6 – Attempt

Euphemia was running. They were nowhere, now, nowhere recognizable, suspended in the middle of the air, everything around them blinding white. And she was flying towards him, her long, light hair streaming behind her, her eyes wide with alarm. Suzaku had never seen her look like that before. Never.

"Wha-what's wrong?" he asked, taken aback.

She ran right into him. It was the first time she'd ever touched him in this dream world. He thought he could feel her fingers as they gripped his arms, her head as she buried it in his chest. His heart pounded with a fever that almost seemed real. Maybe it was real. He'd known for awhile that these were no ordinary dreams.

"Please," she whispered into his shirt. "Please, you can't—you can't—"

Suzaku stroked her soft, soft hair gently, puzzled. He would have been content just to hold her, but he wasn't going to let her franticness go unexplained. "I can't what?" he asked softly.

"You can't—oh." Euphie glanced behind her. "What…?"

Suzaku looked over her head and saw that someone else was walking towards them, walking on nothing. That boy…the one in the Ashford uniform, from the beach, in one of his other dreams. Suzaku remembered his name with a jolt in the pit of his stomach. Of course. Of course.

"You can see him?" Euphie asked.

Rolo ignored her question and addressed Suzaku directly. "Please," he said. "Please tell my brother…tell him not to hate me. Please." He looked down at the locket in his hand. It glittered, reflecting the light that glared around them.

"I—"

"Suzaku…" Euphie reached up to touch his face, her eyes full of concern. "You can't leave, do you see? You can't. There's too much to be done."

This didn't answer any of the questions in his mind. "Leave where? Here?" That was perfectly fine. Being with Euphie forever…

He squeezed her a little closer, but she shook her head. "Not here. You can't stay here. Listen, you can't—"

"Euphie!" Rolo cried. "He's disappearing!"

Euphie pulled back and looked at him. Suzaku looked down at himself. He seemed perfectly fine, completely intact, but Euphie and Rolo were staring at him with horror. "What's going on? Euphie!"

"No." Euphemia shook her head. "No. It's for the best. No."

His vision began to cloud over. The last things he heard were Rolo's frantic "Tell him I'm sorry!" overlapping with Euphiemia's frenzied, "Suzaku, you can't—"

--

Kallen entered Lelouch's room without knocking, without permission. She couldn't help it. She was angry with him. She thought that the frustration would magically dispel if she let it sit for a day, but it had only changed, growing into a small fire at the pit of her belly, and it wouldn't leave her alone. She wanted answers, and "no" wouldn't suffice.

She expected Lelouch to be in sight when she walked in, but there was only C.C., asleep on the couch. It was still difficult for Kallen to equate this new, meek C.C. with the sarcastic, enigmatic one she knew. Shock from the battle, Lelouch said, had caused the amnesia, but the C.C. Kallen knew couldn't be easily phased by anything.  That C.C. was a capable Knightmare pilot.  How could she be so traumatized by a battle?

So much was going on, it seemed, that Kallen didn't understand.

C.C stirred when she heard Kallen approaching, and she opened her eyes with a trace of confusion, as if surprised that it was already morning. When she saw Kallen, she curled back against the couch.

"Um," Kallen said, unsure of how to deal with the girl, "I need to talk to Lelouch. Do you know where he is?"

C.C. lowered her eyelashes shyly. "Master Lelouch was here when I went to sleep. I don't know…"

"What do you mean, here?  With you?" C.C. pressed both her hands against her mouth and whimpered, as if Kallen had struck her. Kallen, for all of her Lelouch-directed anger, was utterly taken aback by the reaction. So this was how the battle had affected C.C.? It was so strange…

"That's quite enough, Kallen," Lelouch said, entering the room with his mask under his arm. His face was blank, and Kallen could tell that he was not amused. She bit her lip, then crossed her arms. Well, who Lelouch slept with—or didn't sleep with—wasn't her business. She was captain of his security forces, and that was what she'd come to see him about. She'd let herself get off-topic. It was unprofessional.

"I need to talk to you, Lelouch," she said, in a tone she'd never dare to use with Zero. "Alone."

Lelouch gave C.C. a barely imperceptible nod, and she made herself scarce, scurrying into one of the adjacent rooms. He looked at Kallen, then, and motioned for her to sit down. She didn't. Her anger flared again, and her right hand twitched—she remembered the two occasions on which she'd slapped him, and itched to do it again, almost hoping he'd give her a reason.

"Well?" he asked.

Kallen paused for a moment, then said, "How dare you stage an assassination attempt without notifying me?"

He blinked, looking almost confused. She knew better. "Staging? Was that what you thought it was?"

