Thank you all for reading. Be on the lookout for my next Code Geass upload. Now more than ever I would appreciate your final thoughts. Until next time!

Decayed

Final Chapter

"Lelouch? Lelouch..."

Lelouch cracks his eyes open while the world around him rumbles. Immediately he begins to writhe; his entire body is in excrutiating pain, from his eyeballs to his shins. He moans aloud without really understanding why anything is happening. The pain is unrelenting, coming in pulses, like waves cracking against his shores. With each surge he spasms, feeling like his very organs are being turned to mush. He can't sit still. His fingers and toes clench and curl. He registers dimly that the feeling under his hands is cracked concrete.

"Lelouch! Listen to me..."

theres nothing to listen to go away

He forces his eyes open again. The street light above is harsh against his eyes. He can't for even a moment focus his sight—green hair and pale skin swim in his watering vision. Where is he? Why is he on his back? Was he unconscious?

"What's happening—C.C. —am I shot? What is this? What—" Lelouch bites and spits out between shouts and groans.

C.C.'s voice, cool and clear, says, "You are uninjured—"

"Bullshit!"

"It's tr—"

"Why am I in pain!"

"Lelouch, you're doing it to yourself."

"I'm not!"

not not not not his eyes feel like they're bleeding what is this how could this be his own doing no

what was he doing last oh yes looking for euphemia and he

"Lelouch, you have to snap out of it. People need you. The Black Knights—"

"—screw them—"

"—Tokyo is being challenged. More importantly than that—"

"—it hurts, C.C., it hurts—"

"Your little sister has been kidnapped!"

Lelouch feels the pain start to subside. His heart calms while his body throbs with lingering pain and a deep rooted ache. He looks around wildly.

Ah. Tokyo is under attack. That explains the rumbling. The more Lelouch focuses, the more distinctly he can make out the sounds of metal screeching and bombs exploding.

...little sister...

"No," Lelouch pants. "Euphemia is dead."

shes dead he

he

he...

C.C. knits her brow. Lelouch can't place her expression; pity? frustration? "Not that I'm belittling your loss, but Lelouch, I'm talking about—"

"Where am I?" Lelouch becomes aware enough to ask. He is no longer in Clovisland. Where did Mao go? He looks up into the face of a Burai, apparently belonging to C.C. He has to squint to get it in focus—what's wrong with his eyes? They hurt so much.

C.C. purses her lips for a moment before saying, "I dragged you away from there."

"Away from where?"

C.C. doesn't answer. Instead she says gently, in a voice he's never gotten from her, "I'm trying to help you. Please listen."

"What is it?" Lelouch snaps, restless in his very core. He struggles and sits up, huffing and panting.

As the sounds of war grow nearer, her frown deepens. She looks incredibly old as she asks, "Why are you fighting? Didn't you want peace?"

This, at least, sinks through the haze of pain and confusion in Lelouch's brain. "I wanted it for the people I loved. Peace wasn't ever meant for me."

"But why not?" she whispers thickly.

Lelouch staggers to his feet and heads over to the Burai. He doesn't have an answer for that. What he knows is that there is a war going on over there, and he is the commander. His place is at the head of this war.

"Lelouch," C.C. calls desperately, "it's Nunally. Nunally! Do you hear me! Your little sister Nunally is in danger!"

Lelouch looks down at her from the open cockpit. "Are you coming to the battlefield? You should probably stay back."

C.C. stares up with reproachful golden eyes. The eyes of a creature kicked by man. She shakes her head slowly, he doesn't know to what, and takes a few steps back. He nods grimly and the hatch closes.

She watches him go, tasting defeat and the fruitlessness of hope. She thinks, Why couldn't he have been simple? Why is this road so long?

nunally

nunally... oh well

better off

wherever

like euphy

better off dead than in this shithole

why cant he wake up from this goddamn nightmare

("Mao, leave him alone!"

"I'd stay away from him if I were you, girl. His mind just went blank."

"I don't want to hear it. What have you done to him? I never wanted this! My brother..."

"Do what you want. I just want him away from C.C. So now that he's a vegetable over here, I'll just give her a call and—"

"Mao, Mao, please help him..."

"What! No way, no way, no way no way no way!"

"I'm sorry, Lelouch."

"Euphy..."

Smile. "Lelouch. Oh, I've missed you. I'm sorry for leaving."

"Euphy..." Weak. "...why did you leave the Black Knights?"

Frown. Red rings. "You said to join the Black Knights if I didn't want to fight you. I suppose I came to want to fight you."

Silence. Gun. Bang.

