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lapis-arts · 3 years

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The Knife of Amphibia

Chapter 2: Prison Escape

Summary: Months had passed since Anne's arrest. After putting up with mistreatment and retaining her innocence, she finally thinks about breaking out of prison... Little did she know, someone is willing to help her out.

Fandom: Amphibia

Features: Assassin AU, Aged Up Anne and Plantars

Warnings: Violence, blood, interrogation

Word Count: 1,807 Words

Anne woke up in her dingy cell that morning. Her body had ached all over from sleeping in the prison’s horrible conditions for the last few months.

Lady Olivia was nowhere to be found to hear her out, having to replace the king's duty to restore order in the city, lest it burned down completely. She had told General Yunan what happened word for word since day one, but it all fell upon deaf ears. All Yunan wanted was for Anne to confess to the murder and she might get life in prison. She wasn't going to, though. She knew what happened, her story stayed consistent throughout the months, so she stood her ground and retained her innocence.

It had felt like today was the final day of her life as guards came to her cell and dragged her to the torture chambers once more, strapped down into the chair for the torturer to do as Yunan ordered. The tall and hulking toad burned Anne repeatedly with a red-hot iron rod, the human crying out in pain, the general trying once again to force a confession. A few burns later, Yunan finally stepped in.

"Ok, ok, that's enough!" She said, motioning for the torturer to leave them alone. Anne growled as the woman got closer and spat in her direction.

"I already told you everything that happened... Why won't you listen to me!?" She hissed. Yunan just gave her a grin as she walked up to Anne and placed a hand on her chin to make her look up at her. "Oh, you foolish human.. It was part of the plan all along." Yunan said, about to reveal her hand to Anne.

"Wh-what?... What are you talking about?" Anne asked, clearly confused by what Yunan was telling her.

"Andrias was bound to be murdered before you and Marcy arrived earlier than noticed.. You just showed up at the wrong place at the right time. Now, I get to hit three flies with one stone." She chuckled, Anne staring wide eyed at the general in disbelief.

"You're insane..." Anne said, her brows furrowed in anger as she tried to struggle through the straps, the thick leather leaving rope burns on her skin the more she struggled to break free to beat up Yunan senseless.

"It's far too late to put up a fight, Anne. The whole kingdom believes you killed Andrias in cold blood and poor Olivia has no time to listen to your pleas. I'm in charge of your fate now.." Yunan smirked, grabbing the iron rod the torturer left in the burning fire, poking at Anne with it to get an official fake confession for the last time.

"Don't make this harder than it already is.." she threatened, burning Anne every time she refused to agree to the confession, the human stifling her cries of pain the best she could, not giving Yunan the satisfaction of hearing her pains.

After enough torment, Yunan knew the human wasn't going to give in. By that account, refusing to admit to the murder, Yunan had sentenced Anne to death by guillotine.

Anne was to be thrown back in her cell and await execution for the next few days, her body completely sore and covered in fresh and painful burns. She can't take on this abuse anymore. Anne had to get the hell out of there. She was clearly innocent based on the evidence, but a conspiracy damned it all...

Something didn't add up.. Why would Yunan kill off Andrias? Did she have something to do with the plague, or does she just want to rule Amphibia for all the glory and power? No matter what the newt's motives were, Anne needed to get out or her head will be rolling from the chopping block this weekend no matter what. For now, all she wanted to do was rest and slumped into a corner of her cell to sleep the afternoon away.

---

Later that evening, Anne woke up from the sound of a guard rattling the bars of her cell, signifying that it's dinner time already.

"You should eat up, Anne. This meal is from a friend." Is all the guard said, leaving rather quickly. A friend, was it? The human made her way over to the food tray, seeing a bowl of soup as usual, but it was actually warm and fresh this time. As she pulled the bowl away, she noticed a folded piece of paper in tact. She nearly tossed meal aside and quickly opened it, a small key falling out on her lap, yet revealed a handwritten note directed to her, and she couldn't be more relieved to recognize it was Lady Olivia's handwriting in particular.

"Hello Anne. I apologize for my absence, but I know for a fact you are innocent. I've pestered Yunan to extend your trial, but she's too over her head for reasoning and I have no time on my hands to continue doing so. Take this key, escape your cell and take refuge into the sewers."

Anne wasted no time at that point. She looked out the bars of her cell to check for no guards doing rounds, and slipped the key into the cell lock and got out. To her convenience, it seems like the guard who gave her the note left a sword on top of one of their tables, Anne gladly took it and fled the area. The human stuck close to the walls, peeking over the corners to make sure no guards were in sight. In some parts of the prison, Anne had to stick to the pipes and vents near the ceiling to avoid the guards scattered across a room. Never had she been more grateful to endure Marcy's stealth training, as it came quite in handy until she reached the exit point.

Just outside of the entrance gate was the river that surrounded the prison. If she could find a way out, she could easily dive and swim to the sewer entrance on the other side. Unfortunately, in order to do that, she had to get through the guards. Anne evaded the guards doing rounds, sticking to the shadows and hiding behind storage containers. She managed to slip through a broken window the entry office hadn't fixed yet, seeing a newt guard yawning while he was writing something down. Anne couldn't take any chances and neutralized him, putting him in a chokehold until he passed out.

"Sorry.." she muttered under her breath, quickly traversing to the next room, taking down whoever was there. Next to the window was a control panel, a lever off to the side labeled "Gate."

Bingo, her one way ticket out of here.

She quickly pulled the lever and waited for the gate to open, slipping out through the back door. All the guards turned their attention towards the gate, puzzled as to why it was opening. Once the moment was right, Anne sprinted as fast as she could towards the exit, shoving guards aside as they got in her way.

"Sound the alarm!!" A guard yelled, a couple of officers running towards the nearest alarm, hastily ringing the series of bells.

"Shit!" Anne growled as she heard the alarms ring out, pushing herself even faster towards the ledge. Near the edge of barbed wire fence were the watch towers by the lifted bridge, the prison guards hearing the alarms and spotted Anne down below. The guards grabbed their crossbows and shot at her, Anne pulled out her sword in response, slashing a few bolts out of the way, save for one that nicked her right on the shoulder, drawing blood. Anne hissed from the sharp pain, but ignored it once she reached the ledge, and finally jumped off.

She dove down a few yards into the water, quickly swimming away. She made her way to the sewer gates just across, swiftly opening and shutting them close as she entered, finding a loose pipe and shoved the metal in between the handles of the gate, making sure no one would enter for a good moment.

Once the adrenaline rush ended, Anne took off deeper into the sewers and stopped as she was met with a locked gate. She took a step back to rest for a moment, collecting her thoughts before continuing on, processing that she actually broke out of prison.

"Oh my fucking frog.. I actually made it out.." she panted, sliding down the wall onto the floor to take a breather. After regaining herself, Anne turned to the locked gate again, trying to figure out a way around it. Off to the side of the wall, was another handwritten note, seemingly from Olivia again.

"Anne, if you made it, then congratulations! Beyond the sewers should be your exit, and familiar friendly faces should see to you after you leave through the storm drain. Good Luck"

Anne looked up the gate and saw a little crawl space, climbing up and crawled through to get to the other side. She soon heard footsteps and officer commands echo through the sewers, knowing it was the Royal Guard trying to find her. The human stuck towards hiding again, trying to avoid much conflict as she could this time around. Anne even had to endure swimming through the sewer water under bridges just avoid detection, thankfully leaving unscathed.

After exiting the sewers out of a storm drain, Anne finally reached above ground where she saw a familiar looking family wagon, seeing three young looking frogs keeping watch. It wasn't until she saw that unmistakable aviator hat on one of the pink frogs that she realized who it was.

The said frog with the hat turned towards the drain to see the human climbing out of it, his eyes widened in disbelief as he realized who it was and quickly hopped over to her.

