Commander Lelouch of Azur Lane

by dalek117

Summary:

Lelouch vi Britannia, only 16 years old, finds himself thrown into a new adventure, cast away from everything he ever knew, thrown into a new world. His sole task, to save this world from those that threaten it. Now, Lelouch must navigate and unite a world divided, a world with the KANSEN, naval warships manifested in human form.

Notes:

• Inspired by Code Azur: Lelouch of the Fleet by META2012

This fic was inspired by META2012' 'Code Azur: Lelouch of the Fleet'. That fic was one that I have found recently, only for it to end on a cliffhanger with no continuation. However, I did get inspired by it, and couldn't get the very idea of this unique crossover between Code Geass and Azur Lane, so here I am with my own take on Lelouch entering the world of Azur Lane.

 

I will state from the get go that I will not be doing the same overall story beats as 'Code Azur', because a) that's plagiarism and as someone who did History in University, it would be an insult not only to META2012 and his fans but also to myself and my fans, and b) I want it to be a different take.

 

Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass or Azur Lane.

 

Also to note, I am Australian so I will be using a lot of Australian spelling for many words. Aka, expect to see a lot of 'u's and replacement of 'z's with 's's.

 

"Hello" - Speech

 

'Hello' - Thought/Mental Communication

 

"Hello" - Radio/phone/walkie talkie

 

"Hello" - Speaker

Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Woven into a new Adventure

 

“Everything is in order. The experiment will commence shortly.”

 

“Just remember, do not harm him. We’re not here to kill him…”

 

“You do realise where we are sending him. There is always a high chance of his demise.”

 

“...I know. But still…”

 

“I can assure you I will not harm him during his ‘recruitment’. But after that, his fate is in his own hands. That is what we agreed on. Understood?”

 

“...Understood.”

 

“Very well. We will begin shortly. I shall personally oversee this.”

 

---

 

J uly 2016 a.t.b., Tokyo Settlement, Area Eleven

 

“Sayoko, does this one look nice enough to have in my room?”

 

Lelouch vi Britannia, or as he was known by for the past seven years as Lelouch Lamperouge, looked away from the vase he was holding, having been scrutinising it to see if it could fit the plants he was buying, even as he noticed how it had a reflection where he could make out the details of his black top and red sleeveless vest, and towards his younger sister, Nunnally, dressed in a pink dress. She was reaching from her wheelchair to the bottom of the shelf and touching a smooth plant in a pot, a smile on her face even as her eyes remained shut, never having opened for years. Behind her was Sayoko Shinozaki, their personal maid wearing her maid outfit, who had volunteered herself to drive Nunnally around in her wheelchair, looking at the plant herself at Nunnally’s prompt.

 

“It is very flattering, Mistress Nunnally,” Sayoko answered.

 

Lelouch smiled as he saw the two interacting. Despite Nunnally being a Britannian, and Sayoko being Japanese, a peoples that is currently under the iron boot of Britannia, they view each other as family, which Lelouch shares as well. Sayoko has been a welcome presence in their lives.

 

“Do you want to buy it, Nunnally?” Lelouch asked, putting down the vase as he interjected himself into the conversation.

 

“Yes please, big brother,” Nunnally replied joyously.

 

Lelouch walked over. “Alright, I’ll add it to the cart,” he said, glancing at the price tag of 23 pounds. He reached down to grab it, but before his hands reached it, Nunnally beat him to it, picking it up with both hands.

 

“I can hold this one,” she said warmly. “It feels nice to hold.”

 

Her closed eyes moved to his general direction and her face morphed into a slight pleading expression. Slight it may have been, but that expression was one of the most powerful weapons currently in use in the world, and Lelouch, despite his immense willpower, could not entertain the notion of resisting it. No one with even a sliver of a heart could.

 

“Alright,” he agreed, backing off. “I’ll let you give it to the lady at the registers.”

 

Nunnally’s bright smile seemed to fill the entire world as she carefully placed it on her lap, holding it gently. She began to converse again with Sayoko as Leloich smiled slightly. However, his smile faded as he looked out the window of the garden centre they were currently in, his gaze towards the metropolitan area in the Tokyo Settlement of Area Eleven of the Holy Britannian Empire, formerly known as Japan.

 

While externally, his expression and body language portrayed his usual ‘ice prince’ persona that all of the other students back at Ashford Academy loved to call his usual attitude, internally he was seething at the sight. Not at the actual aesthetic of the buildings, but at what the Settlement represented: Both how it was the personification of his hated father’s belief in social darwinism and Britannian supremacy over all others, and how there was no trace of the original buildings, environment and aesthetics of the now conquered Japanese, rechristened derogatorily as “Elevens”. Admittedly, his hatred was focused more on the former representation than the latter.

 

He still remembered clearly that day over seven years ago, in the Spring of 2009, when his mother, Marianne vi Britannia, one of the 108 empress consorts of Charles zi Britannia, his father and 98th Emperor of the Holy Britannian Empire, was assassinated in their home of the Aries Viella, with Nunnally, only five years old at the time, being severely injured and crippled by the assassins, only saved by their Mother shielding her with her own body. The next day, after spending as much time as he could with Nunnally, who was in intensive care, in the hospital, he confronted his father, only to find that his father didn’t care one bit. He even exiled both Lelouch and Nunnally to the then neutral State of Japan as “bargaining chips.”

 

After over a year in exile, spending their time in the care of Japanese Prime Minister Genbu Kururugi’s family and forming a friendship with Genbu’s son, Suzaku, both vi Britannia siblings were caught up in the Britannian invasion of Japan. Within the opening day of the invasion, a Britannian Special Operations team infiltrated the shrine they were residing in with orders to kill them. The Spec Ops team failed only thanks to the efforts and sacrifices of the Japanese guards, but it only cemented the idea in Lelouch’s head that the assassination of his mother was an inside job and his father was involved in some way, if not directly responsible.

 

After the Japanese surrender a month later and the establishment of Area Eleven, Lelouch and Nunnally had split from Suzaku, in order to keep him safe in case there were more attempts to kill off the vi Britannia line for good. With very little options left for them, the two siblings sought out refuge from the Ashford Family, a noble family ally of their late mother, who had gone in decline after her passing, and the heiress Milly had been a close friend of Lelouch’s back in Pendragon. Thankfully, the Ashfords took them in and agreed to keep their existence a secret.

 

All that happened when he was just nine and ten years old. Now Lelouch was sixteen years old, at the very start of high school. Taking up the name of Lelouch Lamperouge, both he and Nunnally have stayed at the Ashfords ever since, now students at the Ashford Family’s latest endeavour: Ashford Academy. No one but Milly, Reuben Ashford (Milly’s grandfather and Principal of Ashford Academy), Milly’s parents and Sayoko know of their true identities, and Lelouch hoped to keep it that way for a long time.

 

Ding Ding!

 

“Afternoon!” A very familiar voice called out from the doorway of the small garden centre, as if summoned by Lelouch thinking about her.

 

“Oh, hi Milly,” Nunnally responded. “How are you today?”

 

“I’m well, thank you, Nunnally,” Milly Ashford, the blonde-haired she-devil of Ashford Academy said. “Is Lelouch here with you by any chance?”

 

“He’s to the side near the back of the isle,” Sayoko said.

 

Lelouch blinked as he suddenly realised how deep in thought he had been, not even noticing how Nunnally and Sayoko had moved away while still in the Flower store. And greeting them from the door was Milly, the blonde in casual clothes just like they were.

 

“Thank you Sayoko,” Milly said, before turning back to Nunnally, “that’s a nice plant you’re holding. Are you getting that?”

 

“I am,” Nunnally said proudly.

 

Milly nodded, a smile gracing her face. However, when she spotted Lelouch, that smile turned slightly mischievous, causing Lelouch to internally groan as he was inevitably going to be caught up in something.

 

“Ah there you are,” she called out to him, waving. “No rest for the wicked today I’m afraid.”

 

Lelouch sighed before slowly walking to her. “Is it another errand?” he asked.

 

“I wouldn’t say ‘errand’,” Milly faux innocently said, “rather just a simple delivery at one of Grandfather’s suppliers.”

 

Milly handed him a sealed envelope. As Lelouch took it, he couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at her. “A letter, really?”

 

“Yes, a letter,” Milly insisted. However she looked around, seeing that the registers were occupied, and lowered her voice “This is a contract that grandfather is using to gain some influence over the tooling industry here in Area Eleven, just so that in the worst case scenario, we won’t be able to be exiled again without considerable setbacks.”

 

Lelouch paused in thought before nodding. Who was he to get in the way of preparation and making himself indispensable for safety? “Alright, I can see your argument for it. But why me, and not you? You’re here aren’t you, when last I checked you were organising the next school festival back at the Academy.”

 

“Because I’m here to meet another supplier to renegotiate a deal on maintaining the school’s plumbing system,” Milly informed him. “We don’t want a repeat of the torrent fiasco.” She shivered at the thought of it. “Back on topic, the supplier specifically requested an Ashford to come in person.” She then frowned. “That was a strange message, as he’s never requested that before…”

 

“Interesting,” Lelouch murmured, storing that in the back of his mind. “So you’ve conscripted me to take the letter instead.”

 

“I ‘volunteered’ you,” Milly corrected, smiling.

 

“Of course you did,” he deadpanned at her, but decided to help out. “Alright, consider it done.”

 

“I can always count on you, Lelouch,” Milly said cheerfully. She brought out her phone and texted something. After she had sent it, Lelouch felt his phone vibrate and looked at it, seeing a map and coordinates. “The supplier is only a couple of blocks away from here, so you can easily walk there.”

 

As Lelouch noted the coordinates, Milly sighed, doing a quick stretch. “Well, I’ll have to go now. My meeting is in ten minutes and I want to be there slightly early.”

 

“Alright, I’ll see you later then,” Lelouch farewelled.

 

“Bye Lelouch,” she said before raising her voice, “Bye Nunnally! Bye Sayoko!”

 

After the two said their own goodbyes, Milly left. But since he wanted to get his errand over and done with, Lelouch decided to leave now as well.

 

“I won’t be long,” he told Nunnally, handing Sayoko some money to pay for the plants then giving Nunnally a kiss on her forehead, causing her to giggle.

 

“Pinkie promise?” Nunnally asked half-jokingly, raising her pinky.

 

Lelouch chuckled before wrapping his pinky around hers. “Pinky promise.”

 

With that, he left the garden centre, intent on finishing his errand, unaware that it would be the last time he would see Nunnally for a long time.

 

Following the directions Milly had given him, Lelouch found the supplier’s building in less than fifteen minutes. It was a large warehouse, seemingly in need of some redecorating to make it look more appealing. While the large shutter doors were closed, he did find some signs directing him to the side of the building, in an alleyway, where the entrance apparently was. He was met with a single door with a doorbell and an intercom.

 

Pressing the doorbell, he waited a couple of minutes for a response. Then he pressed it again. And again. After testing the door to see if it was unlocked, which it wasn’t, he pressed the doorbell at least another five times, each time he was met with nothing.

 

With a sigh of weariness, Lelouch pressed the intercom button.

 

“Hello, I’m here as a representative of…” Lelouch began.

 

“Welcome,” a distorted male voice came from the intercom, surprising Lelouch at how fast the response was. “Please enter. A representative will meet you soon.”

 

The door suddenly unlocked with a click, opening with a very small gap. Lelouch blinked, as he waited for both a verbal response on the intercom or for the door to open up fully and reveal the representative that the intercom spoke of. He was only slightly concerned when none of those options occurred.

 

However the door was unlocked by someone just now, as if inviting Lelouch in. A sense of unease started to emerge in his gut, yet he ignored it. If anything did happen, Milly knew the address so hopefully nothing bad would happen. Still, just in case, he sent Milly a quick text explaining the situation.

 

Before he even put away his phone, he got a very, very quick response back, saying everything should be fine. His eyes narrowed slightly upon reading. The reply didn’t have anything wrong with it, but it seemed to be missing Milly’s touch. He could chalk it up to Milly letting someone else use her phone, but his growing sense of suspicion, and what Milly had commented on earlier, caused him to disagree with that possibility.

 

‘Something’s up,’ he thought to himself, ‘but I know Milly and Reuben would probably be disappointed if I don’t deliver this letter. I’ll just leave it somewhere visible then return back to Nunnally, and tell Milly later to inform the supplier where I left the letter.’

 

With his next course of action decided upon, Lelouch pushed open the door slowly, peeking inside. He was met with a large open area, filled with various machinery, darkened due to the lights all being turned off, except one that was shining at a doorway to what Lelouch suspected was the main office. To his left was an elevated platform, with stairs leading to it. As he brought his attention to the doorway, he couldn’t spot any table or any other structure he could place the letter on.

 

Deciding to go to the office, since the light was on, Lelouch opened the door fully and stepped inside.

 

“Hello?” He called out, hearing his voice echo across the walls.

 

Hearing no response, he decided to walk in, double checking for a table and was disappointed to find nothing. So he was forced to go straight to the office. As he went to do so, he heard a creak come from behind him. He spun around, finding nothing except his growing unease. Thankfully the entrance was still open, and he could always run to it if needed.

 

“Nothing to worry about,” he muttered, more for reassurance than anything else, although his well-trained paranoia was starting to act up.

 

Lelouch turned back around, took a step towards the office, and halted again as he caught something in his peripheral vision. After he took a closer look, he couldn’t find anything yet again. After quickly swivelling his head in both directions and seeing nothing, he decided to quicken his pace. He reached the office door, saw that it was unlocked. Yet from under the door, he could make out faint traces of sunlight. Despite that, there was a stench coming from the other side, a very familiar stench… He started moving to grab the handle to open it when…

 

“You will not like what you will find in there,” a young, yet unemotional female voice came from behind Lelouch.

 

Lelouch jumped from fright and shock. He spun around and spotted a young girl, sitting on the stairs leading to the platform. She was cast in shadows, making her features slightly obscure, but there was enough there for Lelouch to make out a few details that stood out to him.

 

The first thing that Lelouch took notice of was her eyes: bright blue that seemed to be luminescent in the dark, piercing right through it like a dagger to the heart, unnerving him at the same time. The next detail was her white skin, as in more so than someone diagnosed with Albinism, completely white with no pigmentation. Her hair, in a bob cut, matched her skin, with the sole exception of one large strand of hair on her right that matched her eye colour. Her clothes were a white dress with the straps made up of bows connected to the main dress by a white flower petal each. She also had a very large black collar, with a flower petal shaped cross on the front.

 

Her sudden appearance caused alarm bells to ring out in his head. Someone who looked like that should have stood out and been noticed instantly by him, yet he only saw her now. Lelouch was certain that she hadn’t been there before, but he had looked only a few seconds ago, not nearly enough time to get there from anywhere out of view, and without making noise as well.

 

His heart beating faster, Lelouch decided to communicate, due to his curiosity being inflamed by what she had said, and her appearance.

 

“Hello,” he greeted with a smile, trying to hide his slight anxiety. “Are you the representative sent to meet me?”

 

He was met with silence from the girl. Lelouch’s smile faded as the seconds crawled by. He decided to try again. “Hi, my name is Lelouch Lamperouge. I’m here from Ashford Academy, here to deliver a letter.” He showed her the letter in his hand. “Just wondering, what did you mean earlier?” He asked, “and are you a member of this workplace?”

 

“Was I not clear?” She tilted her head, ignoring his second question. “You will not like what is in there.”

 

“Can you tell me what is in there?” Lelouch asked, slowly stepping backwards, away from the office and the girl, towards the entrance.

 

“The manager and the owner of this business,” the girl replied bluntly, much to Lelouch’s surprise. He stopped in his tracks for a moment as he contemplated her answer.

 

“Well, I need to deliver this letter to them so…” Lelouch faltered as his mind suddenly connected the dots. The emptiness, the lack of any reactions to his arrival and this conversation and finally this girl’s answer. He felt his stomach plummet as his voice lowered in dread. “They’re dead, aren’t they?”

 

The strange girl nodded. “Correct,” she answered in her monotone voice.

 

“... How long have they been dead for?” he asked, voice even lower than before.

 

“Two hours, fifteen minutes and thirty three seconds,” the girl said, straightening her head again.

 

“Were you here when they died?”

 

“I was,” she nodded again.

 

As soon as he saw her head move, Lelouch, normally one to fight but his lack of any weapons or other options ruled that out, sprinted for the exit. He may have one of the worst physical states, if not the worst, in Ashford due to his lack of exercise, but adrenaline and the sudden push for survival were excellent for driving the body to push past its limits.

 

Unfortunately, before he could reach it, the door slammed shut. Lelouch couldn’t react in time before he collided with it. He groaned in pain from the impact, but didn’t dwell on it, reaching for the handle, only to find it jammed and locked.

