to face Dorothea. "But…this isn't a romantic tryst. It's just dinner."
"Fine by me, Lulu," Dorothea responded with a smile and then a flirtatious wink. "See you then."
Lelouch rolled his eyes. If I didn't know any better, I would be thinking all of that was just an act to get me to say yes. Lelouch ran his hands through his hair. Dorothea Arnault. You're a troublesome woman, that's for sure. I'll need to be careful around you.
As evening broke and Dorothea spent the day getting ready, Lelouch's conversation with her had spurred the man to come to an unfortunate and awful conclusion. Mao had seen deep enough into Lelouch's mind to know he had just been using Kronya. It wasn't just the Ashen Wolves that were in danger. He'd go after anyone that seemed close to Lelouch. And, given C.C. had told him that Mao could see down to his subconscious, that meant that anyone Lelouch valued being alive more than dead was a possible target.
He was now pacing in his room, wondering how in the hell he was going to prepare for all outcomes. The Black Eagles and even the Golden Deer could become targets. Even Annette and Mercedes in the Blue Lion house could be attacked. And that also meant Marrybell or Oldrin could end up Mao's victims. And if either of them became aware he was Zero, it was effectively game over. Too much to plan for and not nearly enough time to plan for all of it.
He was so busy pacing, he barely heard the knock at the door.
"Uh, who is it?"
"It's me."
Lelouch frantically wrenched his door open and pulled C.C. inside, slamming the door behind him. "What do you think you're doing walking outside of Abyss? Are you crazy?!"
"Oh, please, you're being overly cautious. You really think with the way Rhea acts she'd actually let me get dragged back to Britannia. I could probably register as a student under the Ashen Wolves and she and Seteth wouldn't bat an eye," the woman remarked in her usual unfazed by everything attitude.
"You don't mean to tell me you've been wandering around without me noticing?" Lelouch asked.
"Easy to do when you spend certain hours of the day in the classroom," C.C. remarked.
Lelouch palmed his eyes. He could barely believe her right now.
"The Battle of the Eagle and Lion is coming up. It's nine days away, yet you seem remiss to use your best weapon." She made lightning spark in her hand. "Me."
"Thousands of people will be watching that battlefield," Lelouch told her. "Britannia will see you!"
"I can wear a disguise. Just how you fooled your sister by wearing a pair of sunglasses. Give me a hat, some colored contacts, and some hair accessories and I could pass off as Flayn's sibling or cousin," she stated.
"You say that as if winning the Battle of the Eagle and Lion is vital," Lelouch said to her.
"Don't you hate to lose?" C.C. asked.
A stare down between the pair ensued.
"At the very least, consider it," she told him. "If you want to win, at least."
Lelouch was quiet for a bit. "Was that all? Clearly you didn't expose your ability to walk around freely without me noticing just to remind me of something I already knew."
"Mao has you on edge and he has you playing yourself for a fool," C.C. told him. "Playing defense won't get you anywhere."
"I can't go on offense though! If I don't know what he's thinking, I can't—"
The phone then rang. Lelouch's phone. Caller ID: Unknown.
Lelouch answered it anyway. "Hello?"
"Well, well, well, so glad you promptly picked up the phone, Zero. Or should I say Lelouch vi Britannia?"
Mao, Lelouch thought, grimacing, blood curdling. So he even knows about that.
"C.C.'s there too, isn't she?" The white haired man questioned. "I want to talk to her. Alone. Put her on."
Lelouch couldn't be certain, based on the way Mao phrased that, if he was making an educated guess, or within 500 meters to read Lelouch's mind. Reluctantly, Lelouch had no choice but to do as Mao requested.
As the sun continued to set, Dorothea had her door wide open as she fixed up her makeup. Passing by, and spotting her in front of the vanity mirror with an extravagant dress on, Shirley stopped in. "Wow! Look at you, Dorothea! Going somewhere?"
"I managed to get a guy I like to say yes to a date," Dorothea, touching up her eyeliner.
"Must be one heck of a guy. I don't think I've ever seen you get this dressed up," Shirley responded with a smile. "Good for you!"
Dorothea smiled as she admired her handiwork in the mirror. "Well, what can I say? The heart wants what the heart wants."
After concluding her business over the phone, C.C. exited Lelouch's room and handed him back his cell phone. "Well, you're in luck. Mao and I made up. You don't have to talk to Seteth at all."
Lelouch scowled. "You're betraying me?"
"Are you actually saying that?" C.C. asked with an overly happy voice. "When were you my friend? Never." She proceeded to walk down the hall. "We were just co-conspirators, that's all. Besides, you've made it very clear you don't actually need me around. You have so many strong allies at your disposal, what's one missing homeless girl."
"C.C., wait!"
"Give my regards to the Ashen Wolves. I'll likely never see them again," C.C. responded, walking further down the hall.
"Do you really think I'll just let you walk away with how much you know?" Lelouch asked her.
"What choice do you have, really? Geass doesn't work on me, after all," C.C. reminded him. "You can feel free to keep that power." She proceeded down the hall. "I have no intention of telling anyone about you. And Mao won't bother you anymore. He will never cross your path. Everyone you care about will be safe. So all your obstacles are gone. Congratulations. And farewell." She then turned down the hall, leaving Lelouch confused and unsure what to do. After gathering his wits about him, he checked the time. 6:42pm. He had a little over two hours to come up with a plan.