"Anne! You're ok!" He said, jumping into Anne's arms and hugged her.

"Sprig! Hey buddy!" She hugged him back, embracing the moment for a bit before she placed him down as the other frogs came to see her. "Hey Polly, hey Ivy. Damn, it's been a long time." Anne said. While the sentiment was nice, they all understood they didn't have time to waste.

"We gotta get you to Wartwood! It wasn't easy for us to get past the barricade." Ivy explained, Polly brushing off the situation. "Oh please! Those guys are nothing. We can take them on if they're trouble." That statement hinting the young frogs certainly weren't going down without a fight.i

After that, the frogs quickly got Anne into the fwagon, making sure there were various hiding placing for Anne just in case someone inspected them. Sprig took the driving seat and grabbed Ol' Bessie's reigns and finally took off to make the journey to Wartwood.

#amphibia #amphibia anne #anne boonchuy #assassin au #amphibia yunan #general yunan #amphibia sprig #sprig plantar #amphibia polly #polly plantar #amphibia ivy #ivy sundew #the frogs are there just towards the end lol

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naruwitch · 4 years

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Code Geass: Paladins of Voltron Chapter 28: Cheering Mao

"Okay, C.C., first of all, we need to confirm something with you. Are you an enemy or an ally?"

Lelouch scowled expectantly at the immortal on the castle's bridge. All of Team Voltron had assembled. Once they had returned to the castle, the Paladins updated everyone on what happened in Shinjuku. They also warned the Black Knights to watch out for Mao if they needed to go to Earth for any reason. If they ran into him, they were to get as far away from him as possible and then alert the castle. Lelouch had also informed Kyoto about Mao, and they were currently using all of their resources to track the man down and promised to update them when they had news.

"Where's this suddenly coming from, Lelouch?" C.C. asked.

"No, Lelouch is correct, C.C.," Allura stated, "In the past, you formed a contract with this Mao individual and gave him a power that could get inside people's minds, and exploit them for his personal use. Am I correct that that is how his power works?"

"Yes, the way Geass manifests is different for each person. If Mao concentrates, he can hear thoughts up to five hundred meters away, and he can read clear down to your subconscious if he wants to. For someone like you, Lelouch, who fights with his head, he's the worst possible enemy," C.C. answered.

"C.C., you made a contract with Mao in the past, but why did he attack Allura?" Suzaku asked.

"Mao's after me. He may be Voltron's enemy, but he's not necessarily targeting you," C.C. calmly answered.

"No, really? We could totally see that!" Kallen exclaimed sarcastically.

"Anyway, he knows who the Paladins are," Milly said gravely, "He could tell the police or the military at any time!"

"C.C., you need to tell us everything you know about Mao's Geass. Limitations, weaknesses, anything." Lelouch ordered.

"Mao's Geass is very potent," C.C. explained, "He can use it as many times as he wants, and he doesn't need direct eye contact as you do, Lelouch. And if you want weaknesses, I guess one is that he can't turn his power off. In a crowd, he hears all the minds reeling and writhing around him, whether he wants to or not."

"Well… I guess if I was constantly hearing everyone talking non-stop in my head, I'd go bananas too," Rivalz commented.

"I don't get it, how come you never told us about Mao before, C.C.?" Shirley asked with a frown.

"I thought he was dead," C.C. bluntly admitted with a shrug, "I haven't seen or heard from him for years."

"Are there any other contractors you have that we should maybe know about?" Kallen asked with a scowl.

"No, none that are still around anyway."

"...Wait, hold on," Milly eyes widening in realization, "you just mentioned earlier that Mao can't turn his Geass off. Why can't he?"

"Come to think of it," Allura frowned, "when he approached me, I do remember seeing the Geass mark in both of his eyes. However, the Paladins only have it in one eye. And they can turn it on and off at will."

"Well, the more you use your Geass, the more powerful it becomes," C.C. explained, "Those who can not control the power are ultimately ravaged and consumed by it."

"Wait, so are you saying that Lelouch, Shirley, and Kallen could end up like Mao too?" Rivalz gasped.

"Wh-what?!" Shirley exclaimed, eyes widening, "B-but I don't want to be invisible for the rest of my life!"

"Not necessarily," C.C. shook her head, "It is possible to control a fully-evolved Geass with enough willpower."

"...Has anyone ever fully controlled their Geass before?" Milly asked.

"Only one of mine. My first."

C.C.'s simple answer left a heavy feeling in the air. It almost felt like there was a guillotine dangling above them, threatening to fall at any moment.

Kallen suddenly let out a breathy chuckle, "Okay, so let me get this straight. Even though you knew that there was the possibility that our Geass would go berserk or whatever, you still offered it to us?"

C.C. didn't answer, but this seemed to answer Kallen's question anyway.

"That's cruel, C.C." Rai said with a frown, "Because Mao couldn't fulfill your contract, you cut him loose without explanation, right?"

"And what, pray tell, exactly were the terms to your contract anyway?" Allura asked.

C.C. still remained stubbornly silent, which didn't seem to quell the princess's anger at all.

"How despicable. You should have at the very least taken his power away from him when you left! Then he wouldn't be able to use it for his own contemptible ends!"

"Speaking of who should have this power and who shouldn't," Lelouch interjected, "I know you informed me that you didn't give it to him, but then how does my father have Geass?"

"Whoa, wait-WHAT?!" Rivalz exclaimed, in shock.

Lelouch winced. He knew he'd forgotten to tell them something.

"Your dad has Geass?!" Shirley gasped.

"Brilliant. Just brilliant…" Suzaku sighed, rubbing his forehead.

"Either way, considering you said you didn't give Geass to him, does that mean this other character, V.V. did?" the prince asked again.

"V.V.?" Milly asked, sounding out the name as if it sounded foreign.

"As far as I'm aware, V.V. is the only other Code-Bearer in the world, and yes, he's the one that gifted your father with Geass," C.C. confirmed.

"And again, you didn't think to tell us about this because…?" Kallen asked, waiting for an answer.

"There was no reason to bring it up. I highly doubt we'll run into him, even on Earth," C.C. answered.

"Okay, but still!" Kallen exclaimed, "You could have at least told us that Lelouch's psychopath dad had one! What if we ran into him?!"

"I agree with Kallen," Allura frowned, "I find it foolish that you kept information like this from us, even if you didn't think it would be of any importance!"

"Um… what about Haggar?" Rivalz suddenly asked.

The Blue Paladin's seemingly random question diverted the line of questioning away from C.C. as the group looked at him.

"What about her?" Milly asked.

"Well, I mean, would she technically be a Code-Bearer too?" Rivalz asked, "We know she gave Rai Geass, so…"

The Green Paladin involuntarily shuddered when Rivalz brought the witch up. If she did, and he was positive that she had, he feared to know what sort of contract they must have made. He simply prayed that he would never need to fulfill it.

"Well, I don't know the first thing about Haggar," C.C. said, "And at the moment, she's not our top priority."

A tense silence followed once more, though most of the group was shooting C.C. suspicious looks.

Suzaku then sighed, "Look, guys, I know you're angry, and I am a little too. But I don't think it's fair to treat C.C. like this. Remember that Allura did the same thing when it came to Zarkon and the Black Lion." The princess grimaced at the reminder. "C.C.'s been with the team since this whole, crazy thing started. She's even saved us once."

"Yeah, I mean, we shouldn't let one mistake like this break our trust completely," Shirley added timidly.

Before anyone else could voice their opinion on the matter, C.C. stood abruptly.

"It's fine. There's no point in trying to defend me," she said bluntly. She began to stride towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Rai asked.

"To deal with Mao. He's my responsibility, so I'm going to put an end to it."

"...You're going to kill him, aren't you?" Lelouch realized.

C.C. just nodded. No other words were needed. Considering how obsessed Mao was with her, this was the only way to stop him.

"Wait, but what's going to stop Mao from reading your mind?" Milly questioned.

