"You're less than thrilled about helping me, however I think Father would be more than forthcoming to assist in my departure if I presented him with his prize."
The threat struck Lelouch like an icy wave, rooting him to the spot. The gun in his hand beckoned. Lamperouge was a threat, and threats should be removed.
Unfortunately, a body would just introduce more complications.
The student council knew of him and would have questions if he suddenly disappeared. And then there was the problem of disposing of the body. If someone accidentally stumbled upon it, especially Britannian forces, it would invite all sorts of unwanted attention to Area Eleven.
Lelouch stared at his own weathered face, imagining lifeless, glassy eyes staring back at him. A shudder ran down his spine.
"Well?" Lamperouge demanded.
Too many secrets. Too many weaknesses. He needed to act now. Neutralize the threat.
Lelouch lowered his gun and slipped off his sunglasses. His geass flared to life. "Answer my questions!" Wincing, he quickly added, "And you will keep my secrets."
It would not do to have a repeat of the situation with Kallen.
Lamperouge's body relaxed, the knife falling to his side. "How may I help you, sir?"
The military precision of his answer caused bile to rise in his mouth. It was just another reminder that a version of him was a willing soldier.
"What do you know about geass?" Lelouch asked.
"Very little, sir."
C.C. barked out a laugh.
Careful to not break eye contact, Lelouch stepped forward. He knew something. "When did you learn about geass?"
"At nine or thirteen, sir."
Lelouch had never geassed someone who was so chronically unhelpful in response.
"How did you learn about it?"
"I was drugged and recalled a childhood incident, sir."
Lelouch grit his teeth. "What did you recall?"
"The assassin was going to take Nunnally. She was using a hallucinogen of some sort and was similar to an OSI agent, but not. Bismarck has two eyes. Father came. She thought her orders served him. He killed the assassin. Father blamed V.V, sir."
"Do you like being unhelpful in your answers?" Lelouch snapped.
"Yes, sir."
"What do you think geass is?"
"It is most likely a mind influencing drug developed by a secret branch working under the Emperor, sir."
"The Emperor knows what geass is," Lelouch whispered, his fears coming to life.
"Most likely, sir."
"Damn it!" Lelouch shouted. He had planned to draw out the Emperor, to confront him with his geass, finally solving the mystery of his mother's assassination and ending a blight on this world. If the Emperor knew about geass, that changed everything.
His gaze swung to C.C. angrily. "You knew."
She blinked slowly. "You never asked."
Before he could rage at the selfish witch, a weight slammed into him, leaving him staring at the ceiling.
"What did you do!" Lamperouge growled, his cold knife pressing into his neck.
One moment, Lelouch had been threatening C.C. and his counterpart, trying to push them into a position where they would see the benefit of helping him. Then, he was suddenly far too close to his counterpart who was also now glaring at C.C.
A part of his mind urged him to just accept the situation: to relax, to be happy, to be accepting. Everything about this was completely normal. He was safe.
It rankled. He was never calm. He could never just relax, especially not in an alternate universe.
Maybe he was overblowing things?
His eyes snapped to the clock. He had lost three and a half full minutes. He couldn't account for them.
The feeling of wrongness intensified. There was only one explanation. He had been drugged. Again.
The anger took him by surprise. It drove him forward, knocking down his counterpart and pushing a knife to his neck. It whispered to eliminate the threat now.
"What?" his counterpart whispered, his eyes full of surprise.
"What did you do?" Lelouch growled, even as he acknowledged that this was a far too aggressive tactic. He didn't actually want to kill his counterpart… probably. Who knew what unintended consequences that would cause. "You drugged me. I didn't drink the tea. What poison was it?"
"Oh, for the—" The strange woman, C.C., walked towards him.
And then, he knew only pain.
Coughing violently, he rolled away. His throat felt raw. His hands trembled violently. He had dropped the knife. It didn't matter. He was in absolutely no state to hold any weapon.
"You will not hurt him," the strange woman warned.
His eyes darted back and forth, trying to identify a weapon of some sort somehow hidden beneath her prison garment. How had she done that?
What strange diabolical madness had taken root in this dimension?
His only comfort was the expression of horror and shock on his counterpart's face as he stared at C.C. He hadn't known that she could do that either.