 

“Dammit!” he shouted, pulling out his phone, only to cry out in pain as it suddenly started fizzling out, sparks flying out of it as it imploded on itself. He instinctively dropped the phone, holding his hand.

 

“Correct and efficient response time,” he heard the girl comment in her unemotional voice. He looked back behind him, glaring at her upon seeing that she hadn’t moved from her spot, her glowing eyes now with a more sinister connotation than before. “But futile.”

 

Lelouch looked around, desperate to find another way out. Soon enough, some inspiration hit him as he looked back at the office doorway, or rather what was coming out from under it.

 

‘The office,’ he thought to himself. ‘There’s sunlight coming from there. That means there must be a window I can use to get out.’

 

However, there was a very big catch. The girl, her unwavering gaze following him, was closer to the office than he was presently. But there was no alternative. He took a deep breath. ‘I have to risk it.’

 

So he sprinted back to the office, using his momentum to push the door open using his shoulder, despite his lack of strength. However, as soon as he stepped inside, he skidded to a halt, his eyes wide in shock and horror with a sudden urge to gag. Suddenly he understood why that stench was so familiar.

 

Inside the office were two bodies, one slumped in his chair, as if he was killed while working, the other lying on a desk under a window, the very one Lelouch had aimed to find, an expression of fear forever etched onto the face of the corpse. What both bodies shared was a massive hole that encompassed almost their entire chest area, with the body at the window missing his arm due to this. There was also blood and small chunks of flesh everywhere.

 

While the existence of both corpses, as well as how both looked to have been shot by something at least the size of a Knightmare rifle, did horrify Lelouch, his main concern and the thing that truly horrified him the most was the window itself; the edges fused shut by what appeared to be plasma.

 

“I did inform you that you would not like what was in there,” Lelouch heard the girl say back in the workshop area, Lelouch certain that if she wasn’t as unemotional as ever, she would be taunting him.

 

Still Lelouch didn’t give up. He started rummaging through the office, looking for anything he could use to break the glass window. He found a small rock, but it wasn't strong enough to break it with one hit. Still, he could improvise. He took a step back, analysing the general dimensions of the window before he climbed onto the desk under it, pushing the corpse away and started to hammer the rock into the window at a certain spot, hoping to use a potential weak spot to break the window.

 

“An interesting solution to your predicament,” the girl continued to note, with Lelouch trying to ignore her, “Your intelligence and actions match with our intel, Lelouch vi Britannia.”

 

Lelouch froze mid-motion, his eyes widening as his world suddenly ended by hearing his true name come out of the girl’s mouth. In his shock, he dropped the rock, however he didn’t notice as he was too busy trying not to freak out.

 

“How do you know my name?” he asked, his voice low.

 

“I know many things about you, Lelouch,” the girl (who had presumably murdered the two corpses in the room) replied, somehow hearing him. “Lelouch vi Britannia was born on 5th December 1999, the first child between Emperor Charles zi Britannia and Marianne vi Britannia, formerly known as Marianne Lamperouge.”

 

Lelouch found himself shaking in fear. That last statement about his mother’s maiden name was not covered in official history. It was so obscure he doubted the internet had it in any easily found state. It was the main reason he chose to keep his Mother’s maiden name as his and Nunnally’s disguise, while also honouring their Mother. And this girl had just spoken it like it was common knowledge. However, the girl wasn’t even close to being done.

 

“In Pendragon, you and Nunnally, your younger sister by five years, were often viewed by many of your siblings as lesser due to Marianne’s origins in the lower classes of Britannia,” the girl continued, almost inaudible footsteps telling him she was moving. “However, some siblings did treat you with respect and love, namely Cornelia and Euphemia li Britannia, the latter only one year younger than you, inviting you over for sleepovers and dates. You also enjoyed a friendship with a young Millicent Ashford, in an attempt to solicit a future marriage between the two of you.”

 

“That all changed when Marianne was assassinated in the Aries Viella. In the process, Nunnally vi Britannia was crippled, losing her legs, while her eyes can not open again due to the trauma she suffered. The day after, you confronted Charles in the throne room, where after he labelled the assassination as ‘old news’, you forfeited your right to the throne. In response Charles declared you ‘dead’, and had you and Nunnally exiled to Japan.”

 

“...Stop it…”

 

“During your exile in Japan, you stayed with Prime Minister Genbu Kururugi and his family until the invasion of Japan where you were almost killed by your own country. In the aftermath of the surrender, to Suzaku Kururugi, you vowed to obliterate Britannia.”

 

“I said stop…”

 

“Since then you have stayed with the Ashford Family, taking up the name of Lelouch Lamperouge. Currently you are the vice-president of the Student Council, serving under Millicent Ashford and forming friendships with Shirley Fenette and Rivalz Cardemonde. However, you cannot truly connect with any of them, even if you tried, as to you, you are just a walking corpse, dead forever due to the words of your Father, only driven by Nunnally and revenge.”

 

“I SAID SHUT UP!” Lelouch snapped. He twisted on the spot, glaring at the doorway, even though the Girl wasn’t there. “You know NOTHING about who I am!”

 

Even as he said that denial in anger, the rational part of his mind was on overdrive trying to process how this girl knew that much about him, even his personal feelings. He forced himself to calm down, he couldn’t afford to get distracted by anger. But unfortunately his pride decided to come out of hiding and present itself.

 

“But if you feel like you do,” he taunted, “then tell me, do you know who killed Mother?!”

 

“I do.”

 

And Lelouch’s pride disappeared in a flash, his emotions turning numb as he processed her answer. This girl… She knows who killed Mother?! SHE KNOWS!!!

 

“...Were you involved?” he asked, his voice low, seemingly calm yet a boiling flood of anger was quickly building up inside him. Depending on her answer, his goal to flee would be overridden by an urge to kill. “Are you here to finish the job?”

 

“Negative,” the girl replied, causing Lelouch’s anger to cease growing. “I have never been associated with the individual responsible, nor was I involved in the murder.”

 

“Then who did it!” He shouted.

 

“That is unimportant for the foreseeable future,” came the emotionless reply. That snapped the last of his patience with this emotionless golem of a girl!

 

“THE HELL IT IS!” Lelouch shouted. “That person killed my Mother, crippled my SISTER and ruined her life! AND WHO ARE YOU TO TELL ME THAT THEY ARE NOT IMPORTANT!?”

 

With that declaration, Lelouch grabbed the rock and resumed his escape plan, smashing it into the window a couple more times, earning some cracks. He grinned in a feral manner as he raised the rock for one last strike.

 

Yet it was not to be.

 

“Who am I?” The girl repeated as Lelouch felt something wrap around his waist.

 

He looked down and saw a blue metal cable like tentacle with a black end that seemed to plug into machinery as it coiled around him. He didn’t even have time to register what the girl said before he was yanked backwards off the desk, losing his grip on the rock. Lelouch was promptly dragged out of the office, his efforts to grab onto anything to prevent this proving futile, as within seconds he was past the doorway, out of the office and back into the main warehouse area.

 

Lelouch felt more of the metal tentacles wrap around him, securing both his legs, his left arm and neck, though thankfully the tentacle around his neck wasn’t tight enough to cause him breathing issues. As he began to try to free himself from the grip of the tentacles, they lifted him off the ground, suspending him a metre off the floor.

 

As he twisted and turned to break free, he was flipped around to find himself face to face with the girl, who was now standing on the stairs she had been sitting on just moments before. A light now shone on her, revealing that she was the source of the tentacles, all coming from the back of her hair, at the base where her collar was in the rear. Her eyes were glowing like actual lights, despite looking organic.

 

“You can designate me as Dreamweaver,” she introduced herself finally, her eyes settling on his own eyes.

 

“... You’re not human,” Lelouch noted, trying to act nonchalant despite his fearful expression only seconds before.

 

“Correct,” Dreamweaver confirmed. “What I am is unimportant currently. However, the possibility of you discovering what I am is approximately 65-35 odds, given your intellect and access to data provided in our current exchange.”

 

‘The lack of emotions,’ Lelouch thought to himself, ‘the way she speaks occasionally using machine and computer terminology, the use of logic and the way she easily destroyed my phone. It all points to one conclusion.’

 

“Why are you dragging this out?” he said out loud. “A machine such as yourself, no matter how unique or organic you are, should be efficient, right?”

 

Lelouch was expecting this to expedite his own demise from this Dreamweaver. ‘I’m sorry, Nunnally… I can’t keep my promise…’

 

“...Probability has increased to 87-13 odds,” Dreamweaver noted, “a reasonable deduction, regarding my status as an organic machine, however critically incomplete. In contrast, your implied accusation of my goal being your termination is… incorrect.”

 

Lelouch’s eyes widened in surprise before quickly narrowing again. “Then I fail to see the purpose in this ‘show’ of yours, other than scaring me to death. If you aren’t going to kill me, then why am I here?”

 

Instead of answering, Dreamweaver’s eyes began to glow even brighter, as suddenly what seemed like thousands of blue lights began appearing around her, all coming together as she started to float before a bright flash blinded Lelouch. Blinking rapidly to restore his sight, Lelouch then found Dreamweaver now sitting in a black hovering mechanical throne, a large blue translucent cover that looked like the head of a jellyfish that bobbed in the air like it was actually alive, connected by a stem to the back of the throne, tentacles flowing down from the jellyfish structure, and the bottom of the throne, along with cables. To the side of the throne were two turrets, each with three barrels.

 

“That ‘show’ was a demonstration,” Dreamweaver said before one of the barrels on the left turret started to whine, charging up a shot.

 

Lelouch’s eyes widened and he instinctively covered himself with it when the barrel fired two shots, racing past him and hitting several containers to the far side of the warehouse. The containers exploded on impact, which set off a chain reaction as whatever was inside the containers suddenly exploded again, sending flaming debris everywhere. Uncovering his face, Lelouch could only watch in horrified fascination as parts of the building caught on fire, quickly forming a blaze that began to spread.

 

“...to ensure your compliance,” Dreamweaver finished.

 

Lelouch turned back to face Dreamweaver, and regretted it, as the bright lights shining on her now from the flames made her a very sinister sight, as much as he hated to admit it. Dreamweaver had now forever cemented herself as a source of fear inside Lelouch now. Still, he fought past the fear, still resolved to resist and get out of this FUBAR situation, somehow.

 

“Letting the both of us burn alive, huh,” he snarked. “That’s quite contrary to what you said before, unless you lied.”

 

“Your suspicion and lack of trust is understandable,” Dreamweaver allowed, “born from your experiences in your life, having been thrown away by your own family.” Lelouch couldn’t help but wince from that statement, knowing that it was correct, and hit him right in the heart. “However, it is unfounded here.” She leaned her head forward. “I will not let you burn alive, not when your existence is still required.” She brought Lelouch closer. “What this achieves is covering our tracks, and ensuring you are viewed as deceased by everyone here.”

 

“What?!” Lelouch cried out in shock, immediately thinking of Nunnally and how she would react.

 

Dreamweaver nodded, bringing out a white doll and holding it with both hands. “Your absence would be noticed in all calculated outcomes. This path ensures that your sister will remain hidden from Britannia, allowing her to live her life.” Seeing the look on Lelouch’s face, Dreamweaver continued. “Nunnally vi Britannia, while crippled and a pacifist, is not mentally weak. She will not fall apart completely from your ‘demise’.”

 

“That doesn’t mean I want to cause her any kind of pain at all!” Lelouch countered, snarling. “And what do you mean about my absence?”

 

“Exactly that,” she said, “your absence from this world.”

 

Dreamweaver then turned the throne around and started hovering up to the platform, taking Lelouch with her. Lelouch didn’t resist that much, since the platform was by now the safest part of the warehouse, not engulfed by flames in the raging inferno. As they moved, she began to explain.

 

“There is a location that is currently under threat. You will be an Extraneous Variable in an experiment, to see if this place can be saved,” she gave him a glance, “by you.”

 

“By me?” Lelouch questioned. “What can I do? Besides, why should I be a part of this experiment of saving a place I don’t know, where no one I know and care about is affected and one where I have no stake in?”

 

“Because it will give you the experience you need to achieve your greatest desires,” Dreamweaver answered, “both to create a better world that Nunnally would be proud of, and to destroy Britannia.” Seeing Lelouch’s expression, Dreamweaver elaborated. “I have already spoken of your desires, Lelouch vi Britannia, and how they drive you. It is only logical that they would lead to such outcomes of the very empire that betrayed you being destroyed, and an equal, fair and happy world being made in Nunnally’s name.”

 

As they arrived on the platform, Dreamweaver clasped the doll with a tighter grip as she looked down on it. “The latter especially, for she remains your highest priority, something that has been consistent since before your exile. However, even now you already plan on how to achieve the former, your rebellion all but certain, however distant it is.”

 

She looked back at Lelouch, whose full attention was now on her, his attempts to escape on hold. “This location that I will send you to is broken, however it is less hostile to individuals similar to Nunnally. If you succeed in your task of saving it, you will be free to transform it into a world fit for Nunnally.” She brought him closer. “There is also an additionally high chance that the residents in the location, depending on how and if you succeed, will offer their assistance in destroying Britannia and making this world a better one. That is one thing I can offer you if you choose to join this experiment.”

 

Lelouch let her words sink in. Everything she said about him was true, even though some of it he hasn’t told anyone. And what she was offering already was… tempting if he was honest with himself, and apparently she wasn’t done with the offers. To make a better world for Nunnally was always his drive, and this Dreamweaver was offering it to him, though only if he succeeded in saving a place she was avoiding describing. Speaking of which…

 

“What are the chances of me succeeding if I do allow myself to enter this experiment?” Lelouch asked.

 

“28.7%” Dreamweaver answered bluntly. “That is the default probability, and is subject to constant changes due to shifting variables, such as your actions, relationships and others, including ones outside your control.”

 

Lelouch narrowed his eyes again. On the one hand he did appreciate that, even if the number she said was low, she apparently was being honest to him. Telling him a statistic that went counter to convincing him was enough to make him consider that she was telling the truth. On the other hand, that was a very worrying statistic, really making him reluctant to join the experiment, if he had a choice that is, since he was sure that Dreamweaver was going to get him to join, whether he wanted to or not.

 

“Why tell me if the number is so low?” Lelouch asked. “I did ask, but wouldn’t it be more beneficial to you if you just lied to me?”

 

“You are correct, in the short term,” Dreamweaver acknowledged, “but lying to you would increase the long term risks of your cooperation in the experiment, whether through willfully disrupting it as a means of defying me, or failing through your inflated arrogance and pride.”

 

“Excuse me?!”

 

“However, there are two more conditions I offer in exchange for willingly entering this experiment,” Dreamweaver continued, ignoring his outburst, “the first is that, regardless of whether you succeed, or if you fail and die… I will cure Nunnally of her crippled condition, allowing her to see and walk again.”

 

That statement destroyed whatever resistance Lelouch still had in him. Cure Nunnally? Modern Britannian medical technology, the best in the world, couldn’t fix her, leaving it forever as a pipedream. Yet Dreamweaver here was claiming that she could. If she was telling the truth… no matter what, Nunnally would benefit, regardless of whether he died or not. She would be able to reclaim what those bastards had taken from her! Yet it could all be a lie, something to manipulate him. If so, it was a very, very effective way of doing so. But he couldn’t fall for her lies.

 

“I see you have doubts,” Dreamweaver noticed, seeing the look on his face. “Understandable, considering what I offer is something you’ve long thought impossible. Yet…” she gestured to herself, “isn’t my existence here something you would have considered impossible? In addition I have been truthful to you while conversing. There are things I am keeping from you, holding back details, I will freely admit. But never have I lied, and all I say about Nunnally is the truth. I will cure her, no catches, no tradeoffs for her and/or your friends.”

 

“... and the next condition?” Lelouch asked, his voice low.

 

“I will tell you everything about your Mother’s assassination,” Dreamweaver said, dropping another bombshell on Lelouch, whose eyes widened, “from what has been kept from you, the reasoning behind it, all the data pertaining to Marianne and Charles relationship, and most importantly to you, the identity behind the assassination.”

 

Lelouch looked down, his eyes covered by shadows and his hair. He remained that way for a moment, ignoring everything around him. Yet his choice was made, the conclusion inevitable. A chance for Nunnally to recover, and to avenge his Mother? He could not refuse.

 

So with that, he looked up, eyes now burning with newfound purpose and drive, unknowingly dispelling the very death his Father had claimed he was. “I accept your terms for entering this experiment!”

 

“Excellent,” Dreamweaver said, the ghost of a smile appearing on her face being the first example of emotion Lelouch had seen on her, before she started taking him towards the edge of the platform.

 

“A couple of questions first, if you will.” Lelouch said. “Is there a time limit for me achieving success?”

 

“Not initially,” Dreamweaver answered. “However certain variables or external factors may introduce the need for one. If one needs to be implemented, I shall inform you of what it is and when it starts.”

