46There are only two other stories in the section for Code Geass and Gate: Thus the JSDF Fought There, and both focus on the Gate opening up in Ginza in a world where Lelouch is in control of Japan.
But I had another idea. What if Lelouch ended up in that world after his death? Much like my other story with Lelouch in another world, there is a reason beyond simply "The Collective Unconscious liked Lelouch and so sent him to another world" plotline many Code Geass crossovers use.
This story will be semi-AU rather quickly, but things will remain familiar for the most part and I won't make Lelouch overpowered.
Disclaimer: I don't own any franchise that is used in this story nor do I make any profit from it whatsoever.
I hope you enjoy the story.
Chapter I: The Light of the Sage
Lelei La Lelena was a simple thirteen-year-old girl, or so she liked to think. Despite her status as the current apprentice to the Master Sage Cato El Altestan, she had simple desires. Unfortunately, her current one was unlikely to be answered any time soon as a warm bath was hard to come by in the river that flowed around the outskirts of the town the nomadic Master and apprentice found themselves in.
The cyan-haired girl scrubbed herself methodically, her clothing hanging from a branch and her staff leaning against the tree a short distance away from where she was bathing herself. Her studies had been rather extensive over the past three years, but sometimes she longed for the comforts of home back in Rondel. Then she recalled her sister and decided hearing Cato moan and whine about her less than developed body in comparison to her elder sister was better than actually spending time with Arpeggio. At least she knew that her Master wasn't likely to spy on her, what with her still developing form, but hearing about her sister on a constant basis was almost as annoying as actually spending time with her.
As she prepared to step out of the river and dry herself with a spell, Lelei noticed something concerning. Flowing out from between her legs was the unmistakable sight of blood. She blinked in surprise, not having expected to see this again so soon. 'I thought Master Cato said this was supposed to happen only once a month?' Lelei thought to herself, realizing that there was also a distinct lack of painful cramps that she had begun to deal with a few months ago when she began to bleed.
Being rather intelligent despite her young age, she deduced that there was someone hurt further upstream than she was so she turned to try and see if there was anyone nearby, covering herself up for some semblance of privacy as she searched for the source of the blood. Lelei narrowed her eyes at the sight of something floating downriver, slowly moving a little deeper in so that she could make sure whoever was hurt didn't end up floating past her and out of her ability to help.
Fighting against the current as it rushed past her neck, digging the tips of her toes into the sandy soil underwater, Lelei grunted as she caught the body. Her feet flailed for a moment before finding purchase again underwater as her arms wrapped around the man dressed in odd robes, taking note of the massive bloody stain on the center of his upper robes. She could hear him breathing harshly, some raspy sounds escaping his lips as he panted, so she carefully moved the pair sideways, working with the current to avoid being swept downstream.
After a few minutes of careful maneuvering, Lelei managed to drag herself and her injured patient to the shore. Lelei panted slightly as she dragged the man, though he was only a little older than her she was hesitant to call him anything else considering his robes and his injury, neither of which would be had by a boy, further up the shore so that they wouldn't be swept up by a wave. "Great." The apprentice murmured to herself, looking upstream where her clothes were hanging. "I hope he doesn't wake up." Lelei wasn't eager for the first sight of the man she had rescued to be her developing body. Who knew what he would do to her if he saw he was being carried by a naked girl.
Lelei had heard plenty of stories in the towns she and her Master traveled to and she wasn't eager to be raped by someone she had saved.
Carefully, Lelei managed to get the mystery man's arm around her shoulders, it was hard considering his height was so much greater than hers despite her recent growth spurts as she entered puberty, so the man's feet, clad in rather high-quality shoes she noticed, dragged deep along the soil as she made her way towards her clothes. 'I don't think I can heal him, Master Cato will know what to do.' Lelei thought to herself, sighing slightly as she managed to reach her clothing before anything happened.
