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Chapter 01: The Plea
🕑 Added 2024-12-27 00:33:37 +0000 UTCChapter 01: The Plea
The morning mist hung low over the lush rainforest, clearing up as the sun rose through the sky over the green canopy. As its light filtered through the leaves and branches, it touched onto the vibrant orchids and ferns that dotted the forest floor, giving natural spotlights for all the small critters and insects that called the forest their home to fly, crawl, and scamper about.
Through the trees sat a large clearing dominated by a massive lake with crystal clear waters. Its edges were adorned with moss-covered stones and blooming flowers, some similar to the lotus, while others seemed otherworldly, never before seen by human eyes and closer to specimens long thought extinct.
The clear blue surface was broken when a pair of armored turtles surfaced. However, that was seemingly all that they shared with any Earth-bound species member as one was shades of brown. At the same time, the other was shades of blue, with both being massive, to the point that an African elephant would appear no larger than a medium-sized dog compared to them. Their size is so immense that even on the surface, water on their backs still raced down their shells back to the lake, creating short-lived but shining beautiful waterfalls.
With slow, deliberate movements, the two colossal reptiles let out contented croaks as they swam about the lake, which was so vast that they appeared tiny in it. Above the lake and the treetops, the skies were far from empty as a humanoid bird covered in feathers in shades of green soared without worry or a real destination.
Like the turtles below, their size wasn't something to ignore. Any one of them could stand next to a three-story building and still be the taller of the two, with their frames casting large but fleeting shadows over the lakeside and its inhabitants. Occasionally, one would let out a haunting cry, its voice echoing like a forgotten melody through the trees.
Or at least, they would be melodies if one wasn't already being played as perched on a smooth, moss-covered fallen tree trunk sat a siren. One nearly as massive as the birdmen flying above. Her aquamarine-like hair fell over her shoulders and back like a smooth waterfall, with a pale gold-like crown crest adorning her forehead, directly above her pupilless orange eyes. In her hands, she held a golden harp staff combo, her fingers gently plucking at its strings as she played a gentle, soothing, and beautiful melody to the ear.
The siren didn't speak but enjoyed the day for all its bountiful beauty. The rest of the creatures that occupied the space enjoyed her music as much as she did playing it, but they were all wrong to believe that today would be like any other, as their peace would soon end.
Thousands of kilometers above their planet's surface, three vast portals appeared in space; streaks of light flew over them. Once they reached real space from whatever warp dimension they traveled, the lights shifted, retaking their actual forms. Directly over this tranquil forest, the light's shape was a massive dorm, seemingly made from glass with its rim metal; orbiting it were smaller domes with an identical design.
Without warning or reason, the dorms started their descent, breaking through the planet's atmosphere with little trouble; their metallic bottoms withstand the immense heat of planetary retry. This was when the creatures of the forest noticed the object and, seeing it rapidly approach, fled from it. Those who could fly took the skies, while those on the ground dashed through the undergrowth or climbed up into trees and leaped from branch to branch.
"By the spirits." The siren spoke in alarm as she had been about to flee, along with the rest of the lake's creatures, but paused when they noticed the structure shifted its trajectory, missing them in a way that could only be deliberate. This wasn't a meteor; it had to be something controlled, but why whom, and why?
If they had asked, they would have received no answer as the dorms stopped above a patch of forest, seemingly deciding it was a good spot. As its protrusions shifted, massive assemblies of gears and machines extended outward on the dorms, both the largest and its smaller orbiting ones.
With all things out, the dorm finally landed, crushing everything under it that could be only hundreds of millions of tons of weight. Its impact, while slowly and clearly controlled, was still massive, as the entire area seemed to shake. The massive dust cloud forming from the largest dorms made an impact, its protrusions crashing into the air and digging in like clamps, securing the structure. Following, its smaller orbiting dorms did the same, though with lesser impacts and rumblings.
