Disclaimer: Code Geass is written and owned by Ichirō Ōkouchi and Gorō Taniguchi, and produced by Bandai Namco's Sunrise studio. I own no characters, locations, or elements from the Original Series, Manga (Yes, there IS a manga), or Movie Trilogy/Resurrection Timeline. I own only my OCs and their respective Knightmares.

With that said, Please Enjoy The Show!

Normal Speech: "Hello"
Radio/Comms: "Hello"
Thoughts: Hello
Geass: "{Hello}"

Knightmare/Loudspeakers: "Hello"

Chapter 5: His Name Is Lowriel

Naoto Resistance Base, Shinjuku Ghetto

In retrospect, Naoto pondered numbly. I really should have brought you here first. It made the most sense, right? Any sane person would have dragged the living dead to the nearest hospital or medical center upon laying eyes on Lowriel.

Said bandaged man had been settled into one of their medical beds after being rushed over, now draped in a blanket from the neck down with the only reassurance to him not being dead was the slow rise and fall of his chest.

It wasn't even past noon, and already that day started nowhere near as he anticipated. "I swear, Kozuki-Sama, you constantly manage to surprise me." The older voice of their residential doctor buzzed with a flurry of exasperation and concern when he stepped back over. "It's always something new when you step through my doors, even when I think you try to be as subtle as possible."

"I can be subtle Miyahara-San!" Naoto defended. "I'm not that bad, just not fond of the whole 'making a big deal of things.'"

"Oh, I'm aware. Certainly try your damnedest to save face, even at the expense of your well-being."

"Well thankfully, today you won't be patching me up!" He countered confidently, sitting back and looking at the wrapped man. "So what's the verdict?"

"My prognosis - and I use that term very lightly - is this man should be dead," Miyahara answered.

Naoto couldn't help but frown. "Well… that's comforting."

"Honestly I'm surprised he didn't burst into a million pieces upon falling over. It's a miracle he can even breathe on his own, let alone move with the amount of scarring I've felt!" Miyahara was an older Resistance member; he'd been around well before the Pacific War and even before the Kururugi Clan took office. He'd seen many things in his lifetime and witnessed enough atrocities brought by Britannia. But even this was entirely something else to him. "He's heavily malnourished and coated with injuries. Burn marks by the look and feel, and a few other notable points of concern." He looked up to Naoto, and in a way, he felt the pressure of Miyhara's seriousness. "You said you found him in some coffin case correct? You wouldn't happen to know anything more about his condition, would you?"

"We were kind of rushed; it wasn't like I could get any info off the guy," Naoto replied before adding, "He looked like he could barely stand at first. But he's far from weak - he lifted a grown man off his feet!"

"Hmm. Likely thanks to a rush of adrenaline I'd wager." Miyahara sighed. He skimmed around Lowriel's bed, thinking. "Well regardless of the facts, we won't know how extensive his wounds are unless we cut these bandages open. And frankly, I'd rather not do that while he's still asleep."

"Why not?"

"Patient reassurance. Britannian or otherwise, I'm not about to start prodding or poking him like a lab rat," Miyahara replied softly. "He's also shown a poor response to physical contact. When I was checking his pulse, he nearly took my hand off."

Naoto's frown furthered. "Was anyone else hurt?"

"No. From the look of it, it was likely a reflex. But it is a concern for where he is mentally." The doctor turned away, rubbing his eyes. "I have no idea how his body may respond to new air after removing them, not to mention getting that-" He pointed at the now deactivated device hanging around Lowriel's neck. "somehow off him."

That goes without saying. Looking at it up close, you wouldn't suspect it to be a collar; more like a bizarre ornament worn by the military or maybe a breathing apparatus. The only indication it was attached was by the smaller metallic wrapping around his neck with several thin prongs connecting to the larger part. Still, Naoto couldn't help but grimace at just how wrong it looked on a person, nor the dried blood stains across certain areas of those old wraps.

"So, what's the plan?" He called after a while, watching the still-sleeping figure.

"For now, nothing," Miyahara answered, washing his hands. "Until we get him more stable, we'll just have to watch him. I don't think there's a lot we can do aside from monitoring and providing support. For the time being, though, just watch him, and keep an eye out for anything abnormal. Understood?"

"Yes sir."

"...certainly brought something interesting back home, young man. I only hope he's worth it."

