Pathways Chapter 1: New Lease on Life, a code geass fanfic

Chapter One: New Lease on Life

Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass…

Author's Note: Warning story will contain shounen-ai and eventual yaoi… pairings undecided.

～('▽^人)

"Charles, I can't keep cleaning up your messes. This is why I insisted on you not having so many wives and consorts they sometimes have offspring. More often than not they become quite unruly," V.V. sighed in a way an adult would at a misbehaving child.

He often wondered how his brother managed to own most of the world when he would allow his emotions to get in the way. Ironically, despite his eternal youthful appearance, he has come to despise children.

Charles huffed, "I took care of my end. There shall be no evidence." He did not like it when V.V. treated him as if he was a child. He's not the little kid that needed protection anymore. He's the Emperor of Britannia doesn't that had to count for something.

"Well, let's hope this doesn't happen again," V.V. chuckled. No doubt another one would do something like this again. People always have a way of surprising others when they least expect it and at the worst times.

Charles snorted, "Nothing else will go wrong. I doubt anyone else would dare protest my authority and decisions." If only he realized the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry. It was only a few years later someone else decided to stand up to him.

As Charles sat on his throne, he frowned, but it wasn't so much as to whom it was that dared to go against him or the reason. It was because he could hear his elder brother, saying, 'I told you so' echoing in his mind.

Charles thought, though his face gave nothing away, "Smug little prick isn't going to let me hear the end of this."

～('▽^人)

[Shinjuku Ghetto]

"I can't believe this that my life is going end this way. What about Nunnally? What will happen to her?" Lelouch shuddered. Those were only a few of the hundreds of thoughts flashed through his mind.

Some other thoughts were about the few people he called friends, his dreams, and goals. How all will be gone in a blink of an eye due to Britannian corruption with no way to change it.

"Any last words school boy?" The commander of the royal guards smirked. He and his men pointed their guns at a helpless Lelouch.

Suddenly the dead girl who took a bullet for him grasped his hand whilst he knelt over her body. Within that moment, various shocking and incomprehensible images transferred into Lelouch's mind. He was witnessing the passage of time and transcending space in a matter of seconds. In that last flash, he could see and hear his father speak, but it was so fast he could barely remember what he saw and heard.

"If I grant you power, could you go on? I propose a deal—in exchange for this power, you must agree to make my one wish come true. Accept this contract, and you accept its conditions. While living in the world of humans, you will live unlike any other: a different providence, a different time, a different life. The Power of the King will condemn you to a life of solitude. Are you prepared for this?" C.C. spoke telepathically.

Lelouch replied, "I have no other choice. Very well I accept the terms of the contract."

A limited knowledge of his newfound power instantly understood and with a smirk, he stood up deliberately as the royal guards paused in their taunts. He appeared so afraid only a second ago, now they were the frightened ones.

"What's wrong? Why not shoot? Your opponent is just a schoolboy. Or have you finally realized...the only ones who should kill are those who are prepared to be killed!" Lelouch smiled wickedly, his left eye glowing ominously.

"What's going on?" One of the guards shouted, noticing not only his hand but the hands of the others trembled, slowly moving towards their necks.

They struggled fruitlessly to force their hands away, but no matter how hard they tried to fight it their guns were in place, pinned to their own throats. Their eyes widen, their pupils shrank, and then they pulled the trigger.

With dull thuds, the guards fell upon the ground, blood pouring from their lifeless bodies. After the adrenaline and euphoria of using his Geass left Lelouch became mortified at what he made those men do. Lelouch murmured, "I can't believe it."

He glanced down at the seemingly dead C.C. and the dead royal guards. "I should leave," Lelouch sighed thinking it prudent to not be found with corpses.

"I'll backtrack, hopefully, I can remember which way that driver went," He walked back towards the tunnels. Lelouch left the area and not a moment too soon as a Knightmare Frame, a Sutherland came barreling into the abandoned warehouse. The pilot shocked to find the bodies of the royal guards, a prisoner, and no assailant.