 

“Good to know,” Lelouch said. At least he wasn’t entirely being left on his own. “My second question is how are we going to reach this location, when all of the exits of this building are either now engulfed in flames, or have been razed by said flames, all now unreachable?”

 

“Correction: You are going,” Dreamweaver said as they reached the edge, moving Lelouch with the tentacles until he was suspended off the edge. “I will be at a different location, observing you at all times.”

 

“Uh, what are you doing?” Lelouch asked nervously as his feet dangled above the fiery pit of burning metal.

 

His question was answered when a horizontal swirling mass of energy appeared below him, expanding into a vortex with a very large hole into nothingness.

 

“To weave a dream, or make a nightmare, I leave the task to you,” Dreamweaver told him cryptically. “Good luck, Lelouch vi Britannia.”

 

With that, she released Lelouch from her tentacle grip all at once, and he fell into the vortex, crying out in shock. The last thing he saw was Dreamweaver watching him fall, as another vortex, a smaller vertical one, formed behind her, before he fell into the nothingness.

 

The nothingness only lasted barely even a few seconds before Lelouch felt himself falling out of the vortex, into the air until…

 

Splash!

 

Lelouch spluttered under the surface of the water, having just landed in what seemed to be a very large body of water, most likely in an ocean. He reorientated himself as quickly as he could, not an easy feat when you’re all confused and frazzled from being TELEPORTED by a portal. Thankfully, he managed to do so in a record time for him, and started swimming to the surface, having already lost too much air from his arrival. He hadn’t sunk that far down, allowing him barely enough time to resurface, gasping for air as soon as he broke through the water.

 

After blinking to get the water out of his eyes, Lelouch looked up, seeing the vortex he just fell from above his head. He glared at it with all the spite he had, but it soon vanished as the vortex closed up and disappeared, revealing a bright sun in the blue sky. A normally peaceful sight that was broken by two planes flying past him in the sky.

 

Barely having time to register that both planes were similar to war planes constructed in the late 30s and early 40s, Lelouch was caught off guard by several explosions going off in quick succession. After snapping his head back down to level, lowering his gaze in the process, Lelouch was astounded to find himself marooned in the middle of a naval battle. While the different warships presently fighting were constantly moving, Lelouch could easily discern a battle line of two sides.

 

On one side to his left were made up of naval vessels of various classifications, the majority of which were either Destroyers or Light Cruisers, with a couple of Battleships and Carriers. The designs of these vessels seemed to of similar design to Britannian warships built during the first half of the 20th Century. It would have made him think he had been sent back in time, if it wasn’t for the opposing side of the battle having a completely different aesthetic.

 

To his right were warships of a vastly different design. Instead these warships were very futuristic; the very unorthodox hulls, the black surface with orange lights and how they looked so much more advanced than modern Britannian warships. Lelouch couldn’t even make out the classifications of these advanced warships.

 

The ‘older’ ships seemed to be taking a lot more casualties, with Lelouch witnessing several getting sunk, and the amount of debris and burning hulks were of their type, but the futuristic ships have taken casualties too, and there seemed to be more being sunk now. While the ‘older’ vessels didn’t seem to be able to do much against the futuristic ships for the most part, there seemed to be very small ships hidden amongst the fleet that Lelouch couldn’t see from where he was, that were running around, firing at the futuristic ships and getting consistent kills.

 

All that however was a distraction from the real issue in Lelouch’s mind currently; how he was barely managing to keep himself from sinking under the water, and he didn’t want to get caught up in this battle if he could help it. Surveilling the area as best he could, considering he had to keep some attention to keeping afloat, Lelouch spotted what could be a landmass, most likely an Island, behind him. It was a fair distance away, and Lelouch wasn’t sure he could make it with his current strength, but it was still his best bet.

 

So he began to swim. However, as he swam closer to the landmass, he could make out fighting happening there as well. Except there were no ships there. Instead, he could make out the outlines of… people fighting, much closer to him than the island. He decided he must be hallucinating, his mind too worn out after all of this craziness today, so he continued on. Then he quickly saw something move close to his side. He turned to look, finding what seemed to be a human lady with very pale skin, white hair done up in a feral punk style ponytail/mohawk and yellow eyes, wearing a headset, a very revealing swimsuit that looked like armour, and to top it all off, was riding a metal prawn like creature that was swimming in the water, its colouring and texture very similar to the futuristic ships.

 

Lelouch blinked at the absurd sight. He would have straight out denied that it was real, if it wasn’t for his encounter with Dreamweaver beforehand, and this lady was giving off a similar feeling to Dreamweaver.

 

Turns out that today, fate seemed to have it out for him because the lady spotted him. In an instance, she and the prawn dived under the waves at unreasonable speed, startling Lelouch. He looked down into the water, spotting her swimming up to him, just as she burst out of the water, grabbing his throat, then pulling him under the water with her.

 

Lelouch tried to break free, but the lady’s grip was inhumanly strong. Already he was struggling to breath as the Lady continued to drown him, while her mechanical shrimp chomped its jaw at him. He used one hand to push against her head but she didn’t budge, her glowing yellow eyes looking unwaveringly at him, reminding him again of Dreamweaver, except here he could see a sinister nature within this Lady, which was soon confirmed by the sadistic grin that formed on her face.

 

‘Is this it?!’ Lelouch thought as the edges of his vision started to darken. ‘Is this where I die?... No, I refuse!’ He fought even harder to break free. ‘I will see Nunnally again!’

 

His increased ferocity only seemed to amuse the Lady, as it wasn’t having any effect on her. It seemed Lelouch was not going to survive her until something hit the lady hard, causing her to be thrown to the side, letting go of Lelouch in the process. Lelouch, without any hesitation, swam back to the surface, only to look back and see the Lady recover, seemingly unhurt, shooting a torpedo at something on the surface just above him.

 

It missed him, but caused him to flail about, already on the edge of falling unconscious. Thankfully he was close to the surface, allowing him to be grabbed again, this time by a different individual who pulled him out of the water.

 

Lelouch spluttered and coughed, getting as much water as he could out of his mouth as he was held above the water. His vision hadn’t recovered yet so he couldn’t properly see who had saved him, only a very blurred sight of them.

 

“Oh dear, he took a lot of water in!” He heard a polite female voice from the person, aimed at someone else before her voice became more clear as she talked directly to him, “It’s ok, you’re alright now.”

 

Lelouch rubbed his eyes, finally getting his vision back. Blinking, he pulled back slightly from the hold, taking a look at the woman who was still holding him up, and gasped at what he saw.

 

She was a woman with long white hair tied into two plaits down the sides of her hair, bright goldish yellow eyes that showed kindness and concern, and big breasts, wearing a unique maid’s frilled black uniform/dress with a black showgirl skirt with fishnets, high heels and a maid headdress. Yet the thing about her that Lelouch gasped at were the five double barrel gun turrets connected to what looked like two naval warship hull pieces coming out of her back, as well as what looked to be two torpedo launchers coming out from either side under her large maid skirt. There was also the fact that she was standing on the very water like it was a solid surface.

 

“Are you hurt anywhere?” The woman asked.

 

“Uh…” Lelouch answered intelligently, his mind stuck on her turrets.

 

Boom!

 

An explosion hit the water nearby. The woman instinctively used herself to cover Lelouch from it, but didn’t get hit. Instead she looked back at the perpetrator, another strange lady, this one looking similar to the first one, except there was no prawn; she had her long hair running down her back, she had an eyepiece for her right eye and there were six arms with large cannons coming from her back. All six were now aimed at the two of them. Lelouch also noted that she too was standing on the water.

 

The maid cursed under her breath. She looked back at Lelouch. “Don’t worry, I’m going to get you out if this,” she assured him before suddenly the mohawk lady leapt from the waves, her shrimp aimed at biting the maid’s head off.

 

The maid fired her cannons at the shrimp, sending it flying back with an explosion. Lelouch then realised that she must have been one of those ‘ships’ that he had seen destroy several of the futuristic ships. Miraculously, when Lelouch spied where they had been sent to, the lady, despite being in the blast radius and should have been blown up, just had burn marks and some scratches, nothing more. The lady quickly got back up, and glared at the maid.

 

The Maid glared back, before putting her hand to her ear. “This is HMS Hermione, requesting assistance. I’ve found the one from the portal, but am cornered by a Peace Breaker and at least one Lurker.”

 

‘HMS Hermione?’ Lelouch thought to himself, ‘like the name of a warship? Where the hell did Dreamweaver send me? And what is a Peace Breaker and Lurker?’ he looked back at the two ladies they were facing off. ‘Did Hermione mean these two?’

 

While considering this whole situation, Lelouch spotted something in the water coming at them from behind Hermione. His eyes widened as he saw a lady identical to the teeth to the Mohawk one, with her own mechanical shrimp.

 

“Behind you!” he called out, causing Hermione to spin around in shock, just as the shrimp fired a torpedo from its mouth.

 

Hermione, still holding Lelouch, moved to the left, skating on the water like it was an ice-ring. She dodged the torpedo and returned fire with her guns, though this mohawk lady submerged herself to dodge.

 

“Another Lurker just engaged!” Hermione called out, hand on ear again, as if talking on a radio, which Lelouch assumed she was.

 

The second ‘Lurker’ re-emerged from the water while the first one started its own attack of torpedoes. At the same time, the lady with six cannons, which Lelouch assumed was the ‘Peace Breaker’ that Hermione was talking about, started charging her cannons at them.

 

However, suddenly three carrier planes flew by, dropping bombs on the Peace Breaker, distracting her enough for a volley of battleship shells to come down upon her from behind. The first Lurker looked back in surprise, only to have a Javelin impact her directly in her face.

 

While both… Lelouch didn’t know what to call them… were disoriented, three more women skated to him and Hermione, firing their own cannons at the stunned ’women’. Lelouch noted that just like Hermione, these women looked much more human and friendly.

 

The one in front was a teenage girl with light purple hair and blue eyes, wearing a white blouse with a unique blue hoodie tied up around her neck and a pleated purple skirt. She had only two turrets and a large torpedo launcher. She actually sped to the Lurker and retrieved the Javelin, before launching a torpedo right at her, getting a point blank hit on the prawn.

 

The next woman that came was another maid. This one was another young woman with a tall stature and a fair complexion, a slender frame, large breasts, waist-length white hair with a french braid tied behind her head and purple-coloured eyes. She wears a blue sleeveless maid dress with frilly shoulders and bottoms, a white crop top, a blue buttoned waist-corset and a white frilled lace-trimmed apron wrapped around her waist with a long anchored themed-garter dangling on each sides, white frilled arm gloves underneath a metal gauntlet, white stockings, black ribboned pumps and a maid headdress on top of her head. Her turrets were triple barrelled, two on each side, with two much smaller turrets on the top of her gauntlets, while on her back was like a funnel.

 

The last one was a regal woman with long, blonde hair, red eyes and big breasts, wearing a red fur trim cape, red jacket with epaulettes and sleeve rank for captains, medals, a double-breasted white shirt, white pleated skirt, black thigh highs with garter straps, black knee boots, blue hair ribbon, and had a sabre in a scabbard on her right. She had three large turrets, all of them Quad-barrelled, and some smaller turrets, though no torpedo launchers like the others. She also had a funnel and mast piece similar to the second maid.

 

The maid and the teenage girl engaged the First Lurker, causing her to fall back, while the regal woman pulled out her sword and slashed at the Peace Breaker, managing to cut her across the face. She dodged the punch, backed away then used her cannons directly at the chest of the Peace Breaker, a full barrage from all three main cannons. The close range ensured that the Peace Breaker couldn’t dodge and had her body engulfed in an explosion then smoke.

 

The regal woman let out a war cry and swung her sword again, only for a hand to emerge from the smoke and catch the sword. The smoke dissipated, revealing the Peace Breaker, while now quite burnt, wounded, yet still standing, seemingly unfazed.. The Peace Breaker fired her own cannons at the regal woman, who was sent back from the hits. Her turrets and machine parts took the brunt of the attack, now visibly damaged, her uniform got slightly torn, and she was covered in bruises, but she wasn’t out of the fight, her face unwavering against the physically stronger opponent.

 

Then another bombing run by several planes attacked the Peace Breaker, giving the regal lady enough of an opportunity to dodge another volley from the Peace Breaker. She disengaged from the fight after two naval warships began engaging it.

 

Spotting Lelouch and Hermione, she skated to them across the water, while the maid and teenager regrouped with them too.

 

“Is he the one who fell out of the portal?” She asked Hermione, her posh Britannian accent standing out.

 

“He is,” Hermione confirmed, nodding. “But he doesn’t look like a Siren, nor do I think he has anything to do with them. When I found him, he was being drowned by the Lurker Javelin just hit.”

 

“That isn’t something a Lurker would do to an ally,” the purple eyed maid said. “Besides, all of the Sirens so far have been female, like us. I doubt that they would make a male Siren only to drop him in front of us from one of their portals.”

 

“Agreed,” the regal woman said, before turning to Lelouch. “Sorry for the lack of greetings so far,” she said apologetically, “but unfortunately, the situation hasn’t allowed me the chance to provide one.”

 

“I understand,” Lelouch said, “I do thank you for not trying to kill me, or capture me with tentacles as well,” he added slightly sarcastically.

 

“Hm, I can see why you would thank us,” the regal woman jovially said, before saluting him by sending her fist to her chest. “HMS King George V, of the King George V Class Battleship, head of the Royal Knights, at your service…” She paused. “Pardon my rudeness, but I haven’t asked for your name.”

 

“Lelouch Lamperouge,” Lelouch offered. “Just one question for you. What the hell is that!” He shouted, pointing at the Peace Breaker that had just finished destroying the two warships distracting it.

 

“Shit!,” King George V said, upon seeing that. “I thought the mass produced ships would last a minute longer.” She sighed before bringing her sword out, her expression becoming determined. “But the fight goes on,” she pointed at the Peace Breaker, which had finished destroying the two vessels, “that is a Siren. That’s all I can answer right now.” She turned to Hermione and the other maid. “Belfast, Hermione, get Mr Lamperouge to safety on that Island, now!”

 

“Of course, ma’am,” the purple eyed maid, now revealed to be called Belfast, replied, before turning to both Hermione and Lelouch. “I’ll escort you there while you carry him.”

 

“Right away,” Hermione agreed. With that, they started sailing towards the Island, with Hermione still carrying Lelouch as Belfast skated next to them, firing at a couple of the futuristic ships in their way, with Belfast taking them down easily. They quickly arrived, coming onto the shore, with Hermione putting Lelouch down on the sand.

 

“Now we should be safe for now,” she told him.

 

“Are you part of the Britannian Military by any chance?” he asked Hermione, probing about where he was.

 

“Britannian Military?” Hermione replied, confused. “Unless you mean the Royal British Military, then yes, but I haven’t heard anyone call us ‘Britannian’ before.”

 

Lelouch blinked. “Wait, as in the British Isles, conquered by Napoleon after the French Revolution…”

 

“What?!” Hermione’s expression was one of shock and almost insult. “We were never conquered by Napoleon!”

 

“Never… oh…” Lelouch’s eyes widened as an idea came to his mind about what was happening. “Did George Washington’s rebellion fail here? Is Japan still around, or has it been conquered and transformed into Area Eleven?”

 

The two women looked at each other with confused expressions, as if Lelouch was talking complete nonsense. Though it seemed Belfast seemed to be reaching a similar conclusion to what Lelouch was thinking.

 

“The American War of Independence succeeded,” she informed Lelouch. “And yes, Japan is the head nation of the Sakura Empire, and is free, though currently our enemy.” She frowned in thought before asking “What year do you think it is now?”

 

Lelouch hesitated before answering “2016 a.t.b.”

 

Belfast, upon hearing his answer, nodded, her expression shifting to sympathy. “2024 c.e.” She answered herself, causing Lelouch to gasp in shock.

 

“...Alternate world,” Hermione mused, having caught up and verbally stated the conclusion all of them had arrived at by now.

 

Lelouch let that phrase repeat itself in his head. He suddenly felt his vision spin around, as if his mind was unable to deal with the revelation at this moment. He started shaking as a realisation that Nunnally was back home while he was in another world, where he couldn't help her.

 

Lelouch fell to his knees, covering his face as everything that has happened today just hit him all at once, the reality setting in. Now what he had seen, these ‘Sirens’, the ladies here having names like that of warships, with turrets, all made sense with the explanation of being in an alternate world. And he had no way back, as part of an experiment to save this world.

 

Hermione and Belfast looked at him with sympathy and concern. Hermione went up to him, hand reaching to his shoulder when she suddenly pulled back upon hearing Lelouch begin to laugh hysterically.