However, before he could do anything, his phone rang, his other phone. Caller ID: Kronya.
He picked up. "Hello?"
"Good! You're available! Big news!" she said, sounding slightly out of breath.
"Calm down. Tell me what happened," Lelouch said as he sat in front of his computer.
"I had to give my report to Thales…you know, the one I always give. He uh…he got your message," she told him.
"And? You're still breathing, so what did he have to say to it?"
"He said that he values you and the Flame Emperor over Odesse's experiments, that what was lost had been recovered before you could strike, that you only killed a man…not an idea," she told him.
"I see." Which means they still have people that can make use of Odesse's research. "Where are you right now?"
"I'm in Abyss. Why? Problem?"
"No, just a temporary setback," Lelouch half-lied.
"I…mentioned Mao, to Thales I mean," Kronya said. "Sorry, maybe I should have consulted with you first, but…he saw into my mind so this was bigger than just you."
Lelouch seemed to acknowledge the validity of this decision without a panic. "And?"
"There's a manhunt out for Mao right now by my brethren. If we find him, he's as good as dead," she chuckled.
"Well, can't say this isn't a good outcome. Excellent work, Kronya. Will that be all?" Lelouch asked her.
"Yeah, I'm good. See you at class!" She then hung up.
Well she sounds like she's doing better, he remarked to himself, then sighed. If the Agarthans are out looking for this guy, the only reason she could say her mind being read was a problem beyond me is if she knows the Flame Emperor's identity, which means Thales wants it kept hidden. Lelouch honed in on several possibilities. The Insurrection of the Seven…I have to wonder if that's at the heart of all of this, but it's hard to say. I know nothing about the Flame Emperor, just as they don't know enough about me to know my identity.
Lelouch realized this was the first time he'd seriously pondered the Flame Emperor's identity, or at least tried to hone in on it. Probably because this was the first time he could reasonably narrow the possibilities down.
They could be someone like me, thought to be dead, but actually alive, like Matilda von Hresvelg. Or they could be someone alive, prominently, hiding their identity. However…Adrestia isn't the only nation affected by them. He recalled what Lysithea said about her own upbringing.
House Ordelia. House Hresvelg. Too many possibilities. And also…
The idea that the Flame Emperor could be Edelgard did cross Lelouch's mind. It wasn't impossible, but far from a certainty. He had to cross everything else off the list first. Sure, he could investigate her, but that meant contending with…him.
Hubert von Vestra, a man as meticulous as he is crafty. He's probably the reason Yuri can't find any information on the Adrestian Empire beyond just Thales getting in the way.
Monica was far less of a threat, identic memory aside. She was extremely loyal to Edelgard, sure, but she lacked Hubert's drive to know more. Hubert wouldn't be satisfied unless he knew everything and even then, Lelouch was pretty sure he would accuse someone of hiding something.
I can't worry about the Flame Emperor right now. I need to concentrate on C.C.
Lelouch then left for the market.
As soon as he was clear of Garreg Mach, and down a few streets, a voice called out to him.
"Well, isn't this interesting. I thought you had plans for the evening, yet here you are sneaking out and, from the looks of things, intending to travel far, Lelouch."
Lelouch froze. He knew that voice and, judging from what they were saying, they'd overheard his entire conversation with Dorothea.
Without turning around, without even showing the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, Lelouch remarked, "Have you been keeping tabs on me, Hubert?"
"I have every reason to," Hubert told him. "You see, Lelouch, you are someone I don't trust, not even a little bit. And yet, you have Lady Edelgard's implicit trust. I find that very troubling, you see."
Lelouch turned his head slightly towards Hubert. "I think you're just jealous that I'm a bit more handsome."
"Make your jokes while you can, but I only appeared because I felt it imperative to tell that, wherever you are going, I intend to follow you. You've been going out to town lately, which I know is because you're seeking a birthday present for your sister. However, today your pace was far too panicked, and your timing far later than usual. And I couldn't help but take notice of the absolutely interesting question you posed to Dorothea." Hubert approached Lelouch from behind. "Color me quite intrigued."
Lelouch's right hand glowed.
"If you're intending to get into a battle of magic with me, Lelouch, I recommend you reconsider. I know far more about countering assassins than you could possibly fathom. Your frame is weak and I am more than adept with combat beyond just spellcasting. I don't fight fair. And I am only telling you this out of courtesy because the headache of having to explain to Lady Edelgard why I had to kill you would be far greater a task than I care to undertake at this moment. I request you spare yourself from forcing my hand."
"This doesn't concern you, Hubert. Go back to Edelgard," Lelouch requested. If he had to, he would make that a command with his Geass, but he had to turn completely around first.
"Monica is spending time with her, and just as capable. And even without her, Garreg Mach is safe, at the moment from assassins. And that is not a possibility, that's a certainty."
"What exactly about me draws your ire, Hubert?" Lelouch asked.
"Because the more I look into you, the more I find myself left with questions than answers. It's as if investigating you is full of roadblocks even my noble authority simply can't clear. It's as if the black market bends its rules to protect you. I find that quite interesting."
