One might expect that a boy of Lelouch's intelligence could appreciate a good mystery. To tax one's brain, to piece together the clues until that final "aha" moment, where it all comes into sharp focus. Surely he must seek out that euphoric rush?
No. He did not. Lelouch did not like mysteries. He did not like questions to which he did not already know the answer. When confronted with any question at all, his mind would formulate appropriate solutions based on available evidence automatically adjusting as more information was made available, until he was certain. And at that point there was no euphoria, no "eureka" moment. Simply acceptance that the answer was now known. He would have made a terrible scientist.
It was rare when he would find a question so utterly baffling that he could not even do this, and it made Lelouch feel rather out of his comfort zone. Usually that sort of thing would involve something more philosophical like "does God exist?" or "is there an afterlife?" or "what is love?"
It was rarer still when he would find such a question which had a definitive concrete answer. It gnawed at the back of his brain like a flesh eating virus. Who had sent Shirley those DVDs? Why had they sent them to her? Why were people behaving so strangely? It seemed as though Shirley had elected to act behind his back and investigated on her own. Concerning behaviour. Nonetheless, what is done is done. What matters now is what happens next.
What happened next was Shirley rushing out of the building to hug him. He blushed, still unused to the physical contact even after...
"Thank goodness you're here!" Shirley breathlessly said, then kissed him on the cheek. "This place is so freaky!"
"It's alright, let me take care of it," he said, stepping away from her and striding inside the building with his head held high. It was rather unassuming on the outside. But once actually inside the building, he could see what she meant. To start with, it looked like there was a girl from their school sleeping just on the inside, covered in a blanket. This must be Sophie.
A little further in, and she found the man she'd knocked out. Well now, wasn't this pleasant? In all truth this made him feel a little awkward, but looking around the room at all the items being stored under glass... A hidden museum? That didn't make any sense, and the items looked completely benign and uninteresting. Especially those earrings... If not for the fact that they were apparently listed for Shirley's roommate.
Shirley had entered the room as well. Hanging back, obviously quite nervous. She should be. They were about to get answers, and somehow Lelouch felt like there was an approximately 45 to 50 percent chance that they would not like the answers they got.
He nudged the tied up man on the ground with his foot. In response the stranger rolled over and began snoring loudly. How irritatingly coarse of him. Let's see. He didn't want to enact proper physical violence upon him. Ah, that last sentence was a lie: He did, very much so. The trouble was that he didn't want to let himself indulge in that particular pettiness on such small fry.
So instead he went for an old standby for waking someone up as quickly as possible. He pinched the man's nose and waited.
"Huh?!" the man grunted after a moment. Lelouch released him and stepped back, looking down on him with disgust. "Wha- I was just... Huh?"
His eyes came fully open and he looked up at Lelouch. Curious. The mere sight of him made the colour drain fully from this man's face. "Shit!" he yelled, and then immediately closed his eyes again. The conclusion was obvious. He knows about Geass!
"Shirley, his eyes!" Lelouch ordered.
"Y-Yes!" she answered, and he kicked himself for sounding so harsh. But she got the idea, knelt behind the man, who violently shook his head to and fro and tried to roll out of the way. To no avail. It didn't take much for her to pin him in place.
"No! No, please don't!" the man pleaded. Shirley got her hands around his face. "Let me go! Let me go! Please, I'm begging you don't -"
His eyes were open. Lelouch's eye flashed with a symbol like a flapping bird. "You will answer all of my questions," he commanded, and the man's body went limp as the Geass rewrote his brain on the spot.
"Of course your highness."
Good. That should make this easier. He knelt down. And his first question would be...Who was he? What was he intending to do? What was the purpose of this house? The first question was important, and so Lelouch asked the only question that could be the first reasonable question he could ask.
"Knowing what you know, what is the first question I should ask you?"
"Where did you come from?"
Interesting. "So? Where did you come from?"
"Parallel universe." Not the answer he was expecting, but under the circumstances far from the most surprising aspect of this. He was quite versed in multiversal theory, and it did fit with the DVD conundrum to an uncomfortable degree. "We are here to study causal effects on reality induced by these items."
Really now? Lelouch frowned. "And what are these items?" he asked.
"Items of power. They all induce a different effect that often leads to perverted outcomes."
Curiouser and curiouser! "Tell me more about this study," he demanded.
"We have selected various alternative realities for study with known outcomes," came the answer. "One is this universe. Another has a heavy ninja centric focus. Our current favourite field of study is a martial artist who changes gender when hit with water. We introduce an item into the universe, give it to a particular person, and watch the results. For example, in one universe we gave Sophie Wood access to Normality Earrings. In another we gave Kallen Kozuki the Pendant of Lust and Love. In another we gave Shirley Fenette the Book of Titnosis. In all cases the outcomes are extremely perverted in some way or another. Our current theory is that the mere presence of these items is entirely sufficient to induce erotic effects. That is why we have stored these items: They are here, but not to be used. We are to allow events to proceed without interruption. As you have discovered us, we shall have to relocate to another universe and try again."
