Post by keith on Mar 6, 2010 19:47:53 GMT -5
Disclaimer: Code Geass is the property of Sunrise, Bandai et al. No money is being made from this fanfic and it will be removed if the above parties so request. All your base are belong to us.
(See end of chapter for additional notes.)
Code Geass: Nunnally of the Liberation
Prologue
For once, Nunnally was almost glad she couldn't see. Lelouch and Suzaku had taken turns carrying her as they made their way through the countryside in search of somewhere safe. They could hear distant explosions and gunfire, and occasionally not so distant. At times a terrible smell like burnt or rotten meat rose from the side of the road, and she tried hard not to think about what it might be.
“Are you sure you know where we're going, Suzaku?” Lelouch asked when they stopped to rest, having been walking more than half the day down an uneven back road. He had been carrying Nunnally for hours, and though he hadn't complained, she could tell how tired he was.
“Of course!” the other boy replied crossly. “This road looks just like the map – it turns into the service road for the base a bit further on.”
Suddenly, Nunnally heard a footstep where previously there had been nothing. “Who's there?” she asked nervously, turning in the direction of the sound in case the others hadn't heard it.
“Hey, where did-” Lelouch's surprised yell was abruptly cut off with a horrible wet chopping sound. He let go of her, and Nunnally tumbled from his back, hitting the ground hard enough to bring tears to her eyes.
Suzaku cried out in Japanese, and she felt him rush past her. A voice she had never heard before rasped angrily in an unfamiliar language, and she heard grunting and more thudding and cracking as if two people were fighting.
“Oniisama, where are you? What's happening?” Nunnally pulled herself up on her elbows, stomach churning with fear. There was no answer, just more sounds of fighting. Someone – she couldn't tell who for sure, but it sounded like Suzaku – gave a furious roar, then someone else screamed and went quiet. Nunnally jumped as a hand touched her shoulder, then relaxed slightly as she recognized Suzaku's.
“It's OK, Nunnally. You're...you're safe now.” His voice sounded strange, as if he had a cold, and his hand trembled.
“Suzaku? What happened? Where's Oniisama?”
“Someone attacked us, he just appeared out of thin air...he went for Lelouch first. I tried to stop him, but I was...too slow.”
Nunnally's heart lurched. “Is...is Oniisama hurt?”
“Nunnally, he's...” Suzaku clutched her shoulder painfully. “I don't know how to...I can't say it.”
“Where is he? Suzaku, speak to me! Oniisama!” Nunnally tried to crawl across the ground as she groped around blindly for her brother. Her fingers found an arm, clad in what felt like the fabric of Lelouch's shirt, though it felt odd somehow, and she clutched at it desperately. “Is that you? Why aren't you moving?” She shook the arm furiously, groping up until she found the shoulder. There was something sticky on it.
Suzaku grabbed her hands away. “Nunnally, don't. Please.”
Nunnally suddenly realized what was wrong. The arm she had been touching had still been warm, but there was no steady, pounding heartbeat within. And that sticky stuff... “No! No!” She shook her head, trying to deny what she knew. Before Suzaku could stop her, she grabbed at Lelouch once more, finding his shoulder again and moving up to his head. The side of his neck seemed to be covered in the warm, sticky fluid, and as one of her fingers reached his throat she found what she had been dreading. The skin had been opened across it in a deep cut, and fluid – blood – was still gushing out of it. Her hand brushed her brother's face before Suzaku pulled her away, and she felt his closed eyes and the stillness of his features.
Nunnally screamed so hard her throat hurt, fighting uselessly against Suzaku's strength to get back to try again, to see if she had been wrong, desperately hoping that Lelouch would wake up and tell her he was all right, he had just been unconscious or faking. But it didn't happen; she hadn't misread the signs. Lelouch was dead. Her clever, invincible big brother was gone, taken away from her just like her mother. Abruptly, Nunnally stopped fighting Suzaku and sagged against him, wailing and sobbing as tears flowed from under her closed eyelids and soaked his shirt. Suzaku held her close, and she could feel him crying as well.
She had no idea how long they remained like that – it might have been seconds, minutes, or hours. Finally, Suzaku lifted her head from his shoulder, sniffed hard, and said: “Nunnally. We have to get going, it's not safe here. There might be more people after you.”
“No!” Nunnally shook her head fiercely. “I won't leave Oniisama!”
“Nunnally, we have to. I can't carry both of you, but we'll come back here once it's safe and bury him properly, I promise. But if we stay here now, we'll die.”
“I want to die,” Nunnally said softly. “Just leave me behind, Suzaku – I'll lie down next to him, go to sleep and never wake up. It's all right – I don't want to live without Oniisama.”
“No! I won't let you die as well, Nunnally, I won't!” Suzaku shouted, shocking her. “I couldn't save Lelouch, but I will save you. Do you think he would want you to give up and die? Or that your mother would?”