Lelouch turned to face Hubert eye to eye. "If you have something to say, Hubert, then say it," Lelouch demanded of him.
"Fine. You want me to be direct? Then I shall mince no words: I am greatly intrigued in Zero's identity."
"Is that a formal accusation?" Lelouch scowled. He could not play dumb with Hubert. It'd only look more suspicious.
"You want me to say it? Very well. Lelouch Eisner, I formally accuse you of the possibility of being Zero!" Hubert declared.
"I see," Lelouch responded. "That's it? Just a possibility?"
"Do you deny it?" Hubert asked him.
"Wouldn't anyone?" Lelouch responded.
Hubert replied with a sinister sounding chuckle. "You truly fascinate me." He folded his arms.
"I thought you disliked me."
"Dislike is not the word I would use. You are a benefit to the Black Eagle classroom, your intellect rivals my own, and your skills at magic are nothing to be written off. Under the right circumstances, I see you posing a threat to Lady Edelgard." Hubert then gestured with his whole arm, "That is precisely why I do not trust you. And yet though I believe you can be Zero, I have yet to discover why you would want to be Zero. A young man with a shaded past from Britannia that inherited his father's stock money as inheritance. Such a story would be hard to trace. You've taken great pains to destroy the trail of who you were before you were Lelouch Lamperouge," Hubert explained.
"How did you come across that name?" Lelouch asked.
"I didn't," Hubert responded. "Well, not in the conventional sense. However, your surrogate sister in the Violet Tigers, Shez, I believe her name is, now she's much easier to look into. However, her origins trace back to Leicester. Lamperouge is a Britannian surname. Given your history with each other, the only logical conclusion was that you gave it to her. But why give her such a name? The only conclusion I could come to is that you once went by it and, judging from your reaction, you just confirmed my suspicions."
Damn him! He played me like a damn fiddle!
"Lelouch, whatever it is you are out here doing, if it is, in any way, a threat to Lady Edelgard, I cannot leave you to your own devices, especially since you made prior obligations. Whatever this is must be important to you."
"You could've stayed damn quiet and watched me. Why suddenly make yourself known?" Lelouch asked.
"I'll leave that to your imagination. But know this: if you require assistance in whatever endeavor you're about to embark on, you seem like you are remiss to accept formal aid. However, we aren't that different, Lelouch. If it has occurred to me that you are Zero, then you must have your own suspicions about Lady Edelgard. And if that is true, then you know why I would be standing here."
Dammit, he's got me in a bind, Lelouch thought. Accepting his offer of help basically means proving him right. But at the same time, he's also trying to make it seem as though Edelgard actually is the Flame Emperor. Is it a bluff? Or is he trying to do something with this information. Damn you, Hubert! I underestimated you!
By now he's trying to connect the dots in his own head of what to do, Hubert thought smugly. All that intellect and his own lack of sociability has led him to be cornered. This is why it's always imperative to keep at least one vital social relationship at all times, or to simply not engage positively with others. Your skills don't get rusty and people can't accuse you of being kind. A man with his own sense of justice that cannot accept help when he needs it, is just the type of person I expect Zero to be when he's not wearing the mask.
However, it wouldn't be an admission of guilt, but a loud bang off in the distance that followed both men's internal thoughts. It instantly caught their attention.
"It sounds like it came from the theme park the church never finished constructing," Hubert remarked. "Shall we go investigate?"
Lelouch took a deep breath. Assassinations rarely happened in Rome. That meant this had to be related to Mao. "I'll meet you there," Lelouch told Hubert. "If it's trouble, we should take separate paths. If the enemy has ambush parties lying in wait, since we don't know what's going on, then we have to be careful to—"
"Do I really seem that gullible to you?" Hubert asked him.
Lelouch did not immediately respond.
"It's written all over your face. What we just heard is related to the reason you're out here," Hubert stated with a smug smile. "But fine. I will set aside my suspicions for now and formally state that I will not judge you for actions taken next. If lives are at risk, that changes things…for now. But don't think I'm letting you out of my sight."
"Then don't, and don't get in my way. I don't need your help to figure this out," Lelouch told him.
"Hmph, suit yourself."
At the unfinished theme park, Mao was absolutely elated as he had C.C. at his mercy, a gun wound in her right arm, fresh blood seeping out of it. Another gun, belonging to C.C. was on the ground.
"I knew it! I knew you couldn't shoot me! That's cause you really love ME!" he declared.
"You're wrong!" C.C. snapped. "I was just using you right from the start!"
Mao became erratic. "What are you saying? You shouldn't tell lies like that! You really shouldn't!" He shot her again, this time in the chest. It was fine. He knew she could regenerate. "Lies are very, very wicked! Wicked lies!" He shot her over and over again, causing C.C. great pain, otherwise incapacitating her with incendiary cartridges from his pistol. "Don't worry," he told the thrashing, greatly injured C.C. "I understand. C.C. you must listen to me. I've built a big brand new house in Australian-Adrestia, a very quiet, white, immaculate special house. But to get there, you'll need to take an airplane and there isn't very much room. The thing is, C.C., you're a little too big to bring on a plane." He went over and picked up a chainsaw. "So that's why…" He revved it up. "I'm going to make you compact. It'll take no time at all."
"Is…this your revenge?" she asked from the ground. "You're punishing me? Mao, your plan will…never work. My regeneration…has gotten stronger."