Oh dear. It seemed as though Lelouch's eye had developed a nervous tic. "And the DVDs sent to Shirley? Who sent those?"
No answer. He didn't know! "Do you know anything about that?" he demanded. "Anything at all?" More silence. Damn him! "So that's all you were doing? Storing these... Perverted Items of Power in this storage house to see if their mere presence changed anything indirectly? Is that correct?"
"Yes."
Before Lelouch said anything else, Shirley grabbed the man by the hair and pushed him back against the floor.
"People died," she hissed. He'd never seen her this angry. It was remarkably intimidating... But also rather appealing in a strange way. The items must be influencing his thinking. "You let Shinjuku happen?" she slapped him. "You would stand back and watch the Massacre Princess happen?" another slap. "The Battle of Narita?" another slap. "My f-father!" three slaps in a row this time. "You people are <i>sick!</i> What is wrong with you! What is..."
Without knowing what he was doing Lelouch reached out towards her and put his fingers under her chin, guiding her face upwards to look at him. Her eyes were blurry with tears. For a moment he was tempted. Give up that future as Zero. Live a content life with his friends. Graduate. Settle down with Shirley, become normal... But that was a future that didn't exist in any parallel world. He could no more allow the injustices of the world to pass uncommented than a fish could breathe in the open air.
"Sh, it's alright," he lied, as smooth as silk. "We'll destroy these abominations, and then -"
He trailed off. There was another man over there! He looked the same as the one tied up, but this time holding a gun! Lelouch grabbed hold of Shirley's waist and pulled her away, then heard something loud, deafening... And then he collapsed to the ground.
<hr>
He wasn't bleeding. Strong pulse, breathing was steady. Oh, thank goodness they'd all gone on that first aid course! Lelouch was alright, just unconscious. Oh, why did he have to take that shot for her? That stupid, brave handsome hero.
Her gaze swept upwards and her lips pursed in frustration. The man with the gun had approached his buddy. How dare he. How dare they! She rose onto shaky legs and activated her Geass - But then they both vanished into thin air, and so did everything else in the room of note. Even Sophie's blanket disappeared
"Oh... Fooie!" she stomped her foot in frustration. "They got away! Those total creeps! They didn't leave anything behind? Nothing?!"
Before she could examine that, Shirley heard a noise. A steady beep that sounded like... A phone? She quickly found it inside Lelouch's pocket. This was not his regular phone. Actually, it seemed like he had two phones now? There was a text message on one of them, a reminder on his calendar.
<i>We have the parts you wanted. What now?</i>
The parts that he wanted.. That's tonight?! But Lelouch - He was in no condition to meet up with them right now! What should she do? "Lelouch wake up!" she pleaded. "Snap out of it! Please! You have to... wake up..."
That was when her eyes fell upon it. Staring down at her, hanging in the back room. Looming menacingly. It was strange seeing it in three dimensions rather than two. It looked so... menacing. Otherworldly. She knew what it was. She hated it. It was a symbol for freedom, of hope for the masses, the saviour of the world. It was the thing that had killed the two most important people in her life.
Her mouth was dry. What was it doing here? She crawled towards it. Terrified and yet... drawn.
As she entered the room, her hand fell upon something. "Voice changer...?" she read. "Wait a minute now, that's a bit too much of a coincidence!"
Suzaku... They were going to kill Suzaku because of something she had done. It would make things easier for Lelouch, wouldn't it? Without Lancelot's pilot, he'd be able to corner Cornelia quicker. It would make things so, so much easier for him in the long run and it would serve him right for the way he would betray Lelouch... But at the same time she couldn't help but think of them as small boys, playing together in the woods. She could see Nunnally being upset about his death, so soon after Clovis too.
The mask was in her hands before she knew it. What was she thinking? This was obviously a setup. So obvious! She should step away from this. She should call an ambulance for Lelouch and let it be, but at the same time she couldn't make Nunnally sad. She simply couldn't!
"Then... I will become Zero," she said. The mask snapped over her head. It fit like a glove. "Lelouch, I'll save your friend on your behalf. My sweet Prince, please recover quickly."
- This is no ordinary Zero costume. It's also an item of power, as Shirley is about to find out.
- The mysterious group conducting experiments decides to continue analysis on this world.
- Sophie wakes up, and discovers an item that was forgotten.
- Meanwhile, Kallen has made her own discovery relating to the study.
- Something else
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