At the top of the largest, a spearlike structure was released, rising high above the dorm from which it came. At its core, a green gem was suspended. Almost immediately, the gem started to glow as power was fed into it, creating a blinding flash of light and a wave of energy that flew out in all directions. The winds along, created by it, battered into the trees and made large waves on the lake.
The energy crashed into the colossal creatures like a tidal wave, throwing even the turtles into the air and back from the source. The siren, desperate not to be thrown away as well, held onto the boulders around her, but they soon became dislodged, and she, along with everything else, was thrown into the air as she cried in confusion.
Confusion turned to panic as, with flashes of red, green, blue, purple, yellow, and brown, the forms of those creatures around her, some of which she knew, shrunk to a fraction of their size, spiraling down into small balls that landed on the ground. Getting her bearings, the siren, now little more than a transformable ball, opened up and looked around at herself and the rest. "It's an attack, and they've already trapped us?"
As they followed up to their opening move, leaving her and everything other creature like her powerless, a ship came ahead; from its bellow, a sinister yellow light came, and with it came an attraction that started pulling them up towards it. "No…I can’t…resist…someone...help us!" She cried, but no one came; no one heard her over the cries and pleas from everyone else as they were sucked up in the thousands.
It was the same across their world as the other two cities unleashed a similar devastating green flash of light, affecting hundreds of thousands, turning them into balls that a child could carry about, only to be captured, with few being lucky enough to avoid or escape that fate. Still, they were powerless to watch as friends and loved ones were taken away in giant, foreboding vessels which, once they had their fill, turned and returned to their dorms.
Line Break
“I think it was right around here.” A dark-haired teen spoke, the boy leading another through the underbrush of the island that they had been trapped on for nearly an entire day.
"Lelouch, if it is a search party, will our time together end?" The second, a pink-haired girl around his age asked; she held his cape and mask. The mask of the terrorist that had been running rapidly throughout Area 11, the mask of the man that killed her brother-their brother Clovis.
"It was always bound to be a short reprieve, sister." Lelouch spared a glance, though he, too, was sad that their time together, one where they weren't princess and rebel but siblings once more, was temporary. They had made new memories to complement the old ones. But I have been a horrible knight. I couldn't even secure you a proper meal."
She laughed at that, as he had thought he could catch something earlier, but nothing came close to his trap. Lucky for them, she had picked some fruits she found, but it didn't heal his bruised pride, one that was hurt enough by the fact he couldn't do any physical labor for longer than a couple of minutes before he was huffing and puffing like a man five times his age.
Adverse to exercise, Lelouch would reluctantly need to work on that after this. "Though that was never my task, that task belongs to you, knight. By the way, why did you pick Suzaku for it? It is quite the strange choice." Lelouch asked her, to which his sister sighed.
"Don't tell me you're going to question it; I get that enough from sister." She told him, having thought that out of all their siblings, he would be the most open to the idea of their empire learning to be inclusive.
Lelouch snorted to her dismay. “Question because I disapprove? No, question because it’s an unprecedented choice? Yes. He’s a stubborn mule with an exercise addiction, but I have faith in his abilities after all the times he’s foiled me…but why did you believe him the best choice?” He pushed.
“Well, I-” She started, but Lelouch heard twigs being stepped on and branches snapped.
“Someone’s coming, get down.” He pushed her into the pushes while grabbing his cape and mask, putting both on the right as he spotted who was approaching. "Speak of the devil and shall…Kallen? Why are they-." Zero asked, seeing the pilot of the Lancelot and Euphemia's chosen knight, but with him as the pilot of the Guren and his best soldier, Kallen, who had her hands restrained behind her back.
Euphemia, seeing her knight, jumped out into the open. “Suzaku!”
“Princess Euphemia!” Suzaku replied, surprised that she was also on this island but also relieved to know she was unharmed.
"Don't move. This girl is my prisoner!" That relief turned to fear and grief as Zero also appeared, grabbing the princess and putting his gun to her head.