Thankfully she hadn't been washed too far downriver as she tried to help this man. She dropped the man whose clothes were soaked to the bone to the ground and reached up for her robes, only to find herself pinned against a tree by her throat, the man's eyes staring off into the distance as he absently held the apprentice by her throat against a tree.
And that was how the thirteen-year-old Lelei La Lelena met the eighteen-year-old Lelouch vi Britannia.
Pain was the first thing Lelouch felt when the blade pierced him all the way through. The second thing he felt was numbness as his spine was cut by the blade held by his dearest friend, the cloaked shoulders of the man he trusted the most in the world shaking and the near silent tears were concealed from view by the uniform of the Knight for Justice, Zero. Lelouch gently cupped his stomach as he leaned against the masked man who stabbed him, his hand becoming coated in his warm life blood as it fled his body in waves. "Your punishment shall be thus then." He murmured, only the Demon Emperor arrogant enough to level a punishment at the Knight who had slain him. "You will live on." He choked down his blood as he felt it begin to coat his tongue. "Always wearing that mask, serving as a Knight for justice and truth." Lelouch slowly reached up and caressed the helmet that he had once worn what felt like so long ago, staining it with his blood. His dearest friend, the man with whom he had entrusted the world they had created, was the man behind that mask now. "You will no longer live your life as Suzaku Kururugi." The time of the Demon and his Knight, of Lelouch vi Britannia and Suzaku Kururugi, was over.
From this moment onward, the age of Zero had begun.
But first, he had one last task to do. One final Geass to give. "You shall sacrifice the ordinary pleasures of your life for the benefit of the world. For eternity." He whispered softly, Lelouch could feel his heartbeat growing weaker and weaker. His last order had been given. Perhaps now, he could rest in peace.
"This Geass, I do solemnly accept." These were the final words of the man by the name of Suzaku Kururugi before he removed the blade from the Demon Emperor's body with as much ease as possible. Zero did not wish for this man, the man who had created him, to suffer in his final moments.
As the blade exited, Lelouch stumbled forward slightly, staring out at the horizon. A soft smile was on his face as he felt the blood begin flowing even faster once the blade left. 'The future is so beautiful.' The Demon Emperor thought to himself before he stumbled down to the dais where his beloved sister, the one who he had done all of this for, was chained in preparation for her supposed execution. His blood stained the flag of the nation he ruled and so despised, before he found his body laying prone beside the chained form of his dearest sister.
"L-Lelouch? A-Are you…?" Her voice stammered softly as she grasped for his bloody hand. When she gasped, her eyes shining in comprehension, Lelouch gave Nunnally a solemn smile. "Y-You mean, everything you've done… until now?" Her voice was shaking as she finally understood his actions in a way he could never explain. Nunnally's talent for discerning the truth with merely a touch granting her insight Lelouch never could give by mere words. She brought his bloody hand to her face as she cupped it with both of her own hands. "Oh, Big Brother, I love you!" Tears escaped her eyes as she held her brother's hand close to her face, not caring about the warm blood coating her hands and face as she confessed how much her dear brother meant to her as he lay dying by her side.
Lelouch heard Nunnally's final words to him, a weight feeling like it was removed from his soul as he knew, in that moment when she touched his hand, she had sensed the truth he had masked so he could do whatever was necessary to create the peaceful world she desired and deserved. The truth that it was his love for her that had driven him to give her this new, peaceful world. "Yes…" Lelouch murmured to himself, thinking over everything that had happened in his life that culminated in this one moment. "I destroyed… the world." He breath was coming out shallow as he uttered his final words to his beloved sister. There was no one else on the face of the Earth he would rather hear them. "And created… a new." His eyes drifted shut before he could finish, and the last thing he heard was a scream of despair from Nunnally as his heart finally stopped and his blood finally stopped pouring from his mortal wound.
The last thing he felt was cold, just… cold.
His throat felt raw as he choked, the wound in his chest knitting itself back together as he his body was carried down a river by a strong current. Lelouch tried to open his eyes, but he was in too much pain. On and off, he found himself blacking out as he was carried by the unrelenting current. Waiting to drown.