Lelouch took a deep breath, trying to regulate his breathing. Then, he forced his trembling body to cooperate and stand. His mind felt muddled, as if it were filled with cotton.
"I will not hurt him," Lelouch rasped, staring at the strange woman his father was hunting. He still could not discern a weapon. She looked unarmed. "I apologize for my rash reaction. I have had bad experiences being drugged."
Her yellow eyes narrowed. "You cannot defeat me, boy."
By himself, likely not, especially, when he was without a proper weapon. However, something in her confident posture suggested even that wouldn't be enough. There was a reason why his father was looking for her through unofficial means.
But no matter how strong she was, no matter what hidden weapons she possessed, a single person could never go against an army. And… his eyes flicked to his counterpart whose eyes were filled with doubt. It seemed that neither of them trusted easily. Meanwhile, C.C. clearly needed that connection.
"You know his father, don't you?" Lelouch guessed, remembering the picture his father had shown him of her standing next to his mother. Maybe she could even be the agent the Emperor had sent to keep an eye on his son. "On a personal level."
His counterpart rose, his fists clenched as he instinctively rejected the notion of betrayal. They were close, but not close enough. He faltered, and his shoulders sank in defeat.
"He's right, isn't he?" his counterpart whispered.
C.C. stared at them both, her face eerily blank. "What are you driving at, imposter?"
"I've been here a full day, keeping my head down, but it won't be long until the Emperor learns that his son has a doppelganger. How do you think he will react?"
His counterpart scowled. "He doesn't know that I am here."
Lelouch scoffed. "Don't be ridiculous. He definitely knows it is you running around in that absurd costume as well. Purple screams royalty, and you didn't even bother to change your and Nunnally's first name. Two plus two equals four, and whatever you may accuse our father of being, he is most assuredly not stupid."
Before his counterpart could protest further, C.C. interrupted, "Yes. I assume he finds this all amusing."
His counterpart flinched and fixed her with a betrayed glare.
"Sounds like him," Lelouch grumbled. His father liked seeing how far people would go, like a son versus a daughter, proving their worth. It sickened Lelouch, but it was to be expected. The only part that couldn't be explained was the Emperor's blasé reaction to his son's death. His father didn't condone any royal attempting to take another's life.
"What point are you driving at?" C.C. asked.
"Do you think your Emperor would allow me to return home if he learned I was a Major General?"
"You're what!" his counterpart shouted. "How could you—" He inhaled sharply. "You disgust me."
"You can insult me after Daddy tires of your little game and arrests you," Lelouch snapped. "He'll find some way to make use of you."
"Fine," C.C. said. "We will help you return home promptly."
"Thank you," Lelouch said.
"Because…" His counterpart looked rather ill. "You think the Emperor will replace me with him?"
Honestly, Lelouch wasn't so sure. He thought it more likely for both of them to be put to work. Two was better than one, and even if Zero was just a little upstart terrorist, it wasn't exactly easy to grow a rebellion so quickly. His counterpart had skills.
But the fear of getting replaced was a strong incentive. C.C., at least, was invested in only one of them.
"I want to go home," Lelouch reaffirmed. "The faster I'm gone, the fewer complications there are."
"Fine," his counterpart mumbled. "I'll set my 'network' on it."
"Thank you." Lelouch bowed and walked out, ignoring the prickle between his shoulders. It was an uneasy alliance for now. And he had never gotten answers on his three lost minutes.
A wave of frustration passed through Kallen as she worked on the student council paperwork. With a forceful sigh, she slammed down her pencil and stared out the window. Lelouch. Both of them were hiding something, and neither was forthcoming.
Even last night, despite being noticeably shaken after his meeting with Lelouch, Lamperouge had rebuffed her questions. For someone crashing at her house, he wasn't particularly thankful.
Still, her step-mother was over the moon at having such an honored guest.
Lamperouge acted like someone with something to hide. It didn't make sense. He wasn't even in his own world. He was absolutely free of consequences.
"Morning, Kallen," Suzaku greeted as he stepped inside the student council room. "How have things been with… You know…"
Kallen leaned back in an unladylike fashion. "He's still here if that is what you're asking. He's with Milly right now, going through the private Ashford library,"
"I see," Suzaku mumbled. "Did he say anything to you?"
The insane urge to tell him that Lamperouge was known as Zero in the other world nearly took hold of her tongue. "He's a military man."