“Zero!” He called out but didn't dare move further than a couple of steps. Kallen was now to his back, and the Black Knight was just as surprised as he was to see the masked man. Still, where he was furious, she was relieved, as she had only gotten into this mess trying to save him and feared for the worst when Suzaku found her before she could look for him.
“Did you really have to just pop out? Just follow my queue.” Lelouch whispered to his sister, who at least had the tact to look apologetic. “It seems we’re at an impasse, Kururugi. You have my knight, but I have your princess.” Zero turned his attention to Suzaku, speaking louder.
“Zero, you bastard.” Suzaku took another step forward, but Zero fired a shot into the air, reminding him that his weapon was loaded.
"Stay back! Unless you want me to add another royal to my kill list." Zero had no intentions to carry through with the threat, but only Euphemia would know that. Besides, it was buying time for Kallen, who had been trying to work her way out of the makeshift restraint Suzaku had on her. "But there's no need for it, is there. I propose a trade; I send her over, and you send Kallen. Much like the first time we met, I see that as quite the bargain."
“Once again, you’re taking hostages?” Suzaku told him, fake or not, that he had tricked Jeremiah into thinking he took the entire bridge hostage last time to force the man to let them escape.
He was so enraged with Zero and concerned for Euphemia that Kallen’s efforts went unnoticed by him.
In response to his words, Zero merely laughed. "You find my actions cowardly? I don't care for your opinion, only for cooperation." Zero told him. “Of course, it is Britannian dogma to eliminate terrorists regardless of sacrifice, but can you stomach the cost that will be paid to capture or kill me?”
“I got him!” Kallen yelled, her arms coming down around Suzaku’s shoulders, keeping his arms pinned to his torso as she made ample use of the fact her hands were still tried together.
“Leave him alone!” Euphemia cried out.
“Shut up, you royal puppet. You can’t think for yourself or do anything on your own!” Kallen yelled back, which got on Euphemia’s nerves as she was sick and tired of people calling her useless!
She burst before her brother could calm her down to keep the deal up. “What did you say? I'm not afraid of you and don't care what happens to me. Suzaku, I command you to fight!"
“My pleasure!" Suzaku answered, breaking out of Kallen's hold and rushing Zero, who ticked his teeth as he jumped and rolled around him. The two traded places as Suzaku stood with his princess, ready to fight, while Zero stood with Kallen, his gum primed and ready to handle both if that was what he wished.
"You hard-headed fools!" he yelled, directing the insult to both of them for always making things complicated. But that was all he could see as beneath them, the ground rumbled as the mark of geass appeared. Lelouch's power reacted to this as everyone gasped in shock, though Lelouch left like his eye was heating up, burning as he bit back a curse.
Away from them, hidden from view, a child with long blonde hair smiled. While on a submarine belonging to the Black Knights, a green-haired woman, C.C., frowned when she felt the disturbance before she turned and rushed to the command station. They needed to move now!
These two responses would no unknown to those on the island as Lelouch fell to his knees, biting his tongue as he reached for his masked face even as the ground beneath them gave way, Kallen and Euphemia both screaming in shock as they felt at least for the moment, that they were victims to an unforeseen earthquake, or a sink hole and that this would be where they died.
Suzaku was silent, as the power had sparked out like static electricity. While Kallen and Euphemia went untouched, he wasn't so lucky as he felt its touch for the 3 third time, leaving him in an intense trance where he saw it all again. The invasion, the death, his father's blade sticking out of his gut, put there by him in a childish outburst that had haunted him ever since.
Coming to a stop, both girls took a moment to realize that they were, in fact, not dead or even injured. Zero still seemed to be in pain, while Suzaku was just gazing into the light as if he was having a bad reaction to a psychedelic. They also weren't the only ones present, as they hadn't fallen into a hole but a cave with several Britannians present, one of whom happened to be Lloyd, the man who created Lancelot.
