“Can I see one of those fliers for the giant pizza event, please?”
Rivalz turned around towards the source of the female voice, wearing a smile as he held out a flier to the student. “Of course, here you go! Hope you’ll enjoy yourself today!”
Taking the event flier C.C. eyed it with great interest. “Oh I’m sure I will.” On the surface, she appeared to have that same detached look and her tone barely sounded excited. Internally she was giddy; she was denied having a piece of the giant pizza from last year’s festival and this year she would not be denied! Of course she had another objective to complete and that was to recover her Cheese-Kun plushy in a box in the warehouse. Of course, she probably would need to spend some extra time putting it through a heavier wash cycle as it hadn’t been cleaned in quite a long time but as she just didn’t sleep well without it, doing that particular piece of laundry isn’t a big deal to her.
“Are you out of your mind?! What are you doing here?”
Hearing a labored voice calling her, C.C. turned to her right as Lelouch ran up and then stopped to bend over so he could catch his breath from running over. He was still so out of shape that it was rather pathetic. “I’m merely looking for something I left behind. And of course since last year’s giant pizza event was ruined, I’m making sure that I get a slice.”
With his breathing back under control, Lelouch stood up to his normal height as he glared at her. “Why are you so obsessed with that doll? I could have easily reclaimed it for you if you’d asked!”
“I did,” pointed out the immortal. “You kept putting it off since it wasn’t important to your plans, so I had to act on my own.”
Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Lelouch pulled out a bag with two eye-holes from his pocket before placing it over her head. Once her face was concealed, he forcefully pulled her hand so that she would follow him. “Come with me, now!”
“My, you come on bold and forceful don’t you Lelouch?” said the green haired female in a teasing tone as she allowed him to escort her away.
“Shut up witch,” retorted the young man as he dragged her by the arm. “Don’t you understand your situation? Your presence could compromise everything!”
“Yes I know. The Emperor is trying to capture me, and thus is using you as bait.”
“I may have some of the surveillance covering me compromised, but not all of it! There’s also the fact that Suzaku’s here and to make things more difficult, there’s a woman among the surveillance team that I can’t use my Geass on! This means we can’t afford any slip ups!” He really hoped that it would get through her head this time but considering that she’s such a free willed individual, he probably was just wasting his breath. Again.
‘That Pizza Girl will pay for this! One hundred… no, a thousand fold for this!!’
What Kallen Kouzuki was referring to was donning the green otter mascot costume in order to enter the festival and snatch C.C. without being recognized. It was hot, stuffy and in order not to drown in her own sweat, she was forced to just wear a black tank top that barely covered her impressive bosom and matching underwear. If she had to make a hasty escape from the suit and run on foot, she would most likely be arrested for indecent exposure if captured by the police.
Then again, considering her occupation and how well known she was by the Britannian military, indecent exposure would probably be the least of her worries.
‘Doesn’t she know coming here puts Lelouch in danger? We just got him back, and the Black Knights are getting everything back into proper working order… and now that damn woman is putting it all in danger just for a slice of a giant pizza!! Doesn’t she eat enough of that stuff to feed an army?!’ Why did it matter if this pizza was mega-sized? It was still made from the same ingredients! Forcing herself to stay focused as to prevent a loss of focus; Kallen continued to trek about the fair grounds, while feeling a sense of nostalgia and longing throughout her being. ‘A year ago, I was helping run the haunted house, along with helping the rest of the student council prepare for the festival. Watching all the students have fun as if the world is fine and dandy pisses me off… but I want to be a part of this fun again and to be a normal kid.’ She shook her head to get those thoughts out. She knew that she had a duty to change the world for the better and she knew that there was no way she could really be happy right now, knowing how truly screwed up the world is.
“Kyaa! It’s Tabatacchi!!”
Kallen froze and turned towards the source of the squeals. Through the giant eyes of the silly mascot costume, she made out several female students from the junior high school section of Ashford Academy were cooing and making googly eyes before they all charged forth, intending to grab some photo opportunities. ‘At this rate I’ll never find Pizza Girl if every fawning fan-girl and fan-boy wants to stop me for photos!’