 

Belfast, initially thought he had lost it, also went to comfort him, but stopped just like Hermione as Lelouch’s hand lowered enough to show his eyes, causing the both of them to take an involuntary step back at seeing the burning ferocity, drive and most shocking of all, joy, in them.

 

Lelouch finally realised that he had been growing soft, barely even using his talent to beat Nobles with at best mediocre talent, at gambling in chess matches. But here, here was a true threat, something that couldn’t be beaten like a normal adversary, to try his intellectual might against. Now, this was a challenge, and Lelouch couldn’t be happier.

 

‘To save this world,’ he thought to himself. ‘That’s what you want me to do, isn’t it, Dreamweaver? To save this world from these Sirens?’

 

Lelouch’s hand fell away, revealing his almost evil smirk. “Well then…Challenge accepted!”

Chapter 2

Summary:

This fic was inspired by META2012' 'Code Azur: Lelouch of the Fleet'. That fic was one that I have found recently, only for it to end on a cliffhanger with no continuation. However, I did get inspired by it, and couldn't get the very idea of this unique crossover between Code Geass and Azur Lane, so here I am with my own take on Lelouch entering the world of Azur Lane.

 

I will state from the get go that I will not be doing the same overall story beats as 'Code Azur', because a) that's plagiarism and as someone who did History in University, it would be an insult not only to META2012 and his fans but also to myself and my fans, and b) I want it to be a different take.

 

Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass or Azur Lane.

 

Also to note, I am Australian so I will be using a lot of Australian spelling for many words. Aka, expect to see a lot of 'u's and replacement of 'z's with 's's.

 

"Hello" - Speech

 

'Hello' - Thought/Mental Communication

 

"Hello" - Radio/phone/walkie talkie

 

"Hello" - Speaker

Chapter 2: Island Rodeo, Mixed Reception

Unknown date, 2024ce?

 

Lelouch finally stopped laughing as he reassessed the situation. Here he was, on the beach of an Island with two… Shipgirls (what his mind came up with for what they were), looking at a naval battle which he had landed in the middle of. Judging from the way things were looking, the battle wasn't going well for the side these Shipgirls were a part of.

 

"Please correct me if I am wrong," he addressed the two Shipgirls that were 'guarding' him, "but were your names Hermione and Belfast?"

 

"You are correct," the purple eyed maid said, curtsying. "HMS Belfast, 2nd Ship of the Edinburgh subclass of the Town class light cruiser," she introduced herself with such regality that it would make any noble and royal blush from pride. "Pleasure to meet you. I would offer you a cup of tea, but I was forced to leave my tea set behind."

 

"You would serve me tea in this situation," Lelouch asked, raising an eyebrow.

 

"Certainly," Belfast said. "I wouldn't be the head maid of the Royal Maid corps if I could not brew tea in the middle of combat."

 

"I can confirm that I have seen her do so several times," Hermione spoke up, vouching for Belfast, "and always the tea was superb."

 

"I'll take your word for it," Lelouch said out loud, but internally was already noting down what Belfast had said just before.

 

'Royal Maid Corps,' Lelouch repeated in his head. 'That seems to be an Elite unit in the military force these Shipgirls are a part of. Though why maids for combat.' He shrugged the question away. 'No matter, I have more pressing issues to contend with before that.'

 

"Frankly, I do have some specific questions if we have time," Lelouch said, "especially since I am literally in an unfamiliar world."

 

"We most likely only have enough time to answer a couple questions," Hermione said, taking a look at the battle, "if that at all. Belfast and I will still stay here to protect you, as Lady King George V commanded."

 

"Which I appreciate," Lelouch said. "But, speaking of King George V, and yourselves… pardon my words, but what exactly are you? You have gun turrets and parts of naval warships attached to your bodies, specifically your backs. You can stand on the water and skate on it like it's an ice ring. Finally, you can also withstand and take a lot of punishment, including cannon shots." He shook his head in amazement. "I've never seen anything like that."

 

"We're KANSEN," Belfast explained. "Kinetic Artificial Navy Self-regulative En-Lore Node. Physical manifestations of naval warships into human form." She gestured to Hermione and herself. "Both Hermione and I are Light Cruisers that were built almost eighty years ago, having fought for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland during the Second World War, but are now human in all the ways that matter."

 

"That's…" Lelouch was too shocked for words. Actual warships, but now in human form? "How is that possible?"

 

Hermione opened her mouth to answer but Belfast stopped her, before resuming. "Unfortunately, that information is classified, especially to you since you arrived through a Siren portal." Her expression ensured Lelouch knew that she would not budge on this. "Both Hermione and I can tell you aren't a Siren, but the Admiral in charge of our task force may still view you as a potential enemy, and if we tell you anything, he may have you killed in order to prevent any information from reaching the Sirens."

 

Lelouch frowned but nodded, accepting her stance. He knew that Britannian officers back home would kill for less.

 

"Are the both of you the same class of warship?" Lelouch asked, moving on from the foreboding answer.

 

"No," Hermione shook her head. "But that reminds me, I haven't properly introduced myself." She blushed in embarrassment. "Should know better than to forget." She curtseyed, just as flawlessly as Belfast did earlier. "HMS Hermione, of the Dido class Light Cruiser. Pleasure to meet you."

 

"Pleasure to meet the both of you," Lelouch said. 'Both light cruisers then.' he noted in his head as he turned to look back at the battle. "Not that I don't appreciate the protection, but shouldn't one of you rejoin your comrades in the battle? It looks like they'll need your help."

 

Belfast took her own look at the battle, frowning as she watched King George V personally fighting the Peace Breaker herself. However Lelouch could tell that George had been joined by two more KANSEN, though he couldn't make out their details. The teenage girl with the Javelin was with another KANSEN, fighting the first Lurker.

 

"... We're obliged to stay to protect you," Belfast said. Then a smirk appeared on her face as she saw something that Lelouch must have missed. "Besides, the tide is about to turn."

 

"How so…" Lelouch asked, before not even a couple of seconds later, his question was answered.

 

A huge swarm of airplanes flew from the distance, firing down upon the futuristic ships of the Sirens. Most ships were sunk, quickly reversing the situation to the KANSEN's favour.

 

"Ah, Illustrious and Formidable never let us down," Belfast said, her smirk having grown.

 

"I'm sure Unicorn will be happy to see Illustrious," Hermione commented with a smile. 'She was doing a fine job on her own with us."

 

"I'm guessing more KANSEN?" Lelouch asked, "Along with Carriers?"

 

"Not quite," Belfast corrected. "The carriers are the KANSEN."

 

Lelouch registered what she said. "Wait, carrier KANSEN? How does that work? I can conceptualise having…" he gestured towards Belfast's guns, "turrets, but aircraft…"

 

"Carriers," Hermione began to explain, "have flight decks instead of turrets like most other KANSEN, and that allows…"

 

Whatever she was going to say was interrupted by something colliding onto the sand close by. Belfast and Hermione both moved in front of Lelouch, using themselves as potential shields for him, as a Lurker slowly stood up, covered in sand and ash. Underneath her was her machine prawn, which was damaged but still moving.

 

"... Bloody hell," Hermione muttered as the Lurker spotted them, before the prawn shot a flare out of its mouth, into the air.

 

Immediately three portals formed around the Lurker. Lelouch expected more of these Sirens to pop out of them, but instead the portals spilled out swarms of what seemed to be mechanical crabs with squid-like heads. As they landed on the sand, the heads all perked up, turning towards the three humans, who started to back away. At once, their eyes, all six on each head, lit up, burning bright with yellow light, as the deposited swarm began to advance.

 

"What are those things?" Lelouch asked nervously.

 

"Gorgons," Hermione answered as she aimed her cannons and fired a volley at the oncoming swarm. "Siren rapid response ground forces. They fall apart easily, have no weaponry, but are very fast and strong enough to rip a normal human to shreds with their pincers."

 

"We aren't equipped for this," Belfast noted, a scowl on her face, though her voice gave the impression that she was only mildly inconvenienced by this, as she also fired. She put a hand on her ear, but frowned. "My radio seems to be jammed."

 

"Mine as well," Hermione said as she tried her own radio. "We can't call for help."

 

Lelouch noted that both KANSEN had to stop moving before firing their cannons at the incoming 'Gorgons', a stark contrast to how manoeuvrable they were on the water. This fact gave the Gorgons ample time and opportunities to reach the retreating trio, only to get blown up by the KANSEN's firepower, preventing the swarm from reaching them, for now. But they were too exposed, unable to counter all angles, and the swarm was large enough that most of the beach was now filled with Gorgons, and he doubted the KANSEN, no matter how much firepower they were sending into the swarm, could kill them all before being overrun. The only positive in this situation was that the three portals had stopped sending in Gorgon reinforcements and had vanished.

 

Lelouch had nothing on him to use to help out, making him feel quite useless. That said, his brain was always his greatest asset and so he started to put it to good use here. Looking around, he spotted what seemed to be an abandoned dock not too far away. There he could make out what looked to be a fuel silo leaking black fluid to the side, though the distance was making details at the dock very hard to discern. He could also make out how the sea was still connected to the dock. He followed the beach line from the dock, back to the swarm attacking them, finally his gaze rested on the Lurker, who had gotten back into the water with her prawn. He noted that the Lurker's own gaze was only focused on him, as if he was personally targeted by it, never wavering even as parts of destroyed Gorgons and even shells flew past her. A smirk grew on his face as an idea popped into his head.

 

"We can't win this fight conventionally," Lelouch told the KANSEN. "We are too exposed, and with very little options." He pointed to the dock, drawing their attention to it. "We'll need to draw them there."

 

"We'll have to restrict our firepower if we fight in there," Belfast pointed out.

 

"Yes, but we'll also restrict their movements and force them down into certain paths, allowing you two to concentrate your fire and not have to cover every angle," Lelouch countered. "Besides, that's if we do have to fight them there, and only as a plan B," he said to her surprise. "I have another idea in mind to deal with them all in one go. But I am going to need both of your help."

 

Hermione and Belfast shared a look. While they were currently able to prevent the Gorgons from reaching them, the situation was deteriorating and the Lurker was still there. As Lelouch said, they didn't have many options left.

 

"What do you have in mind?" Hermione asked.

 

"The dock has a fuel silo, a silo that is leaking," Lelouch began to explain. "I'll need one of you to use the water to sail to the dock, set it up for us to detonate, or even get more materials to increase the explosion. The other and I will lead the Gorgons towards the dock slowly enough to give you time. Once we reach the dock, along with the Gorgons and the Lurker, we detonate the fuel, destroying them all."

 

"Won't the explosion take us out with it?" Hermione pointed out.

 

Lelouch frowned. That was a very good point. Thankfully it seemed that Belfast had the answer.

 

"The dock looks to be built with the standard used in the initial Siren invasion," she said upon inspecting the Dock from a distance. "That means that the inner structures are reinforced, with a bunker that can offer us protection from the explosion."

 

Lelouch's smirk returned. "Excellent," he said. "Then we lure them there, making them think they've cornered us, but have in fact fallen for our trap!"

 

"What about the Lurker?" Belfast asked.

 

"That's why I'll stay here, to be the bait," Lelouch informed them, much to their shock. "The Lurker has been hyper focused on me, not paying you two any attention. My guess is that it's waiting for the Gorgons to finish or overwhelm you two before striking me on her own."

 

"We just can't let you stay in danger!" Hermione said, as she fired yet another salvo.

 

"It's the best way to ensure the Lurker falls into the trap," Lelouch calmly countered. "Besides, I may not know much about KANSEN, or really anything," he pointed to her turrets, "but I don't think they have infinite ammo. And from the amount of fire you have thrown out, you must be running low."

 

Hermione frowned before she reluctantly nodded. "I am," she confirmed.

 

"As am I," Belfast said.

 

That confirmed that they did need ammo for their weaponry. Where they stored it, Lelouch had no idea. But that also begged the question, did these KANSEN also use fuel since they are warships? Also were the Sirens affected by this limitation as well? But there was no time to think about that, there was a plan to enact.

 

"I'll hold off the Gorgons," Belfast said. "I have some ammo reserves left, enough to distract them for the plan to work."

 

"... Alright, I'll head to the dock," Hermione said reluctantly. She turned to look at Lelouch. "Be careful, Lelouch and please don't take unnecessary risks. Belfast and I are supposed to protect you."

 

"I'll be fine," Lelouch assured her. "I'll remain far away from the shoreline so that the Lurker won't leap at me again."

 

"All right," Hermione said, her face still showing her unease with leaving him in danger.

 

She sprinted away from them and jumped onto the water. Now that she was moving much faster than before, she easily sped away to the Dock, though she did fire one more volley at the Gorgons as she left.

 

As Lelouch had predicted, the Lurker didn't pursue Hermione, still focused on Lelouch. However, as if sensing that he was more vulnerable, she moved closer to the shoreline, and the Gorgons got more aggressive.

 

'That's it,' Lelouch thought to himself, 'Just stay focused on me.'

 

It was then that Lelouch realised a major flaw in his plan; how could Hermione communicate with him or Belfast about any problems or if she was ready. He had no radio on him, and even if he did, the radio was being jammed so it would be useless. Any verbal communication over the distance could be caught by the Lurker and the whole trap would be ruined before it began. He cursed himself for not having thought of something so obvious.

 

"No matter," he muttered, "the die is cast." A bitter smile formed on his face. Looks like he would have to place his trust and fate in the hands of someone else, which was a slightly bitter pill to swallow for the proud hidden royal.

 

Both him and Belfast slowly made their own way to the dock, buying Hermione as much time as they could. However, after around five to ten minutes, Belfast finally stopped firing. "I'm too low on ammo to waste any more," she told him. "We'll have to run!"

 

"Oh boy," Lelouch said, before the two of them sprinted away. Well, Belfast was sprinting. Lelouch was, well, his speed didn't last long at all. While he was still full of adrenaline, his body had hit its limit, and he couldn't run very fast. Belfast had to stop and run back to him.

 

"Your physical stamina and state leaves a lot to be desired," she admonished.

 

"Running… was… never my… strong suit," Lelouch huffed out.

 

"I can see that, sir," Belfast said, a ghost of a chuckle in her voice.

 

Lelouch suddenly found himself picked up by Belfast and held in a bridal carry, much to his total embarrassment.

 

"Hey!" he said.

 

"Forgive me, but you're going too slow," Belfast said.

 

With that she leapt onto the water, still carrying Lelouch, who held on for dear life. Immediately, the Lurker sprung into action, diving under the water to pursue them. And on the beach, the Gorgons were following them, just not entering the water. Good, that meant that they had them, as the two sped to the dock.

 

On closer inspection, the dock seemed to be in various states of disrepair, but the overall buildings and facilities were intact, albeit some more than others. Upon entering the dock, they had to get off the water and go on foot further in, with Lelouch getting out of the carry, his face bright red from embarrassment. They soon found Hermione in the middle of an open area next to the fuel tank, having just dropped a hose that was spraying oil everywhere.

 

"Quick, they're coming!" Lelouch shouted, grabbing Hermione's attention.

 

Hermione nodded in acknowledgement. She pointed to the end of the open area, where a bunker facility with an open door stood. Belfast and Lelouch got the message and ran towards the bunker. Hermione reached it first. As she beckoned them to come in, she gasped as she saw the swarm of Gorgons pouring into the area.

 

Lelouch reached the door last. As he turned around, he saw the Gorgon swarm part in the middle, revealing the Lurker entering the area, slowly walking towards him with the prawn machine by her side. Her face had a confident smirk on her face, as if sure of his demise. Good, that meant she wasn't suspecting a thing.

 

"Light them up," he said confidently before leaping into the bunker.

 

Belfast nodded, before aiming her secondary cannons at the spilt oil and fired. As soon as she did, she went inside and pulled the bunker door shut, just in time.

 

BOOM!

 

A huge explosion rocked the whole dock. All three occupants inside the bunker stumbled. Lelouch heard a bang, looked up and saw what remained of the bunker door, a large thing that would have been impressively heavy even in his world, get flung back, having been blasted open and broken off by the explosion. Thankfully Belfast, who had been behind the door had just moved out of the way, narrowly avoiding being crushed.

 

"That was close," she said nonchalantly, completely unfazed by how close she was to misfortune.

 

"Are you alright, Lelouch?" Hermione asked as she helped him up.

 

"I'm fine," he assured her. "How about you and Belfast?"

 

"I am fine, but thank you for the concern," Belfast said, smiling. The smile faded as she looked back to the now open and shredded doorway. "That was a larger explosion than I had anticipated."

 

"There were several more fuel containers near the silo," Hermione explained. "They were probably close enough to get caught up in the explosion and set off a chain reaction."

 

Lelouch smirked. "Then nothing out there would have survived."

 

"Don't be so sure of that," Belfast cautioned. "Siren KANSEN can take a lot of punishment, especially from non-KANSEN origins. The Gorgons are surely gone, but the Lurker may still be alive."