“Major Kururugi? Is that that...?” The scientist asked as they had traveled there partly to look for him, partly because of these strange ruins that Bartley explained had been of particular interest to Clovis, but to imagine that their missing pilot would show up, along with a princess and Zero.
Bartley was much faster on the uptake as he saw their soldiers about to open fire on Zero. “Don’t shoot, you fools! Princess Euphemia is with them! Capture them!” He ordered them as the worst of the pain faded from Lelouch's eye and skull.
“Zero, there’s a knightmare there!” Kallen called out to him, gesturing towards a strange black and yellow unit off to the side, one far larger than the Sunderland that had also been left by it.
“Perfect, we’re use that! Let-!” Zero got up to make a break for it, only for the pain from before to return with a vengeance. This time, he couldn't help the scream as he fell to his knees, his entire head burning, with the feeling of liquid fire in his veins worming its way through his body, starting with his heart.
“Zero!” Kallen was already at his side, their potentially only ticket off the island and away from capture forgotten in lieu of her leader's out-of-the-near medical situation.
“What’s wrong with him?” Lloyd asked.
“Is it sick?” Schneizel asked as this was quite a strange sight from the masked man who seemed to be unable to even move as pain ravaged his body. Was it chronic?
"Now, our chance, secure the princess and capture Zero!" Bartley ordered as their troops slowly made their approach. They outnumbered the terrorists, and Kallen didn't seem armed, but they had learned never to underestimate Zero and his tricks.
“Crap, what do we do?” Kallen asked as she couldn't just leave Zero but couldn't fend off so many, which left out anyone else outside. Zero let out a groan as he slammed his fist into the ground; at that moment, the carving of a door behind him, the one with a mark identical to his geass, started to react, as the mark began to glow once more as the entire place seemed to start to shake.
“What now?” Lloyd asked as none of this made sense. This area wasn't known for seismic activity, and yet they were experiencing two incidents in less than five minutes? Schneizel thought it was something more than that, as the ruins didn't seem as dormant as they should be, and it was all stemming from Zero somehow.
This event didn't go unnoticed, as with C.C. She paused mid-step, her brow creased, as she had never felt something like this before, but it couldn't be…no, this was someone else, but who and how? This…it felt old, incredibly so, and powerful, far more than she had ever thought possible for a human. Was it even human?
With the blond child, his smirk turned to shock and then to a sneer as he felt the unwanted presence highjack things, one that knew couldn't be from another like him. It felt far too potent, too massive to be any one human soul. Snarling, he turned to rush to correct it before things fell from his grasp.
“At this rate, the entire place will come down on our heads!” One of the soldiers cried out as the shaking only got more intense, but Lelouch hardly cared for it; what he was focused on was the searing pain, as he would swear that there was something more to it, that through the agony, he could almost see something…hear someone.
“What…is this…?” He asked Kallen, looking at him with concern as he remained on his hands and knees, shaking as his breathing became stressed and uneven.
“You…I…need your help.” Finally, he heard it clearly, the voice. But he didn't recognize it; it just sounded…old, yet patient. Otherworldly powerful, yet compassionate, commanding yet imploring
“What?” Zero asked.
“Zero, what are you saying? We need to go before the place collapses!” Kallen yelled at him, as only he could hear the voice.
“Such a young soul…yet already so burdened…and scarred. Alas, I have no choice in this. Please understand…it is of the utmost importance, more than that…it is something dear to my heart.” Zero felt his beating heart race even faster at the voice's words, as they spoke as if they knew him, but that was impossible! More than that, it was an insult, yet he couldn't feel a familiar rage in his chest.
“It…hurts…are you…the one doing this?” Lelouch asked, his geass seeming to be the root of all this. Still, no matter what he tried, he couldn't shut it off, with the pain only growing worse as it felt like his body was being pulled apart by an invisible force, bones near creaking under the strain. In contrast, blood felt like it was boiling in his veins and starting to escape through his mouth, nose, and even eyelids, his mask catching all of it, but that didn't mean that those present didn't realize that he was in terrible shape.
