tampered | LOG || ONGOING

LOG || ONGOING

When; Jan 2, at night.
Rating; PG
Characters; C.C (

justawitch) & Lelouch (

geassed)
Summary; C.C manages to get away to talk to Lelouch, and they plot an enemy's downfall.
Log;

There is no need for an eyepatch this late at night, so Lelouch doesn't wear one. There will be no one around to see this conversation; everyone is hiding, fearful of the havoc being wreaked on the City. Lelouch is unmoved by the panic.

C.C is due here soon; he hopes she is able to get away from Mao, if only for a few hours. Mao is becoming more trouble than he's worth, and they need to get rid of him -- for good. And so Lelouch waits, sitting on the edge of the fountain, scanning the nearly empty streets for the green-haired sorceress.

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Her steps were quiet, sure, throughout the haunted, empty, streets. It was eerie, if she herself was not used to being haunted. Her eyes were distant, she herself was distant.

Mao had learned to control his geass again- again.

"Lelouch." She caught sight of him, and she took in the sight. It had been a long time, it seemed, since she had seen him, here she was in the same things, the white uniform he'd last seen her in, beginning to look somewhat worn.

She stared at him, silent, and she couldn't even begin to think how she would begin.

"C.C," Lelouch responded, standing up and brushing the wrinkles out of his clothes. He was still wearing his school uniform -- and C.C seemed to be wearing that white thing she'd had on since -- well, since he'd found her what seemed so long ago. Soon, they would have to get different clothes. But that was not a concern at the moment, and he spoke quietly.

"He has no idea you are here?" It was the most logical inquiry, and C.C had to forgive his abruptness; it was not certain how much time they had until she had to leave.

"He's sleeping." She answered, not minding his brusqueness, for she had to be herself. She knew what Mao would be like, if he woke and fond her gone, and it would not be pleasant for either of them.

"We have a problem, Lelouch." Her voice was all business, her mind, however, was tumbling, adrift, trying to wrap around the facts she'd had to face. Now, this would be so much harder. Or not. Depending.

He nodded slowly. Good. That meant they would have at least an hour or two, if not more. But there was no need to prolong this visit if there was no need. If Mao found out, the plan would be ruined.

But C.C's words did not inspire any positive feelings about the conversation. His brow furrowed. "A problem of what sort, exactly?" Had Mao found out that they were making contact...? No, no, C.C wouldn't be here if that was the case. For once, Lelouch had no inkling of what the witch might say.

She stared at him, for a long while.

Lelouch... she couldn't begin, but she could still hear the echo of his voice. If she were a witch, then he would be a warlock. To hear that, and it was different, than Mao. To Mao, she was everything, she was a lover, a mother, a friend, and a teacher, but to Lelouch, she was a partner, an equal, not some woman on a pedestal.

"... Mao is relearning how to control his Geass."

Even he had not expected to hear that, of all things. His face could not hide his surprise, and his eyes widened. "You're certain?" Then, as though gathering his thoughts, he shook his head, holding up an elegant hand. "No, no, of course you are."

There was a silence, then he thought out loud; C.C did have a right to hear his musings, after all. For once, he could use her input. After all, she knew Mao far better than he himself did. "Controlling his geass ... it could be both positive and negative for us, couldn't it? It means he will not be projecting it at all times, and will allow for more openings ... or is it possible for him to attune to the minds of certain individuals, like one might subscribe to a radio station? That would make it very difficult indeed for us..." he trailed off, glancing up at C.C. "What can you tell me about his power?"

"Certain." She had repeated on instinct, even before he'd corrected himself. Ger face was deadly serious, everything about her, even in the way she held herself.

"I don't know that quite yet, I'll find out." C.C. began. "But, if he is able to block it out sometimes, I worry he'll come more often into the City- It's more likely he'll come upon you, even by accident. I don't want him agitated, that will only make him more paranoid, but if he keeps this up, he may even regain more of his sanity, and, with that, his cunning beyond his obsession for me."

He heard her out in silence, lending her most of his attention, while his mind, behind that cool exterior, was working double time. But Mao was not his area of expertise, and it was difficult to come up with a perfect solution. He knew the Britannians like the back of his hand, like the lines of his palm. But he did not know Mao, and that was not working to his advantage.

But that was what C.C was for, after all.

"We should act soon, then," Lelouch said at length. "It will do no good to let him regain all his control." He began pacing. "But how to catch him off guard...? I need to see his eyes for my geass to work, but my power only works at half his radius. He would be able to listen to my thoughts ... unless..." He glanced up.

"Would he be able to detect my thoughts if there was a melee of people? Would he block them out?"

C.C. was reminded, fleetingly, of just how cruel she was.

"There always the risk." She began. "He took off his visor, to show me what he'd learned. ... If I offer to help him, to help him learn, I'll be bringing him in to the City, and having him take it off, and going longer and longer without hearing anything, when he wants."

She paused, and finally moved, to sit down on the edge of the fountain, though, unlike her usual, it seemed almost like collapsing, rather than sitting.

"It's possible, if I distract him, you could get close enough to him during that."

Lelouch listened carefully, nodding at the appropriate intervals. "Yes, yes, that could work," he said. "But how to get him distracted enough to get within his range? That is the question. Our ranges are vastly different, unfortunately, and it leaves me at a great disadvantage."

He sits beside her, resting his elbows on his knees, chin on his fingers as he ponders. "What would have him so distracted -- aside from the thoughts of others -- to not sense my presence?" He frowned. "Unless I can geass myself again; I wonder, would that be possible, seeing as we're in a new location, possibly dead?"

Without her gaze moving, her hand does, moves and briefly touching him, palm flat and thin fingers moving to cover his heart, eyes drifting closed for a moment.

Bum-bump.

"You aren't dead." She murmured, before her hand withdrew and her eyes opened again.

"But it's possible your Geass has been reset, I can't be sure." Her hands returned, folded, and her voice settled with relief, that he was still alive.

"... If I have him suppress his geass, for longer and longer times, I can signal you, when it's off, and he cannot hear a thing."

He was surprised when her hands moved towards him, placed just over his heart, and he stiffened, a shot of uncomfortable warmth running through him. People didn't touch him anymore; Not really. He had become something so far removed from the rest of his peers that he hadn't felt true human contact since -- since Shirley, perhaps? But that was long ago, it seemed. And C.C -- was she even truly human? A witch, she'd said, but -- who cared? She and Nunnaly were truly all he had.

"But neither is Mao," he reminded her. "And yet we killed him. But I agree -- I do not believe that I've died. I am hoping that my geass has been reset, but perhaps using it upon myself won't be necessary. I cannot order myself to forget this time. And it's impossible to block my thoughts, he'd know it anyway..." he trailed off, his thoughts fading from the air as he continued to process a plan of action in his mind.

"Yes," he said slowly. "I guess that's all we can do. It's the only course of action. It's risky, of course, but it's all we have." He glanced at her. "Bringing him to the fountain would be the best course of action; there are a lot of people here during the day, and it would give him a great opportunity to practise. All we need is a signal, one he won't suspect, and a way for me to approach him within my working radius without him seeing me beforehand."

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