"Still can't believe it," Suzaku grumbled.
Kallen pursed her lips and suddenly leaned forward. "Hey, I've been meaning to ask. How exactly do you and Lelouch know each other?"
His smile froze, and his eyes darted to the door. "We're childhood friends."
"You've said. I am just struggling to wrap my mind around it. Your father was the prime minister. You probably had a full security detail with you at all times, and they let you play with a random Britannian kid?"
"Well—" Suzaku fumbled for words, resembling a cornered hare. "I'm sure—"
"Lelouch is a noble. Lamperouge said his father sent him here for their own safety."
"Yes, but…"
"So the Prime Minister accepts a noble's request to foster connections?" She frowned, recalling the vague political gossip of her childhood. "Kururugi was an ultra-nationalist, wasn't he? Lelouch's father must have offered something substantial to convince him."
Suzaku collapsed into the armchair with a scowl. "Our worlds aren't the same. Obviously."
Oh, why hadn't Kallen interrogated Suzaku before? Lelouch and Lamperouge breathed lies, but Suzaku's face was an open book.
"That's what happened here too," Kallen accused.
"I really shouldn't—" He raised his hands defensively. "It's Lelouch's story to tell and—"
"His counterpart is sleeping under my roof. Do I not deserve to know what kind of man I'm dealing with?"
"Lelouch would never—"
"But he isn't Lelouch." Kallen pushed herself upright and pulled down her collar to reveal her neck. "He's a soldier who held a knife to my neck right here to get what he wanted."
"He what?" Suzaku asked, face red as he leaped out of the armchair. "He threatened you?"
"It was my fault," Kallen quickly said before he could rush off. "I set him off, but I don't know why he's so…"
She let the implication hang, watching as Suzaku's expression faltered and doubt crept into his eyes.
Biting her lips, she cast her eyes down. "I'm too weak, but my place is the only way to keep people from noticing him. It's not like he can stay in the dorms."
"Military assurances," Suzaku said abruptly.
"Excuse me?" Kallen asked, looking up at him through her hair.
"That's what Lelouch's father promised to my father. I don't know if it was the same for the other Lelouch but… Lelouch's family is powerful. If Lamperouge stayed with them, he'll expect your unquestioning obedience."
Kallen nodded as she mulled over that info. Suzaku was still covering for his friend, which made it clear there was a devastating secret to uncover. "And Lelouch?"
"They think he's dead," Suzaku answered. His eyes were pained. "Him and Nunnally. Lelouch thinks it's best that it stays that way."
"Thank you." Kallen gave him an innocent smile. "I'll be sure to keep that in mind. I won't tell anyone anything, I promise. And I'll make sure to be more respectful."
Suzaku winced. "Maybe it's best if he stays with Lelouch…"
She snorted. "Lamperouge would break Lelouch like a toothpick. Not to mention, their political differences."
"You noticed then," Suzaku said morosely. "Lelouch just insists on seeing the worst of Britannia."
And Kallen was once again reminded why she avoided Suzaku, lest she be tempted to grab him by his ankles and shake some sense into him. Clearly, becoming a Britannian dog had destroyed all forms of logic in his mind.
"Lelouch has that exact expression whenever I mention Britannia. Do you think I am a fool because I am an Eleven?"
"Don't call yourself that," Kallen snapped.
"Or because you agree with Lelouch and think Britannia is rotten?" Suzaku continued.
"I just don't see how you can have no pride." She grabbed her bag and threw in her pencil. "Thanks for the help."
"Kallen!" he shouted after her, but she ignored him, letting the door to the student council room swing shut.
With brisk steps, she walked through the hallways, trying to ignore the hammering of her heart. She was so stupid. She shouldn't have pushed Suzaku.
A Britannian schoolgirl would have never acted like that. It was a flaw in her act. He could report her back to the military. And then where would she be?
She should just quit school and join the Black Knights as a full-time member. Her skills were absolutely wasted here.
The only reason she had stayed so long at Ashford was because Naoto wanted this for her. He had wanted her to have a normal life.
"Kallen?" a familiar voice interrupted.
She startled, staring at Lelouch. Wasn't he out with Nunnally today?
"Lamperouge," he answered. "A school uniform does wonders in blending in. You look a bit peakish. Are you ill?"