"Lelouch...! Why...?" )

dont think about it don't think about it blood NO stop death NO

fighting for... what? knows he has to go fight, but what for? this is all just a horrible dream. its just not okay, not plausible, not excusable. no reason things should be like this, not from the very beginning. mothers shouldnt be gunned down by whoever and young boys shouldnt kill their father and

Lelouch wheels off in the Burai towards the sound of gunfire and thunderous destruction. He takes a moment before arriving to slip into the zero suit that C.C. had wisely thought to bring with her. The space is cramped and uncomfortable, but he manages to maneuver into place. The mask slides slickly and clicks finally.

hell never remove it again no not ever no need anymore

With gun raised, he charges into the battle, while above the Siegfriend looms in Black Knights color. Higher than this an airship hovers, on the so called float system, her sides painted with the Britannian flag—this, then, is Avalon, that which the reports spoke of. Schneizel's battleship.

...

what are you fighting for

...the government bureau his castle the command center they must not take it back

—as he throws himself deeper into the battle, the controls begin to rattle under his fingers. The city, already keeled over and broken apart from the last battle, is being slowly reduced to nothing. Dust to dust, and in a strange way, it pleases him. Perhaps this is what he's longed for: the destruction of everything—

my castle in which the beds are soft and i can have suzaku and my family will be secure

(But he's dead.)

not in my dreams hes not hes always

(But you killed her.)

who

(Euphy.)

what are you talking about

(You said it yourself. Euphemia is dead. You killed her.)

i dont remember that no i was just talking to mao when

(When what.)

—"Why are you just standing there! We need your help!" Inoue calls as she wheels in front of him, thinking him, obviously, as a regular unit. "Go to section—"

Lelouch guns her down so he doesn't have to bear her grating voice or insubordination or her suspcious glares or

(You left Nunally.)

nunally is at the bureau

(She was kidnapped. Don't you listen? C.C. said as much. Someone stole Nunally away and you're just going to let her die.)

no im not shes at the bureau shes at the bureau and this world is shit everyone betrays everyone and everyone dies cant trust anyone not even euphy better off gone this is a nightmare just a damn nightmare the real world is over there

(Over where.)

you know over there this is only a nightmare i have to wake up

(What are you fighting for?)

Be quiet.

Lelouch raises his gun and fires. These people are in his way. Black Knights and Britannians alike scatter and explode in a cloud of confusion and fire.

Things Lelouch does not see:

Schneizel on high. Gazing cooly down his nose at dots on a screen and thinking it really is far too late for this settlement. It's a shame. This place will be uninhabitable after this. Area 11 will be nothing more than a territory, not even a reformational area. The Elevens with their restless hearts and vicious leader can't be allowed to live. They must be destroyed. Area 11 will only be useful for its sakuradite, and it'll even lose the vast majority of its workers.

Coming up to his side, Kanon Maldini gives him a little smile. "Your Majesty, I've just received word that Princess Cornelia has been safely recovered."

Schneizel sighs a little from his nose and lowers himself back down to his throne. 'Your Majesty' they call him now, as opposed to 'Your Highness'. He takes a moment to weigh the new responsibilities that come attached to the title. He considers all the many areas and nations that belong now to him and what he must do for the good of the many despite the few.

Such in mind, he asks, "And Euphemia?"

"No sign of her, sir," Kanon says frankly.

Schneizel will mourn for her when he has the time. For now he must do that which is necessary, just like dethroning his father was necessary. He says, "Then ready the Hadron Canons. Now is as good a time as ever to test them."

"Yes, sir," Kanon agrees easily. He pauses, however, in the middle of turning away. "By the way, sir..."

"Yes?" Schenizel feels a smile of his own tug the corners of his mouth by Kanon's warm tone.

"Congratulations on your ascension. May Britannia and the world ever prosper under your rule."

"Yes. Of this there is no doubt."

Kaguya throws open the doors to the bathroom. Not there. The doors to the closet. Not there.

"Nunally!" she calls at the top of her voice, attempting to be heard over the sounds of war above.

"Lady Kaguya, we must get to safety—"

"Not without Nunally!"

"Who is—"

"A little girl in a wheelchair! How could she have slipped past any of you? Find her, find her! She's my sister-in-law, so find her!"

Ougi grits his teeth and braces himself against the shockwaves of the fight. His fingers are pure white against the control panel. Sweat drips down his nose. His friends all are dying.

"Zero," he whispers to himself and feels the vast sea of helplessness swallow him whole and drown him. "Zero, where are you? Zero, we need you! Have you really abandoned us? Zero!"