"I don't see what else it could have been," she replied, pointedly. "You were shot; you did not die. You didn't seem phased by the attack at all, and Jeremiah, apparently, was in on it. What I'm wondering—" She took a step closer, to glare at him better. "Is why you didn't tell me."

She waited, and he said nothing, so she continued. "I'm the captain of your security forces, Lelouch. You should trust me more than…than Jeremiah, than Orange, that Britannian who switched loyalties like it meant nothing to him."

"Jeremiah is completely loyal," Lelouch proclaimed. Even though he was unmasked, he carried himself as if he was Zero, right then, addressing thousands, instead of just Lelouch, speaking with her. "He's tied to my mother's family, and I trust him as much as I trust you."

"Hmph."  Oh yes, that meant a lot right then.

He lowered his voice. "I swear to you, Kallen, I did not know that that man was going to be at the press conference, and I did not arrange for him to shoot me. The attack was genuine."

"But…" This confused her. She reached out, touching the front of his costume, just where he'd been shot the previous day. "I saw the blood. You were shot."

"Yes, Kallen. I was shot."

"I don't understand."

"I know. It's…" He paused, his expression distant. "It's entirely too complicated. Just trust me, Kallen. I would never conceal anything from you that would harm you. You do trust me," he added. "Don't you?"

That wasn't fair; he already knew her response.  The rational part of her brain was screaming that that wasn't any kind of an answer, that was emotional manipulation, but she said, "You remembered to rescue me during the battle for Tokyo. And you've done so much for Japan, Lelouch…I owe you my trust." She searched his eyes, softening a little. It was funny; she trusted Zero to the end of the world, but Lelouch was something of a different matter entirely.

"But don't think that you'll avoid giving me an answer," she added dryly, a rush of her new feeling washing over her to fill where her anger had been.

"I know better than that."

He seemed like he was going to say something else, but stopped, his lips slightly parted, and she realized that they were far too close for comfort. Her hand was still pressed against his chest, and he seemed very warm. Maybe it was just the proximity. Her head spun a little bit, and she was annoyed at herself. This wasn't right. She was angry, dammit. Lelouch seemed a little confused, a little amused, and still, somehow, smug, and she wanted to get that look out of his eyes. Her brain—not in its finest form—was telling her that there was only one way to do that, so she leaned closer.

"I have a press conference scheduled," Lelouch said softly. "Is there anything else you needed?"

"I…no," she said, leaning away, regret tinting her voice. With a twinge of envy she thought of C.C. Did Lelouch avoid her advances? No, that was a ridiculous comparison. C.C. was a quivering blob of jelly, and she…she was the finest of Zero's knights.

Lelouch took a step towards the door, then paused.  After a second, he motioned her to follow him. "Come with me, Kallen," he said, donning his mask. "The conference is in an hour on the Ikaruga.  You won't just be there for security reasons."

She blinked.  "What do you mean?"

"Something I should have done long ago."  The door hissed open.  "You've always known you were my finest knight, and now the world will know.  It's time that I introduce you as my Knight of Zero."

--

Anya barely recognized the halls of the Ikaruga. They all looked the same to her, with all their blank walls and sliding doors. How anyone managed to find their way around this ship on a daily basis she'd never know. She took pictures of anything memorable—pictures, signs, potted plants—and stored them in her diary, just in case they had any trouble getting out.

They probably wouldn't have any trouble getting out, though. After all, they hadn't had trouble getting in. She and Gino, wearing coats over their Knight of Rounds uniforms, slipped in among the crowd of reporters, then, before anyone had noticed, slipped away again and broke through one of the doors (Gino, actually, had been the one to do the breaking; he was good at that sort of thing). Apparently, security wasn't as tight now that the war was over, despite yesterday's failed assassination of the 99th Emperor of Britannia, Zero. Somehow, she thought the Black Knights would have learned something.

No matter. She and Gino were in, now, and they were going to rescue Suzaku. Then they were going to get out. All the while, Zero would be holding a press conference on the deck. The ultimate affront. Long live Britannia, and all that. Anya didn't care terribly much for political idealism, even though she knew Gino did. It would be nice to see Suzaku again, was all, and then the three of them could disappear to the EU or some such thing.

But while we're in here, we might as well…

Anya stopped and glanced over her shoulder. There it was again, that voice. She'd heard it before when she was last here, but there was no one there but Gino, no one who could have spoken to her. Just her imagination, then. She wondered, rather off-handedly, if it had anything to do with the strange discrepancies in her memory.  But no, that was ridiculous.  A non sequitur.

"What is it?" Gino asked, furrowing his brow and stopping as well. "Do you hear something?"

