DAY 43: CAFETERIA, MORNING

[hailmegatron.livejournal.com]

Where was Blitzwing?

Lugnut ignored the nurse's fussing over his foot, even as it howled objections to his ill treatment of it the night before, pounding through the town in search of his wingmate, reportedly helpless and injured by an attack the night before-- and not finding him, not seeing even a glimpse of his crazy triple-changing ally.

Snarling at the nurse, but restraining himself from shows of violence-- Blitzwing would mock him if he showed up drugged already, and he would be useless to Megatron like that--he made his way impatiently to the cafeteria, stopping for just long enough to post an urgent notice on the board.

Where was he?

Looming in the middle of the cafeteria, he took the tray the nurse handed him (filled with disgusting human fuel, didn't she know he didn't have time to eat, not when his wingmate was missing?) and ignored it, watching for Blitzwing, where was he?

He refused to think about what might have happened to a wheelchair-bound, drugged, incapacitated warrior, with the swarms of monsters flooding around him, clawing and biting...

[for Scourge]

Comments

[euphemise.livejournal.com]

"Special circumstances? What do you mean?" The princess tilted her head to the right, raising an eyebrow. She didn't like the sound of those special circumstances. "Is that...is that why you were so upset? Did something happen last night?" If it had, that explained a lot, and even if she couldn't fix the situation, she could at least comfort him better if she knew what happened.

Euphie repeated the words Suzaku had said, a mix of disbelief and confusion in plain view on her face, then was silent for a moment, thinking. "So...what you're saying is that they want us to forget everything that's happened, and..." She paused, swallowing hard. "And you're sure it's not actually our families that would do this, or our friends." Cornelia wouldn't have done anything like this. That was a fact and one she would never, ever question. But there were others in the Purist ranks, or even people in the military, who had strongly opposed her plan. She wouldn't put it past any of them to want to make her disappear.

That next part, though...the monsters. She wouldn't have believed it had she not seen it before that explanation. "The bats we saw last night - those were monsters, then." She shivered in her chair, only now realizing how close she had come to being seriously hurt. She took a deep, shaky breath, then gasped again when the experiments and brainwashing were mentioned. "What kind of person would do such a thing? I just...why? I can't believe that."

The rest of the information came in a blur, and she wouldn't lie and say that she understood it. She nodded, but didn't say anything.

[superdynamic.livejournal.com]

"Ah --" How was he going to tell her about last night without scaring her? But she had to know eventually, didn't she? Because they might have to face the zombies again. Suzaku shuddered a little at the thought of Euphie in that situation; it was even worse than his worry for Lelouch the night before. Not that he cared what happened to Lelouch. He just needed him alive, so they could go through with their plan. And at the moment, he couldn't even stomach the thought of working together with him.

"Well, on Saturdays -- yesterday was Saturday, by the way -- they bus us down to the local town to visit, get some fresh air, I don't know. And this time they didn't take us back in time before night fell, and instead of just the nurses and animals in the Institute changing, all the townspeople did too. They, um. They were. . . dead. But attacking us. Zombies, basically. And a lot more showed up, too, probably all the people buried in graveyards around the town. But don't worry," he added hastily, "I'm perfectly fine. It was just -- unsettling." He knew he was effectively making her believe that that was what was bothering him, and that wasn't any better than outright lying, but he couldn't tell her the truth. He should just count himself lucky he had this story as an excuse.

"And -- yeah, I'm pretty sure." He'd been pretty much beyond the reach of any "friends and family" when he'd been kidnapped. Unless. . . he supposed it was possible that Schneizel had some unknown means by which he found out about Suzaku's pact with Lelouch, and had made some kind of contract with Landel. But that was highly unlikely. There was too much Schneizel hadn't found out about previous to this for that to be true.

"As for why. . ." He sighed again. "I don't know. None of us know. It's a horrible thing, but -- there are some horrible people in the world." That probably wasn't something she could believe, not innocent Euphie, but she would have to. Because it was the terrible truth, Suzaku knew that much by now.

[euphemise.livejournal.com]

Euphemia listened with eyes wide and shining with tears. She didn't think she would believe it from anyone else, but this was Suzaku telling her. He wouldn't intentionally tell her something like this just to scare her. It was a warning, and she could appreciate that, even if she didn't like the idea of him being out there and fighting in what could only have been a state of chaos. It scared her more than she wanted to let on, but she was sure that it was written all over her face.

"I'm so sorry you had to go through that. Was anyone else from home with you? Or...I should just ask now. Is anyone else from home here? Your friends from school, people from the military...my family...?" They wouldn't have taken Nunnally, there was just no way a girl like her would be able to function here. It would be too cruel, too much to ask for someone as delicate as she was. But there was a distinct possibility that one person was here. "Lelouch?"

She nodded in relief at the answer to her next question. Euphie honestly didn't think anyone would have done so - even those who had the most vocal opposition to her plan had quieted a bit when Schneizel had stood up for her. It was still a relief, though.

"I...I can't understand it. What kind of person..." She trailed off again, thinking hard. "This Martin Landel. Has anyone talked to him? I mean...really talked? Because if not, I want to try." She swallowed hard before making her next statement. "Suzaku...can you promise me two things? The first is that you'll do your best not to get hurt at night. I would worry too much. And the second...I want to talk to this doctor. Will you go with me, when I do?"