 

Lelouch's smirk faded. As much as he wanted to refute anything surviving that, today had a lot of what he had thought as impossibilities, or things he couldn't even conceive of before, happen. And these two KANSEN knew more about this enemy than he did, and of course had more experience dealing with them. As much as his pride hurt at the fact that something survived one of his plans, disregarding their experience and advice would be the height of folly.

 

"...Alright," he reluctantly admitted. "Then we'll cautiously investigate if anything survived."

 

"As long as you stay behind us," Hermione insisted.

 

"No complaints from me," Lelouch said.

 

With that, the three made their way out, and gasped at the destruction in front of their eyes. The whole swarm of Gorgons had been completely wiped out, with only a couple even having any sort of remains to be seen. The facilities around had also been destroyed, and the sea water was flooding in, an explosive end to the dock's existence.

 

However, near the edge of the open area, lay the broken body of the Lurker, which was very much still moving, clawing her way with her single intact arm towards them slowly. Lelouch couldn't see the mechanical prawn so he assumed that it was destroyed. Interestingly, the most amazing thing about all of this was the expression on the Lurker's face. It wasn't one of horror, pain, anger or hate like he would assume. No, her expression was one of annoyance, as if her broken state was just a mild inconvenience.

 

"I see you were right," Lelouch admitted to Belfast. "She did survive."

 

"Yes, but heavily damaged," Belfast pointed out. "An interesting impromptu plan, Mr Lamperouge."

 

"Thank you," Lelouch said before looking back at the Lurker. "Looks like you have a prisoner."

 

Hermione shook her head. "It won't allow itself to be captured."

 

As if prompted by her words, the Lurker suddenly started shaking. Her body glowed orange before it imploded, sending yellow blood and gore everywhere.

 

'Whoa," Lelouch took a step back in shock. Thankfully the Lurker was far away enough that none of the gore got on any of them.

 

"Case in point," Hermione said. "No one has ever been able to capture a Siren KANSEN, and keep them 'alive'."

 

"So they always self-destruct," Lelouch commented. "Though it seems they leave enough behind for the scientists to look at," he said as he pointed to the mess left behind.

 

"Not for long," Belfast pointed as well, to a specific puddle of blood that was sizzling, evaporating away at a rapid pace. Similarly, once Belfast had pointed it out, Lelouch saw that all pieces of flesh were shrivelling up and decaying away. Soon there would be nothing left to study.

 

"...Very efficient," Lelouch commented, simultaneously disgusted and impressed.

 

"Annoyingly so," Belfast agreed, "especially since we can't actually kill them permanently."

 

"What do you mean?" Lelouch asked.

 

"Siren KANSEN," Hermione began to explain, "unlike human KANSEN like Ms Belfast and myself, are less of an individual person, and more of an intelligence that can transfer itself to different bodies. For high ranking sirens, death is just an inconvenience and they will appear again shortly after their 'demise' in a fresh copy of their bodies."

 

Lelouch blinked at that. An immortal enemy that came back later. That would be amongst the top of any tactician's worst nightmare. An enemy like that would most likely remember the tactic that defeated them previously, and would be prepared for it when they returned. Annoying, but also meant that Lelouch would never get bored fighting these Sirens, an extra challenge for him to overcome, which he was happy about.

 

"Seems you have your work cut out for you," he commented out loud.

 

"That it is," Hermione agreed.

 

Their conversation was interrupted by a plane flying overhead. They looked up, spotting it with Hermione giving it a wave. As if spotting her, the plane turned around and headed back where it came from.

 

"That was one of Illustrious' planes," Hermione commented.

 

"Must have been drawn in by the explosion," Lelouch surmised, "the pilot should be contacting this 'Illustrious' now."

 

"There is no pilot," Belfast said, much to Lelouch's shock as he spun around to look at her.

 

"It's a drone?" he asked. "A 40s era aircraft?!"

 

"Not a drone in the normal sense," Belfast said, before explaining. "I'm not entirely sure myself on how it works, but all of the carriers I have talked to tell me that all planes they have act as an extension of themselves, in that they can control each and every single plane they launch from their flight decks all at once like they are just a limb." She pointed at the plane, now far away in the distance. "She can also 'see' everything the plane sees, making carrier KANSEN very proficient at recon and spotting on both sea and land when the need demands it."

 

"Incredible," Lelouch said, awestruck. The things he could accomplish with even just one of these carrier KANSEN…it boggles the mind.

 

Hermione was about to add to the conversation, opening her mouth before both her and Belfast both put their hand to their ear, as they listened to something on their radio.

 

"Copy that," Hermione said before turning to look at Lelouch. "King George V and Formidable have dealt with the Peace Breaker," she informed him,"and the Siren Fleet has been destroyed. Thus the Command ship is coming to pick us up."

 

"Wonderful," Lelouch said. Now perhaps he could finally learn about this world, away from danger, and perhaps get some answers as to how he could save this world.

 

He had to admit that he had gotten lucky with meeting with someone willing to help him out so far, but that could change. How so? Well, for one, Lelouch had picked up from his brief introduction to King George V and the skirmish with the Lurker and Gorgons here on this island, that the vortex that Dreamweaver had dropped hm in to send him here was the same type of portal that the Sirens apparently used. He had also been seen falling from said portal, so it wasn't a reach to assume that someone in authority may think he's a Siren spy and lock him up.

 

There was also the fact that Lelouch was starting to suspect that Dreamweaver may be a Siren herself, or at the very least connected to them in some way. The first clue was how both her and the three Sirens he has encountered were organic machines for a lack of better term. The second clue was the motif of sea creatures they all shared: prawn for the Lurkers, a mix of crab and squid for the Gorgons and the Jellyfish for Dreamweaver's throne.

 

So the main question was; why did Dreamweaver send him here to save this world that was clearly under threat from the entities she was potentially a part of? Unfortunately, this was not something Lelouch was going to get an answer for, and for a long time too.

 

"There it is," Hermione said, bringing Lelouch out of his thoughts.

 

She was pointing at a warship in the distance, making its way towards the island from the now finished battle. It was a modern looking warship, an oversized cruiser with lots of communication equipment attached to the superstructure. That's all Lelouch could make out for now. What he could make out was the two figures skating on the water towards the Island.

 

The three on the Island made their way out of the destroyed dock and back onto the beach. There they reached the shoreline at the same time as the two KANSEN, allowing Lelouch to take a look at the new arrivals.

 

The one at the front was a young teenage girl with light purple hair, wearing a white dress and had what looked to be two flight decks connected to her back with mechanical struts. She was carrying a sufficiently large white stuffed unicorn with wings.

 

The second figure was an elegant lady, with blue eyes and long white hair tied in a low ponytail by a ribbon with two front locks tied by a ribbon shaped like flowers. Her body was also very… voluptuous, with large breasts and a curvy body. She wore a white strapless dress with black frills, a white frilled skirt, white thigh high socks, black high heels, white elbow gloves and a white sunhat on her head. She had a single large black flight deck that seemed to flow in the wind.

 

"Goodness," the elegant lady said as she stepped off the water and onto the sand. "I'm so glad everyone is alright, after I saw the explosion…"

 

"Not to worry," Belfast said, "we're all good. The dock had a bunker inside that we were able to use and take shelter in just in time."

 

"That's a relief," the Lady said.

 

The teenage girl meekly held the unicorn tightly, covering her lower face as she kept herself close to the Lady, almost hiding behind her. This behaviour made Lelouch smile internally, as something about this girl reminded him of Nunnally. However he didn't want to make her uncomfortable with his staring so he gave her a small, friendly and gentle smile. However, when she saw it, the girl gasped and hid behind the Lady.

 

"Unicorn is a bit shy," the Lady said apologetically, having noticed. "Sorry, she doesn't mean to be antisocial. Please don't take her behaviour personally." She then gave a curtsy. "HMS Illustrious, first ship of the Illustrious class armoured carriers," she introduced herself, her aura one of grace and nobility. "Pleasure to meet you."

 

"...HMS Unicorn, light carrier," the girl said shyly, poking out from behind Illustrious. "Nice to meet you…" she looked down at the unicorn in her arms, "and this is Yuni,"

 

"I'm Lelouch Lamperouge," Lelouch said, introducing himself. "Pleasure to meet you too, Unicorn." He kept his smile, though it almost faltered when he thought he saw 'Yuni' blink a couple of times. Convinced he must have hallucinated it, he looked back at Illustrious. "And it's also a pleasure to meet you." He bowed his head slightly in politeness.

 

Illustrious chuckled slightly. "Oh my, he certainly has lovely proper manners," she remarked to Belfast.

 

"He certainly does," Belfast agreed.

 

"It's only fitting to be polite to the ones who have rescued me," Lelouch commented. "It would be ungrateful to be otherwise."

 

"I couldn't agree more," Illustrious said, nodding.

 

"What's the situation with the fleet?" Belfast asked.

 

Illustrious' smile slipped, replaced by a slight frown. "Most of the mass produced ships are gone," she said. "King Geoge V is wounded, thankfully nothing that a good week resting won't fix, but she will be out of action for the time being. It would have been a lot worse, if it wasn't for Unicorn, I don't think the fleet would have lasted long enough for Formidable and I to get back."

 

"I tried my best," Unicorn spoke up quietly.

 

Illustrious patted her on the head. "You did very well, Unicorn."

 

"That's right," Hermione reassured her. "If it wasn't for your fighters, we would have all taken damage in the initial surprise attack, and lost a lot more."

 

Unicorn's face brightened, though she still didn't really move from behind Illustrious.

 

"Formidable and the other KANSEN are on HMS Venerable," Illustrious said, continuing her explanation, "all summoned by Admiral Kain. He's also 'keen' for us to bring Mr Lamperouge here to the Venerable for a debrief." Illustrious sighed. "He's convinced that Mr Lamperouge here is a spy for the Sirens."

 

"He's definitely not!" Hermione exclaimed.

 

"From what I heard from both King George V and what Unicorn's planes saw, I believe you," Illustrious assured. "But you know how stubborn Kain gets when he's stressed. In addition, he has lost most of his fleet, even if they were mass-produced ships."

 

"Thank god they don't have anyone on them," Hermione said. "Otherwise we would be haemorrhaging personnel in no time at all."

 

"Wait, those warships were all unmanned?" Lelouch asked. "Are they controlled like how the planes were controlled by Illustrious just before?"

 

"No," Belfast said. "The warships are like drones, not controlled by any KANSEN. They have inside them basic artificial intelligence powered by… classified technology that allows fleet commanders to give them basic orders. However, they are only used to fill up fleet numbers and not good for anything other than suppressive fire and support."

 

"So just plain old cannon fodder," Lelouch remarked. "At least you're not wasting lives unnecessarily to man ships that are going to be destroyed anyways."

 

"Indeed," Illustrious nodded. "They are also constructed very quickly, so losses are easily replaced. But today, this fleet was headed back from deployment here in the Caribbean to be used for an upcoming operation alongside the Iris Libre in the next week, so the losses here don't spell well for that operation, especially due to this surprise attack."

 

"Ah," Lelouch nodded. That makes more sense on why this Admiral Kain seems to be so upset at losing all these ships. Also it seems to be that they were currently in the Caribbean, so near the North American continent, interesting to know.

 

"Though speaking of the attack, what happened here on this Island?" Illustrious asked. "I know there was an explosion, but what caused it?"

 

"Oh, that was the trap Lelouch came up with to deal with one of the Lurkers and a swarm of Gorgons," Hermione said cheerfully, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Using the leftover fuel still in the abandoned fuel silo, we made them think they had cornered us inside the dock, then detonated the fuel while just managing to hide inside a bunker. The resulting explosion blew them all up."

 

"Really?" Illustrious asked, stunned. "That sounds like a plan that should have gone wrong in so many ways."

 

She was right. It was a very impromptu plan that, with Lelouch thinking about it now, could have gone really poorly in so many ways.

 

"I guess all of the factors aligned in our favour," Lelouch commented, nodding along with Illustrious' statement. "Not a perfect or good plan, even if I hate to admit it, but it worked."

 

"That it did," Belfast said. "Though you also didn't have to risk yourself to ensure its success."

 

"The Lurker would have followed us if I went with Hermione," he reminded her. "She was after me, not either of you two. Staying with you was the only way to stop her from ruining everything." He then shrugged. "Besides, how could I not be willing to do the things I ask of others."

 

The four KANSEN looked amongst each other, even with Unicorn actually moving from behind Illustrious. Lelouch couldn't fully decipher the shared look, but it seemed to be a mix of being glad, impressed and shocked.

 

"… that's the first time I've heard someone say that about us," he heard Unicorn whisper to Illustrious.

 

Lelouch frowned upon hearing that. The first time? The implications behind that simple phrase were disturbing.

 

Before he could comment about it, Illustrious looked back to the ship, which was now much closer, and had an escort of a Battleship, a carrier, a cruiser and three destroyers. "Admiral Kain is getting impatient it seems. We'll have to head back to the Venerable now."

 

"As he wishes," Belfast said.

 

Hermione, who was still next to Lelouch, picked him up, bringing him into a bridal carry. Lelouch, blushing from embarrassment, sighed in resignation at the fact that this was the third time in not even an hour that he was in this position. Hermione, hearing him, did giggle slightly before she followed the other three KANSEN in stepping onto the water and sailing towards the ship that he assumed was the HMS Venerable.

 

As they got closer, Lelouch could make out more details on the Venerable. The communication system was much more extensive than he first thought, making up half of the superstructure. There was also less weaponry on the ship to make room for said system, especially for a vessel of this size. It matched the aesthetic of a support vessel. No wonder why it had a large number of mass produced ships as escorts, and now it was more vulnerable than before. And the loss of them was visible, as the ship had some battle scars on it, as a couple of the weapons and parts of the ship themselves looked damaged or destroyed.

 

Once they were almost beside the ship, all four KANSEN leapt up with superhuman strength, causing Lelouch to cry out in surprise, holding on to Hermione tighter, much to her amusement. They easily landed on the deck of the Venerable, where plenty of sailors stopped in their tracks and began gawking at the new arrivals on their ship in surprise.

 

Lelouch quickly got off Hermione, if only for the sake of his pride and dignity. He did mouth "thank you," to her, who smiled in return. As he took a couple steps back, the ship parts on Hermione glowed blue before disappearing into a stream of lights that sped past off the ship. Within seconds the lights flashed again, and there was now a light cruiser beside the Venerable now.

 

Lelouch blinked in surprise before three more flashes resulted in another light cruiser and two carriers, a smaller and a larger one, now around the ship, joining the escorts. He looked back at the other three KANSEN and saw that their ship parts were now gone.

 

Lelouch just stared in shock, as his mind raced to understand what just happened. The ship parts that were on the KANSEN had just transformed into actual ships. Thinking about it, that sort of matched with what Belfast and Hermione had told him earlier how they were the actual ships. Their shipforms were now in the water, but they were still here on the Venerable.

 

All of the KANSEN bar Unicorn chuckled silently at his expression. Thankfully his humiliation didn't last more than a couple of seconds before Hermione came to his rescue.

 

"Yes, that's our ship forms," she started to explain to him. "But we can't actually transform into ships again. Instead the ships get condensed into our rigging, which is what you saw us with during the battle."

 

"Ah, and you can change your rigging back and forth from ship form to the rigging," Lelouch surmised. "Can you still control the ship from here, like this?"

 

"Yes we can," Illustrious answered. "However, our connection to the ship in this form is more limited in certain ways." She slightly realigned her hat from a gush of wind. "We shouldn't dawdle much more. The Admiral would want to see us as soon as possible."

 

Lelouch nodded. "Please lead the way."

 

With Illustrious at the front, the group of five walked towards the main superstructure of the ship. The crew who had been watching them resumed their tasks. Some still occasionally glanced at the group, the expressions mixed between awe, distrust and most surprisingly disgust. Some were even muttering amongst themselves, with Lelouch only hearing small pieces of what they were saying.

 

"... the one that fell…"

 

"Why is he here?"

 

"... Interrogation…"

 

"... he's with the freaks…"

 

"... deserve each other…"

 

"... siren experiment…"

 

"... lucky bastard…"

 

Lelouch couldn't help but narrow his eyes at what he had caught. He could already tell that most of the sailors were talking about him, and in the way that he had both feared but expected them too. However it seemed that he wasn't the sole target of their ire. It seemed the KANSEN were too. Seems that humanity is still the same here. Lelouch didn't know whether to take comfort in that familiarity or not.

 

There was however that last comment that puzzled him, especially how it seemed more jealous than anything else. He internally scoffed. Jealous of falling out of a portal? That was just crazy.