“Not entirely…another seeks to ill will, but I stepped in…to lend you my protection…and make my plea.” Again, what should have led to a snarky response or a quip about the fact he was very much not okay under her protection never materialized. It was like just listening to her calmed his rage, his desire for destruction, and in its place, he felt…at peace? Was this what authentic peace felt like?
“Zero, we need to move!” Kallen continued to urge him, picking the man up and feeling him shake as she threw an arm over her shoulder, but that could be the entire cave as bits of the ceiling were already starting to fall around, with Bartley tackling Schneizel to the ground, avoiding a fist-sized rock by hitting the prince square in the skull.
"Your Highness, please vacant for your safety!" Bartley pleaded with the man as he quickly helped him up, throwing off his coat and holding it over the prince's taller head as an impromptu umbrella.
"We've secured Princess Euphemia!" Someone called out as Euphemia was getting similar protection from some soldiers and a knightmare that had been boarded, another moving to do the same for Schneizel.
“Then capture Zero!” Bartley yelled at them.
"But, sir, the entire cave is shaking!"
"Then kill them. They're enemies of Britannia and the crown!" Kallen heard the order and saw the soldiers aim their guns at them.
"Crap… nowhere to go." Zero saw it as well and grit his teeth. He didn't think this would be where he died, but he wouldn't give them the satisfaction of hearing him beg. He only wished that…he could have told Nunnally goodbye. 'Suzaku, you better protect her, or I swear I'll come back from hell and make you reject it.’
“Have no fear, child. I will not let harm come to you or your ally.” The voice spoke up, with Lelouch getting an image of what would come.
“Kallen, brace for it!” Zero grabbed Kallen and forced them to the ground, belly first.
“For wh-!” Her question was answered when the door behind them opened, but not to a world of white light, but instead a warp, a passage made from never-ending white rings that seemed to form from the doorway into the void. From that void, a blast of light came out; once it was in the cavern, it froze mid-air and took on shape, growing larger, its white scaled body appearing, followed by wings, a massive tail, and talons as its head formed.
When its folly manifested, the entire cavern was left speechless by what hovered before them, as it was far larger than even the massive black and golden knightmare that stood to the side, its body covered with white scales, with the webbing of its wings being a pure light purple with darker purple orbs doting its body, all of which gave it a fairy-like appearance, but they could tall tell what it was.
“What in God’s name?” Lloyd felt his jaw fall open, and he wasn't the only one as they bore witness to something that should have been impossible. Right before they hovered over a dragon, the whites of its eyes were dark as night while its pupils were complete red orbs. Its gaze froze soldiers in place before it let out a roar that shook everyone to their bones.
"Well, that wasn't something I thought I'd ever see, and certainly not as potential dragon food!" Lloyd turned and rushed for the exit. He was a soldier, yes, but he was one deployed in research. He'd leave the dragon slaying to the ones with guns!
The dragon swatted her tail through the soldiers closest to Zero and Kallen, knocking them back several meters before she turned her attention to the rest, who had opened fire. To their shock and horror, their bullets didn't so much as scratch her scaled armored hide.
“Send in the knightmares!” Bartley called out as the shaking of the cavern had ceased, allowing the pilots to focus on the more immediate threat.
“Yes, my lor-oh no-nonononOOOO!” One replied to the order, only for their unit to be bathed in a white glowing light as the dragon's body started to emit a flutter of rainbow-like dust and light, which burst out from its body and crashed into everything. Still, instead of harming anyone, all this did was short-circuit the Sunderlands' electronics and fire off their ejection seats, sending the cockpits flying into the walls with several crashes, knocking out the pilots inside.
