As the medical scanner completed its initial task, Tieria Erde’s holographic visage turned towards the Gundam Meister still lying on the scanner table. ”The results should be ready soon. Tell me Setsuna, do you feel ill or impaired in anyway?”
The Meister shook his head before turning his gaze towards the hologram. “No, I don’t particularly feel ill in any physical sense. I just have this sensation in the back of my head that’s telling me not to let my guard down.”
Feldt, who was also still in the medical center, gave Setsuna a puzzled look. “What do you mean by that, Setsuna?”
He took a moment to try and figure out the best way to explain it before he spoke in a quiet, uneasy tone. “I think the Geass is still trying to take hold of me. For some reason I was able to fight it off and retain my will. However I can feel it deep in the back of my mind trying to assert control.”
Stepping closer to the scanner table, Feldt touched Setsuna’s hand and he instinctively clasped his fingers around hers in response. It was rather surprising for her to see it but she was not complaining. “That’s amazing! From the way Rai described the effect, its ability to have the victim carry out the command was absolute.” “Believe me Feldt… that command shook me to the core. I’m not fully certain how I managed to bring myself out of it,” replied the young man.
”I think I just might have a theory as to why you were able to resist the Geass,” stated Tieria as he addressed the pair after looking at current results of the scan displayed on the monitor. ”If what my readings are correct, it seems that your Quantum Brainwaves are reacting to the Geass command’s effect on your brain and is presently acting as a buffer of sorts. Unfortunately the command is still buried within your subconscious which means it could take hold of you and influence your regular way of thinking.”
Feldt’s hold on Setsuna’s hand tightened after hearing the possibility that his condition may worsen. “It can still affect him? Is there a way to get rid of it?”
The holographic Meister could only shake his head sadly. ”Unfortunately at this time I don’t know how that’s possible. The scan managed to isolate the artificial brainwaves that have been generated by the Geass command so I have a starting point but it might take time for me to do some research with Veda and come up with a possible countermeasure.”
“What countermeasure?” asked the young woman.
”I’m not sure yet but my only lead is to look into other applications of Quantum Brainwaves that deal with influencing or overriding the victim’s state of mind…”
Setsuna easily figured out where his comrade’s train of thought was heading. “And that means looking into what Ribbons Almark had done to take over Anew Returner back then.”
Things got a bit uncomfortable before Tieria managed to get the conversation back on track. ”At this point, Setsuna’s own will and his recent Innovation is keeping him from becoming another victim of Geass. Whether that will keep the Geass at bay indefinitely, I can’t say for sure and to be honest, it would be foolish to underestimate such power.”
“That’s for sure,” murmured Setsuna in agreement as he sat up from the scan table. “The command was so powerful; I felt my will being torn asunder as the Geass tried to exert its power on me.” He paused for a moment, noticing how his hand was being held by the young lady at his side.
Realizing Setsuna was now aware of how she was holding his hand, Feldt gently let go of it, trying not to look embarrassed. “Y-you might want to let Rai know you’re awake and doing alright even if it is just for now. He was rather unsettled and upset when he saw how his Geass affected you.”
The Meister merely nodded in acceptance. “I’d imagine. I knew he didn’t mean for the experiment to get out of hand like that. I saw in his memories how easy it is to misuse that power, and how it horrified him when it caused others pain.” His thoughts went back to the bus, the little girl and the other passengers who gave their lives to protect the white haired young man, thanks to the effects of his Geass. “If anyone’s worried I’m going to hold this against him, I won’t.”
Upon hearing this, Feldt smiled brightly at Setsuna, relieved that this wouldn’t cause any ill will between the two recent friends. “I’m sure Rai will be glad to hear that.”
Tieria allowed himself as smile despite his inner concerns about the Geass inhabiting Setsuna’s subconscious. ”Feldt is correct. Rai was rather worried and threw himself at our mercy, begging to make it right. Thus far he’s proven your claim that he has the potential to be a Meister.”
“What do you mean?”
”While you were unconscious I gave Rai some study material on mobile suit operations and combat. Right now he’s using Cherudim’s cockpit as a simulator and Lockon’s administering some combat tests. So far his scores have proven to be most satisfactory and once he finds his niche, he could be a potent Meister.”
The news gave Setsuna a small surge of both optimism and relief. ‘So Rai has taken the first steps of change. While the path of a Gundam Meister is painful and could very well be unsuited for him in the end, the fact he’s keeping to his vow not to run away and to change himself so he can help change the world is a good sign.’