"He can't. Just as Lelouch can't use Geass on me, Mao can't read my mind," C.C. answered, looking back at them with a small smile. However, the group could tell it wasn't a heartfelt one. "You all should be happy about this. We're going our separate ways now."

That comment caught all of them off guard.

Kallen scowled angrily, "Wait, so you're betraying us now?!"

"Calm down," C.C. sighed, "I don't plan to tell anyone about you. Besides, I'm not exactly essential to the team. I'm not a Paladin. You can all form Voltron just fine without me. You can keep your Geass too."

With that final statement, C.C. left the bridge, leaving the team shell-shocked, and even… a little empty.

o~o

'Dammit, I can't believe that bitch! How dare she treat me like this!'

'Crap, crap, crap! Oh man, I'm gonna be late for my date! Jeez, Sora is gonna kill me!'

'Honestly, where is that idiot? I thought he'd be here.'

'Oh man, check her out... Should I try to talk to her?'

'How am I supposed to find Mike out of all of these people?!'

Mao grit his teeth as all of the thoughts came roaring through his head. Sweat dripped like a fountain down his face, eyes wide. His fingers fidgeted on his mp3 and turned the volume up to its highest setting.

'Don't worry, Mao. I'm not going to die.'

'Mao! Mao! Are you awake, Mao?'

'Oh Mao, How silly…'

"C.C.," Mao whispered with a crazed smile, "I can't live without you. Wait for me. I'm coming to you."

o~o

"So… what did you want to talk about, Kallen?" Ohgi asked as he and Kallen perched on Aka's massive paw.

Kallen bit her lip. Ever since the ordeal with Mao in Shinjuku, the things that Mao said in the building clung to her. However, due to the mental health of the bond the Paladins shared, she knew that she needed to get this off her chest before it became a problem. Still, she didn't feel comfortable sharing her feelings about this particular subject with the Paladins just yet, even if Milly and Lelouch were already aware of it.

"Ohgi… if Naoto was here right now, what do you think he would think of all of this?" she asked eventually.

Ohgi cocked his head, "What do you mean?"

Kallen grimaced, "Well… I don't just mean the Paladins and Voltron thing. Naoto, Mom, and I used to be so close he was still alive, even after Britannia took our home. But after Naoto died, we just… fell apart. For years I just thought my mom was a fool for putting up with that bitch, Mrs. Stadtfeld. I know now that she was just keeping an eye on me, but… I just wish I did more to help her. I'm probably the worst daughter in the world."

"Kallen, that's not true," Ohgi immediately argued. He gently placed a hand on her shoulder, "We all make mistakes, we're only human after all. Look, I don't quite understand how these Lions work, but if they do choose their Paladin like the Princess said, then that means Aka saw something in you that's special. You're an amazing person Kallen, and I'm sure that if Naoto was here right now, he'd be proud of you too."

Kallen smiled slightly before hearing a low purring growl, the paw she and Ohgi were sitting on vibrated a little, making the man jump a little in surprise.

Then she noticed a familiar nudge in the back of her mind. Kallen felt a strong sense of righteous anger and even possessiveness coming from the usually temperamental Lion. She felt like she was the favorite teddy bear of a child being clutched tightly to their chest. It was an interesting feeling, to say the least, but Kallen found herself enjoying it. Kallen got the message, though. Aka had not made a mistake picking her as the Red Paladin, and she wasn't planning on letting Kallen go anytime soon either.

Kallen sighed, but she was smiling as well. She leaned over and hugged Ohgi tightly, who promptly returned the gesture.

"Thanks… both of you."

o~o

Though Coran was continually checking the operational pods and said he would alert him the second his sister was ready, Lelouch found him wandering back towards the medical wing. He trusted Coran and the pod's healing abilities, but his older-sibling-paranoia that something could still go wrong simply wasn't going away.

Lelouch stopped short when he saw that he wasn't the only one paying Nunnally a visit as he spotted Milly standing in front of Nunnally's pod too.

"Hey, Milly," Lelouch greeted upon entry. The Yellow Paladin jumped and turned towards Lelouch, but her eyes flickered between the brother and sister.

Lelouch frowned. It wasn't like Milly to be nervous like this. Out of all Paladins, Lelouch would actually see her as the bravest, or at least the most driven.

"Lulu, be honest with me…" Milly hesitated, "do you think I'm a good person?"

Lelouch blinked, not expecting that response, "Where's this coming from?"

Milly sighed, "Well, ever since your mom died, my family lost everything too. You know all of those arranged dates that my parents set up? They're desperate to reclaim what they lost because of it, even marrying me off to a stranger if they wanted to," the blonde sighed, "I don't know… I guess it just makes me wonder what else they'll try. I'm pretty sure that it's only because of my grandfather that you and Nunna managed to hide for so long. But now… what if they sell us out. What if they finally sell you out?"

Lelouch was surprised. Milly wasn't really one to let out her insecurities like this. Milly's parents were not much different from typical Britannian nobility. However, they were, in some ways, worse as they were continually trying to sell their daughter off into a loveless marriage.

Milly's father, Ruben Ashford's son, never cared for the military work the Ashford family specialized in and attempted to set up other branches of the business elsewhere. Unlike his father, though, he lacked the business skills to do so and had literally no sense of intelligence or wit. It was bad enough to the point it was hard to believe that he was even related to Ruben Ashford at all.

While Milly's father was a spineless idiot, her mother was a completely different story. Milly hated her mother with a burning passion, and Lelouch disliked her just as much, if not more.

Mrs. Ashford was a conniving vixen who used her pretty face to hide her sharp fangs. She seduced her brainless husband into marriage to become the matriarch of the Ashford family. She had done everything in her power to regain the family's status ever since Lelouch's mother died. She had even attempted to reveal Lelouch and Nunnally to Britannia once. This attempt was thwarted by the combined efforts of Sayoko (who threatened to slit her throat in her sleep), Ruben, and Milly. With all three of them protecting the vi Britannia siblings, there was nothing she could do. For all her ambition, Milly's mother was simply too arrogant and impatient. She was unable to, or simply refused to see her own weaknesses that left her like an open book to both her father-in-law and daughter. Any scheme she attempted was easily outmaneuvered by them in some way.

However, despite all of this, it seemed Milly was lucky enough to only have received only a tiny trickle of her mother's trickery (she wasn't called a she-devil for nothing). Her grandfather's intelligence also seemed to completely phase through her father and land in her instead. His kindness and generosity were also prevalent in her.

"Milly, if you think that you're like your parents, you're wrong," Lelouch said with a frown, "Despite everything that's happened, you kept Nunnally and me safe. If you were anything like your mother and father, we'd be back in Britannia's clutches by now. I'm not exactly a saint myself, but I'm genuinely grateful for all you've done for us, Milly. You may be a she-devil, but you're a good person and a real friend to me. So thank you."

Milly stood shocked for a moment, before running up to Lelouch and hugging him. It was a brief one, which the Black Paladin returned, but it expressed all of the gratitude and appreciation they felt for all of the years together.

o~o

The man grunted as a heeled shoe slammed him by the neck against the wall.

"I'm not looking for a Refrain dealer!" the woman exclaimed, "I said a Chinese guy named Mao. Did you hear me?!"

"Believe me, I have no idea," the man groaned, "the only Chinese guys around are the gang laborers. G-Go ask the cops or something!"

"I don't like cops," she growled.

"Th-then ask the Black Knights about him! They're all over the underground, they're wired into the settlement and the ghettos!"

C.C. was getting frustrated. This was the fifth guy that she had interrogated, but he was telling her the same thing. Either go to the police or contact the Black Knights. Well, that was a little hard, considering that she was avoiding contacting either one. Plus, even if she changed her mind and wanted the Paladins to help her, she had no way of doing so, especially after purposefully sinking her pod in the harbor. She doubted the Britannians would find it, and even if they did, there was no way they'd be able to replicate the pod or its functions.