"Hey, you're not the only one, doc." He answered quietly, sitting back to watch the silent, sleeping form in front of him. That was the real crux of it, huh? Sit here and hope that their potential new ally didn't croak in their dingy medical ward. Here I was hoping to ease you in, see how you fared with us, and then go scaring everyone shitless and nearly dying on me.

Still, Miyahara and everyone else's worries weren't without warrant: Lowriel was a walking mystery, and even then, Naoto needed help figuring out where to start. The only place to look would be that journal he somehow managed to cling onto when they rushed Lowriel here, but he wasn't sure of even opening it. After the doctor's suggestions to what he suspected Lowriel had...

Naoto shuddered. It wasn't pretty thought, what may lurk in those pages.

Then again, it might be the only lead they had to work off, and the young man wasn't about to throw it away. Not after all the effort that went into getting him that KmF.

...To hell with it. Not the most thrilling read in the world, but at the very least, it'll be my little distraction.

Meanwhile

Kallen had been a bundle of nerves the whole night.

Actually, that wasn't right - she was a pissed-off bundle of nerves.

And by God, she had every right to be! Her idiot brother had been radio silent since he left the day before, and it had finally gotten the best of her. She wasn't worried at first. She knew Naoto could survive on his own; if not, she also knew Nagata would pull him by the hair to safety.

But the longer he was gone, the less confident she was in her reassurance.

It certainly didn't help that he'd been very vague about what the team was searching for. "It's a surprise!" He'd said. "One that'll give us more power than just the Glasglow alone."

You wouldn't need more power if you just let me join you! She wanted to yell at him, even if she knew it was pointless arguing on the topic. And between the bare-bone haze of school studies which she debated on dropping altogether, Kallen was not in a fine mood by the time she snuck away from Ashford to Shinjuku. Thankfully she got there without any problems which helped cool her head up to entering the garage. The guys stationed outside gave their typical nods and looks of surprise at her arrival. Great area awareness guys, She thought dryly. If a schoolgirl can walk up here, imagine what happens when Britannia comes…

In a very rare moment of shock, Kallen was caught off-guard by at entire room being a buzz of action and talk, way above how lax the repair team normally was.

Knocking. "What the hell?" She muttered, watching technicians and repair members moving around their stations and the raised platforms around the Glasglow. Or rather, the giant standing beside it.

She froze.

Huh. She admitted. So that's the surprise.

Kallen stared for a few seconds at the very old machine standing between the raised platform everyone was around. It was an absolute mess, looking like it'd been dug out of a scrapyard with that rustic, worn-out look compared to the rough yet clean militaristic aesthetics of her Knightmare and the Sutherland units (And yes it was her KmF; she piloted it better than anyone in the cell, officially member or not be damned).

Yet what caught her attention most was the design. For some reason, its design seemed... familiar. She couldn't put her finger on where and any attempt to think was cut off when Tamaki, as always, made his existence known to all. "Alright! That's it! I'm done!" He yelled, tossing his wrench on the floor and turning to a nearby group, "I'm done with this thing! I can't make heads or tails about where to start!"

"Oh come off it!" Ohgi argued, the man gesturing at the machine. "It's a Knightmare Frame! Beaten up as it looks, it'd be a huge boon for us to get it up and running."

It was midday, and everything had settled after the earlier scuffle. With the pilot out and its hatch opened, the Resistance technicians and mechanics finally had a clear way to learn where to start on the repairs.

Results were… less than satisfying.

"Running where? To the trash heap?!" Tamaki fumed, scratching his head. "I mean, Kami above, I've had my share of Knightmare parts and just plain car engines in bad condition. But this BLOWS all them outta the water - the joints are either tight or coming undone, there's wire entangled underneath the armor, the Landspinners are more like Land-gears and I have NO idea how the power source works or if it even uses Energy Fillers."

"And don't even get me started on the inside." He added with a shudder. "If that pilot is still alive, I might actually feel back for'em. It's claustrophobic as hell in there."

Terrific. In addition to all the new problems Naoto had them bring home, the KMF was going to make or break the Resistance Cell.

Should've told him to ignore the offer. We would have stolen a REAL Knightmare that works and not this mess sitting in our garage. Nagata exhaled, ignoring his inner monologue. "Give it to me straight then - can we work around it or not?" He finally asked.