"No, just tired. Didn't sleep that well."
"A late night rendezvous twice in a row will do that to you." The slight twitch in his lips taunted her. He had been asleep. She had checked! Yet, he knew. "I have to ask if this is normal for you? Because Milly says your grades are excellent."
"Are you snooping on me?" she hissed.
He raised an eyebrow. "Don't tell me you haven't tried to do the same."
Her face flushed. "I'm going home. If you're not coming along, then you can walk."
"So discourteous," he teased as he fell into step behind her. "What would your mother say?"`
"She can go fuck herself."
An honest laugh escaped him. "A rather unpleasant woman, isn't she?"
"Yes." Kallen eyed him out of the corner of her eyes. The pieces weren't fitting together quite right. "You have a higher rank than me."
"Unless the Black Knights are giving billets, that is to be expected." He shrugged half-heartedly. "Your point?"
"No, socially." She scrunched her nose. "You shouldn't be walking behind me."
His gaze bore into her. "But everyone here thinks Lelouch is a commoner. What would they say if they saw me leading a lady?"
"This isn't that kind of school."
"I am not going to reveal Lelouch's secrets, especially through carelessness," he answered.
His refusal told her enough. There was no need to worry about what people would think of Lelouch if he didn't actually have a higher rank than her. It lent credence to Suzaku's words, yet Lamperouge very clearly did not expect her obedience like Suzaku claimed he would. He humored her disrespect.
"My stepmother is going to start being suspicious," Kallen grumbled as they entered her private car.
"There's nothing to worry about," Lamperouge promised.
Then as the car began to move, he immediately fell asleep, his head falling against the window. She shook her head in disbelief. No noble would ever allow someone else to witness something so undignified. He was an enigma.
Maybe he was a bastard son? It would explain why both of them had such a tense relationship with their father, and why her Lelouch now lived completely independent of his parents.
The moment the car stopped, Lamperouge jolted upright. His hand fell to his side as he took in his surroundings.
"I want my gun," he grumbled quietly as he got out.
"With how high strung you are, someone would get shot," Kallen said.
He glared at her, but the sheer exhaustion in his eyes took away any of the heat. Was he not sleeping?
She thought he had been, but then, he knew that she had sneaked out last night.
As they entered her house, the slouch in his shoulders disappeared and a lovely smile warmed his features. He held out his hand with a half bow as she climbed the steps. At the top of the entryway landing, her stepmother watched.
Lamperouge frowned, his back to the stairwell. "Take it."
Kallen grabbed his hand, confused.
Gentle laughter filled the air as he pulled her forward. He was acting like a lovestruck fool. To her chagrin, it worked. By the time she looked up again, her stepmother had disappeared.
Lelouch rocked his black king back and forth on his chessboard. Another day had passed, and he was no closer to sending his counterpart home.
He needed to decide what to prioritize. For the Black Knights, he was supposed to receive a gift from the Kyoto House tomorrow. Likely it was a weapon, and they would expect it to be used soon. Securing their support was pivotal for his long-term success—
But all of his plans meant nothing because the Emperor knew of geass.
His counterpart was running around, a liability, and he had foolishly wasted his geass order to ask questions. He should kill him, but there could be unintended consequences. What did it mean to kill yourself in another dimension?
Lelouch really didn't want to know. That and he had barely stomached killing his brother. What would it do to him to see his own lifeless face staring back at him?
Groaning, Lelouch let his head fall onto the chessboard.
Then, he had the entire issue of Kallen. Maybe he should have told her. She hadn't even been angry when she confronted him. It could be useful to have someone in the know, especially with all the recent chaos.
Why had he chased her off? Because it was instinctive to hide, even when it put him in a worse position. The first lie, Kallen could excuse. They hadn't known each other then, but now?
He was so fucked—
Especially because the Emperor knew about his geass.
He lifted his head, glaring at C.C. casually lounging on the sofa and eating a slice of pizza, dripping grease on Nunnally's favorite cushions.
"Did you want some?" C.C. asked.
"Couldn't you have told me some of this before?"
She shrugged. "You never asked."
He took a deep breath. He had waited to confront her for a reason because nothing would be gained by yelling at her. The fundamental problem was that she didn't trust him or care for his rebellion. She was merely here to ensure his survival.
"You knew I planned to confront the Emperor," he said slowly, catching her attention.