"Everyone tells me the same thing!"

"Cause it's obvious!" the guy protested.

Before C.C. could ask any more questions, the sound of a phone ringing filled the alleyway. It was coming from the man's pocket.

C.C. lowered her foot as the man fumbled to answer it.

"Hello…? Huh? Who's this…? Uh, it's for you, Miss," the man said, holding his cell phone out to her unsteadily.

C.C. frowned but took the phone, holding it to her ear, "Yes?"

"It's me, C.C."

"Mao," C.C. greeted impassively. The guy whose phone she had suddenly looked very freaked out, looking around anxiously.

"I'll be at Clovisland tonight. Come alone. If you don't, I'll walk right up to Princess Cornelia's doorstep and tell her who the Paladins are. Don't think I can't, I have my ways. I can have them exposed and wanted at any time."

C.C. scowled. Well, what other choice was there?

o~o

Princess Allura sat solemnly in her bedroom. Her eyes were trained on the hologram of her parents. She didn't cry, but she didn't acknowledge the space mice nuzzling her fingers either, trying to cheer her up and shake her out of her trance.

She barely registered the doors to her bedroom sliding open.

"Allura, there you are," Coran said as he came closer, "Shirley and I have been looking for you everywhere."

"What's wrong, Allura?" Shirley asked cautiously.

The princess grimaced and sighed, falling back onto her bed, "Do you think I'm like Zarkon? Or at least, becoming like him?"

This question shocked both of her guests. Though Shirley had a feeling she knew where this was coming from, Coran never thought he'd hear something like this coming from Allura. Ever.

"I hate the Galra, you both know that. And I want to stop Zarkon's conquest and protect other civilizations. But… when I met Mao… he wasn't lying either," the princess reluctantly admitted, "There have been times where I thought about a universe where there are no Galra at all. They destroyed Altea and countless other planets… I've wanted them to feel the same pain they've brought upon others. So… I am becoming evil?"

"No! Absolutely not!" Coran exclaimed in horror.

"Allura, you're not like Zarkon!" Shirley reassured, "You're one of the most kind, caring, and noble people I've ever met!"

"Allura," Coran said softly, "It's not unnatural to feel such things sometimes. I've felt similar things in the past as well. Vengeance is certainly not an unfamiliar topic for me. However, I also have to remember that revenge would not be something that Alfor would want. He's always said that revenge only leads to more pain. But, Allura, understand these feelings may hurt, but they can become a strength too."

Allura looked towards Coran, eyes desperate for resolution and release from the pain behind them.

"It's okay to hate Zarkon. I hate him as well. But, we should not let this hatred consume us," Coran adds.

"It's like with Lelouch," Shirley says, "He hates Britannia, and only wanted to destroy it at first. But, we've been there for him. We've shown him that he's not alone, and now look at him. I doubt that Lelouch would have even considered saving Britannia before. We're here for you too, Allura. We're not going to let you turn bad!"

Allura smiled softly at her advisor's words and Shirley's reassurance. The heavy weight in her chest felt lighter. It wasn't completely gone, and the princess doubted that it would leave for a while, but it was comforting to hear people who expressed their belief in her.

"Thank you, Coran. Thank you, Shirley."

o~o

"Urabe and the others are late," Chiba sighed. She, Asahina, and Todoh were waiting at their rendezvous point. It was at the shrine of the late Genbu Kururugi, the former Prime Minister of Japan.

"Well, this sure is an ironic meeting place, isn't it," Asahina commented, "the grave of Prime Minister Kururugi."

"The traitor who told us to fight to the end, but then committed suicide himself," Chiba spat in disgust.

"Enough!" Todoh barked gruffly, "Don't speak ill of the dead."

Unbeknownst to the small group, they were being watched from higher ground.

"Fugitive Todoh has been identified. All units prepare to move in."

"Yes, my Lord!"

o~o

Kaguya giggled as she playfully maneuvered around the pill bug aliens as she walked down the hall. From what little experience she had with aliens, mostly from sci-fi anime she'd watched, she never expected to encounter any that were as cute as these things. The Paladins and Alteans admitted that they didn't know what exactly they were, and there was no history of them in the Castle's database. This species likely sprung up within the 10,000-year time frame that the Alteans remained in stasis. From what they could see so far, though, the aliens were harmless and acted more likely curious puppies most of the time. They also seemed to be empathetic enough to communicate through action, according to Shirley and Rai's account of their first encounter with them.

Kaguya eventually wandered into the lounge and seemed to interrupt a tense conversation being shared between her cousin, Rivalz, and Rai. She managed to catch the name 'Mao' before they noticed her coming in.

Kaguya frowned slightly. She and the other Kyoto heads had been made aware of Geass shortly after Lelouch revealed himself. The fact that there were other people out there with similar powers was disturbing as well.

"Oh, sorry, am I intruding?" she asked.

"No, you're okay, Kaguya," Suzaku assured her, as he tapped a space next to him on the couch, which she gracefully took.

"A-Anyway, Suzaku, what I was trying to say is, I'm sorry!" Rivalz said, looking ashamed, "Lelouch and I drove by the ghettos all of the time, and not once did I ever consider how bad it was for your guys. You too, Kaguya. I'm sorry! I'm just an ignorant idiot!"

"Rivalz, we've talked about this before," Suzaku replied, "being ignorant doesn't make you evil."

"Plus, the fact that you're trying to fix things speaks volumes too," Kaguya added.

Rivalz looked so relieved as he looked gratefully at the two cousins. "Thanks, you two."

Rai then chuckled bitterly next to them.

"Rai?" Rivalz asked.

"You're lucky Rivalz," Rai mumbled, "At least you know who you are. Me? I still have no idea…"

"Don't talk like that, Rai," Suzaku responded, "We're going to help you remember and get your memories back."

Rai groaned, leaned forward from his spot on the couch, "Well, that's the thing. I don't think I want to remember my past anymore."

This remark shocked the group. Ever since Rai had shown up at Ashford's doorstep, all that the Green Paladin could think about was who he was and where he came from. To hear that he didn't want to know anymore sounded crazy.

"It's just…" he groaned again, "What if I find out that I used to be the type of person I hate now?! It's so frustrating how I have no idea about anything. I don't even know if my dad is still alive, or if I ever had a dad! I don't even know how my family got captured by the Galra in the first place. I mean, come on, I hurt my own sister!"

"Rai, you hurt her so that you could protect her!" Suzaku reminded him hastily.

"Yeah, but what if it was bad enough that I just made it worse?! You've seen how the Galra view things. It's just like with Britannia. If you're 'useless' to them, they just get rid of you! The fact that I don't know if what I did was worth it or not is torture all on its own!"

"Rai, you can't just assume that!" Suzaku protested, "Until you… we… have solid evidence about what happened to them, you can't give up!"

"Yeah! And besides, even if they aren't...around anymore…" Rivalz said carefully, "you still have us. And even if you were a terrible person in your past life, that won't matter! You're your own person. It doesn't matter where you came from… the big thing that you should be asking yourself is, what do you want? And if you want to be good, be a Paladin, then that's what you should focus on!"

Rai sighed and breathed deeply to try and calm down. The insecurities and anxiety over his mysterious past still bubbled beneath the surface, but he would admit that his friends' words comforted him.

"Also…" Kaguya piped up, "I know I can't really contribute much to this conversation, but I do see you as a friend, Rai if that makes you feel better?"

Rai looked up and smiled kindly at the young girl, eyes still misty from the couple of frustrated tears that had fallen moments ago.

He gasped slightly when he felt something bump him lightly from behind. Turning, he grinned as he spotted Rover hovering just over his shoulder. The robot beeped what everyone assumed was some sort of encouragement. Rai placed a hand lightly on top of the robot as thanks.