～('▽^人)

"I thought I wouldn't get home alive," Lelouch muttered, making it back home in one piece. He entered the through the front door and sighed, "I'm home!"

"Lelouch I was so worried about you!" Nunnally shouted nearly barreling her wheelchair into him.

Lelouch asked, "Why, what's wrong? I've come home later than this." Upon seeing his sister, he smiled in relief. He had made the right decision on just leaving the battleground.

Though it pained him to run away without getting revenge for Suzaku especially after their reunion and let's not forget the strange girl who gave him his new power, she deserved to be avenged. He may have killed the men directly responsible for their deaths, but Clovis was the one pulling the strings.

However, Nunnally's future trumped it all as it was closely tied to his own. If he had gone through with the plan he made at impulse, which uses the terrorist to fight against the Britannia military he would have to rely on a group of unknowns and his only true weapon was his new power of which he only had limited knowledge of its capabilities. His musings were soon cut off by Nunnally's voice.

"It's terrible something happened to Clovis, someone managed to injury him the news is saying he's in a coma," Nunnally said sadly.

Lelouch's eyes widen shock, "How could that happen? He's constantly surrounded by guards."

"I don't know, but it was during some conflict in Shinjuku. He sustained injury while he was commanding his forces against some terrorists who stole poison gas," Nunnally elaborated.

"I see…" Lelouch sighed. "It seems impossible, but maybe one of the terrorists managed to get passed the guards perhaps with a disguise allowing infiltration. It would have been simple and if I know Clovis when things got too difficult he would have sent every possible person to fight meaning he would have been vulnerable," Lelouch thought.

"Do they have any idea who's responsible for the attack?" He asked.

Nunnally shook her head, "No, I wish we could visit him."

"Hey I know you miss our siblings, but it would be too dangerous. I doubt they would let anyone get anywhere near Clovis now," Lelouch said trying to soothe Nunnally by holding her hand.

"You're right I just wish… that the world was a gentler place." Nunnally whispered.

"Maybe when the time comes for you to open your eyes you'll see a gentler world." Lelouch smiled at his sister. Many people would wish for selfish things, but his sister was not like other people. A gentler world is something mankind could benefit from. "I only wish I could be the one to give you that world," He sighed.

～('▽^人)

"Kallen are you sure we should trust him?" Ohgi asked. The core member of their resistance group stood in a circle having a private meeting. All the while an unknown dark figure stood in the shadows awaiting their decision.

Kallen nearly shouted, "He saved us remember! He put Clovis in a coma. This is the first battle in a long time we've won and it was all due to his leadership." She owed this person her life. She avoided capture and torture due to his timely intervention.

"She has a point. We've been getting our asses handed to us for the longest time. Today we were winning. Well, we were then that white Knightmare showed up!" Tamaki exclaimed.

Minami sighed, "I don't see why we can't give him a shot. We've been fighting losing battles. I mean I see your point, how can we trust a man who won't show us his face, but…"

"It could be for a reason. He might have been someone on the inside working in the military and could be recognized," Sugiyama continued where his friend left off.

Yoshida pointed out, "That would explain how he got us those Knightmares."

"What do we have to lose? It's not like we were doing so great on our own. Kyoto hardly acknowledges our group," Inoue said her thoughts.

"I guess we'll give the guy a chance, but I still have my doubts," Ohgi said. They all turned to the silent shadowy figure. "Zero we'll follow you. If you can help us free Japan then…" He began to say, but Zero cut him off.

Zero stepped out into the light, "Ohgi you are mistaken I don't just plan on freeing Japan. The entire world is in desperate need of help. The plague called Britannia must be eliminated. The first step is Japan so don't worry I'll hold up my end of the bargain, but all I expect from you is your loyalty."