"What are you saying?" Mao asked.
"I…can recover from a bullet to the head…in seconds. In fact, these injuries…they're already healing, the burning is just making it hard to…regrow the tissue."
And that was when a voice pierced the air. "Hmm, I was expecting a secret rendezvous of the Black Knights gone wrong, yet what do I find but a lover's spat. How boring."
Mao turned towards what was now Hubert standing under a brightly lit lamp.
"Excuse me, I don't remember inviting you. This is a private meeting," Mao told Hubert and then gestured to him. "Shoo."
"I'm afraid I can't have that," Hubert told him. "As I am to understand it, the moment I came within 500 meters of you, you became a threat to Lady Edelgard. I'm afraid you must be silenced for the betterment of the Adrestian Empire."
Murder. Death. Murder. Lady Edelgard. Murder. Death. More murder.
These were Hubert's surface thoughts that Mao could read. The guy had only one interest, to kill Mao. C.C. was a non-factor.
Hubert then, without warning, opened fire on Mao, destroying the chainsaw when Mao tried to block with it.
"Did you honestly think a non-reinforced weapon could stop a magic attack?" Hubert asked as Mao ran to avoid the fumes of the magic miasma blast. "Of course you did. Nobody ever trained you."
"Shut up!" Mao shouted at him. "What would you know, you servant boy!"
Hubert slowly approached Mao. "There is no insult you can come up with that can unnerve me. I know who I am and what I stand for."
"Oh, I see. You're a villain through and through."
Hubert laughed. "Such a simple-minded comprehension of the world, yet in control of one of the most dangerous powers in existence. Quite the combination. And you waste your time following after a woman with no interest in you whatsoever."
"Shut up! You don't know anything about C.C.! All you know is what Lelouch told you and you don't even trust him!" Mao shouted.
"Correct, I don't trust Lelouch, but that is for reasons you clearly can already gather from my mind. I can however, trust him to be himself, to be detail-oriented, crafty, and deceptive. Traits I admire in myself, really," Hubert remarked, grinning.
Mao aimed his gun at Hubert. "You don't deserve your precious Lady Edelgard!"
"I would put that gun down if I were you," Hubert told him. "You could put your eye out with it."
Mao fired the gun, but nothing came out.
"I counted the number of gunshots on the way here. If that's a standard cartridge pistol, it only carries ten charges before it becomes inert. And you wasted them all on a target that had long since lost its ability to resist," Hubert pointed out to him. "So, by the time you finish reloading, you'll be a dead man," Hubert warned. He then aimed another dark magic blast at him. "Do try to make this entertaining, would you?"
"You want entertaining? How about this then? I can prove your suspicious about Lelouch! You see! He's—"
Suddenly, a nearby projector screen flashed to life.
Hmm, and just when things were getting to the good part, Hubert mused. I have a pretty good idea of what he was about to say, but without the words out of his mouth, I cannot be certain which suspicion he was talking about. Well played, Lelouch.
They had a deal. Hubert would face Mao whose blabbermouth could spill Lelouch's identity, but if Lelouch was too quick to implement a plan to stop him, Hubert wouldn't gain anything. Hubert had agreed to this plan if only because the temptation of knowledge was too great and Lelouch had every intention of showing up to the scene in the aftermath. Well, the king was in check, he would wait to see how Lelouch would defend.
"You don't normally hear gunshots in Rome outside Garreg Mach's training ground," Lelouch told Mao. "But to avoid detection, you would have had to be somewhere where security was unlikely to find you. That narrowed it way down. Since your Geass has a total maximum range of 500 meters, it can't reach me here at Ten Elite's Museum."
The Church had long ago reconstructed the old Castel Sant'Angelo and put a museum honoring the Ten Elites in its place.
Mao clapped with all the giddy disposition of a small child. "That's true! That's very true! But what can you do from so far away, hmm? After taking all that trouble to hack into the system, what's your grand plan?"
Indeed, especially on foot, that's quite a distance, Hubert pondered.
Mao speculated the options. "A remote-control attack with some battery-operated toys, or a tongue lashing to lecture me into submission?"
Lelouch merely blinked.
"Ahhhh, cat got your tongue now, hmm? If you want C.C., then you're going to have to—"
Lelouch interrupted him. "Mao! Think! You don't believe C.C. is her real name, do you? She never even whispers it to anyone."
Mao gasped and turned his head to look at the fallen green haired woman now slowly getting to her feet, wounds healed, blood staining her clothes.
Self-healing magic? No! This is more than that. With such grievous injuries, she shouldn't have been able to move her arms, Hubert thought. More human experimentation then? A homunculus perhaps?
Hubert was jarred from his thoughts by Lelouch's smug voice saying, "But I know it though. She told me her true name."
"Is that right, C.C.?" Mao asked, heartbroken. "You never told me! Ever! Ever! But you told it to him?"
I do wonder why the front row seat to this sideshow, Lelouch? What is this girl to you? I'm well aware from testimony that you recovered her during the operation that led to Clovis's incarceration. That by itself did not instantly paint Lelouch as Zero to Hubert. Oh, it sent off alarm bells, but it didn't confirm it. The Ashen Wolves had given this girl a good home long before Zero came into the picture. So, what was the connection, exactly? Merely a refugee he felt bad for? No, this felt oddly personal.