Before any more words could be shared with the group, they heard the intercom frizz to life.

"Paladins, please meet on the bridge!"

o~o

Suzaku, Rai, and Rivalz were the last ones to arrive. Rover trailed closely behind them. They were greeted by their fellow Paladins and were quick to notice the grave expressions on everyone's faces.

"What's going on?" Suzaku questioned.

"It's about Mao," Lelouch answered, "We need to figure out how to deal with him."

"Wait, but didn't C.C. say that she'd take care of it?" Rivalz asked, confused.

"She did say that," Shirley remarked, "but I don't like the idea of leaving her alone with that… that… that psycho!"

"I'm sure C.C. can handle it," Kallen shrugged, "Mao can't read her mind, and she's immortal, so it's not like anything bad is going to happen to her."

"I don't know," Suzaku disagreed, "Allura has super-human strength, and yet Mao was able to capture her, hold her hostage, and then rig the entire building she was being held in with explosives before we got there."

"I agree," Rai nodded, "He's bound to have a couple more tricks up his sleeve. He may not act very smart, but he is definitely unpredictable. He may have a trap ready for C.C."

"...Perhaps if used correctly, C.C. could also be Mao's greatest weakness," Lelouch said in realization.

The team turned to the Black Paladin.

"What do you mean, Lelouch?" Milly asked.

"Well, remember right before we cornered him the first time? Rover was playing a recording of C.C."

Rover beeped quickly before playing the exact same recording off to the side.

"Why does this remind me of Star Wars?" Rivalz asked off-handedly.

"Not the time Rivalz," Milly chastised.

"Er, right! Sorry."

"Anyway, when Rover played that recording, Mao's demeanor completely changed. He got excited. He didn't even stop to think if it was a trick. He just ran straight for the hologram. Plus, the whole reason he kidnapped Allura in the first place was to draw C.C. out.

"Come to think of it, when he confronted us in Shinjuku, he specifically asked us to bring C.C.," Milly recalled.

"Yes. When Mao read my mind when I saw his Geass, he got excited that I knew C.C. as well," Allura added.

Kallen snorted, "What is he in love with her or something?"

"Love? More like obsessed," Lelouch corrected, "but it's not just that. He has a personality as well."

"Um… doesn't everyone have a personality, Lulu?" Shirley asked, not quite following Lelouch's train of thought.

"Well, think about it. Kidnapping Allura and using her as bait to lure out the Paladins was a sound strategy. Still, how he handled it wasn't," Lelouch explained, "He kept monologuing with each of us, probing our mental weakness while also making wild and immature claims with a completely straight face. When things didn't go his way, he was visibly upset like he was about to throw a tantrum."

Suzaku gasped, "That's exactly how he reacted when he couldn't probe my mind."

"Hey, speaking of which, do you think you could teach us how to do that?" Rivalz asked.

"Um, maybe, but let's stay focused on the topic for now," Suzaku reminded him.

"Mao acted as if he was never told 'no' before. Like things would go his way no matter what. He has the personality of a spoiled brat. A man-child," Lelouch continued.

Coran frowned, "A child with a very dangerous ability, however."

"One that also drove him completely nuts," Kallen added.

"Exactly. He's immature, obsessed, and insane," a devious smirk then spread across Lelouch's face, "and we can use that against him."

"Does the mighty Zero have another master plan up his sleeve?" Milly grinned mischievously.

"I do. And it's one that Mao won't see coming."

o~o

The Clovisland amusement park had been closed hours ago. Both employees and patrons had gone home for the evening. Everything was dark and completely deserted. C.C. walked casually into the center of the area, having arrived alone, just as she promised. The Paladins likely wouldn't be able to track her here. Now she just needed Mao to show up.

She didn't need to wait very long as lights and music filled the space. The carousel in front of her started running, along with the Ferris wheel and other rides.

"C.C., your mind is so quiet. It's the only one I can't read," Mao merrily as he appeared riding on one of the horses on the carousel, "You really are the best there is!"

C.C. sighed, "As childish as ever, I see."

"I'm a prince on a white stallion, and a prince has to rescue the princess," he cheered as he leaped off the ride and pranced towards her, "Does that make you happy, C.C.?"

"Mao, we talked about this before," C.C. said, sounding annoyed, "I told you that you and I-"

"Those were all lies. Lies!" Mao interrupted, "C.C., you love me, and this is how I know." He reverently took off his headphones, and C.C.'s voice could be heard playing from them. The thing that he listened to 24/7 just to try and stay sane.

'Thank you, Mao. Mao. Mao.'

"Stop it!" C.C. shouted.

(Flashback)

"BE QUIET!" Mao shouted, clutching his ears and burying himself in C.C.'s torso, shaking.

"Don't listen to them," C.C. said softly, "Just listen to the sound of my voice."

Mao exhaled as C.C.'s words soothed him.

o~o

Mao sat happily by a pond. C.C. was wearing a pretty purple Chinese dress. Holding the sketchbook that he'd drawn C.C. on, he turned it to show her portrait that he made.

"That's it. Since my mind is the only one you can't read, and you can only be happy when you're with me. I'll stay with you always."

o~o

"Yes, I'm right here. So you don't need to worry."

C.C. held Mao close as the two of them slumbered in an abandoned barn, the full moon shining brightly overhead.

(Flashback end)

"C.C., you're the only one! The only one I want, forever!" Mao continued excitedly, approaching C.C., "Lelouch, Kallen, Shirley, Voltron, none of them matter at all. Forget those dumb kids. If you just come with me..."

"Stop it!" C.C. repeated, pulling out a shotgun, and pointing it at Mao, knocking the headphones out his hands in the process. Mao stopped, staring in shock. "I should have done this a long, long time ago."

C.C. was about to pull the trigger, but more memories of Mao's childhood came rushing back. As much as she tried to deny it, she did care about Mao. She had bonded with him in a way that she hadn't been able to in centuries. He was like a son to her. The last person she had managed to genuinely feel something for was-

She shook her head. There was no point in thinking about him. He may have promised to return someday, a vow to find a way to undo her immortality falling from his lips as he left her. But those were old memories. She doubted he even remembered her after so long.

Her hesitation cost her, as Mao pulled his own gun, shooting C.C. in the shoulder. The pain shook her out of her trance as she dropped her weapon, and clutched her shoulder, trembling.

"I knew it! I knew you couldn't pull the trigger! That's cause you really love me, C.C.!" He laughed maniacally as he clapped his hands.

"You're wrong! I was just using you right from the start!" She exclaimed, almost desperately.

Mao stopped laughing and frowned, "What are you saying? You shouldn't tell lies like that. You really shouldn't," he fired at her again, hitting her other should this time. C.C. gasped in pain, collapsing, spread eagle on the ground, "Lies are very, very wicked. Wicked lies!" He fired twice more, hitting her knees. And then again, this time her elbows. She was now wholly immobile, at Mao's mercy. It would take too long for her to regenerate, and that was time she didn't have.

"Don't worry… I understand…" Mao murmured almost remorsefully, "C.C. you must listen to me. I've built a big brand-new house in Australia. A very quiet, white immaculate special house," he said this rather robotically, as he approached the immortal on the ground. "But to get to Australia, you'll need to take an airplane, and there isn't very much room," he continued to explain as he then turned away and walked back towards the carousel entrance, "The thing is, C.C., you're a little too big to bring on a plane."

C.C.'s eyes trailed him, a flicker of fear crossing her eyes as Mao leaned over and pulled out a giant chainsaw. His face morphed into a huge grin once more, turning the tool on. "So, that's why I'm going to make you compact!"

He laughed again as he swung the saw around, cutting a 'Please hold on to small children' sign cleanly in two, "It'll take no time at all!"

"Is this your revenge?" C.C. asked weakly, barely able to move thanks to her injuries, "You're punishing me?"