Away from prying eyes in a hidden alcove of the school, Lelouch did a double check to make sure that they weren’t followed and that nobody was nearby before he turned his full attention to C.C. “You owe me some answers to some questions of mine you’ve been dodging, witch. I’d say that’s fair compensation to what you cost me on top of your pizza-mania putting us in jeopardy.”
The immortal woman nonchalantly shrugged. “So I came to get my slice of the giant pie, and perhaps I did put myself and possibly you in trouble if I was caught. However I am good at evading capture.”
“That aside, because I had to go get you, you cost me a chance to find out about Nunnally!” said Lelouch in a very irate tone of voice as he openly glared at the immortal, his purple eyes appearing far more harsh than usual.
This made C.C. actually blink in surprise. “Information about your sister? Here at Ashford? I thought everyone’s memories were altered?”
“That was what I had assumed as well. Memories regarding Nunnally were changed and everybody remembered that I had a little brother instead of a sister. However I overheard a student mention her name, and he referred to us as brother and sister. There’s someone that the Emperor missed who still remembers how things are supposed to be!”
As this news sank in, C.C. pondered on the situation. “How very odd. Charles is usually very thorough in such things. Perhaps this student was someone who transferred out prior to the Black Rebellion and moved back?”
Lelouch just shook his head. “No, I reviewed the student registry thoroughly. Anyone who stayed had their memories altered and most of the students here are either first years, or new arrivals that came to help re-populate Area Eleven after the mass exodus of those who left in the wake of the Black Rebellion. Also if this was a student who transferred back I’d have no doubt they would give him the false memories to ensure the cover wasn’t broken. And there have been no transfers back to Ashford. Only outs and new arrivals.”
“Did you get a good look at this student?” inquired C.C. in a curious tone.
“I only saw his back. He was walking with a younger girl and the only distinct feature I could recall was his hair being this gray-white color. But when I overheard the conversation, I knew the voice came from him. He was the one who mentioned Nunnally and me as siblings as it is supposed to be.”
That description sounded rather familiar to the green haired woman. After a few moments, her mind started to put a face to the described hair of the mystery student. ‘Could it be him? Has he awoken after all this time? It would make some sense, but I’d need to find him to make sure.’ Putting aside that thought for the moment, her golden eyes made contact with Lelouch’s. “I guess I do owe you for costing you a chance to find out information about Nunnally. Ask away and I may give you a straight up answer for a change.”
Satisfied with that, Lelouch brought up the first question he had on his mind. “Do you know the one who made a contract with the Emperor and gave him his Geass?”
She nodded. “Yes, in fact I also believe the same person is the one who snuck your sister out and informed Suzaku about the truth of Geass.”
“So that’s how he knew about it, and why the Emperor showed off his Geass when Suzaku brought me before him. There was no need to keep it a secret,” muttered the young man as he went over the new information. “So who is this person?”
“You shouldn’t delve into it any further,” warned C.C.
Lelouch frowned as she denied him the answers he wanted. “I am already deeply involved in this situation, witch. I need to know who he is.”
Seeing the determined look on his face, C.C. opened her mouth at first to protest further but considering how serious he was in wanting to know this information, she decided just to give him a name. “V.V.”
Hearing that this person also had a similar double single lettered moniker as C.C.; Lelouch wondered if this Geass Order had a fascination with such code names. “V.V.? I see… did he also give Suzaku a Geass power?”
“No he did not. At least not that I can sense,” replied C.C. with a light shake of her head.
“Vice-President!”
Hearing someone calling for him outside, Lelouch bit back a curse and leaned out from behind the alcove, spotting a male student with an arm-band showing they were a volunteer-helper for the festival. “Yes, do you need something?”
Upon spotting him, the student shouted as loud as he could in order to communicate. “Sorry to bother you, but we need a hand programming the fire safety system just in case we have any accidents with the fireworks this evening!”
“Alright, I’ll be there in just a second!” He then turned back to C.C. and issued some instructions in a low tone. ”Listen, go around to the back and hide in the nooks near the tomato container truck. As soon as I handle this I’ll meet you over there so we can finish this conversation. And no sightseeing! Have I made myself clear, C.C.?!”