C.C. crests the pile of rubble on the outskirts of town where Clovisland sprawls. She sees in the center there, next to the fountain, two immobile bodies. One is Euphemia, with her beautiful hair destroyed, lopped off and stained now with her very own blood. As C.C. draws nearer, she sees that Euphemia is freshly dead, and that her skin is mottled where tears made their tracks. Her arms are spread wide open, feet together, as if she fell backwards in the middle of offering an embrace.

The other body is Mao. She kneels beside him and fails to be surprised when he groans and shifts and opens his eyes. Of course he's alive. Of course the one she didn't want was the one who wanted to make her happy, who kept himself alive no matter what.

"...C.C.? C.C.! It's you! It's really...!"

And weakly he throws the arm that doesn't currently have a bullet lodged in it around her neck. She lays her cheek against his and sighs. "It's been a while, Mao."

V.V. taps his feet gently against the stone floor beneath him. The sky above shines ever in sunset colors. He feels in his soul that his little brother Charles is dead. The only choice now is to quicken the pace of Ragnarok, and for the sake of that, he must have C.C. And C.C. is with V.V.'s despicable nephew Lelouch.

V.V. hums and looks up at his niece, Nunally. "Do you think he's charging over right now to come save you?"

Nunally says nothing, but her face scrunches and her hands quiver where they are folded in her lap.

After some time more of silence, it seems that she cannot hold back the floods of her feelings. The young girl says, "I want to believe he is."

"He loves you very much," V.V. says with a smile, remembering watching Lelouch and Nunally as children, from afar.

"Yes, but that means surprisingly little to a person like Lelouch," she whispers, then whimpers.

V.V. looks at her sharply from the corner of his eyes, chin still resting in hand. "What do you mean?"

"I mean," Nunally says with fat teardrops from the barest slit of opened eyes. "There is something... unsatisfied in Lelouch's heart. There's something unbalanced there."

Lelouch pants through his nose. He feels his eyes begin to burn again, but this time it is because of the oppressive black smog filling the air. It is so thick that it somehow makes it through the Burai's air filters and into Lelouch's cockpit. He coughs miserably as his chest begins to feel tighter and tighter.

At length he has no choice but to abandon the cramped cockpit for fear of suffocation. He ducks for cover in the shade of a half-collapsed building and rips off his mask to get more air. The sudden gulps he gathers burn his lungs and churn his weak stomach. He can't help the bit of vomit that makes its way up. It's the sandwhich he ate with Kallen.

"Zero...?"

Lelouch snarls and glares up at the intruder. It is Urabe, wide-eyed, poking from the back hatch of his Burai.

"Zero... Is that really you? Where have you been and..."

They stare each other down, one with an inexplicable rage and one with shock and some tiny hint of fear. Suddenly a great crash sends white dust into the air. When it clears, a Sutherland raises its gun, sights set on Zero. Lelouch hurriedly turns to Urabe.

"Protect me!" he screams, red eyes blazing.

"Yes, sir!" Urabe shouts back as Lelouch makes a desperate scramble away. Without even bothering with enough time to close his hatch, Urabe charges forward in his Burai and takes the Sutherland's onslaught.

Lelouch clambers back into his own Burai and wheels away as Urabe and the Sutherland simultaneously destruct in a plume of hellfire.

Ougi slams his fist on the table. One of the girls at communications instinctively looks back, frightened.

"...damn... it can't end like this...!"

Zero had been secretive. Zero had been gone for many long periods. Zero had pushed their soldiers too hard. Zero had treated them like pawns. Zero had tried to pull something over on them all with Euphemia.

And yet still... Ougi had wanted to believe in him.

"Fight to your last breath!" Ougi barks, feeling the words sting his mouth. "We can still turn this around!"

Kallen beside him jumps into an automatic salute. "Yes, Ougi!" She begins to march away.

"Kallen," Rakshata calls, "you must look for Zero!"

Kallen hesitates and frowns sadly. She left him to C.C. because... "I don't think he'll be much help, actually."

Cornelia looks into the faces of her supposed rescue team as they fold her into blankets and tuck her into a helicopter. She'd already managed to escape on her own, and they only met her halfway down the mountain—she hates that they fuss over her now, as if she needs it.

The screams of the Black Knights ring out below on the snowcapped mountainsides of Narita.

"What's the situation? Where's Le—Zero? Euphemia?" she demands.

She must find Euphemia. But no one is looking at her.

Nina lowers herself carefully from the giant cupped hand of the Lancelot right after Lloyd. Cecile straightens the hulking white machine and assures them over loud speaker.