"Oh no, I'm not!" Mao exclaimed, his smile never leaving his face as he approached her, chainsaw looming over him, "I'm not, I'm not, I'm not at all. I'm showing you my gratitude."

"So this is the place you picked," a voice on the monitor next to Mao suddenly pixelated to life. A familiar-looking face and background of the bridge on the Castle of Lions glitched to life. C.C. and Mao both looked towards the monitor. Lelouch's face soon became visible. "A place where there'd be no one else's thoughts to bother you. That narrowed it way down."

"Lelouch," Mao growled at the screen. C.C. gasped in both shock and relief.

"Since your Geass has a total maximum range of five-hundred meters. It can't reach me, or any of the other Paladins here at the Castle of Lions."

Mao laughed, despite this fact, clapping his hands again, "That's true! That's very true! But what can you do from so far away, hmm? After taking all that trouble to hack into the system, what's your grand plan? A remote-control attack with some battery-operated toys? Having your precious Lions completely destroy the park? Or a tongue-lashing to lecture me into submission?" Lelouch didn't seem to respond, "Ah, cat got your tongue now? If you want C.C., then you're gonna have to come-"

"Mao, think!" Lelouch interrupted, "You don't believe C.C. is her real name, do you? She never even whispers it to anyone."

This caused Mao to gasp and pause. He turned and looked at C.C. in disbelief.

"But I know it, though," Lelouch continued, "she told me her true name. Why, even Allura, Coran, and the other Paladins know it."

Mao could only stare at C.C., betrayal and shock present on his face, "Is that right, C.C.? You never told me, ever, ever. But you told it to him?"

"You know why?" Lelouch smirked, "Because C.C. is mine. C.C. belongs to me in every possible way."

"No!" Mao shouted, marching onto the stage where the screen was, "She doesn't. She doesn't! She doesn't! She doesn't! She was mine long before she met you!"

"I have gained every single thing from her. Including all of the parts that you have never seen." Mao stumbled back upon hearing this. "All of them."

"Lelouch…" Mao seethed, as he revved his chainsaw, "FACE ME!" he charged at the screen, slashing it wildly with the saw, "LELOUCH! COME HERE! COME HERE SO I CAN LOOK INTO YOUR MIND! I'LL SEE THE TRUTH! I'LL SEE WHAT A LIAR YOU ARE! LIAR!"

"Mao, you've lost," Lelouch said as the screens slowly crumpled from the screen, circuits, and electricity flashing everywhere.

"What are you talking about?" Mao demanded, "I don't care. I'm gonna be with C.C.!"

Mao suddenly gasped as multiple voices started pouring into his head. He looked around wildly. Where were these thoughts coming from?! And from the sounds of them, they were coming closer, fast!

"Is that Lelouch? But he's too far away. Sounds… everywhere… all those voices."

"Hold it right there!" a man's voice shouted, "Drop the weapon and surrender!" Before Mao's eyes, dozens of policemen, and a couple of Knightmares surrounded him, all with their guns drawn and pointed at him. SWAT body armor and bullet-proof shields were held up in front of them too.

"What are they doing here?!" Mao gasped. Suddenly a blinding spotlight shined down on him from above. Looking up, Mao gasped as he spotted a helicopter hovering above him as well.

"Remain where you are! Drop your weapon and raise your hands!"

"I-it's the police! Who contacted them?!" Mao wailed, frightened.

As more officers raced by, C.C. was approached by two of them, who knelt down and helped her to her feet. Her arms were placed over each of their shoulders. The taller, blonde one slowly picked up C.C.'s gun. She gasped when she saw their faces.

"Lelouch! Rai! What are you two doing here?!"

Mao heard C.C. and gasped as well, "It can't be. Lelouch was just at the Castle! He can't be here now!"

Lelouch looked up at Mao and smirked, 'Are you that slow? I was never there.'

"That's a lie!" Mao denied, "You-you were talking to me! Answering me!"

'Your thoughts are simple,' Lelouch continued, 'It seems you've forgotten about a little robot friend of ours.'

Mao gasped as he suddenly remembered the little triangular droid that had been in Shinjuku. The one that tricked him with the video of C.C.

'Well actually, it wasn't just Rover,' Rai thought this time, 'Milly was the one doing the talking. All Rover had to do was cover her with an image of Lelouch. It was child's play afterward with all of the Altean technology at the Castle. Consider this payback for Shinjuku.'

"You-you!" Mao sputtered, "Even so, how did you get to Earth so quickly?! And why didn't you just sick your little kitty-cats on me?!"

"One of them is right over there,' Rai pointed with his eyes. Looking over, Mao can now barely see a slightly distorted area behind them, 'If you can really read minds, you'd also remember the skills each of the Lions have. Like how Zerith can turn invisible? And besides, you simply aren't worth the Lions' time.'

Mao grit his teeth, his fury building even more, "Don't play games with me, punks! If the cop arrests me, I'll be back out in a heartbeat!" This only caused the thoughts of the cops to surface again. They called him and crazy, deluded, and insane, "SHUT UP! JUST STOP TAUNTING ME!"

Lelouch's smirk never left his face, 'C.C. told us that you can't turn off your Geass. And your reach is erratic. If you don't concentrate, your range gets very short. It was the perfect time to fly down in Zerith while she was invisible.'

"So, you used the monitor to keep me distracted?" Mao realized, "Even so, I can still defeat you. I'll have you ruined!"

'The moment you try, the moment you die.' Lelouch thought as he and Rai finally turned and started to walk off, pulling C.C. along with them.

"Lelouch, Rai, wait!" C.C. protested, "If I talk to him, I can get through."

"You think I'll die?!" Mao screamed, "Listen, cops. You know who that guy is? He's the terrorist you want. He-"

"FIRE!" the head officer, under Lelouch's Geass, ordered. The cops open fired on Mao before he could say anything else.

"Oh, no!" C.C. gasped in horror as she disappeared into the Green Lion's mouth. As stealthy as she had come, Zerith lightly took off from the ground. She roared loudly and dropped her cloaking once in the sky, far out of distance from anyone.

Mao never took his eyes off the Lion, eyes full of pain and despair, even as he grunted in pain on the ground. "Zero…"

Unbeknownst to everyone else, one of the cops observed the scene silently in her disguise. Her yellow eyes landed on the downed human in front of her.

A poisonous sneer spread across her face.

o~o

Zerith made it back to the Castle of Lions without any further incident. C.C.'s wounds had finally healed, so she was able to walk on her own when they landed. Wordlessly the boys escorted C.C. back to the bridge to find that everyone was waiting for them.

"Why did you come back for me?" C.C. asked, her voice sounding bewildered.

"Why?" Shirley asked incredulously, "Because we're your friends C.C. We've been through so much together already, we're not just going to abandon you now! And don't say that any of our adventures haven't actually meant anything to you so far."

C.C. nearly snorted, but smiled nonetheless, "I'll admit, this has been one of my more… unique experiences."

This elicited a chuckle from a majority of the group. 'Unique' was certainly one way of putting it.

Once the laughter died down, though, Suzaku spoke more seriously, "C.C., you don't have to tell us if you don't want to, but why did you form a contract with Mao in the first place?"

C.C. sighed, "Mao was only six years old when I made my contract with him. He was an orphan who'd never known the love of a parent. He couldn't read or write and knew nothing of good and evil. When I gave the Geass power to Mao, it isolated him. In his mind, I became his only friend and his lover, though I was still a perfect stranger. I'm the only one he even thought of as human. I was Mao's entire world."

"Then why did you leave him?" Allura asked, a frown still on her face, though this one wasn't as harsh the one she wore earlier.

"You already know the answer. He couldn't fulfill my contract," C.C. answered.

"...That's so selfish of you," Kallen pointed out.

C.C. didn't answer, but the look on her face gave them her response anyway.

"But, you did care about him, right?" Milly asked.