“Understood,” replied the immortal before quietly slipping away while Lelouch went to tend to the fire safety system. ‘One of these days, that witch is going to send me to the hospital or the loony bin whichever comes first.’
“I really, really suck at this game,” groaned Rai as he missed for the third time to knock over a stacked set of bottles. ‘Maybe the urban myth about these games being rigged is true.’ He had thought that with his training and reflexes, winning a prize would be easy but then again, for his mobile suit simulations, he did have computer-aided targeting assistance for the GN Mega Launcher.
Alice shook her head and flashed a smug smile that fit perfectly with her little sister act. “I’ll show you how it’s done, big bro. Step aside.”
“Hopefully you’ll have better luck than your brother, young miss,” said the male student running the booth jovially.
“Oh, I play to win!” proclaimed the little girl as she held up Haro as if she was readying a bowling ball.
“Alice scaring Haro! Alice scaring Haro!” yelped the small blue robotic companion as the fin-flaps on top of his head moved about in a rather panicked state.
Alice on the other hand grinned wider. And she already knew what she wanted to use as an inspirational attack phrase (thanks to hanging out with Lockon during down time). “Alice and Haro, commencing attack on the target!”
By the time anyone recognized what Alice was going to do, she had already hurled Haro at the bottles, hitting them dead center and sending the pyramid of plastic milk cartons to the ground.
“Whoo-hoo!” Pumping her arms, Alice started a victory dance, drawing quite a bit of attention to her. “I am still the numbah’ one champion of the bottle tosses!”
“You suck! You suck!” chirped Haro from the ground as he fluttered his flaps in indignation of being used as a projectile.
The student attendant picked up Haro before handing him back to Alice. “Um, you’re supposed to use the balls we provide. However that was pretty sneaky and effective so tell you what: I’ll let you take a prize but don’t tell anyone okay?”
“That’s a promise!” said Alice with her victory grin still splattered on her face. “As for my prize, I’ll take Lancelot plushy!” “Here you go! Enjoy the rest of the festival.”
While the girl happily squeezed the Knightmare plushy to her body, Rai bowed in apology to the game attendant. “Thanks for putting up with us.”
“Heh, don’t worry about it.”
After bowing one more time to the attendant, the Geass user joined his sister who had already moved on to the next portion of the fair. “Alice, that was… just wrong on so many levels,” started Rai in a stern tone full of disapproval. However his stern expression cracked and gave way to a small grin. “But I have to admit that was very resourceful of you.”
“Why thank you, big brother!” said the young girl as she eyed her prize. She then looked down at Haro who was secured in her arm. “And I owe you for the assistance Haro!”
“Oil bath and polishing! Oil bath and polishing! Make it shine, make it shine!” chirped the blue Haro, its tone indicating it was still not amused at being used in such a crude manner.
Alice giggled while putting away the plush Lancelot in a tot bag picked up from another student that had been handing out free goodies earlier. And now with that hand free, she patted Haro on the head. “I’ll ask Mileina or Ian to help with that. Anything for my little robot buddy!”
“Good to know! Good to know!”
“Pardon me.”
Rai cocked his head to the right as a student wearing an odd white mask-bag over her head brushed past him. As her fingers made contact with his own hand, he suddenly saw an image of C.C. from the memory of his first meeting with her. Once his vision returned to normal, he saw the girl make a gesture with her eyes, beckoning him to follow before walking away.
“Rai? Um, Earth to Rai?” Alice tugged his sleeve a few times when she noticed he just stopped walking.
“Alice, follow me but keep a distance. We just made contact,” ordered Rai before he began to follow the bag wearing girl.
“Made con-” Her eyes widened as she realized what he meant. “Haro, keep a visual on Rai. We’re keeping back but do not lose him!” Haro merely chirped once in acknowledgement as its top fins began to flap in response.
As for Rai, he followed the masked student through the crowds and the stalls and all the way around to the back of the campus where a large container truck was parked with the logo for ‘Andes Grown Tomatos’ emblazed on the side. The girl ahead of him climbed up the ladder of the truck and before he followed, he looked back and spotted Alice ducking into some bushes nearby. ‘Good, she’s in position.’