The next thing Lelouch could recall, he found himself reacting to a perceived threat instinctually. Carefully patting his chest with his left hand as he held out his right arm, Lelouch coughed harshly and wondered aloud to himself. "Am I in Hell?" He blinked, feeling an odd sensation as two hands grasped at his wrist. Lelouch turned his attention to the young teenager he had pinned to the tree by her throat, almost immediately releasing her once he recognized she was no threat.
She had no weapons on her after all.
Lelei heard the man mumble something in a language she didn't recognize as she felt the air being choked out of her. Futilely, she grasped at his wrist, trying to pry his surprisingly strong grip off of her. His violet eyes flashed towards her and his grip almost immediately loosened, allowing her to collapse to the grass. Lelei coughed violently as she held her throat, rubbing it gently as she tried to make herself as small a target as possible.
Her eyes flickered to her staff for a moment before the man who had choked her spoke in his odd language. "What?" She asked, her eyes staring up at his as she shifted slowly in the direction of her staff. Her feet shuffled slightly back and to the right as she determined she might be able to reach it before the man could attack, but she didn't want to provoke him in case he was also a spellcaster. Lelei would have to move carefully, her nudity was the least of her concerns right now.
"Sorry about that, are you alright?" Lelouch asked quietly, doing his best to stare the girl in the eye as she rose to her feet after her collapse. She had recovered quickly once he released her, he was kind of impressed. Even if he wasn't the strongest he was taller than her by over a foot and had greater physical strength than a girl who looked like she was just entering puberty. His eyes flickered to the robes hanging on the branch nearby as well as the staff the girl with the oddly colored hair appeared to be shifting towards. When she spoke, he realized she likely didn't understand him. He knew a few different languages, but whatever she had said went over his head completely.
It definitely wasn't Britannian or Japanese, it didn't sound anything like Chinese or French, nor did it sound like Russian.
'Great.' Wherever he was, there was a significant language barrier. Closing his eyes with an exasperated sigh, Lelouch turned and reached for the robes. He tugged them off the branch and turned only to find the aqua tip of the staff glowing brightly as it was shoved into his face and the girl shouting at him in her strange language. He carefully held out the robes as a peace offering, wary of the glowing staff shoved in his face.
As Lelei watched the man turn for some reason, she immediately grabbed her staff and directed some of her power into it as she pointed it at the man's face and shouted at him. "What are you doing? Don't move!" She didn't unleash the spell she had prepared, but Lelei wasn't going to let herself get attacked. Even if she had to hurt the man she had just saved. When she saw him hand out her robes slowly, his eyes staring seriously into her own, she pulled her staff back and took the robes from his hands. The man turned around to give her the chance to get dressed, something she hadn't expected.
Lelouch turned around after giving the girl her clothing, a burst of air sounding behind him and a rustle of clothing alerted him to her activities, though he swore he felt some of the water that had been dripping off of her pelt the back of his neck after that burst of air. How… odd. And that staff was strange too. 'Is magic… real?' Geass and Code were one thing, but actual magical powers unrelated to those two things? Lelouch didn't know what to think. When he heard the girl behind him speak in her unknown language, he turned around and decided he would need to stick with this girl and her guardian if he wanted to find out where the hell he had ended up after he had died.
"Okay, you can turn around now." Lelei spoke as she smoothed out her robes, staring at the dark hair of the man as he remained still. Water was dripping off of him still from his impromptu swim, soaking the soil and likely giving him the chills. "Are you okay? Where are you from? Who are you?" She asked, rapidly firing questions at him in hopes he would understand them. But when he shook his head, she sighed despondently.
Lelei had never needed to work over a language barrier before, she hoped that she and Cato wouldn't be forced to resort to miming everything to this man.