"Do you know why?" Lelouch taunted Mao. "Because C.C. is mine."
Mao glared, clenching his teeth at the screen.
Hubert chuckled to himself. "How entertaining."
"You shut your mouth!" Mao shouted at Hubert and then turned to Lelouch. "Both of you!"
"C.C. belongs to me in every possible way," Lelouch declared with a smirk.
Now that's a lie if I ever heard one, Hubert remarked to himself, grinning. Although…I can't deny the possibility. A moonlit tryst with a refugee while painting himself as something else. Perhaps tonight's escapade was merely a cover up for a scandal. I suppose I'll have to ask for details.
Mao either didn't hear Hubert's thoughts, or simply chose to ignore them. "Hrrrrngh! No! She doesn't! She doesn't! She doesn't! She doesn't! She was mine long before she met you!"
Lelouch smiled like a man who'd just forked the rook and the king on row 7 with no queen to stop it. "I have gained every single thing from her, including all of the parts of her that you have never seen."
Hubert could only guffaw to himself. This was rich. Lie or no, Lelouch did know how to make things entertaining. And Mao was buying it hook, line and sinker.
At this point it was fairly obvious that Mao's Geass was at an all-time minimal range with his attention focused squarely on the big TV screen in front of him. Otherwise, he would be able to hear Hubert's mocking thoughts.
"All of them," Lelouch repeated gleefully.
"Leloooooouch!" Mao shouted and reloaded his pistol. "FACE ME!"
BANG!
BANG!
BANG!
BANG!
BANG!
"Come here! Come here so I can look into your mind!" Mao shouted. "I'll see the truth! I'll see what a liar you are! LIAAAAAR!"
"You really are a simple minded imbecile. Earlier, I had considered that I could overlook your transgressions against the Empire and perhaps hired you as a counter to Lelouch, despite the danger you posed, but you are just a petty child," Hubert mocked.
"HUBEEEEERT!" Mao shouted. He fired the gun, but Hubert countered with magic blasts, far larger projectiles that consumed the pistol shots whole.
"You're being played, Mao. Even an idiot can see that. Whether Lelouch is lying or telling the truth, his goal was to make you angry and you are spiraling out of control like the spoiled brat you really are. If you weren't so tall I'd think you were seven, not a full-grown adult."
That was when a bunch of motorcycles showed up and an entire group of guards showed up. All of them were from Shamir's espionage squad.
"Sounds…everywhere," Mao uttered, terrified. "Wh-what are they doing here?"
Hubert turned to look at the knights dressed in dark gray robes with green patches denoting their designation as espionage officers. Several holy knights were also nearby, a few in a helicopter. Catherine's squad mates, though the woman herself was not present.
"It's the knights! Who contacted them?"
And, blending into the crowd, as Hubert noticed him stand by C.C., was Lelouch himself.
"It…can't be," Mao remarked. "He was just at the museum! He can't be here now!"
Are you that slow? Lelouch thought. That was all a recording?
Hubert took one look at Lelouch's smug face and instantly pieced together what had happened. He was shocked and amazed. Lelouch Eisner…you really are a conniving genius. He grinned. I will have to increase my own skills if I intend to keep up.
"That…that's a lie!" Mao shouted. "You were talking to me! Answering me!"
Your thoughts are simple. Since you read minds, you've never resorted to cunning.
"You predicted every one of my answers?" Mao questioned. "Don't play games with me, punk!"
Ah, I see he's reading our thoughts even now, Hubert realized.
"If the knights arrest me, I'll be back out in a heartbeat!" Mao shouted.
Ordinarily, that would be true, Lelouch thought. But you still don't get it, do you? You can hear all of these voices, but what about the voices you can't hear? Ones from a kilometer and 270 meters away.
At that distance, Shamir lay prone, her favorite rifle gripped professionally in her hands. Orange rings encircled her irises.
"SHUT UUUUUUP! STOP TAUNTING MEEEEEEE!"
I've seen all I need to at the moment, Hubert thought, folding his arms, grinning. But I still wish to see how this plays out.
C.C. told me you can't turn off your Geass. The range is erratic. If you concentrate, the range gets very short.
"So you used the monitor to keep me distracted? Even so, I can still defeat you! I'll have you ruined!"
The moment you try, is the moment you die, Lelouch thought.
C.C. clung to Lelouch. "Lelouch, wait! If I talk to him, I can get through!"
"You think I'll die!" Mao shouted. "Listen, knights, you know who that guy is! He's the man you've been trying to unmask! He's—"
Lelouch pressed a button on his phone and in the next second, a bullet tunneled through Mao's chest, and more shots followed, riddling Mao with bullets.
"MAO, NO!" C.C. shouted.
Checkmate, Lelouch thought.
Mao's body was quickly recovered by the knights. He still had a heartbeat. Shamir's initial shot had missed his heart and lungs. Wind resistance and gravity at play at its finest. Still, with the other wounds Mao received, death would be imminent, or so Lelouch believed.
Even Hubert was convinced the man wouldn't survive the night. With wounds that grave, I estimate his chances of survival to be below five percent. But even if he survives, he will be a captive to the knights. And if he truly cannot turn off his telepathy, that would be true hell.