She nodded. "I was wondering when you would ask."
"I was planning on drawing him out and using my geass upon him," he said. He took a deep breath. "I would have died."
"The Emperor won't kill you."
"And you know this how?" he asked, barely managing to restrain his anger. Lamperouge had insinuated that C.C. and the Emperor had a personal connection. "Did you give him a geass?"
"No." She finished her pizza slice. "You are still his son. He would rather throw you in a cell and convince you to work for him."
"He left us to die!" Lelouch roared. He closed his eyes, counting to ten. "Apologies."
A flash of contrition crossed her face. "I cannot speak to his reasons, but I do know that he is a man who will use every tool to its full potential. Ask your counterpart if you do not believe me."
His counterpart believed that the Emperor was fully aware of his presence at Ashford and knew he was Zero. That was a thoroughly unpleasant theory, and unfortunately, it seemed C.C. supported it. But why?
"You should have asked him better questions," C.C. continued. "He has been working under the Emperor for years. Your counterpart would understand his motivations better than myself."
"His emperor could be different," Lelouch said petulantly.
"Perhaps."
Lelouch, unfortunately, would have to talk to that snake again.
There was one last question that Lelouch had. An unfortunate implication that had been ringing through his head all night as he replayed the questioning through his mind. Something he wished he had asked but had missed in the moment. "Is V.V. like you? Did he give the Emperor a geass?"
C.C. returned his gaze with a displeased expression. For the first time since he met her, she hesitated to answer.
"V.V. did," Lelouch confirmed.
"For your own good, you should drop this line of inquiry," C.C. said.
"Is he responsible for the assassination of my mother?"
She shook her head. "Lelouch, please."
"Who is V.V?"
She pushed herself off the couch and walked up to the side table, her hands slamming onto the chessboard. "If you value your and your sister's lives, you will forget that you ever heard that name."
So it hadn't been his father who had ordered the assassination of his mother?
"He scares you," Lelouch noted.
"Because he will kill you. As long as you do not draw his attention, you are safe."
"Fine." Lelouch leaned back, pretending to let the matter drop.
After all this time, he finally had a name, a real target.
Unfortunately, that meant another item had just been added to the pile of things demanding his attention.
C.C. nodded with a small relieved smile. "I will help you get the impostor home. There are some books I can order that might be helpful."
It was an olive branch. Lelouch didn't have enough allies to be picky.
"Thank you," he said.
The side effects were getting worse, muddling her mind even more, but Himari was still aware enough to note her daughter bringing home a boyfriend.
As a maid, she had plenty of opportunities to observe him from afar. Lady Stadtfeld tried her best to sequester her away, clearly excited by the prospect of finally getting rid of Himari's daughter through marriage.
If the boy wasn't threatening to take her daughter away from her, she would probably have liked him. He treated the servants with a warm, gentle air, and he took the time to remember their names. He somehow even charmed Lady Stadtfeld.
Strangely, he seemed to go by two names. Leonardo and Lelouch. She wasn't quite sure what to make of that. Her daughter, meanwhile, continued her nighttime escapes, leaving her supposed boyfriend behind.
When the lady of the house dragged the boy out of the office for dinner, she crept inside his makeshift bedroom. Piles of books and papers covered the floor, and the computer illuminated the desk in a soft blue glow.
She swept her feather duster over the books, trying to force her blurred eyes to focus so she could read the titles. What were he and her daughter up to?
Her legs buckled, and she collapsed to the floor. Her eyes were so heavy. She hadn't gone to her dealer yesterday and was facing the consequences.
She was so tired.
It would be just a moment.
Cold hands shook her awake. Purple eyes peered into hers.
She gasped, looking around wildly. Her vision swam. "I'm sorry, my lord."
"Look at my finger," he ordered. She couldn't follow it all. "I know it's hard. You have to stay awake."
"I'm sorry," she mumbled, trying to push herself to stand.
In one quick motion, he pulled up both of her sleeves, revealing the track marks. Desperately, she pushed him away. No one could know. They would send her to prison and—
He didn't say anything. "Take a minute to rest. You must have overworked yourself."
Oh, he must not have seen. That was a relief.
He left, and she struggled to her feet. She had uncovered nothing, merely a young man's kind nature. Most Britannians would not have treated a Japanese maid who had collapsed in their presence so kindly.