Lelouch shook his head after the girl stared up at him expectantly after she rapidly fired some questions at him, signaling his lack of understanding. He wondered how they were going to get around this irritating language barrier. Scratching the back of his head with his eyes closed, Lelouch sighed at the same time as the girl. 'How are we going to go about this?' The girl clearly didn't recognize him, despite his robes and very distinctive appearance. Which meant wherever he was didn't know about the existence of the Demon Emperor, something that was almost incomprehensible to him.
Even Australia knew who he was after he demanded the notoriously neutral nation to submit to his worldwide hegemony.
Lelei decided to attempt to break the language barrier in the simplest way she could think of. Tugging at the man's robes to get his attention as he was still scratching the back of his head with his eyes closed, she placed her hand on her chest and shared her name. "Lelei La Lelena."
Lelouch opened his eyes when the girl tugged on one of the looser parts of his robe that was draped over his shoulder. As he stared down at her, noticing her teal colored eyes for the first time, she put her hand on her chest and said something slowly in her language. "Lelei La Lelena." Lelouch stared at her carefully and she clutched her robe, narrowing her eyes at him. "Lelei… La… Lelena." She repeated slowly and Lelouch realized she was introducing herself to him. Mimicking her, placing his own hand on his chest, ignoring the bloodstains from his earlier wound, which he could no longer feel, he did the same. "Lelouch… vi… Britannia." He repeated in his own language, hoping that this first step would help them break the language barrier and that he didn't just reveal his identity as the supposedly deceased Demon Emperor to this girl.
"Lelouch… vi… Britannia." Lelei heard the man state back to her as he placed his own hand on his chest, causing her no small amount of confusion. 'What God is he named for?' Lelei thought to herself, having never heard the middle name "vi" before. Deciding to put the question off for another time, when they could converse easier in the future, Lelei decided it was time for them to return to her camp where Master Cato was waiting for her. Lelei grabbed "Lelouch" by his hand, ignoring the blood, and led him off into the forest. "Come." She decided to stick with simple words for now, not wanting to confuse him with complicated sentences.
The girl said something in her language after grabbing his hand, a single word that Lelouch deduced was either "come" or "follow" or some kind of equivalent. He followed the girl, slogging through the forest with her as his wet clothing made travel a little more difficult than it otherwise would be. He felt himself shiver as a particularly chilly breeze blew through him, the wetness of his clothing seeping into his bones. Or so it felt.
Eventually, after traveling through the forest for some time, the odd pair came across an elderly man reading a book of some sort as he sat in front of a fire pit. There was a horse and carriage nearby, and the carriage was absolutely filled with books. Lelouch wondered why they were using such primitive technology and how in the world they were able to travel in the cart with so many books inside of it. There was barely any room for the small girl and the old man, but even moving the damn thing must be hell on the poor horse. Lelei let his hand go as the elderly man looked up from his book and spoke in their language, so he decided to take himself out of the situation as they began to converse.
"Lelei?" Cato stared at his apprentice as she emerged from the woods with a strangely dressed man who carried himself like nobility. "I thought you just went for a bath in the river? Who is this with you?" This was very odd, so odd it was distracting him from his book.
"I think his name is Lelouch." Lelei answered, standing some distance away from her Master while Lelouch remained by one of the trees in the clearing. "I found him floating down the river after I saw his blood flowing downstream. I took him out of the water and when he woke up I found out he speaks a completely different language." She decided against mentioning that she had been completely naked for a good portion of that incident, as she knew she would be teased mercilessly by Cato for it. The man was annoying at the best of times, it was better to avoid giving him ammunition. "I managed to introduce myself and that's when he did the same thing, saying what I think was his name."
"Hm, let me talk to him." Cato had heard many languages over the course of his long life and had learned to translate even more ancient texts during his studies, both as an apprentice and as a Master Sage. The elderly Sage walked over to the well-dressed young man, his staff tapping the ground in time with his steps to assist him. As he stood before the man, Cato stared up at him and took note of the hardness in the young man's eyes. 'This young man isn't ordinary.' If he wasn't certain that this man wasn't a soldier due to the distinct lack of visible muscles or armor, Cato would have assumed that this man had been through some kind of war in the past. "Cato… El… Altestan." The elder Sage placed his hand over his chest as he said his name, awaiting a reply from the violet eyed man.