"We're done here, let's go," Lelouch commented. C.C. took one last, longing look at Mao, and followed closely behind.
The group met up with Shamir, now fully cognizant of her surroundings, near the museum Lelouch claimed to have been.
"I wasn't aware Zero had roped civilians into his personal exploits," she said. "But that was a crazy tip you gave me, Lelouch. Weird, I don't remember taking the shot, but I am down a bullet, so I must've fired."
"The important thing is he's either dead or in custody," Lelouch responded.
Shamir looked at C.C. "You're in big trouble, by the way. Zero's probably worried sick about you."
C.C. blinked. She wasn't sure how Shamir of all people hadn't yet connected the dots, or perhaps she was just playing dumb with Hubert present. Or maybe, yet again, Lelouch had paid for her silence.
C.C. offered her exposed wrists. "Arrest me if it pleases you," she said with a completely straight face.
Shamir laughed, greatly amused, almost snorting.
"Shamir, who is this woman, exactly? To both Zero and to Lelouch?" Hubert asked.
"To Zero, she's the ace of the Ashen Wolves, one of the best, and an unofficial student. I see them hanging around a lot, kind of like you and Edelgard in a way. As for Lelouch, dunno. I wasn't aware they had a connection outside him bringing her to Abyss."
"Well, if what he said to Mao is to be believed, she's some form of secret lover," Hubert responded.
"That was a bluff, obviously," Lelouch responded, forcing a blush. "Do I seem the type?"
"Hardly, yet so the mystery deepens. Of course, I could be absolutely right in what I think about you," Hubert responded, smirking.
"And if you are right, what then?" Lelouch questioned. Shamir isn't completely free from my influence of Geass. I was very thorough with my instructions. Tread carefully, Hubert.
Lelouch envisioned Hubert saying something that Lelouch could perceive as a threat and then Shamir would, with a verbal signal, raise a close range pistol and kill Hubert at point blank range.
Fortunately, the tide, it seemed, had turned. "Fortunately for you, if I'm wrong, you have nothing to fear. But if I'm right, Lady Edelgard has taken an interest in Zero, a fascination, quite frankly. Adrestia may have need of him in the future. I have no intention of silencing him at this time."
Spoken true to yourself, Hubert, Lelouch thought. Well played. Now it would just be a matter of smoothing Shamir over. Even if Hubert walked away from tonight believing to his very heart that Lelouch and Zero were one in the same, he still had zero proof, pun unintended. That alone, plus Edelgard's endorsement, meant that Lelouch was in the clear, albeit he would have to be much more careful.
"I suppose I should be returning to Lady Edelgard. I don't believe you'll take me at my word, but some things I do without her knowledge. This is one of them," Hubert remarked with a grin.
"Sorry, I don't trust men almost as smart as me," Lelouch replied.
Hubert replied with one of his common sinister chuckles. "You are a strange and cunning man, Lelouch Eisner. I do sincerely hope, for Lady Edelgard's sake, and for yours, that my mistrust of you is entirely misplaced. If the two of you are able to put aside your differences, and come together…" Hubert gave a rare smile, "I do believe Britannia and Adrestia will be brighter for it." He then walked away without a formal goodbye.
"Hubert!" Lelouch called out to him. The man stopped. "Edelgard is lucky to have you in her corner. …That's all."
"Heh," Hubert smirked. "I'm well aware." He then walked off into the night.
Lelouch waited until he was absolutely certain Hubert had completely left the area. Shamir hadn't moved. With Hubert gone, his influence on her via Geass disappeared with his presence. Shamir's sixth sense was sharper than his, so the sight of his Geass completely fizzling out from her suggested Hubert was outside her range to notice him.
"So, Hubert thinks you're Zero," Shamir remarked.
"Is that a problem?" Lelouch asked.
Shamir smirked. "Nah, I like Zero. He's a good boss. I'm paid too much to question his identity anyway."
Lelouch chuckled. Yup. Spoken like a true professional.
"Mao's likely to be kept imprisoned if he survives treatment. Although, for someone with telepathy, imprisonment may be a fate worse than death," Shamir's expression suggested she was mentally shuddering at the thought of being in Mao's place.
C.C. opened her mouth to speak, but Shamir didn't need mind reading to guess what was about to come out of it.
She instinctively shut it down, "No. You shouldn't visit him. Besides, when I tell Rhea exactly what he's capable of, she's bound to order him blinded and gagged."
C.C. turned her head. "You my as well cut off his arms and legs so he can't run away either."
"If he's gagged, how do you plan to feed him?" Lelouch asked.
"Probably IV injections," Shamir remarked.
Lelouch and C.C. were unnerved by this.
"That was a joke," Shamir stated with a similarly straight face. "Anyway, Zero or no Zero, I should be heading back to report in to the other wolves, let them know mission accomplished."
"Talk to Yuri then if Zero's not around. He usually takes his messages," C.C. requested.
Shamir made direct eye contact with Lelouch. For a moment, Lelouch suspected Shamir believed what Hubert believed, that she was talking to her boss, but couldn't prove it.
"Ha," She chuckled. "Nah. You, a Professor? I'd be shocked." She then walked away.
Once she was out of ear shot, C.C. asked, "Want me to keep an eye on her?"