It was obvious Zero used a voice distorter installed in the helmet, making it sound menacing. The figure appeared to be a tall male with toned muscles covered in black leather and black metallic armor. His face concealed in a helmet that resembled a hawk or another bird of prey. [Think of the Zero in Nightmare of Nunnally and that's what he looks like.]

"Then we have a deal," Ohgi shook Zero's leather gloved hand.

"Excellent," Zero chuckled, his deep synthesized voice echoed in the building sending chills down his new allies' spines.

～('▽^人)

The following days were normal for Lelouch aside from testing the range of his new abilities and discovering that they were a powerful form of extrasensory perception.

So far he could perform telekinesis meaning moving, lifting, agitating, vibrating, spinning, bending, breaking, or impacting objects depending on his concentration. It took a large amount of focus to speed up or slow down the naturally occurring vibrations of atoms in matter to alter temperature meaning he ignited and immobilized objects. He hadn't trusted his powers enough to test it on a person.

It was Lelouch's belief that through experimentation and exploration abilities would expand. Perhaps they would grow stronger or even branch out into other areas of psychic powers. He would constantly update his mental checklist of his Geass capabilities while he going through the motions of his day as an academy student.

Therefore he went to class, ate lunch with his fellow council members, and attended meetings to discuss the school's club activities budget, which was where he was at the moment.

Lelouch was laying out the paperwork for the other council members to look over, he was first to arrive as usual. "I wish Madame President wouldn't shove her responsibilities onto me," He groaned.

"Lelouch did you hear they found the person responsible for putting Prince Clovis in a coma!" Rivalz yelled running into the student council's meeting room.

Lelouch asked, "Must you yell like that?" He wasn't in a particularly good mood. The news reminded him of the fate of one of the brothers he could stand and that his best friend had died trying to protect him.

On a lesser note, but still irritating one he was balancing the school's extracurricular activities' budget with hardly any help. It was the fault of his talent for numbers or so Milly told him. He did his own household budget so he couldn't exactly argue.

"It was some Eleven named Suzaku Kururugi. He was an Honorary Britannian soldier," Rivalz replied.

Lelouch gasped, "What?!" He knew that what he heard was a lie since he assumed Suzaku to be dead. Even if he managed to avoid death Suzaku would have been far too injured to put Clovis in a coma, this smelled of a conspiracy.

"Yeah I know maybe he was just waiting to get close before making his move. They say he was the son of Genbu Kururugi the former Prime Minister of Area 11," Rivalz said missing the reason for Lelouch's shock, but how would he know.

Lelouch said, "I have to go."

He gathered his papers and rushed from the room. He had to find Nunnally. She'll be devastated to hear what happened and if she was to find out, he should be the one to tell her and not some gossiping Britannian. Lelouch had to reassure her that Suzaku wouldn't do something like what everyone is saying. Maybe he could tell her some of the truth, just to put her mind at ease.

～ ('▽^人)

Lelouch had just finished explaining the events that took place that day in Shinjuku though he was sure to leave a few key elements out of his story.

Nunnally cried, "Oh big brother what are we going to do? If you go to testify then we'll be exposed, but if you don't then no one will come to Suzaku's defense."

"I know and quite frankly they might not believe me even if I tried. All they're doing is setting Suzaku up to remove the Honorary Britannian system," Lelouch rubbed his aching temples.

"I wish there's something we could do," Nunnally sniffled.

"I know to just find out he was alive for the second time was wonderful, but now it seems that he's going to be taken away from us again," Lelouch said angrily his hands trembled with mixed emotions only to still once Nunnally held his hand in her own in comfort.

Nunnally said, "I guess we can only hope."

Lelouch pulled her into a hug letting her cry on his shoulder. "I'll be damned if this is how it's going to end," Lelouch growled.

After finally calming Nunnally down he tucked her into bed to rest. He went to his room to do some research on his laptop namely hacking a few computer systems. He formulated a plan to rescue Suzaku from his undeserved fate. It was a risk, but he had to take it. Suzaku put his own life on the line for him, it was only right to do the same.