Lelouch looked at the man who he assumed was named Cato. He repeated the same action as he had when he introduced himself to Lelei and repeated his name. "Lelouch… vi… Britannia." It felt weird to speak like this, but it was the only way he could ensure he was as clear as possible. Judging by the lack of reaction to his name, he assumed that the man before him was equally as unaware as the young girl. The name Lelouch vi Britannia invoked no fear in these two, which, when combined with the odd language they were speaking that resembled no language he was aware of, the robes, and the old form of transportation, gave Lelouch the impression that he was no longer in the same world.
When he saw the cyan-haired girl point her staff at the fire pit and conjure a fire, that feeling intensified. The sun was going down and, hopefully, these two would have some way to acquire a meal for the three of them. Lelouch walked over and sat down a little away from the fire, enjoying the way it helped warm him up and dry off his wet clothing, but he couldn't help but stare at the magically conjured flame in wonder, resting his arms on his knees.
'Am I really… in a different world?' Lelouch thought to himself as the elderly man and the young girl moved about camp, preparing to make the final meal of the day before the sun fully set.
He didn't know which was worse. Not being dead despite his plans, not being in the same world he had been born into, or being alive in a completely different world whose language he had no knowledge of beyond the names of the two he would be with for the foreseeable future. 'What am I going to do?' Lelouch thought silently to himself as he stared up at the sky as night slowly took over the heavens.
Lelouch had no purpose in this world, his life was supposed to have ended. He was essentially a drifter here, but that wouldn't stop him from making the most of this.
For whatever reason, he had ended up in this world, saved by what appeared to be the apprentice of some old wizard. Lelouch didn't have much choice but to go along with this and see where the wind took him.
Wind swirled around Lelouch, Lelei, and Cato as the traveled across the desert as they left an old tomb Cato had decided to explore in hopes of finding some ancient texts to add to his collection. They had found nothing, but the trio had at least managed to give the horse a break as they left it at a town on the edge of the desert since it was impossible for it to travel across the loose desert sands. The tomb was only a few hours travel from the town on the edge of the desert anyway, but it would have been nice to avoid walking in the desert.
It had been six months since Lelei had rescued Lelouch from that river and in those six months Lelouch had found himself deeply intrigued as he observed the young girl's lessons in magic. He had managed to obtain an adept grasp of the local language, whatever it was, in part due to watching the two as the conversed and his own lessons with Lelei and Cato to help him learn the language in a more formal way than immersion.
"Well, this was a complete waste of time." Cato laughed as they trekked through the unforgiving desert. Even if night had set while they were within the tomb, the temperature was still unbearable as they made their way back towards town. "Nothing but dead bodies and dust." Ah well, not every tomb could be filled with undiscovered knowledge waiting to be released back into the world.
Lelouch and Lelei shared a look of exasperation at the man's words. "Master Cato, those dead bodies attacked us for…" Lelouch paused as he didn't know the local word for desecrating or any similar description, but Lelei picked up on the intent of his statement and finished it for him.
"We desecrated the tomb of a priest Master Cato, we're lucky Hardy's servants didn't kill us." Lelei deadpanned, helping finish Lelouch's statement.
Lelouch nodded in agreement with Lelei's statement while Cato simply laughed off their words as the town came into view.
Lelouch had been surprised to learn about the Gods of this world and their Apostles, but after that experience in the tomb he was no longer as skeptical of the Gods' presence as he had been when the Master and apprentice had begun teaching him about the mystical forces at play in the Heavens above, or in the Underworld down below when it came to the Goddess Hardy. The cultural aspect of it had been mildly interesting as well, as Lelei had asked him what God he was named for once she mentioned that the middle part of everyone's name originated from some portion of their patron God's name. Lelei had the name for the God of Study, La, while Cato's middle name was for the God of Knowledge, Elange though it was shortened to El for mortal names.