"I think you've caused me enough headache for one day," Lelouch told her.
"Oh, I see how it is. As soon as the pet is out of the cage, you hit me with a rolled-up newspaper and send me right back in," she pouted.
Lelouch stared at her oddly.
"You know I have a vested interest in your success, yet you hide me away rather than make use of me. You never consider other people's feelings when you act. And I believe that has come back to bite you several times just in the current moon alone," she remarked disdainfully. "I'm not your pet, Lelouch. I'm a human being with my own feelings, thoughts and desires and unlike everyone else around you, you can't control me. You're lucky I actually think you're quite brilliant, or I wouldn't put up with it."
"That and the free pizza, right?"
C.C. remained silent. Cleary, she wasn't amused by the joke.
"Let me be part of the Battle of the Eagle and Lion. You know I belong on that battlefield," she told him.
"If you want on that battlefield, I need to know something. Let's say I can completely disguise you. You are the only person I know that can float under their own power. What prevents Britannia's brass from locating you?" Lelouch asked her.
"Rhea," C.C. answered honestly.
Lelouch tilted his head slightly.
"You may not believe this, but she has a vested interest in the peaceful lives of the dwellers inside Abyss. Even if Britannia came looking for me, I have asylum here in Rome. To abduct me would be seen as an act of war," C.C. pointed out to him.
Lelouch recalled what he'd witnessed seven years ago and C.C. watched his irises shrink as he recalled the metal monster.
"I know you don't like her, but she has, for the time being, called a truce. Yet you seem reluctant to abuse that privilege."
"Rhea could change her mind at any time and relying on her when I am plotting her demise just seems needless, that's all," Lelouch pointed out.
"Ha! Hapi was right. You're a big softie," C.C. spun on her heel and walked away. "I will be attending your lecture tonight. Do not disappoint me."
Lelouch rolled his eyes and watched her walk away. He then checked his watch 8:42.
"Huh? Oh crap! Dammit, why didn't anyone tell me it was this late?"
Fortunately, Lelouch made it to Dorothea on time. Well…okay he was fashionably late, but she forgave him. …Sort of.
"It's rude for a gentleman to make a lady wait," she said when he showed up at 9:15.
"Sorry, I got caught up in something that took a bit longer than I expected," Lelouch apologized.
"Well, that was simply poor planning on your part then," Dorothea teased. "But, as I promised. You deserve to let a lady treat you out. Come now, follow me."
Lelouch followed her to a very ritzy restaurant near Garreg Mach, thankfully in the opposite direction of where everything went down with Mao.
Dorothea went right up to the greeter. "Table for two under Arnault."
"Ah, right this way," the greeter responded and helped sit Dorothea and Lelouch down.
"If I had known we were going somewhere fancy, I would have dressed in something that wasn't my school uniform," he stated. He then looked at Dorothea and her strapless red dress. The woman had gone all out with her appearance.
"It's fine. I didn't exactly say we were going somewhere nice, just that I was going to dress up. I get it, boys can't always take the hint," she teased.
Lelouch made a scoffing noise and then looked at the menu. He was stunned at the prices. Dorothea intended to pay for both of them?
"Yeah, yeah, I can see the look on your face. You think I'm going to leave you with the check, don't you?"
"I mean…"
"No, I get it, really, I do. It's…it's not your fault," she replied, looking sad. "But…I totally can. I said I was going to treat you out and…and I meant it."
"So, pardon me for asking, how do you plan to pay for tonight's meal?"
"I'm a former Songstress, remember? Hellooooo, my budget may be limited, but I still have one," she replied, winking. "I can take care of myself." She blushed. "I don't normally treat a guy out, though. Usually I request they do this for me. But like I said, I could tell you needed this."
"I meant to ask about that," Lelouch said. "Why do you think I need this, exactly? What part of us going on a date is to my benefit?"
"…You can't be serious," Dorothea responded flatly.
Lelouch's blank, mildly annoyed stare said it all.
"Because it's not about who you're spending time with, it's the fact that there's someone out there willing to pay for your meals that doesn't want to snatch your wallet. I'm doing this tonight to pay you back for how much you help Edie, Bern, and the others. You may see your deeds as just you doing what you want, but your actions do have consequences. Do you honestly think that if you do good things people won't want to reward you. You act as if you don't want to live, despite all the good you do to enrich the lives of others. So, that's why I took you here. You could afford this any time, but not on someone else's dime because you'd never ask. So, I volunteered."
Lelouch was…starting to get it, but still a little confused. He smirked. "So you think buying me dinner will make me fawn over you and make me change my ways, is that it?"
"I don't know," Dorothea said, leaning onto her tented fingers, batting her eyes at him. "Is it working?"
Lelouch sipped his water. "Not even a little." However, his tone of voice suggested he wasn't being serious.
"Phooey," Dorothea responded. She laughed quietly. "Still, you weren't wrong. I did want to spend time with you. And I am counting this as a formal date. But you know what? You have the freedom not to have a second one because life is full of choices. I wanted to take you outside your comfort zone and help you realize that you're free to live as you choose. So…don't constantly go around asking weird stuff and scowling all the time, okay? You may have been born in Britannia, but you're a Black Eagle now. You're one of us."