 

That is, until Lelouch realised something that had slipped his mind. He was walking as part of a group with three very beautiful women with a very -ahem- voluptuous form, especially Illustrious. Suddenly the jealous comment made more sense, especially since Hermione was walking right next to him, who must have noticed him reacting and gave him a reassuring smile.

 

Still, Lelouch ignored the murmuring as they entered the main structure. Inside, a crewman awaited them, before leading them to the Admiral's bridge. The crewman opened the door and beckoned them inside.

 

The first thing Lelouch noticed was how crowded the bridge was currently. Half a dozen crewmen were scrambling around, either at their posts on the controls or trying to fix as much as they could on the bridge. There were also egg shaped yellow birds holding… tools and giving them to crewmembers when requested. That… was very new. However they kept a wide berth of the group in the middle of the bridge, all huddled around a table with a map. The group was composed of two male officers and six women, who Lelouch assumed were all KANSEN. They were in a conversation, or more like a one sided argument, but they stopped once they had noticed the newcomers, turning to look at them.

 

Lelouch recognised King George V amongst the KANSEN. She had her arm in a sling, her face bleeding on the side, and lots of scratches and burns but she didn't seem fussed about it at all, a fire still lit in her eyes. She also seemed happy to see them.

 

The second KANSEN he recognised was the purple haired teenage girl with the javelin. Lelouch didn't get her name during the battle, but she did give him a friendly wave, then went up to Unicorn, chatting with her quietly to the side.

 

The four other KANSEN, however, Lelouch hadn't seen before. They were most likely fighting in other parts of the battle, and he had spotted more ships sailing next to the Venerable beforehand so it did make sense.

 

The first new KANSEN was a noble lady with very long grey hair done up in twintails. She wore a two-tone dress with white frills in a gothic-lolita style. Her pink eyes beamed upon seeing Illustrious and Unicorn, changing to curiosity when spotting him. She did match Illustrious' beauty, with a very similar if not identical body shape, especially in the chest department, making Lelouch assume that this was HMS Formidable, Illustrious' sister.

 

The second KANSEN was a dark brown haired lady with red trimmed glasses that complemented her red eyes. She wore a white button up top, a blue skirt that only covered half her thighs, and went all the way up to just under her big breasts, a cream blazer and long blue socks.

 

The third KANSEN was a teenage girl with very long green hair tied into twintails with yellow scrunchies and green eyes. She wore a white frilled dress with long sleeves, a double breasted red dress with a gold trim and breast cutout over the top of the white dress, a purple-blue necktie, a maid headdress and purple-blue thigh highs. She was holding an anchor with a green searchlight attached via a ribbon.

 

The last KANSEN was another teenage girl, with tanned skin, long white hair and brown eyes. She wore a… very risque maid uniform, made up of a very dark brown short dress, with a white apron over the top that only covered her lower body, with only two straps giving her any decency by covering her near flat breasts, short detached sleeves only at her upper arms, a maid headdress and two dark brown bows on either side of her head.

 

In between the huddled KANSEN were two male naval officers. Both wore their uniform, which was similar to the design used by the Royal Navy of the Holy Britannian Empire back home, but with significant differences. For one, the uniforms had far less flashy additions for the Admiral. The second main difference was the colour scheme, which was navy blue for the jacket and tie instead of light grey and burgundian respectively.

 

The one to the left, the Admiral if Lelouch got his rank insignia and shoulder pads correct, had brown eyes, grey hair done up in a short trim and a medium sized moustache. In his hand was a pipe, though it seems unlit, and was more so an object to fiddle with, which the admiral was doing currently, looking both agitated and stressed. His uniform was trim and proper.

 

The one to the right had the rank insignia of a captain, and looked a decade younger than the admiral. He had green eyes, light brown hair in a buzzcut and a small scar on his lip. His uniform was quite proper, yet had some imperfections and staining from work.

 

After taking a few steps into the bridge, Illustrious curtsied to the Admiral.

 

"My Lord," she said, "I've brought Belfast, Hermione and the boy who…"

 

"Ah yes," the Admiral cut through Illustrious' introduction, "the one who fell out of the portal." The Admiral gave Lelouch a scrutinising glare. Already Lelouch could tell that it would be aggravating to convince him that he wasn't working for the Sirens. "What is your name?"

 

"Lelouch Lamperouge," Lelouch answered, keeping his tone respectful.

 

"How old are you?" The captain asked. "You don't look that much older than eighteen."

 

"I'm only sixteen," Lelouch answered, "still in high school."

 

"Only sixteen?" Illustrious said, a shocked look on her face. "Oh, my. Your behaviour, manners and maturity made it seem like you were a young adult."

 

"I… had to mature quickly when I was younger," Lelouch admitted.

 

"So there would be records of what school you are at?" The Captain asked. "You do sound British, but with an interesting accent. Any family we can contact to match your existence and to tell them that you are alive?"

 

"Well, that's not really possible," Lelouch said, before hesitating if he wanted to continue.

 

Even though he had already figured out that he was in an alternate world thanks to Belfast and Hermione, he had only spoken about a couple of things, and nothing related to Dreamweaver or his own circumstances. Though Hermione had already shown that she was quite compassionate and helpful, Lelouch didn't trust anyone here enough to tell the whole tale, especially since he was still processing it. But perhaps informing everyone of where he came from would be beneficial for a number of reasons. One, everyone knows he fell from a portal and this would clear up any current misunderstandings about that, and could create a measure of trust if he could prove himself to them. Second, Belfast and Hermione already knew and would most likely tell their superiors if he didn't even mention it or lie about it.

 

"... I don't have any family to contact here," he said calmly. "They're on the other side of that portal. As for my school, I attend Ashford Academy, a prestigious school in Area Eleven of the Holy Britannian Empire, which from what I have learned doesn't exist on this Earth."

 

If Lelouch didn't have the full attention of everyone in the room beforehand, he did now. The only ones who didn't react in total surprise were Belfast and Hermione, though the former did raise an eyebrow.

 

"Wait… Holy Britannian Empire?" the KANSEN who Lelouch assumed was Formidable said incredulously. "What kind of name is that?"

 

"Is that what you're concerned about, Formidable?" the KANSEN with glasses told her, confirming Lelouch's assumption. "Not the fact that he comes from another world?"

 

Formidable shrugged. "We are fighting an enemy from another dimension," she explained, "so it shouldn't be a shock to understand someone else being from another world. And he doesn't look like a Siren, so we shouldn't be that concerned. Besides, the name sounds stupid."

 

Lelouch barely managed to stifle a chuckle at Formidable's insult towards his nation of birth. Illustrious, to his side, held back her own chuckle, a fond look on her face.

 

"... From the way you said 'this Earth'," the Captain began, "I'm assuming you come from a different Earth?"

 

Lelouch nodded. "Yes," he said. "One with a lot of differences to this Earth."

 

"Such as the Sirens?" The Admiral asked accusingly.

 

"I've never heard of these Sirens before landing in the ocean here," Lelouch defended himself calmly, "or even KANSEN for that matter." He gestured out the window. "Nothing I have seen here belongs in my world. No portals, no futuristic ships and no ladies that can stand on water."

 

Before the Admiral could retort, King George V stepped in. "Admiral Kain, I believe he is telling the truth," she said. "When I met him during the battle, he had no idea of what a Siren was. He also showed complete shock at our riggings when we intervened against a Lurker trying to drown him."

 

Lelouch subconsciously rubbed his neck where the Lurker had grabbed him, as if the very mention of that moment had caused some trauma to return.

 

"He also said that Napoleon had conquered the British Isles," Belfast added in, "after inquiring if we were 'Britannian'. He also called the American War of Independence 'Washington's Rebellion' and implied it failed."

 

"Bah!" Kain laughed. "As if the Iris Frenchies could ever defeat the Royal Navy."

 

"Back then there was a chance," the Captain reminded Kain. "And it must have happened in Mr Lamperouge's world."

 

"It is inconceivable to us now," the KANSEN with the glasses added, "just as much as I am assuming KANSEN are to him."

 

"Well, not so much after seeing KANSEN in action," Lelouch corrected. "But it was very eye opening for me."

 

Kain turned to look at Belfast. "What have you told him?" he asked, his accusatory tone more muted now, which Lelouch was taking as a sign that they were slowly convincing him.

 

"Only that we're the manifestation of warships," Belfast answered. "Nothing else."

 

Kain nodded. "Good. At the very least he won't be a…"

 

"Admiral," King George V cut in. "The Sirens already know almost everything about us, and a lot of the knowledge about KANSEN is public knowledge anyways."

 

"She's right," the Captain added. "Hell, we have a few history books here that have the info on them. I know a few copies have already fallen to Siren hands."

 

"…" Kain was silent before nodding. "I won't dispute that."

 

Lelouch internally smirked. Looks like he had gotten a good hand with who he had encountered first here. The fact that he barely had to make much effort to convince them was much appreciated, as well as the fact that they were also intelligent and willing to come up with arguments in favour of him, rather than just be antagonistic for the sake of it. Hell, even Kain was willing to listen to rational points and accept them at the cost of his own point of view, something that did make him a cut above most Britannian nobles back home, though that wasn't a high bar to begin with.

 

"Still," Kain then pointed out the window, "if he wasn't working for the Sirens, then why did he fall out of one of their portals, just after they had ambushed us?"

 

Lelouch's internal smirk turned into a grimace. The one question that he had hoped wouldn't be asked. However just because he had hoped, doesn't mean he wasn't prepared for it coming up.

 

"That is also something I would like to know," King George V said as she turned to face him. "How did you end up in one of their portals?"

 

Lelouch shrugged, keeping up a poker face. "I'm not entirely sure myself," he lied. "I was shopping with my younger sister and some friends when I got called to do an errand for the student council president. She sent me to a warehouse, one that was eerily quiet. When I entered, I found the owner dead in his office. Before I could leave and get help, I suddenly found myself being restrained by tentacle-like cables, and thrown down into something. Next thing I knew, I was falling in the air and landed in the water here."

 

It was a partial truth, but still kept Dreamweaver out for the most part. Hopefully that would satisfy Kain enough to get him off his back about being a Siren spy. Thankfully it seemed to have succeeded, as Kain sighed, turning to the side as he fiddled with his pipe.

 

"… Alright Mr Lamperouge," he finally said. "You've convinced me. And for what it is worth, I am sorry you have been separated from your family and friends."

 

Lelouch relaxed slightly until Kain continued talking.

 

"That said, it is still clear that the Sirens brought you here, for whatever reason they have in their alien enigmatic brains." Kain put the pipe away. "That means I can't leave you completely unsupervised." His eyes narrowed, as if still suspicious but now willing to at least let up for now.

 

Everyone else except Lelouch nodded at this declaration. Lelouch himself wasn't that fussed about it. While it would most likely mean he would be under constant surveillance, it was a logical move and would be the least Lelouch would do if he was on the opposite end of this situation. As long as he had some privacy, and a means of learning about this world, what he could do to save it and to form a working relationship with its inhabitants, this situation would be acceptable.

 

"I understand," Lelouch said. "If I were in your shoes, I would order the same thing."

 

With that, most of the tension on the bridge vanished. Any crewmen who had been watching the discussion returned to their work, and the strange birds continued to help out. Lelouch couldn't help but stare at the birds, seeing how they seemed to act with joy in helping and seemed to actually understand not so simple commands when given, even being able to search for the right tools or even point at things.

 

"... I'm assuming you've also never seen a Manjuu before?" Hermione said with a chuckle, having noticed his gaze and couldn't help but smile upon seeing Lelouch's expression.

 

"No I haven't," Lelouch confirmed. "This day has been full of surprises." Internally, he was surprised at the name. 'Hm, Manjuu. Another key difference. They seem intelligent enough, but I can't help but wonder if they are native to this Earth, or…'

 

"I can imagine," Hermione said.

 

"Cunningham," Kain said, looking at the Captain next to him. "Do we have any spare rooms left on the ship?"

 

The now named Cunningham nodded. "We do have a couple of rooms near the rear of the ship."

 

"Good. One of them will be Mr Lamperouge's room for the duration of our voyage to Liverpool." Kain snapped his fingers, and three of the Manjuus suddenly appeared next to him, looking up since they only went up past Lelouch's ankles, and saluted Kain. He nodded in acknowledgment to them. "You three, Captain Cunningham will direct you to the most suitable room. I want it cleared of everything that can be a potential weapon. Once done, remain in the room, observing Mr Lamperouge for any unusual or suspicious activities."

 

The Manjuus nodded before turning to Cunningham. He knelt down, having pulled out a datapad and showed them the screen. He tapped at it, and the Manjuus nodded before speeding off.

 

"May I make a suggestion, Admiral Kain?" King George V spoke up again.

 

Kain sighed in slight annoyance. "Not like I have a choice in ignoring the second in command of the whole navy," he grumbled. However he did straighten up and have a more respectful tone afterwards. "What do you have in mind?"

 

'Why not also assign one of the three Royal Maids to both assist him with his stay, and observe him," King George V offered.

 

Kain raised an eyebrow. "An interesting suggestion. If anything happens, do you think one KANSEN can stop him?

 

"No offence to Mr Lamperouge," Belfast cut in, "but I doubt he could do much harm to any of the crewmen on this vessel, much less a KANSEN." She then looked at Lelouch. "You don't seem to have the… necessary physical condition."

 

Lelouch's eyes narrowed at that comment, but didn't refute it.

 

Cunningham leaned closer to Kain. "Sir, it may be better to do so," he advised. "At least one of the KANSEN can communicate better than a Manjuu."

 

Kain nodded, agreeing with the logic. "Alright," he said to King George V. "I'll take up your offer. Who do you have in mind?"

 

Instead of addressing Kain directly, King George V instead turned to Hermione. "Hermione, do you feel up to the task?"

 

Hermione curtsied. "I am."

 

King George V smiled. "Excellent." She turned back to Kain. "Hermione will be in charge of supervising Mr Lamperouge, as well as helping him out if he proves to be genuine." Lelouch noted in her tone that she suggested that she was confident in him being so. "I'll also make a report to her Majesty…"

 

"Should you be doing so in your condition?" Illustrious asked concern, something shared amongst the other KANSEN as they all looked at King George V with worry, specifically at her injuries.

 

"While I am very appreciative of your concern, it is fine," King George V waved them off in a respectful manner. "It's not combat, and afterwards I will be taking my leave to go to the infirmary for a couple of days." Her smile strained at the last words.

 

That seemed to alleviate Illustrious' concerns. She stepped back, allowing King George V to resume from where she left off.

 

"Ahem, I'll contact her Majesty to inform her of the situation," she said. "She will organise reinforcements for us, especially mass produced ships, to await us at Liverpool."

 

At that second, a crewman rushed into the bridge.

 

"Admiral, a communiqué from the Eagle Union," the crewmen said.

 

Kain turned to face the board. "Bloody hell, we don't have time to deal with the yanks," he said, growling. "Cunningham, Hermione, escort Mr Lamperouge to his room and get him acquainted with it. Once that's done, I'll need you back here, Cunningham."

 

"Yes sir." "Yes, my Lord."

 

With that, it seemed that Lelouch was dismissed. He waited for Cunningham and Hermione to leave before following them. As he walked to the door, he noticed both Belfast and Illustrious giving him nods of assurance, the latter also smiling gently. He nodded back before stepping out of the bridge.

 

Out of the bridge, Cunningham turned around and offered his hand to Lelouch.

 

"Captain Joseph Cunningham," he introduced himself as Lelouch grasped his hand to shake it, "I apologise for the behaviour in there but our nerves have been frayed by the battle." He sighed. "Even if we only lost mass produced fleets, it's too much of a reminder of the first Siren war."

 

Lelouch arched an eyebrow, filing this information away for the moment. "No hard feelings," he assured.

 

"Well, let me show you to your new room," Cunningham said.

 

The trio then began walking through the corridors of the Venerable, past sailors who stopped to salute Cunningham, but looked at Lelouch with suspicion, with some even glaring at Hermione too. Lelouch ignored the stares directed at him, he was growing used to it, but the way Hermione's expression slightly fell caught his eyes.

 

Thankfully they arrived quickly. The open door to the room revealed that the Manjuu were already at work, cleaning the room and setting it up at a very fast pace. The room itself wasn't a large room by any means. In fact it was very spartan and made to house four individuals in a cramped environment. However, this was a naval warship, thus this was to be expected and Lelouch was assuming he would be the sole occupant, and he had no luggage to take up space, so it wasn't too much of a grievance for him.

 

"Here it is," Cunningham said. "Not much, just one of the spare rooms, but it'll do for now until we reach Liverpool." He pointed down the corridor to the left. "Restrooms are down that way, past the corner. Further on is the mess hall. However I would advise for the next day or two to avoid it. The sailors are currently tense and may view your appearance there… poorly. Instead I am sure Hermione can bring you food and water when asked."