“You shall not lay a finger on them!” the dragon spoke. This time, they could all hear her. The Britannians felt terrified, as they had just witnessed the beast easily handle their largest weapons and previously defend Zero and Kallen from their attacks.
“Zero! Is this your doing?!” Suzaku yelled. From where they stood, they could see the masked terrorist getting up, Kallen lending aid to him as whatever spell or trick he had just pulled must have drained him.
Euphemia wasn't so sure that this was her brother's work. Why didn't he use it if he could have summoned a dragon before? Why wait until now? She never revealed that she was there visiting Schneizel, and he already explained that his goal was to try and recruit Suzaku, which failed when he tried to take him down with him.
‘Brother…what is this power? What didn’t you tell me?’ Euphemia asked herself. As the dragon's body continued to emit bright rainbow light, those it touched felt relieved. And rejuvenated? Why would-!
“Plants now?” Euphemia looked and saw that across the ground and walls, plants were rapidly growing out of the cracks and crevices, vines forming and reaching out towards the soldiers and Schneizel. The former immediately moved to defend their prince, but the vines didn't yield even when repeatedly shot; they just regenerated and kept growing.
“Zero!” Suzaku, sick of this, jumped to attack.
“Suzaku, don’t!” Euphemia called out to him as the dragon's gaze shifted to him. An explosion of vines came out from the ground beneath his feet, throwing the knightmare pilot into the air. Still, before he could have a painful landing, they grabbed him, safe but restrained, as the dragon willed the vines closer so that she might give the boy a closer look.
“That…was not the wisest move you could make, young man.” She told him, with Suzaku getting the same feeling he got whenever his governess or Toh-doh-sensei would scold him. “I shall spare your life, as I have spared all the lives this day, but don’t believe I can’t do worse.” She didn’t throw him, but she wasn’t as gentle as she could be when she put him down, dropping him when he was about 2m off the ground, smacking into it with a huff.
“My devicer!” Lloyd yelled from outside, watching turned to continue to watch now that there was some distance between him and the beast.
“Is that truly Zero’s work…or something else?” Schneizel asked as none of this made sense, nor did he expect his day to go like this. He only came to Area 11, specifically these islands, because, according to Bartley, these ruins matched up with others scattered around the world. This was insane from an archaeology standpoint, as that would imply a globe-spanning mega culture that not a single shred of evidence outside these ruins supported even existed.
But when he saw them for himself and compared them to images of the other sites that he controlled, he couldn't deny that they were near identical, far greater than the extent of mere chance. It had also caught his interest, as according to his younger brother's second, most of the countries or territories that housed these strange ruins were all recently conquered lands and under direct imperial control.
The idea that his father was also interested in these ruins fascinated him enough that Bartley speculated that they were the real reason behind his father ordering all these conquests. This perhaps would help explain his father's lack of government interest, leaving an increasingly more significant number of tasks and roles to him as Prime Minister.
Of course, he had been worried for his sister, and while logic would have dictated that she had been killed in the strike he ordered that she charge into, considering that they recovered both the Lancelot and the Portman she commandeered with minimal damage, there was the hope that she, too, would be uncovered.
'It can't be coincidence. These ruins had something to do with it.' All those reports of people having memory lapses, acting strangely, and now this? Schneizel would need to be a fool not to realize the connection, but what was it? "Zero, just what are you?" he asked himself as Bartley led him out of the cave, which was rapidly filling with plants and vines.
Taking a breath, Lelouch felt the pain subsiding. He still felt sore, but more in the way of a muscle done over a good exercise session…at least, this was what it felt like. "I'm…I'm better, Kallen. That was…something else." He stated, looking up at the dragon's back in awe and…an odd sense of relief.
“You’re telling me, since when could you summon a dragon?!” Kallen yelled at him, as there were plenty of times a dragon would have been helpful before.