Lelouch put up his best front. He now had a clear picture of what Dorothea was trying to do. "I see, so that's how you feel," he said with a smile.
He clearly didn't comprehend that Dorothea could, at times, see right through him. "Would you cut it out with that fake smile?! This is exactly what I'm talking about. You just…hide yourself away instead of being honest with yourself and other people."
"Dorothea," Lelouch spoke seriously. "Not everyone wants to expose their true self to others. Some people need to lie to others because there are others still that could hurt them."
Dorothea smiled. "Now see, that's the sour Lulu I know to be the most honest form of you."
Lelouch blushed. For once, he was at a complete loss for words.
"I get it. You've got secrets. We all do," she said. "But…I'd at least like you to be honest when you're suffering. I can take it. I'm used to being mocked. We both came into money from nothing. I'd…like to know more about you, you know?"
"I'm well aware. You've made that perfectly clear. But, Dorothea, I'm not the man you think I am. You may wake up one day and realize you've loved a shadow this whole time," Lelouch told her. "I couldn't put anyone through that."
Dorothea continued to smile. "If one day I wake up and find out that you lied to me the entire time, that you're completely different from the person I know you to be, maybe I won't love that you, but I'd still want to know them, for better or for worse. Because no matter who you really are, Lulu, you can't hide everything about yourself and I know, that as long as you continue to help others, I could never bring myself to actually hate you."
Lelouch smirked, running his hands through his hair. "Well, that's a silly argument if I ever heard one, but I guess I have to put up with it."
"Darn right you do!" Dorothea exclaimed, scowling. "I don't get shaken off from people that easily."
Lelouch laughed. "Then I'll just have to try harder."
Dorothea laughed, knowing Lelouch wasn't being serious. "Say, Lulu, what's your favorite movie?"
"Huh?" Lelouch asked.
"What? We're having dinner. Small talk's appropriate," Dorothea said.
It was at that very moment Dorothea's mini-lecture clicked with Lelouch. She wanted to get to know him and she meant it. She wasn't interested in debating ethics, or philosophy, or politics. She wanted to know trivia about him, really get to know him. Lelouch honestly couldn't recall the last time he had a conversation like this.
Dorothea saw how his hand and face seemed to freeze, the latter in confusion. "Are you…not a movie person?"
"Huh? No. Sorry. I just…"
She smiled, waiting patiently. Once again, she could see right through him.
"Well, to be honest, I've always liked Tokusatsu," Lelouch stated.
"Tokusatsu?"
"Oh, you don't know it. It originates in Japan…"
The two talked until Lelouch absolutely had to excuse himself. Lelouch had many memories rattling around in his brain, pre and post exile. Not all of them were memorable, but…since his exile, he never felt like just a normal teenager with someone to talk to. Every day since that awful day was a scheme, a moment to plan for the future with a chip on his shoulder. But that night, with Dorothea, for a moment in time, he wasn't Lelouch Eisner, or Lelouch Lamperouge. He was Lelouch vi Britannia once again.
And he didn't hate it.
22nd Day of the Wyvern Moon
Before morning classes started, Zero made a stop in at Seteth's office. "I have a request for you," he said, once the Director led him inside.
"I'm listening," Seteth said. "Must be urgent if you've come to me so early in the morning."
Lelouch laid out a proposed student roster sheet on the table with C.C.'s photo bearing the name Cynthia Caroline. It wasn't her actual name, but an alias she and Zero had agreed upon.
"This is the girl that was rescued from the mission to Neo Japan that the Violet Tigers went on. I understand she was being cared for in Abyss. She's decided to enroll?" Seteth questioned.
"I know it's rather late into the school year, but the Ashen Wolves aren't exactly a conventional class. She has sat through my lectures even before you and Rhea recognized the house as genuine. I would understand if her request was rejected," Lelouch pointed out.
"No, not necessary. I believe this can be accommodated. This is highly irregular, but there shouldn't be an overall issue in having her transfer in. Come see me before your evening lecture, and I should have everything sorted out by then," Seteth said to him.
"I appreciate it, Seteth, as does she," Zero told him. But mostly me. The Battle of the Eagle and Lion is but seven days away. The Queen has moved off her starting space. I will prove my might to the world.
Lelouch envisioned the Battle of the Eagle and Lion with the Ashen Wolves standing triumphantly against the others houses.
Checkmate!
(A/N: So…Mao's gonna be incapacitated for a while. Oh yes! We aren't immediately rolling into the "Nunnally held hostage" subplot. That's not until Phase 2. We have but 2 paralogues to get through, folks and then it's time for the largest battlefield in the fic's history.
Let me know your thoughts. Feel free to tell me I ruined Mao's character or Lelouch is dumber than bricks or something. I worked really hard to make this chapter make sense and not derail the plot.
Next time, more support convos as we get ready to see an old foe return. But, until then, as always, from all of me, to all of you, let your hearts stay human and your wrath draconic. Ja ne!)
SPECIAL THANKS to my Patrons ShawnH and Wizard Aro. If you'd like to support my work, consider subscribing. I don't offer much, but I would like to turn fanfiction into a job if possible, or at least to help me scrape by while I look for a new one-presently unemployed. Thanks everyone for your continued support as readers. Just your comments and love for my work is enough to keep me doing this in my spare time!