After deeming the plan fit enough to attempt he left Sayoko in charge to watch over Nunnally stating he was going out to clear his mind. Lelouch sighed, "Time to see if my new powers could be of actual use."

～ ('▽^人)

[Tokyo Settlement Military Base]

"According to the schematics the evidence locker should be here," Lelouch envisioned the building's layout in his mind. Dressed in all black, wearing a ski mask, and gloves to hide his features to prevent leaving any traces, Lelouch crawled through the ventilation system of the military base they were holding Suzaku. Conveniently they also stored all evidence pertaining towards the investigation at the same location.

Using to use his newfound powers the security system was disabled. Gleefully Lelouch watched from his vantage point to see the guards were scrambling to get everything back online.

"Now is my chance," Lelouch slipped out of the vent and into the evidence room. It took no time at all to locate the box that held Suzaku's case evidence. "No evidence no case, and since everything is happening tomorrow they won't have the time to fabricate more," He smirked.

"Now for one final task," He chuckled, wiping out the data even going so far as to remove the lead investigator's name from the electronic sign-in form while leaving the other signatures. It will look even more like the conspiracy it truly was with no proof of Suzaku's supposed crimes.

The people leading the investigation will look foolish before the tribunal. They won't be able to find Suzaku guilty if they don't have the means to do so. Luckily the justice system hasn't gotten to the point that just saying a person is guilty means that it was true, not yet anyway.

"I hope this will be sufficient in helping Suzaku," Lelouch left the base after dumping the evidence in the building's incinerator. "I'm probably not the only one to use it to destroy evidence," He grunted in displeasure.

"Damn Britannia corruption," Lelouch muttered removing his ski mask then made his way home taking a cab after making sure he was far away from the base he sneaked into to avoid suspicion.

～ ('▽^人)

"Hey, Lelouch I thought you weren't planning on watching this?" Rivalz asked. He and the rest of the student council sat in their meeting room to watch the spectacle they were making Suzaku's court martial.

Lelouch replied, "I find the whole thing distasteful. However can't help, but be curious." He folded his arms watching in anger how they were parading his best friend. A few minutes into the procession to his shock he saw what looked to be Prince Clovis' personal transport coming towards the military.

Lelouch watched in rapture when the masked figure known as Zero announced to the world that he was responsible for Clovis' condition. He briefly wondered how the criminal would escape unscathed, yet Zero somehow outnumbered and outgunned he freed Suzaku and fled without firing a shot.

Zero used the empty container as a decoy to trick the military into believing it still held the poison, but Lelouch knew did not hold anything of the sort. "How did this Zero person know this?" Lelouch stroked his chin only to inwardly hit himself over the head. "Well, it could have been the fact it was empty and no one died," Lelouch chuckled sardonically.

"It's obvious that only a select few in the military knew the truth since the Margrave and his men had no idea judging from the looks on their faces. Whoever this Zero is I want to thank him. I wasn't sure my efforts would free Suzaku. Now that the real culprit has come forward or at least if he is taking the credit then they can no longer say Suzaku is guilty," Lelouch thought inwardly sighing in relief.

Shirley upon seeing a smile on Lelouch's face remarked, "You look strangely happy, Lulu."

"I just found this all rather exciting. This Zero character knows how to put on a show," Lelouch replied smoothly.

"He put Prince Clovis in a coma," Nina whispered.

Lelouch stated, "So he says, but anyone could have done it. This guy could be taking credit for it to gain a reputation. It could have been an assassination attempt by the E.U. or Chinese Federation."

"He does have a point, but this Zero has style. He also seems pretty fit under all that armor. I could see his rock hard abs from here," Milly grinned causing everyone to sigh at her bold ways but were far too used to it to complain.

Shirley asked, "You know a lot about politics Lulu do you plan on getting into it?"