Tamaki shrugged. "I dunno, and that's the problem! This isn't a standard Knightmare I can work off past repairs with. And these are just the basic issues, Nagata. Probably a dozen more my team can't even see. If there's anything we can salvage or use from that heap, it'll take weeks to sort through it and even then, I got no clue how to power it."

"And you?" He turned over to Yoshida next. "Find anything from those books or that computer thing?"

"Nada," Yoshida shook his head, holding one up. "All we got so far is stuff on the pilot - things like physical reports, analysis, and other science shit I can't make out. As far as I can tell, there isn't anything useful here, at least not yet."

Great. Just great.

Their "plan" was falling apart before even taking off. The MERLIN wasn't a KMF; it was a corpse waiting to collapse in on itself. And even if they could get it working, the only person who knew how it operated was lying in a cotton bed, also falling apart on them. Nagata pinched his nose, feeling a headache forming.

"Hey, I don't want to be that guy," Tamaki started, his voice a bit softer. "but if that pilot doesn't pull through, or worse, dies, that's it."

"I know. Nagata snapped, agreeing at their frustrations. "I know. Goddamn it Naoto... Alright. At this point, all we can hope is that the bandaged corpse wakes up and hopefully helps us. Otherwise-"

"Otherwise, it's back to only having the Glasglow." Kallen made her known, coming up to the surprised faces. "Which honestly sounds way better than that heap sitting next to'er." She added.

"Kallen, what are you doing here?" Nagata asked flatly. "Shouldn't you be at school right now?"

"Couldn't sleep. Got out early. Thought I would stop by and see if anything happened or if Naoto-Nii was here," She listed off, not missing a beat. "Speaking of, is he here?"

Ohgi and Nagata shared a glance, but it was the former who stepped up. "He's fine! The mission last night went… Mostly well." He said, avoiding Nagata's eying glare.

Kallen returned a similar glare. "Mostly well?" She repeated. "What do you mean?"

"...Your brother brought back a Britannian and that wreck behind us," Nagata answered, ignoring Ohgi's flailing motions.

"N-Nagata!"

"What? She's gonna find out anyway - not like he blends in with the crowd."

Kallen froze up at the words. What the hell had her brother gotten himself into this time? He was never the reckless type - well, not the suicidal part. But a Britannian? And a Knightmare Frame? "Brought back as in… a prisoner, right?" She asked slowly, hoping it wasn't what she was thinking.

"No more like a potential ally-"

"A zombie!" Tamaki interrupted.

"Will you STOP with the damn zombie thing?!" Ohgi hissed.

"Oh yeah, because normal people climb out of coffins all the time, right?" Tamaki shot back, "Or-Or they're walking around with freaky collar and covered in bandages! It's not normal at all man!"

"Enough!" Nagata barked, cutting the two off with a sigh. "Look, Kallen. We have a lot to fill you and everyone else in on, but the point is your brother's fine. Just being an idiot in his decision-making. You wanna get to the bottom of it? Try bugging him; should be in the medical bay with the… pilot. We got other things to worry about right now."

Kallen wanted to push him further. She really did.

But Nagata was right: there were more important things to focus on, and it was clear the man was not in the mood for arguing. And experience taught her better than to push Nagata's buttons.

So, with a sigh and a quick look back at the Knightmare, Kallen nodded and headed off, her mind already racing over the information. A Britannian pilot, huh? She thought sourly. Just what I need right now, more Britannian issues.

It felt like forever before Naoto started skimming through the first pages.

Whoever wrote them was certainly detailed or desperate to get their words out in some fashion, with excessive writing all over the place; red writing crossed over faded black writing, along with several sticky notes in some instances. There was no real order to it either, just bits and pieces of info written down on a page with some connection to the previous one.

Still, Naoto could pick out a few important details here and there - for starters, MERLIN was not an official Knightmare. It wasn't even a complete unit, with small diagrams and rough sketches pointing to parts and things he knew nothing of. But he knew they weren't on that old machine. The more he read the more confused he got. "What is a Knightmare that's not a Knightmare..?" Naoto muttered, eyeing repeating words of interest. Clovis came up a lot in these notes too, pressing for a "production model" of the designs over and over. "Is this what that Brit meant by mass production…?"

Shit, did they ever get his body out of that coffin? Might have to look into that next, Naoto grimaced, continuing.