Before he could reply, the dragon turned her head to speak once more in his mind. “I've done all I can, but my strength is waning. Please, Lelouch…I need your help. If not for you, then my world…my people will be doomed, just as the people in this would be doomed to Britannia…”
Again, there was a sense of begging in her voice, the sort that came when one's heart worried sick not for themselves but for others. Lelouch found himself considering it, which would make no sense as to whether or not she was legit; he had his own problems, his own enemies to fight, and couldn't just spread himself further aiding another group of what he could only assume weren't humans as the dragon kept referring to them as 'her people'. At best, she was a god-like being who needed a champion, but why him? Why not one of her people?
None of it was making sense, which was why he was confused about why he didn't refuse her imploration out of turn. Why? Was it because…he could sympathize with her pain as if he had been in a situation where he couldn't protect Nunnally and needed help? He would throw aside his dignity, pride, and even his life to beg for help.
Was it because she compared her people's plight to what so many experienced under Britannia's boot, and he just couldn't stand the idea of anyone suffering under policies like his father's?
The doorway shook once more, and the portal became unstable as the stone started moving to shut itself. The dragon panicked as she turned her attention to it, trying to maintain the link.
“We don't have much time; they're trying to overpower me. Please, my boy, don't let my people be made slaves for eternity.” She turned her eyes to him, eyes filled with a sincerity that could break through even his pragmatic and morally flexible heart. However, the continued shaking didn't help the stability of the platform they stood on. Already damaged from its fall into the cavern, it started to crack and give way.
“Kallen, move!” Lelouch called on every bit of muscle power he had, grabbed Kallen, and tossed her to the side in the direction of the still, miraculously untouched black and gold machine.
Kallen landed pretty easy after that, though, believing that Zero was just tired, as that was pretty weak. But she had bigger things to worry about. Zero was left on an unstable platform that was crumbling beneath his feet. Vines came in to try and reinforce it, but who knew if that would work? “Zero!”
“I order you to live, Kallen! Hold onto hope, as I'm betting my life that you'll find a way to come back for me!” Zero ordered her. Despite lingering pain and mental and spiritual exhaustion from whatever was forcing his geass to remain active, his voice was clear and strong. He heard even the cavern coming down on them.
‘Live?’ Suzaku heard him and stopped mid-step. That word, that order…it sounded familiar to him. Euphemia's touch grounded him as they continued to rush for the exit. There was nothing they could do.
‘It seems like I have no choice here.’ Lelouch thought to himself, looking at the two paths before him.
There was the portal, which started to rapidly close despite the dragon's best efforts, but it was closer, and he could make the jump. Then there was Kallen and their knightmare ride out of here, but the path was treacherous and unstable, even with vines holding some of the stone together.
“There is…always a choice if you truly desire it…then I can use what's left of my strength to send you to Kallen.” He looked up at the dragon, confused by her offer. Believing that she was merely saying it, he saw no deceit when he gazed into her eyes, whose light started to fade as her body began to flicker with her diminishing strength. Only an ironclad honesty.
Lelouch understood that while similar, then and there, she and he were different, as he knew if the roles were reversed, he would have tricked or forced her to help him. At that moment, that realization bore a sense of envy and admiration. Maybe it would be pragmatic to refuse, to just chalk this to one of his weirdest experiences and get back to his rebellion…
But wasn't he fighting so hard to punish his father and those who followed his creed? To create a better world for his sister? If that was true, if his heart beat for vengeance and love, then could he genuinely look himself in the mirror if he refused? Could he ever not think about this day even if he did succeed and burn Britannia to the ground?
"Let's go, but I'll need an explanation," Lelouch told her, turning away from Kallen and towards the portal. He then breathed, hardened his resolve, and leaped through it.
“Thank you…from the bottom of my hea-!” The dragon’s gratitude was cut short when she turned back to light and went through the portal after him, the door sealing shut, ending the seismic event.
“What is happening? Zero…why did you…” Kallen asked herself, as none of this made sense. How could, she shook her head. "Focus, Kallen. He gave you an order and his faith." Kallen took pride in the fact that Zero trusted her enough to believe she would save him. he valued her enough that he ordered her to life, to not throw her life away, even if it was an effort to save.