There was no God with an equivalent for "vi" being the middle name, but Lelouch wasn't willing to change his identity in order to conform just yet. His name had been something he embraced, whether as a Prince or a Demon, and he wasn't eager to change it even if it was a name tainted by bloodlust.
For it was one of the few things that could remind him of his dear sister Nunnally in this world.
To answer Lelei and Cato's question, he had said that it was simply the name he was given, no more no less, and that he didn't know why his middle name was "vi".
Surprisingly, despite their curiosity, they chose to not push the subject. Lelouch hadn't expected that and had appreciated their willingness to accept his answer.
Once they reached town, the trio made their way to the hotel and made themselves comfortable in their hotel rooms, Lelei taking a separate room from him and Master Cato for some reason. He had noticed she never spent more than two nights in the same room, if they had the luxury of rooms at the time, as either he or Cato consecutively, which was somewhat odd to him. As Lelouch removed the white hooded cloak he had worn while the three of them had traveled in the desert, he decided to ask Cato what was going on. "Why does Lelei need another room?" It wasn't the best way he could phrase it, but Lelei had slept with the two of them on the road multiple times, so it wasn't a matter of not trusting them.
"Oh, you really don't know?" Cato turned to his tagalong with a raised eyebrow, having used a spell to change his clothing into starry pajamas. His hat remained on his head, as it always did. "In Falmart." Falmart was the name of the world, or at least the land within the world he found himself in, Lelouch had deduced during his lessons. "It is a tradition that a woman who spends three nights consecutively with a man in the same room is then legally married to them or vice versa."
Lelouch fussed with the sheets, almost tearing one for a moment before he caught himself and prevented any damage. He shifted so that he was under the sheets and yawned widely. "I'm sorry, I misheard I think. Did you say married?" Lelouch's sentence structure was not as great as he liked, but his tone of confusion more than made up for his botched syntax.
Cato laughed as he snuck himself into bed, using his staff to put out the lantern that lit the room. "Yeah, that's why Lelei spends at least one night separate from you and I, I don't think she's willing to be married at thirteen!" Cato laughed again at Lelouch's incredulous expression. While Lelei would be fourteen soon, Cato doubted his apprentice would be willing to marry herself off at that age either. "Ah, goodnight Lelouch." Cato promptly passed out and began to snore, leaving Lelouch to his own thoughts before he fell asleep.
'This world sure has some strange customs.' Lelouch thought to himself as he fell asleep, ignoring the wind as it howled outside the window of his and Cato's room. He yawned widely, exhausted after their trek through the desert and having to fight off zombie servants sent by the Goddess of the Underworld in this world.
The last six months had been interesting, but things like that were just way too hectic.
Lelouch found himself staring up, or might have been down, at a void that surrounded him on all sides. The dream was one that he'd had experienced before, but it had been a few days since he was surrounded by this disturbing darkness. Most of the time, he would simply remain here until he awakened. Other times, he thought he could hear faint sounds of screaming and flesh being severed from flesh by a sharp blade, but the rare few times that disturbed him the most were the times when he could hear voices clearly through the darkness.
It had only happened twice before, once on the first night he had slept in this odd world and another time when he had contemplated telling Lelei and Cato about his origins in a different world.
The first time had been erased from his memory, or so it felt, but the second time he would never forget. It had been the most terrifying moment in his short time in this world.
His very soul had been threatened by whatever deity resided in this darkness if he revealed the existence of other worlds to anyone "before the time came", whatever that meant. Lelouch had been unwilling to tempt fate, even if he had been skeptical of the existence of Gods at the time, simply because he wasn't willing to risk his soul just to share where he came from with his two traveling companions.