"Yes, though not in the way that he viewed me," C.C. admitted, "I suppose I felt he'd be better off without me. I'm immortal. I've lost everyone I've come to know through time, while I remain the same. It's painful to watch people grow old and die right in front of your eyes."

Coran hummed, "I suppose immortality isn't as glamorous as one would think."

"It's a nightmare," C.C. answered honestly, "I won't lie and say it doesn't come in handy sometimes, but... you can't make friends or form bonds with anyone... not really... not when you know you'll outlive them."

The Paladins and Alteans looked at C.C. sympathetically. Allura and Coran could relate only slightly. They may not be immortal like her, but they definitely had outlived everyone they had grown to love, being the only Alteans left alive.

"Do you know if there's a way to stop it?" Lelouch asked, "A cure or a way to get rid of your immortality?"

C.C. shook her head, "If I knew, I would have done it a long time ago."

"Then we'll find a way," Allura said resolutely, "Even if the method is not on Earth, there has to be some way in this universe somewhere. No one deserves to hold a curse such as this."

C.C. gasped slightly, a sense of deja vu she hadn't felt in a while overcoming her. She remembered someone else asking her the very same questions. Making the exact same proclamation so long ago. When she had this very conversation with someone else… with him.

"Why…?" C.C. asked, "Why would you go so far for someone like me?"

"Because you're our friend!" Shirley repeated, "That's why! What other reason should we have?"

"Yeah! Sure, you may not be a Paladin, but you are a member of this team, C.C.!" Rivalz exclaimed, suddenly approaching her, "And to prove it, I want to form a contract with you. Here and now!"

C.C.'s eyes widened in shock, and most of the other Paladins looked at Rivalz in surprise too. Apparently, this hadn't been a part of their 'welcome back speech.'

"...You understand there are risks to this," C.C. said carefully, "And I have no idea what type of power you'll have."

"But… it is possible to control it, right?" Suzaku asked before Rivalz could say anything, "You said it's only happened once for you, but it is possible to completely control a Geass?"

"You mentioned that this power could isolate us," Shirley remembered, "but that hasn't happened so far. I'm sure if we stick together, we can find a way!"

C.C. honestly didn't know what to say, eyes still wide.

Lelouch slowly walked up to her, placing a hand on her shoulder, "C.C. it doesn't matter who you were in the past. What matters is who you want to be right now. That's what's most important. So tell us, who are you?"

C.C was silent for a few moments. When she answered, she smiled, eyes misty as tears gathered in them, "I'm C.C…. I'm an ally of Team Voltron."

Everyone smiled as she took Rivalz's hand, initiating the contract between them.

The Blue Paladin gasped as he felt the shock course through his body. His left eye burned as new power awakened inside of him. He stumbled back as he clutched his eye, though Milly helped to steady him before he could fall over. He blinked as the Geass sigil faded in his pupil just as the bridge's doors slid open.

"Excuse me, I hope I'm not interrupting anything," Ohgi said as he came in. He didn't voice it, but he managed to catch most of the conversation. He was happy for them, especially Kallen for making so many new friends.

"What's up, Ohgi?" Kallen asked.

"I just wanted to inform you that that Britannian Pureblood you brought back, Villetta, she's awake," Ohgi told them, "But… there's a problem."

"What is it?" Lelouch asked, frowning.

"She must have hit her head or something in your last fight," Ohgi guessed, "she doesn't remember anything. When we called her by her name, she didn't respond. She doesn't even know her own name."

Lelouch's eyes widened as he glanced at the other Paladins. Ohgi was right. This was a problem. If Villetta had really gotten amnesia, what did they do with her now?

o~o

Mao groaned as he opened his eyes. Once his eyes adjusted, the first thing he spotted was the dark walls around him. Shooting up, all he could see was darkness, with slight splotches of purple lining the walls.

He squinted, and spotted a figure on the opposite end of the room, staring at him. They had a hood pulled over their head, and he could barely make out the lining of their jaw, though their white hair stood out like a beacon in the darkness.

The being approached, seeing that he was awake. That's when Mao realized something else. He couldn't hear anything. Not a single thought was entering his head!

"I... I can't read your mind… are you… are you like C.C.?" his mind wandered back to the thoughts of the Paladins, and a face popped up from their memories. The face of a sworn enemy of Voltron, "You're Haggar."

"You think your power can only let you read minds?" Haggar asked him. Mao eyed her with interest, "Foolish boy. Your 'Geass' that you have now is only the tip of the iceberg. But more importantly, I know you desire this C.C. girl, but there's something else you want much more. Revenge against the Paladins. Am I correct?"

Mao's eyes widened, and he nearly saw red. Just the mention of those traitorous thieves made him clench his fists, hatred coursing through his veins.

"Well, I think I may have the solution for you then," Haggar said with a smirk, noticing Mao's reaction, "I can grant you power beyond anything you've experienced before. In return, however, you will pledge your fealty to Zarkon and his Empire and will let me study this C.C. girl. If you accept these terms, then you can have C.C. all to yourself, and have each of the Paladins heads on a platter."

A sinister smile had grown on Mao's face as he continued to listen to the witch. He may not be able to read her mind, but he also wasn't as stupid as Lelouch thought. Right now, he didn't care what happened to him. All that mattered to him was revenge. And if this witch could give him that, then so be it! Once the Paladins were gone, he could finally be with C.C., and nothing would bother them or separate them again!

"I accept!" he grinned, sticking out his hand.

Haggar smirked and gracefully clutched the Earthling's hand firmly in her own. The moment they made contact, sparks of malicious black lightning shot in all directions, and Mao screamed in sudden pain. Before his eyes, a familiar vision over him. The same tunnel he saw when he was six sucked him deeper and deeper inside. However, as he descended, the walls turned from a soothing blue to an evil purple and maroon, black and indigo lights flashed all around him.

He finally came to the end, seeing nothing but a white void surrounding him. This barely lasted a moment before dark creatures began swirling and writhing around him. As he clutched his head, he saw an inferno completely devouring a planet he didn't recognize, and the pained screams of the dying consumed his ears.

After several more minutes of this torment, it stopped just as suddenly as it began. Mao was slumped over, on the floor, clutching his skull.

His eyes flickered open, and the sigil in them that was once red morphed into a dark, malevolent black.

#Fanfiction #AU #Voltron #Code Geass #lelouch lamperouge #kallen kozuki #suzaku kururugi #rai (lost colors)#shirley fenette #milly ashford #rivalz cardemonde #allura #coran #c.c.#haggar #mao

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thewidowstanton · 6 years

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Kalle Nio, magician and visual artist, WHS: Lähtö, London International Mime Festival

Kalle Nio is an award-winning magician and visual artist from Helsinki in Finland. His stage work combines historical stage magic techniques with contemporary video projections. In 2000, he won third prize at FISM in the invention category and the same year co-founded WHS – a collective producing new circus and visual theatre – with juggler Ville Walo. WHS has played a key role in the rise of contemporary circus in Finland and has been seen internationally. Its show Pinta was at Jacksons Lane in London during CircusFest 2016.

Kalle is also one of the founders of Teatteri Union, an art-house cinema and performing arts venue in Helsinki. His works as a visual artist involve the collision of magic, cinema and the human body. He now appears with Vera Selene Tegelman in his award-winning production Lähtö, which he also directs. The show has its UK premiere at the Platform Theatre in London and runs from 10-13 January 2018 during the 41st London International Mime Festival. Kalle takes a break from “testing some scenes for a new show” at Teatteri Union to chat to Liz Arratoon.

The Widow Stanton: Do you come from a showbusiness background? Kalle Nio: No… well, sort of. There isn’t any in my family but I started to do magic when I was a really young child, like maybe most magicians. I had my first performances when I was five years old and then never stopped doing it. So I’ve been doing magic all my life, basically.