Satisfied that she’s keeping an eye on things, he proceeded towards the ladder so he could reach the small catwalk overlooking the open tomato container. Once he had reached the top, his suspicions were confirmed as the student removed the bag-mask, revealing the very immortal he was looking for with his comrades. “C.C., it is you!”
“Welcome back to the living Rai. I honestly never expected to see you again,” said the green haired woman in a quiet and genuinely warm tone as a small and rare smile appeared on her face.
A part of him had an overwhelming desire to grab the woman in a hug, happy that he was able to reconnect with someone but he managed to keep himself from doing anything too drastic. Instead he settled for giving a happy smile. “You have no idea how good it is to finally run into someone who actually knows me. I wasn’t sure if you were still hanging around the area, but when I heard about this pizza event, I figured I would be able to see you again since you’re a pizzaholic.”
“Since I do love eating pizza, I’ll let that remark slide.” She sat down on the railing, shooting the Geass user an amused look. “Especially since that love of pizza allowed us to meet again. So how did you force yourself awake this time? Were you found again by the Geass Order, or perhaps by some other Britannian scientists?”
Rai shook his head in response to the question. “Neither. It was someone else who found me but thankfully for me, he was someone who helped me instead of trying to exploit me. In any case I’m glad I found you. I need to ask you some more questions about Geass. To be specific, I want to know more about the ones controlling it.”
C.C. had not been expecting that request. “I told you before. For your own sake, it’s best you leave that subject alone.”
“I can’t do that. Not anymore. One of the things that I had learned during my sleep was that Geass is the prime source that disrupts the path of peace in this world. The place where I went to sleep, Kamine Island, my Geass interacted with something there. It showed me alternative lives of my own and glimpses of things I couldn’t decipher. More importantly, it showed me and my rescuer that there was a possibility that some unknown power hiding in the shadows could be using Geass to further their goals. They have to be stopped. So please, C.C…. I need your help.”
She looked at him carefully and noticed that this time around, he had made his resolve. His blue eyes were no longer confused and unsure of the world. Instead, there was a quiet determination reflecting a strong desire to make something of his life. He was no longer the unsure, and frightened young man she met a year ago. “Rai… what you’re asking of me is difficult to explain. And if I told you, I would be putting you in harm’s way.”
“I’m already in harm’s way. Geass aside, I’m now actively fighting to change the world.” He paused for a moment as he made up his mind to go through with his gamble to earn her trust. “I’m currently training to be a Gundam Meister with Celestial Being. Once I’m ready for combat, I’m going to find the source of Geass and halt its perverse effects on the world with my new comrades and Gundam.”
“Gundam?!” This was the last thing she had been expecting to hear. But before she could ask him anything else, she spotted the silhouette of someone approaching and hopped off the railing. “Rai, don’t speak and stay low.”
“What-GAH!” It was all he could get out as she displayed a rather sudden surge of strength and managed to shove the boy over the catwalk railing into the tomato container truck, falling head first into the horde of red fruit destined for the giant pizza pie.
As for the visitor, he merely climbed up the ladder of the truck and openly glared at the immortal. “Why aren’t you wearing your mask? And did I just hear someone?”
C.C. shrugged as she leaned back against the railing casually. “It’s just us right now, Lelouch.”
“No, I know that I heard someone. And he sounded a lot like that student who mentioned Nunnally in the crowd.” He moved up closer to her so that he was right in her face. “You seem to know him. Who is he? He’s in the container, isn’t he?”
“Maybe he teleported away with a Geass?”
“Don’t play games with me, woman! Where else could you have hid him from me on such short noti-”
“LULU!!”
Lelouch bit back a curse after another opportunity to get more information on a person of interest was interrupted thanks to hearing Shirley’s voice. In a smooth motion, he shoved his accomplice into the tomato container and hit the button to close the container. By the time Shirley finished climbing the ladder to reach Lelouch, the door had already been closed. “What is it Shirley?”
“Well I need some help. I think Coach Villetta is avoiding me and that’s why I want to talk to you about-wait a second.” She looked around in confusion. “Weren’t you just talking to someone just now?”
“Nope, it’s just the two of us here,” said the young man smoothly.