Blue eyes wandered into the next few pages, and with that curiosity came the inevitable stomach-twisting. While the first half was littered with frantic writings and some effort to relay information, these pages were very clean. Clean enough Naoto could read between English and Japanese:

Notes going over the arrival of a "special specimen" that showed signs of "great properties". They went over tests and medical jargon, with bodily drawings covered by red and black markings, as if trying to trace some sort of pattern. "The subject shows great resilience to pain and strenuous stress levels that fall within corresponding parameters. Further analysis necessary before potential for replication can be studied."

"What the fuck..." He trailed off, slowing at several pictures of what looked like someone strapped to tables or chairs. Other pictures showed a mix of tools equipment, and machinery Naoto had never laid eyes on. And by the frantic, almost feral look to some of them, Lowriel had been awake during whatever the hell they did to him.

That's why you're so wrapped up…

"Test pilot shows a continuous tolerance to physical trauma, likely thanks to the many conflicting injuries over the years. Lack of physical response to stimuli suggests greater damage done to nerves and brain or lack of proper response due to mental instability. Either way, the subject remains a useful tool in the prototype."

"Our Prince demands results now with every day. He's growing furious with our lack of results between the Test Pilot and the Original Subject. Further analysis is required before any attempts to begin mass-production assignment."

"So Clovis was interested in the Knightmare. And in Lowriel." Naoto mumbled. "But why fish up such an old Knightmare for all of it?" Clovis was looking to do something. Enough to bypass even Britannia's moral ethics on human experimentation. But what? What could a Britannian Prince who can have anything in the world be so hellbent on achieving himself? "What about that collar thing? And what does it mean by "Original"?"

Naoto finally stopped at the next page, jumping when he found himself staring at a face. It was taped to the center, and showed a person maybe a year older than himself, with raven black hair that nearly passed the image frame, light skin, and violet-blue eyes. A rather handsome-looking young man, if not for the fact he looked exhausted. There was a note beneath the picture, along with a name:

Lowriel Lamperouge.

"Should the Emperor ever find out what works have transpired, we would surely be hanged for our treachery. We must burn all records and information of this project for the time being. Until His Highness gives us the go-ahead to continue, this project is on indefinite hold."

And that's what you look like… Naoto realized, about to continue when the door was thrown open violently.

And that's what you look like… Naoto realized, about to flip through the next set when the door was thrown open violently. He nearly dropped the journal as the sound rang in his ears. "Gods Nagata, you're gonna give me a heart attack!" He gasped, whirling around and stopping. "I-Kallen? What are you doing here?"

"Making sure my brother isn't dead!" The redhead answered, looking ready to either tear him apart or burst into angry tears. "Baka aniki! I-You-Do you know what's been running through my head since yesterday?! What were you thinking going all quiet on us? Why didn't you call me?! Or Mom?! "

"I-I was um… busy." He tried reasoning, gulping when he saw her face. "E-Easy, Kallen! It's alright - I'm okay! And even better, I uh-"

""Busy" huh?" Kallen repeated coldly, ready to tear into him when her gaze wandered to the bed beside him. "I…W-What the hell is THAT?" She asked, freezing.

"Uh… surprise?"

"NAOTO."

"Alright, alright! Easy! That would be… our new member." He said.

"New memb- Wait a minute. Nagata said you brought back some kind of 'Britannian-zombie-thing'? Is that-" Kallen stopped, looking from the bed to her brother. "Did you bring back an ACTUAL zombie?! Because he certainly looks it!" She cried out.

Naoto shot her a look. "What is with you guys and zombies?" He muttered, shaking his head and turning back. "He's obviously a mummy..."

"He-It looks like something straight out of a horror movie, Nii-san!"

"He's not dead! Look, Miyahara says he should be, but he's not. He's alive." Naoto sighed, sitting back. "He's... It's complicated, but the important thing is this is Lowriel. He's what we found last night. Hell the reason I'm even here in the first place is thanks to him and that Knightmare of his."

Kallen gave him a ludicrous look. "Knightmare? You mean the Frame that looks ready to fall apart back there?"

He nodded "The same."

"...You're joking."

"Not even slightly," Naoto replied, holding the book up. "I've only managed to get halfway through this thing, but it's enough to say it's not a standard-issue Britannian Knightmare."