"What me… a Politician? I could hardly stomach the bureaucracy I address as student council vice president doing that full time would kill me," Lelouch grumbled making them all laughed. "Anyway I need to get home and put Nunnally to bed," He waved goodbye to everyone before heading out.

～ ('▽^人)

"Oh Lelouch isn't it wonderful now Suzaku won't be found guilty," Nunnally smiled whilst Lelouch tucked her into bed. She was listening to the news with her radio before he got home.

"Yes, with this Zero declaring to the world that he was responsible they have to let Suzaku go and the Honorary Britannian system is safe for now," Lelouch said holding his sister's hand comfort.

"Lelouch, do you think we'll be able to find Suzaku again? Now we know he's alive maybe he can visit us," Nunnally pleaded squeezing her brother's hand a little tighter.

Lelouch chuckled, "Well Suzaku knows for sure we're still in Area 11 so I'm sure he'll want to find us and if not I'll reach out to him." He knew his sister wanted to check for herself if Suzaku was alright. It could be possible to do this, perhaps under disguise just to be on the safe side.

～('▽^人)

"I can't believe he wouldn't join us! What is he thinking?" Kallen huffed to Zero who merely hummed not bothered by Suzaku's rejection.

Zero interjected before she could go into an angry rant, "Well it is of no consequence. I may have use of him while he is still in the system. In any case if he did not show up for the court martial the government might take that as an excuse to crack down harder on the Japanese. It's better this way. The people Kallen muttered, "You have a point, but his self-righteous attitude rubs me the wrong way. He could have been more grateful."

"People like him only see the world in black and white and not the many gray areas in between. I'm sure life will beat that lesson into him. Kururugi will be under further scrutiny by his superiors and when he finally cracks we'll be there to put the pieces back together," Zero said darkly.

"You should head home you do have school tomorrow. You have to maintain appearances as a normal Britannian student to keep you safe and under the radar," He added then vanished into the shadows.

～('▽^人)

The next morning at school during class Lelouch nearly gasped, "I think I know her." He recognized Kallen, that red hair was quite distinctive. "She was the pilot of the red Glasgow I'm sure of it. Well, it explains her poor attendance record, terrorism must take up much of her time," He thought cynically.

"See something you like?" Rivalz whispered in Lelouch's ear. Lelouch could just hear the smirk Rivalz was wearing on his face. Mentally counting down he sat back and listened to the shorter male revealing all he knew about Kallen Stadfeld, which was apparently quite a bit.

After a few brief moments of silence Lelouch deemed it safe to speak, "I was merely thinking this was a rare occurrence. She hasn't been present since the start of the new school year."

Lelouch was attempting to get Rivalz to get his mind out of the gutter. Everyone is not driven by their hormones like his blue-haired friend. "Anyway don't you remember? Milly assigned me to retrieve her. It's decided that due to her illness she and high scores she was to be inducted into the student council. I still don't know why they let you in," Lelouch smirked at the betrayed look on his Rivalz's face.

Rivalz huffed, "Hey not everyone is like you can skip all the time and still make it into the top five class rankings."

"Unlike you I like to read," Lelouch walked over to Kallen, currently surrounded by her friends. "Hello Ms. Stadfeld I'm Lelouch Lamperouge would you mind coming with me for a moment?" He said giving his classic easygoing smile that made the girls sans Kallen blush and giggle to themselves.

"S…Sure I don't mind," Kallen said giving Lelouch time to take in her seemingly exhausted half-lidded stare, the practiced slow movements, and the soft-spoken bordering weak voice it was a masterful act he thought in admiration. "So what is it you want to talk about?" She asked.

Lelouch informed, "Well due to your condition and high scores you're to be inducted into the student council since it is mandatory all students must participate in at least one extracurricular activity."

"W…What really, are you sure?" Kallen asked. "I don't have time for some stupid club!" She yelled.