This time around, the faint screaming that occasionally sounded out beyond the boundaries of the darkness remained silent, but he could still feel eyes on him. Lelouch blinked, waiting to see what would happen when a voice that sounded like a paradox spoke to him. Words whose pitch was both high and low, whose syllables sounded both correct and incorrect, imprinted themselves into his mind.
It would be inaccurate to state that he heard anything. It was more accurate to state that whatever was being communicated to him simply became knowledge he held within his mind.
Images of a dark-haired girl with an enormous weapon with a bloodthirsty grin and dressed in a dark dress flashed in his mind, as did a scene where the world itself appeared to try and swallow her whole before the image was replaced with a tower made up of the dirt, soil, and sand as it tore its way throughout the land.
The images sped up, making it impossible for Lelouch to discern anything of value, but there was one thing that stood out. The last image he saw before everything faded to black once more.
A sandstorm larger than anything he had ever seen in his life tearing its way across the sky.
Lelouch found himself awakened by a violent pounding at his door. "Master Cato! Lelouch!" Lelei's voice sounded frantically through the door which was uncharacteristic of the usually composed teenager. "Get up, we need to go!" The wind was howling even fiercer than it had been before Lelouch and Cato had gone to bed. The panels on the window shook and the wall itself appeared unstable.
Cato stumbled with a snort as he fell out of bed, Lelouch meanwhile hopped out quickly, still dressed in the dark clothing he had selected once he managed to trade in his Demon Emperor robes for something a little more practical. His bloody robes didn't sell for much, but the gems that had been a part of his ostentatious outfit allowed him to purchase a number of different articles of clothing as well as ensure he had some extra money to spend on other necessities, like food. He rushed and opened the door, accidentally causing Lelei to stumble forward into the room as she was about to pound on the door again.
Whereas Lelei was dressed in her usual robes, Lelouch was wearing an onyx tunic and a pair of black leather pants tucked into a pair of black boots. His cloak, the white one he had used for the desert to reflect the sun, was laying somewhere on the floor of the room while the normal dark traveling cloak he wore had been stored in the cart they normally traveled in. Cato transformed his clothing back into his usual attire, but his eyes were still unfocused as he stared at his two younger traveling companions.
Once Lelei entered the room in a slight stumble, Cato narrowed his eyes as he took in his apprentice's matted hair and disheveled appearance. Her eyes were flickering about and her lips were pursed in thin line. Lelei was nervous, very nervous. "What's wrong, Lelei?" Cato asked carefully, summoning his staff from where he had set it against the wall with barely a thought.
"Sandstorm. We need to leave now if we want to escape town before it hits." Lelei spit out quickly, using her power to summon Lelouch's cloak and shove it into his arms as he stared at her with wide eyes. "Come on! We need to move!" Lelei sprinted out of the room and down the hall, turning at her two traveling companions and tapping her foot as they wasted time shutting the door rather than rushing out with her.
"I knew going into that tomb was a bad idea." Lelouch murmured as he tossed his cloak around his shoulders and pulled up the hood to shadow his face. He turned to Cato who was fiddling with the doorknob, not moving until the door clicked shut. "I bet this is Hardy's fault." She was supposed to be the God of the Underworld, whipping up a sandstorm seemed well within her capabilities in Lelouch's opinion.
The trio rushed out of the building and towards the stables where the cart that held Cato's priceless collection, as well as served as their transportation, was held. The horses in the stable were terrified and the people in the town were slamming their windows shut as best they could, attempting to weather the storm as the wind began to get even worse. A grain of sand blew past Lelouch's face at a high speed, slicing into his cheek, and the spell shields that Cato and Lelei had up at almost all times were flashing as the wind howled with vengeance, whipping the desert into a frenzy.
Lelouch froze as he heard a sound over the wind, or rather being carried by the wind, turning to stare off into the desert with fear in his eyes. That moaning… "Master Cato!" Lelouch shouted, trying to get the man's attention as he tried to wrangle his horse while Lelei scampered into the back of the cart. "Did we seal the tomb off after we escaped?" Lelouch brushed his finger over his bloody cheek as he heard the sound that was being carried by the wind grow in volume.
