IC: Cellular

[thekingsgambit]

[After hearing that C.C. has been unable to determine Euphie's whereabouts within the past week, Lelouch finds himself on edge. It is illogical, he knows this. Even if Euphie were somehow still here, her existence is as transient as his. Yet, he can't stop wishing that she could still enjoy things here, if only for a brief while. Camp had always granted him an odd sort of retreat, not that he'd ever admitted it, a chance to appreciate things he had little time for in his other life. And while his ever-restless soul had always demanded escape from the tedium and a return to his battle, his pursuit, his wish, he still held onto those moments. Lelouch Lamperouge had been happy here. He had had everything he wanted but had been unable to understand that back then.

Now, Lelouch vi Britannia only wants to hear his half-sister's voice again, teasing him about his pets and lamenting the last days of autumn. It had been so important to get rid of her that day...

Out of options, he reaches for the communicator he received his first night back. If C.C. can't find Euphie, there are only two other people who could. And one of them was still too quick to suspect any unusual queries, especially about her. The other... It's a risky move, but he has decided that this time, Euphie is more important. His fingers push the button, no doubt intended for immediate connection .]

Comments

[ascendthethorns]

Fool... is your present control the result of an evolution? Or is there a countermeasure in place?

[thekingsgambit.livejournal.com]

Evolution? Your knowledge extends further than you showed the other day... No, this is not that type of evolution.

A filter is required.

[ascendthethorns]

A filter?

[thekingsgambit.livejournal.com]

Ah. Camp is unpredictable so methods beyond control are necessary. In this case, something that inhibits the effect.

[ascendthethorns]

... methods beyond control..? Are you saying that without camp's interference, your power would never have acted independent of your will?

[thekingsgambit.livejournal.com]

[His answer is strained and tight, as one would expect, but not with frustration. As the "what ifs" that he had only let cross his mind once or twice since then return.]

... no.

But you already know that. You spoke of evo --

[thekingsgambit.livejournal.com]

[He stops, letting the full measure of what she is saying sink in. She knows about the massacre. She knows about camp's version as well. Yet... she considered his power was not in his control? Why? Why would she ask that? It made little sense the initial time, and it makes far less sense now. Why does she keep pushing this? How can she know... ? More than that, she knows who she is asking. As much as it only adds to his confusion over her actions, it is a fact he has to acknowledge. So why? Why give him this chance?

His tone softens into something natural, demanding and accepting at the same time.]

Elder sister. You once asked me about my intentions. I return the question.

[ascendthethorns]

[Speaks stiffly, in a voice trained distant and detached.]

No. First..

Euphie was forced into massacring those people gathered at the Special Administrative Zone. By your order — your power. You gave her that command. But it was never your intention to do so. In the end, perhaps you had even decided to work together with her. But your Geass would have it otherwise. It had grown too strong for you to control and by the time you realized this, it was too late. You could not stop what had been set into motion. None could.

Those are the real truths, aren't they?

[thekingsgambit.livejournal.com]

[Practically clenches the communicator this time, his entire body shaking as he rests all his weight on the wall, hand pressed flat on its surface.]

-- How... How do you know that?

[ascendthethorns]

I hold pieces of those memories as well.. a consequence, I assume, of my intrusion on you and that girl.

[thekingsgambit.livejournal.com]

What?

[ascendthethorns]

I cannot answer that question any better than you can. I myself do not understand much of what transpired that afternoon.

[thekingsgambit.livejournal.com]

[Memory transference. There was no other explanation. Another effect of his Geass at camp? But when had it... He chases the thought from his mind for now. There is too much else to concentrate on. Like what his older sister now expects of him. He hadn't meant to reveal things as he has. An impulsive reaction to what he had perceived as theft of his memories.]

... You are not the only one with questions. And you have yet to answer mine.

[ascendthethorns]

It is a precarious balance that we all maintain here and I do not intend to allow its shift toward conflict. Especially now. This still isn't the place, and for some, it is not the time either.

[thekingsgambit.livejournal.com]

Then the others?

[ascendthethorns]

What about them?

[thekingsgambit.livejournal.com]

You are referring to inconsistencies in the time-line. They have existed before. Gino...

[ascendthethorns]

Then they have offered me no reason to believe that anything has changed for them, or that they are from a point much later than the power shift in the United States of China. Still, I cannot be certain. I have not presented the topic for dicussion.

[thekingsgambit.livejournal.com]

[Lifts the communicator enough for him to sigh in something close to relief before adjusting it once more.]

It is better that way.

[ascendthethorns]

[Pauses here - not a long pause, but a clear one.]

Then I can expect your cooperation.

[thekingsgambit.livejournal.com]

Cooperation... ?

[ascendthethorns]

In limiting the complications that may arise.

[thekingsgambit.livejournal.com]

[Long pause as he runs C.C.'s admonishments through his mind again. He can't hide forever -- Is that what he's doing? Hiding? From what? From consequences for his actions? Actions he had known, still knew, were the only course. Was it really to protect them... or himself?

His answer is quiet and all but numbed, as if saying it to himself.]

... I will not interfere.

[ascendthethorns]

You already are. Inquiries into your absence can only be explaned away for so long, Lelouch, before more significant questions are raised.

[thekingsgambit.livejournal.com]

It will be easier for them to understand that I have left.