Stumbling, she returned to her room. She needed another dose. Then all the pain would go away. Everything would be right again—
Her drawers were empty. Right. She had run out. She should have gone to the dealer yesterday. Could she go today? If she went to the streets and begged, surely someone would direct her to the right place.
But Zero—
Damn that man! He had been cracking down on the Refrain trade. It used to be so easy, but now—
What was she doing again?
Someone knocked on her door, and she slammed her drawers shut. She didn't have the energy to deal with the other maids' harassment, but if she didn't answer, they would force their way in and everything would be worse.
"Yes?" she said, opening it a crack.
The young man was standing outside. Next to him was the one person she had wished would never see her in such a deplorable state.
"Mom?" Kallen whispered, her eyes tearing up.
The boy grabbed her wrist, pulling up her sleeves. "It's Refrain withdrawal. She needs urgent treatment. We need to bring her to the hospital."
"None of them will treat Elevens."
"The Mem— Right, the Tokyo Memorial Hospital doesn't exist here." He ran his hand through his hair. "Oh, fuck. Call Lelouch. He should know of some place that will accept our money."
Kallen called in sick the next morning and stared up at the ceiling, trying to quell her shaking. She would have lost her mother if it hadn't been for Lamperouge's intervention.
She had thought she hated her, but seeing her in that pitiful state, in a vandalized room, she had only felt sheer terror.
She had almost lost her mother.
Why had that woman subjected herself to such humiliation? Why hadn't she left? Why had she allowed herself to succumb to drugs?
Tears stung her eyes.
A knock roused her from her pity party, and she hurriedly wiped her eyes on her sleeve. To her surprise, it was her stepmother, who entered with her nose wrinkled in distaste.
"Your guest is waiting for you. Clean yourself up. I will not allow you to let this opportunity go to waste."
Kallen rolled her eyes. Lamperouge had fooled the woman completely. She had no idea how he played the lovestruck fool so well.
"He can wait," she said, rolling onto her side. She would wallow in her misery for today. "He doesn't have any real power."
"You're a fool then." Her stepmother yanked the blanket away. "He is a Pendragon noble."
"And what makes you so sure of that?"
"His accent! His manners! His knowledge!"
"Maybe he's conning you," Kallen grumbled, curling around her pillow. She did not want to deal with him right now and reconcile her anger with Britannia for exploiting her people with the fact that a Britannian soldier was responsible for saving her mother's life. "It's not like he'll do anything."
"Oh for the love of the Emperor!" Her stepmother threw up her hands. "He is not conning us. Before this sham of a marriage, I lived in Pendragon. I saw nobles of his kind. Do you know how many years of training it takes to master court etiquette like that? And he knows things…"
Reluctantly, Kallen pushed herself upright. For Zero's sake, she should at least unravel the mystery surrounding Lamperouge. On the other hand, there was still a good chance that Lelouch was lying to her and was Zero. He most certainly knew what his counterpart's background was.
"Your eyes are swollen," her stepmother said in dismay and stepped outside briefly to order a maid to bring an ice pack. "You're dead if you mess this up, so clean yourself up, now."
"I know, I know. You can't miss the opportunity to climb the social ladder."
"No…" Her stepmother stared at her in complete exasperation. "He or his family could kill you, especially a halfbreed mongrel like you."
"Wait, what?" That was not the retort she had expected.
"He knows court etiquette. His family likely moves in the same circles as royalty. You do not get on one of their bad sides."
Suzaku had said Lamperouge would expect total obedience.
"He doesn't act like that."
At this, her stepmother rolled her eyes, and her tone dripped with condescension. "Perhaps." Foolish child, her eyes said. "Yet, what do you think his siblings will do if they hear that some undeserving maiden broke their poor brother's heart? If he was actually harmless, he would have told you his real name."
"Fine, I'm getting up." Kallen swung her legs over the edge. "A little privacy?"
Her stepmother left in a huff, leaving Kallen to wrestle with the social analysis she had been blind to. She had thought him dangerous for being a soldier, for heading an anti-terrorist task force. Apparently, he was far more than that.
She met him in the garden. For once, he actually looked rested although she was somewhat convinced that his eye bags were perpetual.
"Thanks, for yesterday." She took a seat, noting that his tea was untouched. "Did you grow up in Pendragon?"