Many magicians start out with a little kit, such as a Paul Daniels’ set. How did you learn? Yes, like that. Exactly the same old story. I got a magic kit from a toy store and then I started to learn from books. Then I went to some youth circus schools and things like that, but I don’t have any official circus training; I’m really self taught. Paul Daniels was really big in Finland as well when I was kid and I watched a lot of his shows.

What made you start it so young? I suppose I saw some magicians on TV and stuff like that but it was something that always felt like my thing. It’s curious because when I started it was just so natural for me; ‘OK, I will do that‘. Then I did magic almost professionally from when I was 14 because I won the youth championships of magic in Finland and that led me to perform on some TV shows that were really popular. After that I had so many possibilities to perform everywhere it kind of became my profession. It was a very natural thing to do.

Is magic big in Finland? I only know of Marko Karvo… Well, there are a lot of really good magicians here but I don’t think it’s any bigger than in any other European country. There are a lot of magicians everywhere and I feel that in recent years magic has become more and more popular. There are lots more professional magicians performing and doing interesting things. It’s a really good time to be a magician at the moment.

What was your invention for FISM 2000? It was two tricks. It’s a funny story actually, because I went to FISM to compete in the close-up category but the judges asked me to go and meet them after the show. They felt that maybe I wasn’t the winner of the close-up category but they wanted to know how I did my tricks. I explained how I’d done them and then they gave me a trophy in the inventions category.

Will you describe the tricks without saying how they were done? The first one was with a soda bottle. I blew into the glass bottle and it inflated like a balloon… [Laughs] … and the second one was a card trick. One of the volunteers picked a card and signed her name on it, then the card vanished and reappeared inside a block of ice.

Where did your interest in historical stage magic come from? I read a lot about the history of magic. I’m really into like, ‘What were the first tricks that magicians started to perform? What are the greatest illusions that no one does anymore?’. I love to read about those and a lot of my influences come from there. I’ll see some old trick that I’d like to try and maybe I’ll start to test it, ‘Could it work? What’s really the secret there?’. Then quite often I’ll forget the original thing and just take some elements from it. So it may be that the theme, or the secret or a visual idea will develop into something completely different.

For instance in Lähtö there’s this trick with mirrors. Normally in that trick, when it was originally performed, you don’t really see the mirror, it’s hidden, so that’s kind of the secret, but what we’ve done is just the opposite. Originally we had just one giant mirror, but to make things more interesting we decided to spit it into several smaller ones. We’ve placed the mirrors so that they are visible for everyone and we manipulate and levitate and move them round the stage. It’s completely different than the original but there is still the foundation it came from, the idea of testing the old illusion but developing it.

You mentioned going to youth circus, have you got any circus skills? I practised juggling for many years; that’s something I like to do, but I’ve never performed as a juggler. I’ve done some shows together with jugglers and I really enjoy seeing jugging and also thinking about it, but I’m not so skilled as a juggler that I’d like to perform as juggler. In some of my previous shows I’ve used magic and juggling and perhaps at some point I’ll do more of that.

And you’re also an artist. Did you study art? Yes, I have a masters degree in Fine Arts. I went to the Academy of Fine Arts in Helsinki in the department of Time and Space. It means it’s time-based arts, like performance and film and also spatial things, like installations and stuff like that. I studied there, and so I’ve been working as a visual artist as well.

And you’ve had exhibitors all over the place! Yes, it’s true. For me, they’re pretty close to each other, actually. In the performances I do in theatres I consider the lights, the video projections and set decorations and everything that is on the stage to be as important as the performers themselves. So for me, it’s like a work of art. Everything has to be connected together, everything has to work at the same time. So basically, the exhibitions I do are pretty much the same, but one difference is that usually there are no live performers.

The biggest difference between an exhibition in a gallery and a show in a theatre is the way that I can manipulate time. In a theatre the audience comes and will sit there for an hour and normally they don’t go away in-between, so I can have a linear timeline. But in an exhibition people come and can spend maybe five minutes, maybe an hour, you don’t know and you cannot control that, so it’s a really subtly different way of how you can control the audience. I think that’s really interesting because it makes how you have to see the linearity of the work so different.

When was WHS’ first show? Our first premiere was in 2002. We did something like five shows together, the last one in 2008. Since then we’ve been working separately; we run the theatre, where I am at the moment, but for the past ten years it’s been more like two companies or like a collective/producing facility. We also produce other artists and circus performances so it has grown into many companies under one name. Yes, we interviewed the artist Salla Hakanpää about Dive.

Does your association with circus artists come from youth circus? I’m a magician and did a lot of juggling, so I started to work with jugglers and the first shows I did were pretty much circus kind of shows, but they also used a lot of projections. For me the development has been that I started with more common circus elements but bit by bit it’s developed more into visual theatre or theatrical things that I’m interested in. I still feel that the circus is somehow there in the background. I still enjoy seeing tricks and I like elements of the realness of circus.

Tell us about Vera Selene. Is she a circus performer? No, she’a dancer and an actress. I started to work with her on Lähtö and since then we’ve done Cutting Edge; she also performs in that. She’s a really great dancer and I love the way she performs onstage.

The illusions in Cutting Edge look really intriguing! I really love the theme of that show. It’s curious, if you take maybe 100 of the most well-known magicians’ illusions that there are, like, sawing a woman in half, putting swords through a woman, cutting a head off somebody, putting spikes through somebody, it’s all super-violent things. It’s like the magic is full of these really, really violent tricks and for me the question was, ‘So as people, why do we want to see that kind of thing? Why is it fun for us to see somebody being sawn in half?’. That was the starting point of the show.

Also the sawing a woman in half wasn’t actually originally sawing a woman, but a small boy. It didn’t become really famous until they switched it to being a woman; then it became a huge hit. It tells us so much about how our society in Europe… how the European culture is built, that we actually want to see, especially women being sawn and tortured in whatever way. If you take the history of art you have these paintings where everybody has been decapitated and in reality, with the French Revolution with all the guillotines and such. Every country has its own horrible culture of cutting off heads and it started to interest me, the decapitation as a spectacle, because in most countries it was like a piece of cruel theatre. It still exists on the internet and people really watch it. So, what’s wrong with us?

With Lähtö, you perform, you’re the director, and you’ve designed the projections and the illusions. Can you reveal something about it? Lähtö means ‘departure’ and it’s about this couple who have a sort of complex relationship. They are perhaps splitting apart or perhaps not, and it’s not so much about the story but about the atmosphere and the emotion of what they are going through at the moment. What we’re trying to do is have the exterior elements tell us about their interior or internal feelings. We’re not trying to act so much, it’s more about how, for instance, the curtains behind us can express the feelings we have inside. We want all the external elements to be expressive. It has a lot of elements using magic and a lot of visual things like projections and things like that.

From the description in the programme, I was expecting some circus skills… We don’t have acrobatics or juggling but the magic is the circus element that’s definitely there. There are a lot of tricks and then there’s the question of the definition; would you see magic as part of circus? I do, so I think that it’s not wrong to say it.

You do see magic in the circus… The definition of circus is quite curious because so many people have different ideas about it but there’s also the definition of magic. That’s always a really good question for me because sometimes some people will say about some of the tricks I do in the show: “This is not magic.” And for others it is magic. So it’s like, ‘What is magic actually?’. Why isn’t an aeroplane magic because it’s flying or a refrigerator, because we don’t really know how it works? For me the circus is like… if we talk about traditional circus I don’t feel it is a tent with animals. Circus started much earlier; tenting circuses just arrived in the 1820s or something like that. I feel it goes way back into times where they had magicians and curiosities and all these kinds of things. That’s what I’m interested in; going way back.

Have you appeared in the Mime Festival before? No, and I’ve never performed in London or anywhere in the UK before. I’ve been to London for two hours once when I had a fight connection, so it’s a really new world for me. I’m super excited about it and really curious to see how people in London will feel about our show.