‘Only us two…?’ Shirley’s mind began to process this fact and already her brain pointed out the fact that right now, she has the perfect opportunity to ask Lelouch out. ‘Geez, I should keep to business with the Coach’s gift, but I can’t let this chance slip by!’
“So um, Lulu do you think you’d go out with-HUH?”
“I’m sorry but I can’t hear you properly,” came the muffled reply thanks to his head being currently in the mouth of a giant plush green cartoon otter mascot, which somehow got onto the truck while Shirley had been distracted. Obviously with this turn of events ruining her plans to ask her crush out, the Britannian girl was not happy.
“Hey, what’s the big idea?!” Right now, he wasn’t really paying attention to the outside as he was focused on the person wearing the costume.
“What are you doing here?” growled Lelouch quietly to Kallen. “If someone spots you as well-“
“I just came to get that pizza woman back! Trust me you’re not the only one wanting a piece of her hide for this stunt,” replied the redhead just as quietly.
“You have my back as always Q1,” praised the young man in a gruff tone. “C.C.’s inside the tomato container trapped with someone else. Get the both of them in custody and we’ll sort things out later. Once you’re clear, have Tohdoh or Ohgi command the- WHOA!”
A sudden yank from the outside got him free of the mascot costume and thanks to the momentum; he was thrown behind Shirley and off the catwalk to the ground below. “How undignified,” grumbled Lelouch in pain as he wondered why he didn’t just stay in bed today?
With Lelouch free, Shirley stared down the mascot. “Who’s in there being so rude?!” She approached the face of the costume and tried to yank it off. “Will you quit standing there and say something? Who’s in there?”
Inside Kallen did her best to keep the head on while trying to back away, but Shirley had a good grip. ‘If I say something, then you’ll recognize me and I can’t have that!’ She managed to push Shirley off, but before she could get away, the other girl grabbed the small stubby arms of the costume and forced it around before throwing a punch at the mascot’s face while yelling a corny “hiiiyah!” ‘Oh come on, this is Shirley! I fight off soldiers and Knightmares for a living and she’s giving me trouble?’
Sitting up now, Lelouch tried to defuse the situation up above. “Shirley you got to be careful with that costume! If you damage it, the repairs are coming out of your pocket!”
“Lelouch!”
Upon hearing Suzaku’s voice, he turned around to address the other man. “What’s up?”
Milly answered first. “Have you seen Arthur?”
The Knight of Seven looked around a little bit as he searched for the cat. “He grabbed a valuable quill pen from me and-”
SLAM!
All eyes were now on the tomato container truck where a loud slamming sound came from within the container as if something was pounding against the sides of it.
A mild look of horror crossed Suzaku’s face as he moved closer to the container. “Is he inside that thing?”
“No, cats and tomatoes don’t mix together!” replied Lelouch quickly.
“Then what’s making that racket?” asked Milly as she stepped closer as well.
None of them got to contemplate this further as the MR1 Knightmare zoomed up to grab the container with its lifter arms, surprising everyone since the intended pilot was right there among them. “Is this the starting point?” asked a voice over the Knightmare’s loud speaker as the machine secured the container to its head.
Suzaku recognized the voice coming from the loud speaker. “Gino, is that you? What’re you doing inside that Knightmare?!”
The Knight of Three’s jovial tone echoed over the loud speaker. “Lending a helping hand! This civilian school is really fun Suzaku! I can see why you wanted to come back!” Gino then engaged the landspinners and took off down the route displayed on the Frame’s navigation system.
From her hiding spot in the bushes, Alice turned a shade of white and whipped out her ‘cell phone’ to put in a call to her other comrades as she watched the students and the mascot start to chase after the Knightmare with the container. “Setsuna, Marie, we got a big problem!”
“What is it?” replied Setsuna.
She took off from the bushes, following them as fast as she could. “Rai’s stuck in a big tomato container with that woman and some guy is driving around in a Knightmare carrying the container to the pizza event! We need to spring them and quick!”
“Understood, we’re on the way!” came Marie’s response.
“We screwed up! We screwed up!”
“No kidding, Haro!” exclaimed Alice as she pocketed her phone while joining the conga line of the great Knightmare chase.
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(Posted Thu, 11 Aug 2011 17:00)
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