He raised an amused eyebrow. "I am not going to reveal to you his secrets. Ask him yourself."
"What about your Zero then? What does he do?" She leaned forward. "How does Britannia counter terrorism?"
Now, he was most definitely amused. He leaned back, crossing his arms. "That certainly wasn't an invitation to goad me into treason."
"You're in a different world. It's not like anyone back home would know." She frowned. "You don't act like someone who believes in all the class or racial superiority stuff. Am I wrong?"
"No." He sighed, looking away. "I don't."
"Then why do you even bother? If you're anything like my Zero, you could easily lead your own rebellion."
Honestly, at this point she was pretty sure Lelouch was Zero. The name was too big of a coincidence, and Lelouch also knew a little too much about shady hospitals for any law-abiding citizen.
"I did consider it once." Lamperouge paused. "Never told anyone that."
"Then why not?"
He looked at her sadly. "Because it would fail."
She bristled.
"The Count tried. It was a coalition of commoners, not that the media would tell you that. The military torched entire towns in retaliation. They were a painful annoyance, but they never got close to any form of success. The fundamental problem was that the Count ignored the Numbers and Honorary Britannians."
"The Black Knights are composed of Numbers," she argued.
He snorted. "I wager there is not a single Honorary Britannian among you. Your fellow members probably despise them. Even if you did the impossible, your new Japan would break down immediately. The Honorary Britannians will be excluded and therefore oppose the new order, upset that they are being unjustly punished. Britannia will offer the Honoraries a deal to revolt and that will be the end of that. Britannia partitions society for a reason. A successful rebellion must have buy-in from multiple social classes."
Kallen scowled. "So you thought over it once and gave up?"
"I submitted multiple papers on the subject. And numerous reports on all those terrorist cells with revolutionary aspirations that I put down."
She scrunched her skirt in her lap, trying to contain her anger at his cavalier tone. "The Black Knights will be different."
"You're in Japan. The worst place to start a revolution." He shook his head. "You would have better luck in Pendragon. At least there you have a chance to kill the Emperor."
"Why?" she asked, feeling unsettled.
He sighed. "Sakuradite. Britannia will never surrender its most valuable resource. The Emperor would order these islands razed before allowing them to fall in anyone else's hands. The best you can hope for is a pyrrhic victory, which is no victory at all."
She shot to her feet, hands slamming down on the table. "Oh, if you're so smart, then tell me what you would do! Or do you spend all your time aggrandizing to assuage your guilt over doing nothing? You're complicit."
"You help install an Emperor who is at least willing to consider humanitarian causes." He shrugged half-heartedly. "It's not enough on its own, not with rampant prejudice and the social structure. So you elevate the Numbers in Britannian eyes, make it clear that they can stand on equal footing. You paint a common enemy of the nobility."
Had her Zero thought of these things? The Black Knights were different from other rebel cells, which teemed with hatred. They focused on delivering justice over vengeance. They premiered by rescuing hostages, including a royal princess.
"The Black Knights are different," she said, despite being unsure what that meant. Did her Zero plan on installing a new Emperor? Were they simply a tool, a launching pad for Lelouch's political career? "We'll show you."
"It doesn't change the problem that the Emperor…" He burst into loud, almost manic laughter. "Oh, the bastard is playing a dangerous game."
Lelouch watched Kallen climb over her garden fence, marveling at the lax security. Minor nobles outside of the Homeland were truly different. Kallen was also clearly not built for subterfuge, barely able to conceal her anger while she talked with him.
It was refreshing to be so candid with his views. Here, he was free from the consequences of his actions. The only problem was the duration he was staying here.
Waiting an extra five minutes, Lelouch slid the kitchen knives he had stolen into his sleeves. He really needed to ask Suzaku for his gun back.
If he managed to lose his gun in another dimension, Roy was never going to let him forget it.
A headache blossomed between his brows at the thought of the nightmarish incident report that he would have to file when he returned. He had no idea how he would even begin to explain this.
Would his parents even believe him? Or would they think he had tried to pull a disappearing act?
Surely, they knew he would never leave Nunnally behind?
He checked the time, dispelling those unfortunate thoughts. Today, with Kallen finally gone during daylight hours, he had a chance to walk through the city without his minders.