[superdynamic.livejournal.com]

Suzaku was just trying to decide how to bring up the subject of Lelouch, when he heard that same name from her own lips. He gaped at her. "You know about Lelouch?" He supposed he shouldn't be surprised -- she'd been at Ashford that one time, after all, and. . . He'd wondered, sometimes, exactly how much she had known. It had seemed so impulsive, even for her, to trust Zero like that. And they'd been alone together on the island. . . had she known Zero's identity the whole time? The old rage that Suzaku had finally managed to suppress suddenly burned hotter than ever. Lelouch had taken advantage of the fact that she knew him, that she never thought her own brother would hurt her. And after she had kept his secret! It was far worse than the thought of a stranger betraying her trust.

But if she didn't know, he probably shouldn't tell her. If anyone else showed up from their world, he couldn't run the risk of them finding out. It meant lying to Euphie yet again, and this time when her own safety was at stake. Yet -- and Suzaku felt nauseous once more at the thought -- there was so much more riding on this than just Euphie's safety. He'd fallen too far already, given too much up for the world's future, to let his old emotions rule him. It broke his heart, but he had to prioritize his goals over Euphie, especially because she -- she was going to die anyway. Events couldn't be changed, he and Lelouch had figured that much out, and he had to fight back tears again. Just like Lelouch himself, that night. They both had to be prepared to give up everything, and -- and in the end, he was Lelouch's knight now. That couldn't change. After all, he'd already sold his soul, he might as well stick to his path.

"He's here," he finally said, quietly. "And he -- Euphie, I know he's your brother, but. . ." He trailed off, uncertain of what to say. But even if he couldn't betray Lelouch's secret, he had to say something. He couldn't change the events of the past, but there had been so many times he wished he could have gone back and warned her. He just couldn't -- couldn't not warn her. "He's dangerous. You might not think so, but he is. Please, just -- be careful around him." He took a shuddering breath, determined not to cry. It was despicable that that was the best he could do.

"That's what I asked when I first got here, too," he went on, glad of a different subject to discuss. "Apparently no one knows how to find Landel, unless you go to the basement. There's some kind of trial you have to get through, and then he appears, but from what I heard he wasn't too interested in answering questions. And now -- something happened to him last night, and we think he might be dead. Unless it was staged. So -- I can promise the first thing, Euphie." He was already planning on taking care of himself, because his life wasn't his own anymore. There were more important things to accomplish than his own selfish wish to die. "The second might be more difficult. But I promise -- I promise we'll try."

[euphemise.livejournal.com]

There was only one thing that question could mean: whether or not she knew about Zero. The answer was complicated. "I first met Zero at Lake Kawaguchi, during that hotel-jacking. I honestly didn't know who he was, but...he knew me. I suppose I should have realized, but there was really no way to know," she began, in a small, quiet voice. She hadn't really wanted to know, not then - she was more concerned with getting everyone out safely without more people being killed.

"The next time we met was on Kaminejima," she said. "But then...honestly, Suzaku, I can't think Lelouch is truly a bad person. He was more worried about everyone else. You, your friend Kallen, Nunnally. All of you. And even later, when we met that day...the day the SAZ was opened. He said he was doing everything for her sake, for Nunnally. I can't think anyone that would do so much to protect someone is truly bad inside. I'm sorry, I just..." She trailed off, silent for just a moment. Euphemia didn't understand why Suzaku was being so...so suspicious. Hadn't they been friends? What could have happened to drive them apart?

That next statement made her gasp, and she quickly clapped a hand over her mouth. "You don't mean it...then. I'm sorry, Suzaku. I can't not talk to him, or check in on him. Maybe I can get him to see reason, and even if I can't, I have to try. Don't worry. It'll be all right."

Euphemia frowned at that last statement. She didn't like the idea of some faceless person kidnapping everyone and not even giving them a chance to speak up for themselves. All this talk of having to face a trial, only to be met with stony silence - she didn't like it, not one bit. "I see," she finally said, lips drawn into a thin line. "I suppose talking to the nurses does no good?"

[superdynamic.livejournal.com]

She did know, Suzaku realized with another bitter pang, but he stayed quiet through her explanation. Of course she would think Lelouch wasn't a bad person. That's why she had extended the offer of peace to him in the first place, wasn't it? And why she felt she was safe alone with him.

Suzaku had wanted to believe in her vision of the world, but he couldn't, never again. Maybe people were inherently good, but she had too much faith in them. And she wouldn't believe Suzaku if he tried to explain why Lelouch was not a good person, because of that unshakable faith. And because he couldn't tell her, goddammit, because he was a coward. And, God -- hearing her defend Lelouch like that, defend the person who hadn't killed so much as destroyed her. . . hearing her belief that she could bring him around, that everything would be all right. . .

It wasn't going to be all right. It never had been and it never would be, but she couldn't know that. He had to bear it in silence. Just -- for the first time in a long time he felt once again that he really could kill Lelouch. She'd believed in him, and he had thrown it back in her face.

He couldn't tell her that, though. And -- on some level, even in his miserable rage, he knew she was right. He did understand Lelouch, now, even if he really didn't want to. That didn't mean he was going to let her anywhere near him. "Lelouch. . . Lelouch does have good intentions. But he's the kind of person who would go to any length to reach his goals. He would do anything. Anything, Euphie." He had to check himself when he leaned forward, voice growing hard and angry. Being harsh with her wouldn't solve anything, and she deserved it least of all. "He has absolutely no scruples," he said more softly. "And I don't want you to get mixed up in that." Again. Nevermind that at this point, he would do anything himself. Like he already was.

He sighed a bit, forcing himself to calm down yet again, before addressing her last statement. "I, well -- people say it doesn't work, but I haven't actually tried it that much myself," he admitted a little sheepishly. He'd been more intent on other things as soon as he'd figured out what was going on. "I'll help you, if you want to try."