"Don't worry. You'll be safe now. I'll go join the Britannia forces. Goodbye."

"Goodbye, Cecile, but try not to beat the machine up, will you?" Lloyd says airily.

Nina hides her face in her hands and cries in sheer terror.

Lelouch finally cracks a smile under his mask. There it is—the government bureau. His castle. So close. His sister is there. His bed is there. The end of nightmares. The dawn breaks overhead.

And there, riding down the slopes of pavement, is his ever loyal bodyguard, Kallen. Lelouch opens a channel to her. "Kallen—"

"Look out!" she screams.

He panels his fact spheres all around, not seeing the cause of distress—not until, that is, he looks straight up. Schneizel's ship casts a massive shadow over the battleground.

Something red sparks from inside the gaping hole in the Avalon.

"Fire," Schneizel orders.

C.C. heaves Mao along, his arm thrown over her shoulder. He limps heavily, but she managed to stopper the bleeding, if only temporarily. The man is pale, but he smiles at her gently. They pause to watch the red rain down on the battlefield, see the fire and the smoke that rises afterwards. Then they continue on, because it has nothing to do with them.

Mao says, "I don't know what you ever saw in that jerk anyway."

C.C. could say quite a few things to that. She could say that Lelouch had the greatest potential she had ever witnessed in a man. Or she could say he wasn't always like this. Or she could explain about how there was no one to stand with him or against him. He saw no equal, he accepted no man. He decided on his own to be lonely.

But instead she says, "Don't die on me, Mao."

And he laughs a little wildly and shouts, "Never! Never never never!"

( "Wait for me, Lelouch. In the world of C.")

...

...

...

"Lelouch? Lelouch..."

Lelouch breathes in. Lelouch breathes out.

The smell of sweet sunflowers, of summer air and hot dirt and tall grass, fills his body. He can almost picture each inhale as a light, fluffy swirl, filling his insides and warm the parts of him that had been empty.

He lays with arms spread, nestled down to the good earth, and the sun is bright on his eyelids. He feels as light as a feather.

A gentle smile stretches his lips.

"Lelouch," the voice laughs.

Lelouch opens his eyes, contentment alighting his face, and sees hisself reflected back in Suzaku's happy expression.

"Come here," Lelouch whispers. Suzaku huffs a small, quiet little chuckle and lays by Lelouch's side. They turn to each other, green peeking at violet over blades of viridian grass.

"I've missed you," Suzaku says calmly. "I hope you'll be happy here. Euphemia is waiting, too."

"I knew it," Lelouch hums, glad to finally be awake. The chill from his nightmare has nearly all dissipated. "I will definitely be happy if you're here."

"You think so?" Suzaku laughs.

"Yes," Lelouch says firmly. There's a great knowing within him somehow. "It's something like fate."

Suzaku turns on his back and watches the sky. "Fate, huh?"

"Yes. We were always meant to be together."

Suzaku grins, eyes fixed on the clouds above, and a blush forms high on his cheeks. "Well, we could always accomplish anything when we were together."

Lelouch props himself up and leans over Suzaku, smiling a rare, beautiful, happy smile. The same smile as when they were both children. His handsome face glows in the colors of summer. He is delighted that Suzaku understands so easily. "Of course. And without each other, we're nothing. Yes. Of course!"

"But we're all together, now."

Lelouch feels relief course through him. Drained, he sags down and rests his forehead on Suzaku's shoulder. "Yes. As it should be. Yes."

And he is happy.

...

...

...

Some days after the retaking of Tokyo, when all the Elevens are dead or fled, Britannian soldiers and workers do their best to sort out their land. Mostly their job is to clear the rubble as best they are able and to drag dead bodies to the mass grave sites being prepared for them. The stench of Tokyo, they joke grimly, curdles the milk of cows in India.

Joseph, a new recruit, gives out a startled yell. His comrades turn to ask the matter. The boy points to the twisted wreckage of an Eleven Burai and gapes in astonishment. The other men stumble and slide down their hill and into the shadowed valley.

There in the ripped cockpit of the Burai is the rumored crazed leader of the Elevens, Zero.

"Woah," Madden laughs, crouching close despite the rotten smell. "Look at this! Wow, he looks like such a freak up close!"

"Take off the mask!" someone jeers. "We'll be the ones to discover Zero's true identity!"

Madden boldly reaches in, but the men are soon disappointed. The face is unrecognizable.

Removed of the mask, it is plain to see that this man had begun to decay long ago.

.

.

.

(end)