Given his counterpart's reluctance to put his network to finding a solution, Lelouch had a feeling that no solutions would soon be forthcoming. Solving accidental dimension travel was clearly not a simple thing. Therefore, Lelouch would have to make his own solution.
The others could look through legal and public sources. Lelouch was going to check if anyone bothered deactivating his mother's password.
Unfortunately, he still needed a government computer for that.
With Kallen running off to the Black Knights, that meant his alternate was running around in his Zero costume. Lelouch could safely walk through the city in the Ashford Academy uniform without anyone wondering why Lelouch was in two places at once.
Honestly, he was doing his alternate a favor by providing the guy an alibi.
He bid Kallen's stepmother goodbye, and stepped onto the streets of Tokyo. A light bit of pickpocketing solved his issue of cash reserves, and he grabbed a train to the Viceroy Palace.
This Tokyo was far worse-off than his own. Poverty was readily apparent, and Numbers slaved in the street doing menial jobs. It spoke poorly to Clovis's governance and much to Lord Ashford's competence.
He got off the train a few blocks away and checked the street signs. Usually Frederick or Henry would be accompanying him on such excursions. He missed their comforting presence, yet also relished his newfound freedom. Kallen had been right; he didn't exist here and thus could do anything.
Staying here was appealing. There were no expectations.
If only Nunnally had come with him, then everything would be perfect... No. He couldn't think like that. His friends, afterall, would be blamed for his absence and likely killed. Then, there was the problem of his father... Would he accept that he had lost his son?
If Frederick or Henry were here, they would have insisted on contacting the Britannian authorities. It was a potentially expedient solution, but only if this Emperor let them leave, and Lelouch really didn't want to know what would happen if the Emperor learned there was another dimension to plunder. His father would probably steal from an alternate version of himself.
Yes, it was far better to keep this under wraps.
A soldier stared at him suspiciously as he walked right up to the Purist office. Sure, he didn't know anything about them in this world, but his Purists kept trying to shut down the hospital he had helped sponsor, and he would savor his misplaced revenge.
Also, nobles obsessed with status were among the easiest to swindle.
"Hey, kid, you can't go in there!" the soldier shouted.
Lelouch stopped abruptly, letting the man catch up to him. He sneered. "Is there a problem?"
"It's only authorized personnel—"
"Don't you know who I am? I cannot believe the incompetence here. I have an urgent report to make on Zero, and unless—"
The soldier flushed and waved him through. With powerful strides, Lelouch walked into the building, barely able to contain his eye-roll.
The guy had fallen for one of the oldest tricks in the books. Lelouch had thought he was going to need to use the ID code he had memorized from a noble years ago.
Once inside, he flagged a nearby officer. "Hey, I got some files on Zero? I'm not sure…"
The guy blanched. "Uhh… Take a right, then a left. Fifth door on your right, but you didn't hear it from me."
The general atmosphere in the Purist's domain was strange, a mix of fear and righteous anger.
Lelouch wondered if they had a fall from grace.
Pushing the matter out of his mind, he entered the described office. The computer prompted him for a password, and he smugly put in the override password.
Fortunately, whoever's computer he had stolen was high enough that it was a simple matter to log into the central database.
He had to stifle his laugh when, true to his predictions, his mother's password worked without an issue. His parents were truly inept at technology.
From there, he created a profile for himself as an agent reporting directly to the Knight of Six. The identification code would allow him to read through classified documents from his own device.
Voice approached the door, and Lelouch quickly turned off the computer. He had what he needed. Now, it was time to bullshit his way out of here.
The door opened, revealing a man and woman. They stared at him.
Lelouch saluted. "Agent Lowe."
"That's him!" the woman shouted. "The student. He's the one I remember."
Well, fuck.
Askastle's version of the incident report:
Incident: summoned into another dimension - met alternate versions of myself and others, Nunnally is somehow more disabled? Other me has terrible fashion sense. Lost issued service weapon to idiot, require replacement. Acquired multiple blades in interim. 'Minimal' casualties.
...
It has been a long while since I updated. Too many things happened in the last twelve months, from moving to my eyes malfunctioning. While I'm sure most people would've preferred I updated another fic, this rather comical April Fool's story was a great way to warm up my writing muscles again. I am working on other updates, but things are probably going to slow due to health issues and also the need to do things that make money.