“So what would you say is the final prognosis?” asked Feldt.
”I can’t clear him for combat sorties until we run some additional tests later to see the extent of his resistance to Geass, but aside from that, he can return to duty.”
“That’s fair enough,” replied Setsuna as he slid off the scanner table. ”If you can give me a list of things to do around the ship I’d like to be productive. I can also check on Rai’s progress and say hello.”
Allowing a small smile, the holographic Innovade just nodded. ”Very well then. I will still need to review the scan’s findings in depth and run it through Veda to try and hopefully ascertain a better understanding of the effect the Geass has on your brain. In the meantime, I believe Feldt can supply you with a number of tasks that need to be taken care of around the ship.”
Feldt could have sworn she saw Tieria wink at her, but she decided to focus on helping Setsuna instead of pondering about that uncharacteristic action that the hologram took. “Alright then, we’ll go to the hanger first, and then you can help me with some work on the bridge.”
“Very well. Lead the way.”
As he watched the two leave the medical bay, Tieria refocused on the results of the brain scan while waiting to see what conclusions Veda would come to once it finished analyzing what he had forwarded to the supercomputer earlier. ’Even if he’s alright for now, we should make sure the Quantum Brainwave buffer that’s keeping the Geass at bay can stand up well enough before we let him return to combat. I have a bad feeling if the Geass took hold of him; Setsuna would not just believe in ‘God’, but the corrupt teachings that Ali Al-Saachez imposed on him and the rest of his KPSA followers. Meaning… he might very well see us all as infidels who must be destroyed as demanded of God’s words to the faithful.’
He would have to be very thorough in his work to determine whether he could be clear Setsuna to continue serving as a full time Meister. The last thing they needed was a zealous fanatically turned pilot behind the controls of a Gundam unleashing the wrath of ‘God’ on this world.
Tokyo Garrison, Male Dorm:
As he stepped out of his bathroom fresh from the shower, Suzaku noticed the phone on his bedside table had been vibrating. Tightening his towel around his waist he padded over to the nightstand and picked up his phone. To his surprise, he saw that a text message had been sent to him from Lelouch and immediately opened it to find out what he wanted.
”Suzaku, Milly’s merging your coming home party with the school festival, so be prepared for her usual antics. I figure that she’ll want some speech from you before gleefully throwing you into the general mayhem you can expect from this sort of mess. If you come up with the excuse to be bogged down with work tomorrow, I wouldn’t blame you!”
Suzaku chuckled a little. “Thanks for the warning.” He knew Milly Ashford fairly well for the time he had been with the Student Council last year. She would hound him for missing out on the party even if he’s a Round.
And aside from the fact that it would be a fun, memorable event, he could go through with his plan to fully see if Lelouch’s memories have returned.
His plan made him feel sick, but he had to be sure. He couldn’t let Lelouch return to being Zero. And if his worst fears were confirmed, then there would be no choice but to execute him. ‘God, how would I explain that to Nunnally? Perhaps that will be karma for everything that I’ve done so far including getting the Emperor to agree with me on keeping her in the dark. How did you do it, Lelouch? How did you lie and lie and lie and keep such a straight face and any sanity? Or did all the secrets and lies drive you insane after all?’ Keeping such secrets was not something Suzaku relished in, and it ate at him a little bit ever day.
While he brooded over his thoughts, the Knight of Seven got dressed for school. Nonette assured him that despite the Kamine Island incident, he would still be able to attend his classes and wouldn’t have to worry about the paper work and the logistics of reinforcing the capital now that Zero and the Black Knights were back in action. The soldier in him felt he should stay, but the part of him paranoid about Lelouch was much stronger. Ultimate, that made him come to the decision to go to school just for the explicit purpose of watching him.
He looked at himself at the mirror and made sure that he had dressed himself properly in the black Ashford Academy uniform. And in a flash, he saw the part of him deep down that held a secret hope that Lelouch had regained his memories, so that he could justify taking revenge for Euphy and for putting that damn Geass on him, forcing him to ‘live’.
Suzaku gasped once, trying to shake that darker image out of his head. “God… what’s wrong with me? I shouldn’t… I shouldn’t wish for that. She wouldn’t want me to seek revenge.”
However he did want it and it took everything he had to keep it down. He forced himself away from the mirror’s reflective surface and went back to the washroom to splash some water on his face. “Euphy, please… please give me strength,” murmured Suzaku, pain tinged in his voice. “The strength to hold back the dark impulses inside me.”
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