Nunnally suddenly remembered something Lelouch had said as they fled from the Kururugi Shrine. “Suzaku...for this...I will destroy Britannia!” He had had a purpose he was striving towards, even though they had lost everything except each other. Suzaku was right – Lelouch would not have wanted her to give up.
“All right. We'll...we'll go.” Nunnally let Suzaku hoist her onto his back, feeling numb and empty despite the tears that still ran down her cheeks. Lelouch had decided to live to destroy Britannia and change the world, but what should she live for? Lelouch was much smarter than her, she knew that, and she couldn't even see or walk. How could she destroy Britannia? That made her think of something.
“Suzaku? What happened to that man? The one who...who k-killed Oniisama?” She knew it was absurd, but she suddenly wished the murderer would come back so she could kill him, tear out his heart or cut his throat like he had done to Lelouch.
Suzaku froze as he finished settling her weight. “He's dead. I managed to get his knife away from him, and...”
Nunnally smiled, even though she had never felt less happy. “Good.”
“I never wanted to kill anyone, Nunnally. Tohdoh-sensei always said that was the right way to think, but that sometimes you have to. I never understood that before.” Suzaku began to cry again.
“But you saved me,” she murmured, clinging harder to his neck and pressing her cheek against his hair. “Like a knight.”
“A knight...”
TO BE CONTINUED
Writing Notes: Well, this is my first Code Geass fanfic, and my first serious fanfic to see the light of day for quite some time. I toyed for some time with several different premises for a Nunnally-centric fic, at least one of which – a scenario in which Lelouch is crippled and Nunnally is healthy, but everything else is much the same at the start of the series – has actually been used by at least one other author. I plan to post a first chapter for one of the other ideas (entitled Code Geass: Children of the Revolution, and featuring Nunnally finding out Lelouch is Zero and deciding to help him) in the near future, and see how both pan out. I also have a mildly cracky idea for a Nina-centric fic, Code Geass: Nina of the Scientific Revolution, which I may likewise post the beginning of.
“Translation” Note: I'm using Japanese honorifics in the text where a direct 'translation' into English would be awkward. So for example “Tohdoh-san” can be rendered “Mr. Tohdoh” without difficulty, but writing “Teacher Tohdoh” for “Tohdoh-sensei” would look odd as no-one really refers to teachers in that way in English. Likewise, I've retained Nunnally's use of “Oniisama” to refer to Lelouch. This is an attempt to maintain the feel of watching the series and convey nuances of dialogue better.
(See end of chapter for additional notes.)
Code Geass: Nunnally of the Liberation
Prologue
For once, Nunnally was almost glad she couldn't see. Lelouch and Suzaku had taken turns carrying her as they made their way through the countryside in search of somewhere safe. They could hear distant explosions and gunfire, and occasionally not so distant. At times a terrible smell like burnt or rotten meat rose from the side of the road, and she tried hard not to think about what it might be.
“Are you sure you know where we're going, Suzaku?” Lelouch asked when they stopped to rest, having been walking more than half the day down an uneven back road. He had been carrying Nunnally for hours, and though he hadn't complained, she could tell how tired he was.
“Of course!” the other boy replied crossly. “This road looks just like the map – it turns into the service road for the base a bit further on.”
Suddenly, Nunnally heard a footstep where previously there had been nothing. “Who's there?” she asked nervously, turning in the direction of the sound in case the others hadn't heard it.
“Hey, where did-” Lelouch's surprised yell was abruptly cut off with a horrible wet chopping sound. He let go of her, and Nunnally tumbled from his back, hitting the ground hard enough to bring tears to her eyes.
Suzaku cried out in Japanese, and she felt him rush past her. A voice she had never heard before rasped angrily in an unfamiliar language, and she heard grunting and more thudding and cracking as if two people were fighting.
“Oniisama, where are you? What's happening?” Nunnally pulled herself up on her elbows, stomach churning with fear. There was no answer, just more sounds of fighting. Someone – she couldn't tell who for sure, but it sounded like Suzaku – gave a furious roar, then someone else screamed and went quiet. Nunnally jumped as a hand touched her shoulder, then relaxed slightly as she recognized Suzaku's.
“It's OK, Nunnally. You're...you're safe now.” His voice sounded strange, as if he had a cold, and his hand trembled.
“Suzaku? What happened? Where's Oniisama?”
“Someone attacked us, he just appeared out of thin air...he went for Lelouch first. I tried to stop him, but I was...too slow.”
Nunnally's heart lurched. “Is...is Oniisama hurt?”
“Nunnally, he's...” Suzaku clutched her shoulder painfully. “I don't know how to...I can't say it.”