Lelouch smirked, "Trust me the benefits are quite nice. There's top clearance just below the faculty members of the school meaning we have all sorts of ways to get off campus. There's hardly any work involved, it's mostly paperwork and organizing school events."

He knew the clearance is what gained Kallen's attention it would be wonderful to be able to escape school grounds at a moment's notice.

"Well I don't see why not," Kallen accepted.

"Wonderful oh and be warned our President is a bit eccentric," Lelouch smiled leading her to the club room where Milly and the others were setting up the party for Kallen. Unfortunately minutes later at the fault of Shirley and Rivalz wrestling over a bottle of champagne, Kallen became drenched in it.

"Sorry I should have warned you about the rest of the members, Rivalz and Shirley can be energetic and rather clumsy," Lelouch apologized bringing her a change of clothes.

Kallen sighed, "No harm done, it's alright to cut loose every once and a while." She rinsed off the champagne sticking to her skin and soaking her hair. "Damn Britannians," She cursed.

"I hope you don't mind wearing my clothes. I doubt any of the others' clothes would work," Lelouch said placing them down on the small table next to the shower.

Kallen commented, "That was fast you went all the way to the boy dorms and back."

"No, I live within the clubhouse. My sister can't get around very while so they set us up here," Lelouch said softly.

"Oh, I'm sorry if I…" Kallen stammered.

Lelouch sighed, "No, it was a long time ago… besides Nunnally tries not to let it get her down so the least I can do is adopt the same attitude."

Kallen was about to say more, however, the phone rang startling them both, "Hello Ashford Student Council," Lelouch answered.

"May I speak with a Miss Kallen Stadfeld?" A male voice spoke that seemed to resonate within Lelouch for some reason. It was deep and smooth, which reminded him of his brother Schneizel's voice.

"Yes of course. It's for you Kallen," Lelouch said closing his eyes and passed the phone to her.

Kallen answered cautiously, "Hello?"

"Hello, Q-1 I apologize at calling during school hours, but we need to have a meeting tonight. There's been an announcement. It's concerning the new Viceroy and Sub-Viceroy. They seemed to be on their way to Japan within the end of the week," Zero said, now speaking with his synthesized voice.

"I understand," Kallen said looking over to where Lelouch once stood to find him gone. He seemed to have slipped out while she was talking.

"Good and by the way what is the name of that boy who spoke on the phone?" Zero asked.

She blinked confused but replied nonetheless, "Oh I think it is Lelouch Lamperouge."

Zero paused at hearing the name, "That's a peculiar name anyway the meeting is at eight o'clock." He hung up leaving Kallen curious.

"I wonder why he wanted to know Lelouch's name. I guess he was only curious," Kallen decided to put that in the back of her mind. She was more concern with the new Viceroy and Sub-Viceroy.

～('▽^人)

"Lelouch Lamperouge, it couldn't be…" Zero sat at his desk. He was not wearing his armor though he had on the suit he wore underneath the armor. After a few seconds of deliberating he did some research and what he found shocked him, as Lelouch's id picture came upon the screen.

"Lelouch is that really you. You are alive and been hiding all this time, you and Nunnally both. You're more resourceful than I thought," Zero sighed removing his helmet revealing a wave of silken golden blond hair.

"My dear Lelouch you have grown up quite well," He chuckled deeply. "He's been here in Japan alive and well. I thought him to be dead after that bastard sent him here, but no he survived even after declared as a weakling and expendable. I'm so proud of you Lelouch," Zero smiled to himself stroking Lelouch's image gently.

～ ('▽^人)

End of Chapter

A/N: Well this is my first Code Geass story and as you can see it is an alternate reality. Lelouch is not Zero nor does he have his Absolute Obedience Geass, no… Zero has that Geass. As for whom Zero is, well…

Lelouch is a bit different than he is the in the series. I decided to have him think a bit more carefully about the consequences of his actions. C.C. will pop up soon enough. Thanks for reading my story, hope you all enjoyed it.