"Because… it's not…" A third voice answered, making Kallen scream and Naoto jump around. Lowriel was awake and sitting up. Miyahara had removed some of the facial wraps earlier, fixing them to provide basic vision if anything else. Violet-blue eyes were half-lidded, staring at the two with a numb gaze. "It's… one of… a kind…"

"H-how long have you been awake?" Naoto asked.

"Long enough..." Lowriel rasped, looking at him. "Apologies.." He was clearly not in any position to fully talk, let alone move, but the man pushed through and continued. "Not… a…wel-coming… sight..."

"Well… you sure know how to make a first impression." Naoto joked dryly, looking between Kallen's horrified expression and Lowriel's stoic, blank staring.

"Among… other… things."

"Oh my God, his body." Kallen managed, glancing wrong at her brother. "What the hell happened to him?"

"Clovis," was all he needed to say.

She blanched.

Lowriel didn't comment further, instead leaning back and taking a deep breath. Naoto and Kallen took the hint and stayed silent. "…Accurate."

Nagito couldn't help but laugh a bit. "Accurate, huh?" He chuckled.

Lowriel nodded.

Kallen glanced between the two. "You sure he's okay? You're not going to keel over, are you..?" She asked, shuddering a bit as he looked at her. Creepy as hell for a Britannian of all things.

"Not unless… I am. asked too."

"Eh?"

"If… I must fall… then I… fall."

"What does that even mean?"

"Exactly… that."

"Which is?!"

"Ex-actly… That."

She gave a glare at the bandaged man. "A bit sarcastic for a mummy, aren't ya?" She snarked.

"Only.. if I'm… asked."

"Oh my GOD."

Naoto laughed a little. "Heh. Well, at least you two get along. Now to get the rest of'em to do the same…" He said, smiling a bit further.

Lowriel turned back. "You… said before… we were in… Japan. Correct…?"

"Yeah," Naoto confirmed, nodding as the man glanced around.

"It's so… different… from what I… remember. So… broken. Ruined."

"You don't have to rub it in," Kallen growled quietly.

"Kallen, leave it be. Please." Naoto warned.

"He's the one who said it."

He didn't refute her, instead sighing with a nod. "She's not wrong though. The area as a whole has problems, but the regions surrounding Tokyo are the worst." Lowriel said nothing, his eyes wandering back to his lap. Naoto had hoped to have the chance to talk with him and maybe get answers, but at the same time, the silence was almost suffocating. He didn't know what to say or ask. And that wasn't helping the situation, Naoto glanced at his sister, asking for help.

"What, don't look at me. He's your Britannian." She muttered.

"What the-He's not a pet!"

"Says who? He's YOUR problem."

Lowriel silently watched the two bicker, but his eyes moved around the room again. Naoto saw and quickly cut off the argument. "Well, whatever the case, you're here now and in our care. So uh... welcome." He managed out, pushing past his initial hesitance.

"Tell… me," Lowriel said suddenly.

"Huh?"

"You said… Japan. Ruined. Tell me… all of it." Lowriel continued, undeterred. "Everything… that country… did to yours."

Naoto blinked, taken aback by the sudden request. While it was mostly simple, he didn't know how much would be safe to say. They were an anti-government rebel group, and this man was, well, a Britannian. An odd and weirdly mysterious Britannian, but Britannian who nonetheless.

But…

He could see in his eyes how determined the man was.

"I mean, I can try. But it won't be pretty."

"Never… is..."

A/N: Hey guys! Hope you all are keeping warm and having a Happy Thanksgiving today! I'm sorry for the delay again; I just back from a small vacation and the week before had been stressful as all hell for me. Overall, things are certainly amping up now that we're entering December.

I also wanted to let you guys know I won't be posting for the next few weeks - I have two Finals coming up, plus a paper I have to send so I will be swamped with school work. I'll work on Chapter 6 probably afterward, but please be patient for a little while. Also, I know it's probably not a big concern but we ARE gonna see more than just Naoto, Ohgi, Kallen, and the Resistance soon; I've got 2 more chapters including 6 to put out before New years, so that'll bring us right into R1 once January starts (hopefully).

For now, I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving and hope you'll be staying warm this December. Please let me know what you think in the Reviews!

With that said, This is the KnightOfZ3R0 signing off!