 

"I'll be happy to do so," Hermione said, before looking into the room. She frowned before excusing herself, entering the room. Much to Lelouch's amusement, she started recleaning the room, making it much cleaner and tidier than what the Manjuu did with it.

 

"That's a Royal maid for you," Cunningham noted in amusement, before getting serious again. "Do you have any questions!"

 

"I do," Lelouch nodded. "Firstly, will there be any way for me to quickly contact either Hermione, yourself or anyone I would like to find, in case of an emergency?"

 

"All KANSEN carry radios with them for use, so if Hermione is with you, just ask her," Cunningham answered. "However, if she isn't with you, there are internal ship radios everywhere in the corridors and in your room. Normally I would say use your phone instead, but I doubt that you have a working one with you."

 

"You're right. I think I lost it when I was abducted," Lelouch said. "Secondly, other than food, is there a place I can get supplies?"

 

"We do have a quartermaster," Cunning confirmed. "However he is currently busy helping with repairing the ship, so he will be unavailable for the next couple of hours. Did you have anything in particular you wanted?"

 

"Some spare clothes," Lelouch gestured to his still soaked clothing. "As much as I like these clothes, I think I need to change out of them for a while."

 

Cunningham chuckled. "Understandable. I'll see what I can do. It'll only be spare uniforms however."

 

"That will suffice for now," Lelouch said.

 

"Excellent, I'll inform Hermione once I have time to find any." Cunningham looked at a watch on his wrist. "I'm afraid I myself have duties to attend to now. Hermione will stay here with you for the rest of the day."

 

"Thank you, Captain," Lelouch said, giving him a small smile.

 

Cunningham nodded. "Despite everything, I hope you have a nice rest of your day," he said, before turning around and leaving.

 

Lelouch decided to enter the room, barely avoiding a Manjuu who was running out the door with some used cleaning supplies. He looked up and saw Hermione finishing up, setting up a table and chair for him. She pulled the chair out as she saw him enter. He got the hint and sat down on it.

 

"Is there anything I can get you?" she asked.

 

"Some fresh water would be lovely right now," Lelouch admitted, smiling at her. "Though if it's not too much trouble, is it possible to get a history book or two? Something to read to catch me up so I'm not clueless."

 

"Of course," Hermione nodded. "Though after you are done with your water, would you like some tea?"

 

Lelouch thought about it for a second before nodding. "Yes please."

 

Hermione curtsied before heading out on her errand, leaving Lelouch alone, his smile fading as she left. His posture stiffened as he took advantage of the opportunity to reassess his situation.

 

Here he was, taken away from Nunnally and his friends, in a new world where so far very little was familiar, given the task of saving it. It would be no easy or quick task, that much Lelouch was sure of, but still he wanted to do this as fast as he could. Nunnally was still back home, most certainly heartbroken by his disappearance or more accurately his 'death' if Dreamweaver was that successful in covering up her tracks, which he had little to doubt so far.

 

There was one positive to this; these KANSEN. If Lelouch was honest with himself, so far, he was fascinated with them. Warships transformed into humans, each with their own personality. He didn't know how many KANSEN there were, but he assumed a not insignificant number. Their capabilities however were endless in his mind: Not even Britannia would be able to deal with them, due to their firepower concentrated in such a fast and very low profile form. On land, they were certainly less effective and a Knightmare could probably counter them. If they were inexperienced that is.

 

Now Lelouch had an idea of what Dreamweaver meant about this world helping him achieve his main goals. The KANSEN, under his leadership or at the very least guidance and influence, would obliterate Britannia. The Britannian navy would be destroyed, the homeland cut off from the overseas areas, leaving Lelouch free to conquer them one at a time, with only the local garrisons and armies to contend with. Once they were free of Britannian control, he would restore each country, with the catch that they would join his crusade against Britannia then disarm after Britannia's defeat to ensure world peace, the thing Nunnally desired so much.

 

Lelouch's expression shifted to an evil smirk, though he did hide it under his hand. Yes, this could be just the opportunity he needed.

---

A few minutes earlier

 

"So, your thoughts on Mr Lamperouge," Kain asked Belfast, after Captain Cunningham had led both Hermione and Lelouch away. He didn't seem as angry or stressed anymore, which was a good thing for everyone else.

 

"Best word I can describe him currently is very intelligent," Belfast answered.

 

She then proceeded to explain what happened on the Island, of what the trio had talked about, the attack by the Lurker and the Gorgons, Lelouch coming up with the plan, the implementation and success of the plan and Illustrious' and Unicorn's arrival. She left nothing out, as Kain and the other KANSEN listened.

 

When she finished, Formidable whistled.

 

"Wow, that was impressive for someone still in school," she commented.

 

"Indeed," HMS London, the heavy cruiser wearing glasses, said. "However, while a good plan, it relied too much on the conditions being exactly what was needed in order to succeed. So much could have gone wrong if the stars hadn't aligned."

 

"I agree," Kain said, "but still, for someone his age to show such initiative and strategic thinking…" he clasped his hands behind his back. "I still think he has a greater connection to the Sirens than he is letting on, but if he is telling the truth, then he may be a valuable asset in our war with the Sirens and the Crimson Axis."

 

"Admiral?" Illustrious blinked in shock and surprise. "Are you serious in letting someone underage, not even from this world, fight in our war?"

 

"It's just an idea at this stage." Kain admitted. "We don't know much about Mr Lamperouge at all, and his skill shown on the island could just be a fluke. But if he is legitimate, then it would be foolish not to use his talent."

 

"He's still underage," Illustrious said, her expression now one of anger. "That would be a horrendous act…"

 

"As if we haven't done some of those already," London pointed out reluctantly.

 

"That still doesn't mean we should do that!" Illustrious continued. "Operation Catapult was a mistake, and drove the Vichya Dominion to Iron Blood."

 

"Yeah," the maid with the risque outfit, HMS Nubian, said. "Besides, shouldn't we help him get back home?"

 

"I agree, but we don't have the tech either," Formidable pointed out. "All we should do is look after him until we find an alternative way to get him back safely."

 

"I never said we should use him now," Kain defended himself. "We may have access to the Commonwealth, but we are still fighting a losing battle against the Sirens, and a stalemate with the Crimson Axis. We need something to help tip the scales and if Mr Lamperouge can provide that advantage, then we should use him."

 

"Enough," King George V said calmly, yet everyone quieted down. "I agree it would be dishonourable and a violation to impress Lelouch into helping us," she said, causing Illustrious and the other KANSEN to nod and smile, "but you are right that we need an edge." she continued, much to everyone's surprise. "There is also the fact that the Sirens are responsible for Lelouch being here. Maybe they'll have the key to help him get back, and the only way for Lelouch and us to get that, is to defeat them." She looked around for any arguments, and got none. "However, when, and only when we arrive at Liverpool, we should ask Lelouch what he feels he wants to do. He deserves that much at the very, very least."

 

All the KANSEN nodded, though most still had an unhappy expression about the whole discussion. Kain, too, looked unhappy but sighed in resignation before nodding in agreement. He may be an Admiral, but you do not go against the second in command of the Royal Navy KANSEN.

 

"Alright," Kain said. "King George V, may I ask you to stay. Everyone else, dismissed."

 

With that, all the KANSEN started to leave. Belfast curtsied before taking her leave after everyone else left. As she walked out, closing the door behind her, she wondered about Lelouch. He was handsome, but there was something about him that intrigued her.

 

After the others left, Kain turned back to the crewmen who came in later. "Alright, crewmen. The message?"

 

The crewmen handed Kain a tablet. Kain only took a moment to read it, his frown lessening as he did so. At the end, he sighed in relief. King George V raised an eyebrow at that, before Kain handed her the tablet. As she read it, she started smiling.

 

"The Eagle Union are sending some KANSEN to dock at Liverpool," Kain explained outloud. "Since we are still in the Caribbean, they're asking to meet up with us, and travel with us back home."

 

"Excellent news," King George V said cheerfully. "At least this way, if the Sirens or the Crimson Axis attack us, we'll have more forces to defend ourselves with." She reread the tablet. "They didn't say who they were sending," she noted.

 

"Nor how many KANSEN," Kain added. "Still, even one KANSEN is better than none. Even I can admit that."

 

"Admiral, were you serious about forcing Mr Lamperouge into fighting in this war?" King George V suddenly asked.

 

"Yes," Kain said. He looked at her expression and quickly added, "But not until he's of age, or he's proven he can be trusted." He took out his pipe again. "We need every edge we can get, and from what Belfast told us, he can come up with plans very quickly. We need someone like that to fight in this war." He looked King George V in the eye. "I know that I am not the best Admiral, and I do have… issues."

 

'That's putting it mildly.' King George V couldn't help but think to herself, but quickly banished such thoughts from her mind. They were not welcome, and at the very least Kain wasn't the worst admiral, or even person, she had to work with. He at least gave the KANSEN some respect, unlike others, and did treat them as human. He deserved the same from her.

 

"But," Kain continued, "if we grasp this opportunity and cultivate it, then perhaps we stand a bigger chance than before."

 

"For someone who was very distrustful of him before, you certainly did a one-eighty," King George V commented.

 

"I still don't trust him," Kain said, crossing his hands. "But it would be a fool's choice to not see the potential benefits not to at the very least use his tactical mind to our advantage if needed."

 

"If I was a cold and calculated being, I could see your point wholeheartedly," King George V granted. "But I am not, and this whole idea irks me, if not finding it completely distasteful or abhorrent. But I won't dismiss it, and it should be up to Lelouch."

 

"Of course," Kain nodded. "I'm not heartless. It's only a few days from Liverpool anyways, so he has time to process everything, or for us to get enough observations of him."

 

"Very good," King George V approved. "I'll have to report everything, including what we just talked about, to her Majesty, so I must take my leave." She saluted. "If you need me, I'll be in the sick bay."

 

Kain saluted back, and King George V then left, wincing at her arm throbbing from her wounds.

Notes:

And that's chapter 2 wrapped up.

 

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all had a great time on Christmas and New Years.

 

So, here Lelouch gets his first experience leading a fight against the Sirens, though really only a skirmish against one Siren KANSEN. For those unfamiliar with Azur Lane, the Gorgons do not exist in it, and are my own creation for Siren ground forces. We also get introduced to more KANSEN, including fan favourites Belfast, Illustrious, Unicorn and Formidable! Lelouch gets an introduction to the world he has now entered, and begins his preparations for the future!

 

The adventure has only just begun! I'll see you all next time!

 

Special thanks to Seerking for Beta Reading this chapter! Go check out his awesome content!

 

Regards,

 

dalek117

Chapter 3: Books, Lore and Impressions

Chapter 3: Books, Lore and Impressions

 

Lelouch nodded in appreciation after lowering the tea cup in his hand, the other hand keeping open a book called ‘The First Contact That Defined Generations: A Tale of the First Siren War.’ He looked up at HMS Hermione, who was standing next to him, a tray in hand, after he had just a moment before handed him his cup.

 

“Very nicely brewed,” he complimented her. “Thank you.”

 

Hermione bowed her head. “I only serve what is expected of me, as a maid in service of her new master, but you are very welcome,” she said with a smile.

 

“Is the entire Royal Maid Corps held to such high standards?” Lelouch asked.

 

“As the bare minimum,” Hermione answered. “If one cannot brew tea to any high degree, then she is not deserving to be a maid.”

 

‘Sayako would get along very nicely with them,’ Lelouch thought to himself as he took another sip.

 

He looked back down at the book lying open on the table. He had nearly finished it, only a couple of pages left to go. It was… an informative read, along with the pile of books left on the side. While most were quite basic, they did provide Lelouch with a very good picture of the history and current state of this Earth.

 

From the still limited information Lelouch had acquired, the initial point of divergence between this world and his own was Washington’s rebellion, or the American War of Independence, and the battle of Trafalgar.

 

For the former, in this world, Benjamin Franklin stayed loyal to Washington, ensuring his forces succeeded long enough for French and Spanish aid to turn the tide, leading to the establishment of the United States of America, today known as the Eagle Union, encompassing all of Britain’s original thirteen colonies and expanding westward ever since. Much of the former French colonies in Quebec and British Loyalists strongholds in Halifax and Northern North America remained as part of the British Empire, later forming the Dominion of Canada, now known as the Maple Monarchy, for some reason Lelouch couldn’t quite grasp.

 

The latter involved Lord Nelson not being assassinated before the battle of Trafalgar, thus ensuring he would lead the British to victory at sea, at the cost of his own life. Napoleon’s dreams of invading the British Isles were shattered and France would later fall to Britain and her continental allies. Thus the Europa United would never be founded, Britain would remain united under the crown and the crown would not flee to the Americas in exile.

 

Both of these changes meant that neither the Holy Britannian Empire nor the ruling dynasty that included Lelouch would come to pass. Lelouch had mixed feelings regarding that. It was only natural for someone to feel complicated about their home nation never existing from the start in this world. However, it was also the nation that Lelouch hated, so not as much love lost, and from first impressions, this United Kingdom looked to be a close alternative with most of the positives. So Lelouch wasn’t too caught up in sorrow.

 

Continuing on with what he had learned, from the second half of the 1700 hundreds, this world’s history was completely different. Great Britain remained the top superpower for over a century, Europe remained divided, the United States quickly grew, expanding westwards, China was economically dominated by the European countries until the mid-twentieth century, Germany unified under Prussian leadership, something that had never happened back home, as well as Italy, and Japan became a major power, managing to defeat Russia in a war. The turn of the century into the 1900s resulted in two devastating conflicts called the World Wars, encompassing the whole world, leading to the decline of the UK and the rise of the US and a revolutionary Russia, the Soviet Union.

 

All of this fascinated Lelouch, and he hoped that he would have more time to study and learn about this period of this world, especially with all of the conflicts and the strategies and tactics of the combatants. However, it was all just basic commentary and descriptions of the time period before the modern era. Of the textbooks that Lelouch had been reading, all of them focused heavily on the first contact with the Sirens and the discovery of ‘Wisdom Cubes’.

 

There wasn’t much documented about the actual properties of the Wisdom Cubes in the history books Hermione had gathered for him, but already he had learnt how the Wisdom Cubes has allowed the humanity of this world to develop technology in an alternate path to his own, as well as being the source of the KANSEN’s existence. The process wasn’t documented, but Hermione did clarify that connecting a wisdom cube to the hull of a human made vessel manifests that ship as a KANSEN.

 

The main topic that the books covered, and the one that Lelouch found the most informative, was the First Siren War. Everything he had read outright stated that the Siren War was a very devastating war, starting in 1986, during the end of a conflict known as the ‘Cold War’. Communications with ships and planes travelling in the Atlantic ocean were suddenly lost, with the crews and passengers never found. Initial investigations revealed unknown vessels appearing out of portals, their advanced technology destroying all opposition. Soon enough, the Atlantic Ocean had been occupied by this invading force, calling themselves the ‘Sirens’, with the coastlines of various nations being attacked and ravaged by various creatures and machines. The rest of the world could only watch in horror, before they too found their oceans under siege. One last ditch attempt to protect the sea around the islands of Great Britain and Ireland resulted in the first sightings of the Siren KANSEN, who tore through the Royal Navy like butter.

 

Many nations were devastated by Siren Ground Forces after the oceans had been taken, with approximately 3 billion having been estimated to have lost their lives. However the tides turned after the discovery of the Wisdom Cubes and the KANSEN. After a lengthy period of defending their remaining land, preparation and consolidation, the nations of the world united under the banner of the ‘Azur Lane’, a unified military/political body of the remaining superpowers. With the KANSEN as the main force on the seas, the Azur Lane drove the Sirens off the major land masses, back into the sea, and after a bloody campaign, encircled them in the middle of both the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, practically ending the war.

 

However, Humanity’s unity would not last. All nations were broken by the war, changing in various ways, sometimes even their names. For example, the USA became the Eagle Union; France, the Iris Orthodoxy; Japan; the Sakura Empire; the USSR, Northern Parliament; Italy, the Sardegnian Empire and Germany, the Iron Blood. Somehow the United Kingdom and its Commonwealth kept their names intact, but are commonly called the Royal Commonwealth due to Britain’s former empire returning to it out of necessity for protection, though practically independent from it other than militarily and in foreign policy.

 

After rereading that part of the book, Lelouch couldn’t help but notice political parallels for most of the Superpowers to their ideological/geopolitical situations in the Second World War of this world. Especially how both Iron Blood and Sakura had returned to a more authoritarian form of governance though not nearly to the extremes they had in the past.

 

All in all, a very volatile situation, with the Sirens, as shown by today, not fully contained in the still occupied parts of the oceans, and the Azur Lane having split in half, with the Iron Blood, Sardegnian Empire, Sakura Empire and Vichya Dominion in the Crimson Axis. Looking at the political situation of the time, Lelouch wasn’t at all surprised. However, the history books all fail to mention the catalyst behind the split, nor the true reasoning, so he was at a loss at what would have forced the split to happen as the history books paint it as a sudden occurrence.