“Where is he? Suzaku, speak to me! Oniisama!” Nunnally tried to crawl across the ground as she groped around blindly for her brother. Her fingers found an arm, clad in what felt like the fabric of Lelouch's shirt, though it felt odd somehow, and she clutched at it desperately. “Is that you? Why aren't you moving?” She shook the arm furiously, groping up until she found the shoulder. There was something sticky on it.
Suzaku grabbed her hands away. “Nunnally, don't. Please.”
Nunnally suddenly realized what was wrong. The arm she had been touching had still been warm, but there was no steady, pounding heartbeat within. And that sticky stuff... “No! No!” She shook her head, trying to deny what she knew. Before Suzaku could stop her, she grabbed at Lelouch once more, finding his shoulder again and moving up to his head. The side of his neck seemed to be covered in the warm, sticky fluid, and as one of her fingers reached his throat she found what she had been dreading. The skin had been opened across it in a deep cut, and fluid – blood – was still gushing out of it. Her hand brushed her brother's face before Suzaku pulled her away, and she felt his closed eyes and the stillness of his features.
Nunnally screamed so hard her throat hurt, fighting uselessly against Suzaku's strength to get back to try again, to see if she had been wrong, desperately hoping that Lelouch would wake up and tell her he was all right, he had just been unconscious or faking. But it didn't happen; she hadn't misread the signs. Lelouch was dead. Her clever, invincible big brother was gone, taken away from her just like her mother. Abruptly, Nunnally stopped fighting Suzaku and sagged against him, wailing and sobbing as tears flowed from under her closed eyelids and soaked his shirt. Suzaku held her close, and she could feel him crying as well.
She had no idea how long they remained like that – it might have been seconds, minutes, or hours. Finally, Suzaku lifted her head from his shoulder, sniffed hard, and said: “Nunnally. We have to get going, it's not safe here. There might be more people after you.”
“No!” Nunnally shook her head fiercely. “I won't leave Oniisama!”
“Nunnally, we have to. I can't carry both of you, but we'll come back here once it's safe and bury him properly, I promise. But if we stay here now, we'll die.”
“I want to die,” Nunnally said softly. “Just leave me behind, Suzaku – I'll lie down next to him, go to sleep and never wake up. It's all right – I don't want to live without Oniisama.”
“No! I won't let you die as well, Nunnally, I won't!” Suzaku shouted, shocking her. “I couldn't save Lelouch, but I will save you. Do you think he would want you to give up and die? Or that your mother would?”
Nunnally suddenly remembered something Lelouch had said as they fled from the Kururugi Shrine. “Suzaku...for this...I will destroy Britannia!” He had had a purpose he was striving towards, even though they had lost everything except each other. Suzaku was right – Lelouch would not have wanted her to give up.
“All right. We'll...we'll go.” Nunnally let Suzaku hoist her onto his back, feeling numb and empty despite the tears that still ran down her cheeks. Lelouch had decided to live to destroy Britannia and change the world, but what should she live for? Lelouch was much smarter than her, she knew that, and she couldn't even see or walk. How could she destroy Britannia? That made her think of something.
“Suzaku? What happened to that man? The one who...who k-killed Oniisama?” She knew it was absurd, but she suddenly wished the murderer would come back so she could kill him, tear out his heart or cut his throat like he had done to Lelouch.
Suzaku froze as he finished settling her weight. “He's dead. I managed to get his knife away from him, and...”
Nunnally smiled, even though she had never felt less happy. “Good.”
“I never wanted to kill anyone, Nunnally. Tohdoh-sensei always said that was the right way to think, but that sometimes you have to. I never understood that before.” Suzaku began to cry again.
“But you saved me,” she murmured, clinging harder to his neck and pressing her cheek against his hair. “Like a knight.”
“A knight...”
TO BE CONTINUED
Writing Notes: Well, this is my first Code Geass fanfic, and my first serious fanfic to see the light of day for quite some time. I toyed for some time with several different premises for a Nunnally-centric fic, at least one of which – a scenario in which Lelouch is crippled and Nunnally is healthy, but everything else is much the same at the start of the series – has actually been used by at least one other author. I plan to post a first chapter for one of the other ideas (entitled Code Geass: Children of the Revolution, and featuring Nunnally finding out Lelouch is Zero and deciding to help him) in the near future, and see how both pan out. I also have a mildly cracky idea for a Nina-centric fic, Code Geass: Nina of the Scientific Revolution, which I may likewise post the beginning of.
“Translation” Note: I'm using Japanese honorifics in the text where a direct 'translation' into English would be awkward. So for example “Tohdoh-san” can be rendered “Mr. Tohdoh” without difficulty, but writing “Teacher Tohdoh” for “Tohdoh-sensei” would look odd as no-one really refers to teachers in that way in English. Likewise, I've retained Nunnally's use of “Oniisama” to refer to Lelouch. This is an attempt to maintain the feel of watching the series and convey nuances of dialogue better.