“I’ll come back for you, Zero. I swear it.” Kallen jumped into the knightmare, finding that it was fully charged. With no immediate danger, she could quickly check its systems, seeing two, which left her in awe. The first was its weapons, which, while incomplete, did clear the vines out of the entranceway, giving her a chance to race out.
The second was its flight capabilities. As she shifted the controls, to her amazement, she took the air, leaving behind the island and the Britannians, who shot at her but missed as she shifted the controls. She turned to fly as far away as she could before she tried contacting the other Black Knights.
Only when she was out of visual range of the island, did she wonder how she would explain anything that had happened over the last 24 hours?
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Traveling through…whatever this was, a warp? A dimensional space between physical locations? Lelouch didn't know. He thought that breaking what he was sure to be half the laws of physics would have felt like a strain, but he didn't feel a hint of discomfort. However, peering through the seemingly infinite white rings proved impossible as nothing existed. It was a void.
Deciding to ignore the fact that the tunnel might be the only space in this…wherever he was that seemed to be able to sustain life, he focused on his new task at hand, and the fact that the reason he was even in this situation looked nothing like the majestic beast from before, instead they looked like a children’s toy. “Is there a reason you’re shaped like that?”
"This is related to what has befallen my people and why I'm taking this shameful form. It's because I lack the strength to maintain my true form and this portal." She explained, with Lelouch frowning as that left a lot out, but implied just as much.
"Do you have a name, or should I keep calling you dragon?" He changed the topic to something that wouldn't upset her as much as her situation and apparent dwindling strength.
She laughed, one that could have come from an elder talking with a youth. "You may call me Wavern. Despite the circumstances, it is a pleasure to meet you. Do you prefer if I refer to you as Zero, Lelouch Lamperouge, or Lelouch vi Britannia?”
Zero pursed his lips, though she couldn't see them through his helmet, which he would need to wash out. The scent of iron and lingering blood was getting to him. "Assuming that we could end up having company, I would prefer if you called me Zero then. But when you're alone, Lamperouge would be suitable."
“Very well. I assume you have questions.” Wavern started.
“Plenty, but I’ll start simple,” Lelouch removed his helmet, holding it as he turned to look at her, his exhausted, bloodied face making it impossible to not take him seriously. “Where are we going?”
"We're not going anyway on your Earth or even your dimension," Wavern said as they saw a bright white light approaching. Their journey, at least the part where she could remain at his side, was coming to an end. "Where we're going is my home…Vestroia.”
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This has been a project that I've been talking about for the longest time as I have planning bits that started all the way back in 2022 but never the time to really focus on it. Well, that changes. I got the idea after reading another crossover, but that was a CG x Yu-Gi-Oh Arc V, which I had never even watched. Still, I enjoyed the idea and thought I would also try my hand at it. If you want the original story, their name would be at the bottom.
Now, one issue I faced was…well, my head here, as this is a Bakugan x Code Geass crossover. There'll be stuff that I simply think of ways to explain, but I was just getting lost in the weeds. Some stuff will be explained, others, so please bear with me and try not to think too hard about this. Though I will say this, I loved this show growing up, and I was super happy to learn that while it did badly in Japan, it was so popular in the West (with us) that it kept going till Mechtanium Surge…What do you mean, there's another? No, there isn't; there is no reboot in Ba Sing Se.
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And that is that! The first chapter of this story is completed. As you all read, it's a bit light on details on the lore for either side of this. Still, if you're reading this, I assume you know at least half of it. However, it would be preferable if you're more of a CG fan than Bakugan, as that second one will have some changes to fit my ideas for the story. In future chapters, I'll try to keep to the word range of 5 to 6K.
And before I forget: Arc-V: The Geass Switch. That's the name of the story that put this idea in my head.