"Nothing," she replied, deciding to shrug it off. She blinked.  Her surroundings seemed suddenly unfamiliar.

He walked up beside her. "Do you remember where weare?" he asked, sounding genuinely concerned. Well, he had a right to be. How would two former Knights of Rounds explain wandering around in the basement of the Black Knights' flagship in their old Britannian uniforms?

"Yes…I think." When she wasn't thinking about it, it was easy. Her feet seemed to be governing themselves. She closed her eyes and tried to visualize their route, sinking down, her cotton candy hair flattening between the wall and the back of her head. She thought. And—

Here, Anya.

Her eyes snapped open.

"Go around the next corner—a left," she said, feeling suddenly very sure. "Then a right. There should be a hallway with doors on each side, and he's the sixth one on the right." Gino stared, incredulous, and she wondered, vaguely, why. "You go ahead," she added. "I'll be right behind you. I'm tired."

He raised an eyebrow, then, regaining his composure, nodded, his blue eyes cloudy and serious once again. Once he was a few paces ahead, she pressed herself up off the floor and followed.

Thank you, she thought, unsure if the voice could hear her or if she was simply insane.

Oh, don't thank me, the voice responded. It was playful, and unquestionably female. An image flashed by in Anya's mind: thick dark hair, sparkling violet eyes.  She couldn't be making this up, could she? Just do me one small favor.

What?

The boy you came in with, the voice said. He helped you in. You don't need him anymore. Shoot him, then go find Lelouch. Or, better yet, C.C.

Anya's pace didn't change, but she felt something inside of her, a kind of fear. Unusual, since she was usually so apathetic and, as far as she knew, she was talking to herself.  And what was this about Lelouch, and who was C.C.?  That witch, wasn't it, who was helping Zero?

No, she thought.

Oh, come on now, you don't have to kill him. Just slow him down. He'll only get in the way later.

Anya's right fingers twitched, and she began to reach to her belt for her gun. She grabbed her right wrist and thought, No, I can't do that.

She thought she heard a sigh. You are a stubborn little girl, Anya, said the voice. Who would have guessed? Ah, well. It would have been easier for you to just obey me, but I suppose I have no choice but to—

"Ah!" Anya gasped, this time out loud. Her vision swam purple and yellow and pink and orange and…she couldn't keep track. Dizzy, she fell to her knees. Her hand began to move again, for her gun, and she couldn't hold herself back…No! she thought again, but it wasn't any use. Her left fingers trembled on her wrist. She closed her eyes and willed as hard as she could.

"Anya!"

She opened her eyes to see Gino running back for her. His face flashed different colors—purple blue green—until it settled back to normal. Anya blinked and let go of her right wrist. What had just happened?

"Are you okay?"

"That's what I'd like to know," Anya muttered, almost inaudibly. Gino grabbed her arm and pulled her up, and she looked down at herself. Nothing outwardly had changed. The entire exchange couldn't have taken more than a few seconds. What was wrong with her?

"We should get Suzaku and go," she said, glancing over her shoulders. She pulled her blog out of her pocket to make a quick note to herself as she added, to Gino's bewilderment, "I don't think being in here is good for me."

--

A/N: No, Anya, no.  I don't think it is.  You can see that Marianne's Geass is a little different in this story already.  Or maybe we just never heard these conversations? -ponders-

Anyway, well, hi!  Long time no talk!  I guess I got a little unmotivated by those last few episodes of R2?  Loved the endign, but, man, it's so wierd to write this story after the series is over.  Sorry to make you guys wait so long.  I can't believe how badly I've been neglecting this story. (Speaking of neglect, though: Friendly Fire.  Man...)

And we have another setup chapter.  Stuff will happen next time, promise!  Anyway, thank you GoGothGirl, Tsuki no Akebono, SlippingSanity, WithABunny, xxlostdreamerxz, Himig, AznAnimeChick, Candelabra, GreyeFochs, imaxgoxgnomgnomxonxya, FlareKnight, Raigon, and Suruma (whew!) for your reviews, you guys are awesome.

I'm having a hard time writing lately (leads in plays are excellent to have except for when they zap your time) but I'll try to update as soon as I can.  I've been wanting to write this next scene for a long, long time...

Next up: we are REALLY breakin' out Suzaku!  But maybe not, if Lelouch has any say in it.  Or his devious scheming mother...

See you then,

D

Poll is closed!  Results:

1) Lelouch/Suzaku (go read my other story Mosaic if you voted for this -end shameless self promotion-)

2) Lelouch/C.C.

3) Lelouch/Kallen

4) C.C./Pizza Hut

Thanks for your votes!