Cato looked back at Lelouch with wide eyes as he understood what his traveling companion was getting at. "I… don't remember." Cato's grin didn't stop Lelei from whacking him with her staff from the back. "I suppose it's possible we left it open." That was when Cato heard what made Lelouch ask that question. "Oh, it's Hardy's servants." He spoke casually before blinking. "It's Hardy's servants!" Cato screamed as he snapped the reins hard once Lelouch managed to dive into the back of the cart.
Lelei and Lelouch collapsed to the floor of the cart as Cato began driving the cart as fast as possible, the pale blue glow surrounding the cart signaling he had used his magic to speed up the cart far faster than it normally went. Lelouch looked out the window and blinked. "Master Cato!" He shouted, trying to get the reckless old wizard's attention. "The exit of the town is the other direction!" Why in the world was Cato taking them towards the servants of the Goddess that had just tried to kill them after they had trespassed on one of her priest's tombs?
Cato grit his teeth harshly as he tore through the empty streets, using his magic and the reins to steer the cart out of the way of any homes, shops, or other obstacles as fast as he could. "I am the great Sage Master Cato!" Was Cato's reply. "I will not just abandon this town to its fate!" Especially as it was their fault Hardy's servants had been released into the world in the first place.
"What can you do against a sandstorm?" Lelei asked, frantically scrambling for purchase as she held onto the side of the cart, Lelouch doing the same on the opposite end, both of them staring at the old Sage incredulously.
"I am a Sage for a reason, don't doubt my powers!" Cato felt sweat drip down his chin as the three of them plus their horse managed to reach the edge of town. Where they could all see the hordes of undead servants approaching with the unrelenting desert at their backs. Cato hopped out of the front of the cart, turning slightly to look at his apprentice and traveling companion. "Don't worry, I may be old, but my powers are still as great as they were when I became a Sage. And I have only grown stronger with time." He grinned widely, concealing his fear behind his closed eyes as he prepared to fight for his apprentice and young traveling companion. Perhaps this was punishment for trespassing onto Hardy's territory.
Funny thing was, Cato never would have gone into that tomb if it had been just him and Lelei. He had felt confident with three pairs of eyes instead of two, but it appeared he should have been just as cautious as he would have been without Lelouch.
Cato's cloak billowed dramatically behind him as he turned away from the wide-eyed stares of his companions and stared out across the vast desert that spanned the land and sky, headed by an army of undead warriors bent on delivering him to the Underworld as payment for trespassing on the hallowed ground of their mistress. A confident grin split his face as he twirled his staff around over his head dexterously, magical power whirling about with each revolution. "I am the Sage Master Cato El Altestan!" He declared to the horde before him as he stepped out into the desert, his proclamation being carried by the swirling wind. "I was born in Rondel many years ago, the brightest student of my era." 'Sorry, Lelei. I wish I could have been a better teacher to you, dear child. And Lelouch, I hope you find your way in this glorious mystery we call life someday soon.' Cato stood up straight as he glared down his numerous enemies, prepared to strike them down. His magical power exploded in an aura around his body as he stopped spinning his staff above his head. "I have studied magic for over sixty years and I am not afraid of you." With a grand flourish, the Master Sage of Rondel pierced the desert with his staff.
And the world, for one glorious moment, was bathed in light.
I hope that my readers enjoy this tale of a Demon beyond the Gate. I thought it might be fun to contribute to an area that has so few stories, but this story will definitely not be my main focus. That belongs to my other two active stories right now. This is just me playing around with an idea I had after finishing the Gate anime and starting on the Gate manga.
Updates will be sporadic, but I can guarantee this will be updated eventually, unlike the other stories in this section.
Please review if you liked the chapter.
King Draconias Over and Out.