 

Lelouch took another sip of his tea as he closed the book, having gotten all the information he wanted from it. Now he had a general picture of where he had been taken to, something concrete to work with to achieve his allocated objective and to return back home to Nunnally. There was also the bonus that he wouldn’t act like a fish out of water in regards to basic historical knowledge here.

 

“Have you finished with the books?” Hermione asked.

 

“For now,” Lelouch answered. “Thank you for getting them for me. They were very enlightening.”

 

“I’m happy to serve, Master,” Hermione smiled at him.

 

Lelouch, while used to being called a Master by Sayako at home, was a bit surprised at how quickly Hermione began calling him that, but didn’t show it. He assumed that her training as a royal maid required her to do so, since she had just been assigned to him.

 

Speaking of that training, the fact that she had been in combat only a short while ago, and was still working with stride was a testament to that training, as well as Hermione’s own perseverance, endurance and strength of character. Though that did beg the question, had she gotten any rest at all since the battle?

 

“You’ve been standing for a while,” Lelouch suddenly said, catching Hermione off guard with the change of topic. “Have you had a chance to sit down at all, or take a breather?”

 

“The briefing was the breather,” Hermione told him. “Besides, I’m used to standing for long periods of time. I’ve been trained to endure much worse than that. But your concern is appreciated.”

 

Lelouch accepted this. Sayako was similar in that regard, though she did have her ninja training as a Kunoichi. In contrast, Hermione was a warship turned into a human, so her discipline would be just as good.

 

Still, Hermione was the one who saved him from the Lurker and helped him both on the Island and in the briefing, so Lelouch believed that he should repay her kindness. Her cheeriness reminded him a lot of Shirley, which slightly put him at ease around her. In addition to that, there was also the opportunity to connect with one of the KANSEN even more, gaining their trust for later.

 

Lelouch finished off his tea before looking back at Hermione. “Would you like to join me?” he asked, gesturing to the empty chair opposite his spot.

 

Hermione hesitated, looking slightly uncertain. “I’m just a maid, master,” she began, her tone unsure but not necessarily against the idea. “I don’t think I should…”

 

“Please, I insist,” Lelouch cut her off. “A good tea is best enjoyed with company on the same table.”

 

Unable to disagree with Lelouch’s argument, Hermione took a moment to put the tray she was holding down on the table and sat herself down. The two sat in a sort of awkward silence for a bit as Hermione seemed to be a bit uncomfortable not serving him.

 

“Don’t you want to drink any tea yourself?” Lelouch asked to break the silence.

 

Hermione pondered the question before shaking her head. “As much as I love tea, there isn’t anything left in the pot, as I had only brewed enough for you, master,” Hermione answered.

 

Lelouch nodded, accepting her answer. He didn’t know where the tea bags were to brew some more, and he doubted that Hermione would let him do so for her, based on her hesitation beforehand. A slight shame, but perhaps it was for the best.

 

Before the atmosphere could become awkward again, Lelouch decided to broach a topic he had become intrigued with from the history books he had read. “I must admit, the ‘Wisdom Cubes’ seem to be a major game changer in this world,” he said, catching her attention. “The books mentioned that they were used to make KANSEN, but I doubt they would have the title ‘Wisdom’ in their names if that was the only thing they did.”

 

“You’re correct,” Hermione said, her uncomfortable expression fading away. “Wisdom Cubes have all but replaced most forms of energy production, powering whole cities and military facilities, as well as being the main cpu for certain purpose built computers. It’s the source of much of our technology, as well as the main reason why outdated equipment and gear that we KANSEN use are so effective against the Sirens, enhancing the equipment significantly.”

 

“Is the Venerable powered by a Wisdom cube?” Lelouch asked.

 

“Yes, all modern man-made warships are,” Hermione answered. Sensing Lelouch’s upcoming question, she decided to elaborate. “Currently two different types of ships exist; man-made ships, constructed by human workers and designers, and mass-produced ships, constructed by Manjuu…”

 

“Wait, the Manjuu make ships?!” Lelouch sputtered out, glancing at the five Manjuu in the room with them.

 

“Only the mass-produced ships,” Hermione confirmed, following his gaze. “Despite their appearances, Manjuu are very capable birds. If I haven’t seen them actually working, I would doubt it as well.”

 

“So they’re able to construct ships very quickly, but I am assuming at the cost of quality,” Lelouch surmised.

 

“Yes, built extremely quickly but with poor durability and that the ships have to follow an already pre-existing design. Manjuu can’t build a new ship out of a new design. It has to be an already produced man-made model of warship. For the most part, that is the same era of warships I come from, though there are exceptions. Modern weapons of war such as missiles and jet fighters don’t work on mass-produced ships either.”

 

“That is a major limitation,” Lelouch commented, leaning back in his seat as he contemplated the ramifications. Naval warfare would have largely regressed if mass-produced ships were the only force available to this world. Their only real use was cannon fodder, filling up numbers to overwhelm the enemy, and shielding more important vessels. In direct combat that is. He already had a couple of roles that mass-produced ships could fill for his plans back home, namely transportation vessels or suicide boats. The Britannian navy would be vastly technologically superior to any naval vessel Lelouch could potentially get his hands on back home, and would outnumber any force he could muster, so an even larger fleet of expendable, easily replaced suicide craft could even out the odds, by sending the unmanned ships to ram into enemy vessels, taking them out with them.

 

Unaware of where his thoughts lay, Hermione continued on. “KANSEN also currently can’t use missiles or jet aircraft as well.”

 

“Currently?” Lelouch questioned, having noticed her choice of wording.

 

“We know that the Sirens use wisdom cube technology as well, and they have a lot of missile based weaponry, and jet aircraft as well,” Hermione explained. “So it's safe to assume that our knowledge of Wisdom cubes aren’t as advanced as the Sirens and that with more time and research, it's only a matter of time.”

 

“Considering what I saw earlier today, that isn’t really hampering you at all,” Lelouch commented. “Your firepower, despite using outdated weaponry, was vastly more effective than what it logically should be. Wisdom cubes?”

 

“Wisdom Cubes,” Hermione affirmed. She hesitated for a moment before continuing. “Uniquely, Wisdom Cubes aren’t exclusively our power source, they’re our soul.” She placed her hand on her chest. “When a wisdom cube is used to successfully manifest a KANSEN, it is absorbed into our newly made bodies, effectively acting as our core, while also granting us our traits, appearance, personality, even memories and soul.”

 

“Memory?” Lelouch repeated, even more intrigued than before. “What type of memories, if you don’t mind me asking?”

 

Hermione contemplated her answer for a moment. “It’s difficult to explain.” She seemed to be struggling to find the right words to use. “When we were ships… none of us were aware of anything. We were just the ships. Yet somehow the wisdom cubes somehow combine what happened to us as ships, from construction all the way to being sunk or scrapped…” she trailed off but then caught herself and continued on, “and the experiences and quirks of our crews, and sometimes even events that involved us but we weren’t actually a part of, and used that to create memories and an awareness as if we were there, participating in it as who we are now.”

 

“That’s something I’ll admit I can’t really fathom,” Lelouch admitted. He then frowned as the reason Hermione paused suddenly came to him. “You remember everything?”

 

Hermione nodded, looking a bit down. Lelouch sighed, glancing away, a stab of guilt evident on his face. “Sorry for bringing it up.”

 

“Don’t be,” Hermione assured him. “We’ve all come to terms with it. Once a KANSEN has been manifested, therapy is mandatory for a minimum of five weeks, to help with reconciling ourselves with both our past lives and our newfound existence.” She smiled brightly. “It is very effective.”

 

“I’m glad to hear that,” Lelouch said honestly, returning the smile.

 

More than anything so far, this exchange was proof that the KANSEN were actually human beings, not AI, in Lelouch’s mind. That was a relief, as he always wanted to have actual thinking and critical subordinates, not mindless slaves.

 

“Are there any other traits the Wisdom cubes grant you?” Lelouch asked.

 

“We can’t age or physically change,” Hermione said bluntly, causing Lelouch to do a double take. “I’m serious. I manifested five years ago and I look the exact same now as I did then.”

 

“What about eating? Or cutting your hair?”

 

Hermione shrugged. “Hair grows back almost instantaneously. I’ve seen other KANSEN consume servings made for six people at once, constantly for weeks, and not put on a single pound, or become fat.”

 

“… A lot of my female friends back home would kill for that,” Lelouch couldn’t help but comment.

 

“So I’ve been told,” Hermione giggled.

 

Lelouch couldn’t help but let out a chuckle too, until a thought suddenly came to him, sobering his mood instantly. “Wait, does that mean those teenage girls…”

 

“Oh, you mean Glowworm, Javelin and Nubian?” Hermione asked.

 

“Yeah, them,” Lelouch said, not having heard the names before, but common sense dictated that the purple haired girl with the Javelin was HMS Javelin, and the other two were HMS Glowworm and Nubian. “They’re not newly manifested KANSEN then, are they?”

 

“No they are not,” Hermione confirmed. “While Nubian was manifested two years ago, Javelin and Glowworm were manifested just after the end of the First Siren War. Javelin has been one of our most reliable destroyers, and a good hearted girl. Glowworm is less… mature, but she is definitely one of the destroyers you don’t want to cross, especially with her tendency to ram. Nubian herself, a more recent arrival, has already earned herself a position in the Royal Maid Corps, the first destroyer to do so.”

 

“They’ll both be teenagers forever then,” Lelouch mused to himself. “Are they the youngest that a KANSEN can appear?”

 

Hermione hesitated once more, pursing her lips before shaking her head. Lelouch sighed, his hand going up to his face, pinching the bridge of his nose before rubbing his eyes. Little girls, most likely looking and potentially acting younger than Nunnally, sent off to fight a war against a stronger and more advanced enemy. The thought sickened him, especially if he placed Nunnally’s face on them.

 

“Are… are they fine with going to war and potentially dying?”

 

“We all are,” Hermione said, her tone shifting to a more resolved one. “To all of us KANSEN, upon manifestation, our duty to humanity is clear. We know what we are, what we were and that we have to fight for humanity. All of us, despite our various looks, from little girls to young ladies, we are ready to fight and kill for humanity!”

 

Lelouch was silent for a moment, torn. On the one hand, he wasn’t a fan of anyone that age, or who rather looked that young, being forced to fight and die in any sort of conflict. The fact that they are ‘born’ willing to fight was also concerning, though not as much to him, since they had been warships beforehand, constructed for war. On the other hand, he could respect the dedication and resolve Hermione showed, as he couldn’t find any evidence of falsehood from her. That type of loyalty was hard to come by naturally, and made his desire to have the KANSEN by his side back home even greater than it was. Plus it also made him admire the KANSEN more, and Hermione herself even more.

 

“I’ll take your word for it,” he finally said. “I’m against the idea of anyone looking that young having to fight, but if they’re willing to do so… Then I guess I’ll have to suck it up.” He gave Hermione a glance. “Just don’t expect me to get used to it for a while.”

 

Funnily enough, Hermione seemed to sigh in relief, her shoulders relaxing just a touch, only enough for someone as perceptive as Lelouch to notice. It seemed that his answer was the right one, even the truthful one as well.

 

“I would be disappointed if you did,” Hermione admitted. She then leaned in slightly as if she was about to say something controversial. “While all KANSEN are used to this, both the willingness to fight and the ‘youthful’ appearance of many KANSEN, in my time serving as a maid, most of the time regular humans who are horrified or at least uneasy on those details are usually the most caring and thoughtful ones.”

 

While the statement was generally meant to be nice and imply that she thought he was a good person, it also unintentionally implied that there were plenty of those who didn’t see the KANSEN as human, or the fact that they were sending little kids into war as wrong. That disturbed Lelouch even more, echoing Britannia’s attitudes more than he liked to think about.

 

‘No matter what universe,’ Lelouch somberly realised, ‘humans will always fear those that are different from them, or discriminate against them.’

 

The conversation was interrupted by a knock on the door. Hermione quickly got up and answered the door. When she opened, Lelouch was surprised to see Illustrious escorted by Belfast. Belfast was holding a plastic bag in one hand, filled with clothes.

 

“Good evening,” Illustrious greeted with a smile as she walked in. “I hope this isn’t a bad time?”

 

“Not at all,” Hermione assured her.

 

“Splendid,” Illustrious said. She looked over at Lelouch, before her gaze moved down to the books on the table. “I see you wasted no time in acquainting yourself with our history.”

 

“Indeed,” Lelouch said, patting one of the books. “I would rather not make a fool of myself in the future, or be caught off guard again, so I’ve started my research.”

 

“A wise move,” Illustrious approved before moving to the table, where Hermione had sat. “May I?” she asked both Lelouch and Hermione.

 

Lelouch glanced at Hermione, wondering what she thought of Illustrious unknowingly taking her spot, but she didn’t seem to mind, so Lelouch smiled and gestured to the seat, “Of course. Please, join me.”

 

Illustrious gracefully sat down in a manner that would have convinced Lelouch that she is a Noble, or rather would have put the Britannian nobility to shame. Belfast swiftly moved into position by her side, just as Hermione moved by him. It seemed that she very much was his personal maid now.

 

“How are you finding our world so far?” Illustrious asked, a curious expression on her face.

 

“Very intriguing,” Lelouch answered honestly. “So much is different from my world, that it feels completely fresh and surreal.” He picked up the closest book. “Though the textbooks only give a small glimpse at the whole picture, Ms Hermione has been very helpful with answering some of the questions I’ve had, mainly regarding KANSEN,” he finished off, placing the book back down.

 

That comment seemed to make Hermione blush slightly, while a hint of pride seemed to crack through Belfast’s professional expression. Meanwhile Illustrious let out a small chuckle.

 

“Fufu, indeed, the Royal maids are always dependable,” Illustrious stated. “The Royal Navy wouldn’t nearly be as prestigious if not for our maids.”

 

“Lady Illustrious, you are too kind,” Belfast said. “We only wish to serve her majesty and the royal navy.”

 

“Are you talking about the current monarch of the United Kingdom?” Lelouch asked, a bit curious since he has heard the KANSEN and the officers refer to ‘her majesty’ a number of times.

 

The three KANSEN paused, looked at each other before Illustrious chuckled again, while Belfast and Hermione grinned in amusement. Lelouch was surprised at the response, but quickly realised that he seemed to have misinterpreted the situation. Though again, he was very new here, so it was to be expected, so he didn’t take it personally.

 

“Ah,” he said, arching an eyebrow, seemingly amused himself, “I appear to have gotten the wrong idea.”

 

“That you have,” Illustrious confirmed, “though a very easy mistake to make. Besides, is it not logical for a country’s monarch to come to mind when someone references royalty.” Illustrious glanced at the books. “I am surprised, however, that the books haven’t mentioned anything.”

 

“The books were quite light on a lot of details,” Lelouch said, frowning.

 

“I see,” Illustrious said. “To answer your question, no we are not talking about the King of England and Scotland, Charles the third, though he is still officially our King as well. Instead, we refer to the leader of the Royal Navy KANSEN; HMS Queen Elizabeth, lead ship of the Queen Elizabeth class battleships.”

 

Now that caught Lelouch completely by surprise. The KANSEN, or rather the Royal Navy KANSEN, had their own monarch? That implied a high level of autonomy within the country, unless this Queen Elizabeth was a puppet monarch with no power. Lelouch, upon thinking back to the briefing, discarded that last idea, as the interactions between Kain and George made a lot more sense now if Queen Elizabeth wielded considerable power within the United Kingdom.

 

“So the Royal Navy KANSEN are organised like their own little kingdom within Britain?”

 

“You can say that,” Illustrious said. “The United Kingdom is one of the only countries that have implemented constitutional guidelines allowing KANSEN high autonomy and representation. While all of the countries that wield KANSEN allow a degree of self-organisation, it is always completely subordinate to the military and political establishment. Except for us. During the early manifestations of KANSEN, the monarch at the time, Queen Elizabeth the second, upon meeting us, broke her own precedent of non-interference within the governance of the UK, and made a royal decree that the KANSEN will have their own leader, who will only answer to the monarch of the UK, and the prime minister, but will have the entire Royal navy and the KANSEN obey them. So, when HMS Queen Elizabeth, the battleship, was manifested, Queen Elizabeth II brokered a compact between the royal family, the parliament, the KANSEN and the military. In all the ways that matter, her majesty is now part of the royal family, and can give orders to the admiralty, countermand any orders that involve KANSEN and can directly advise parliament and the cabinet.”

 

“So her majesty is now the second most powerful individual in the country, if I got that correct?” Lelouch said.

 

“Third most powerful,” Hermione corrected. “In many ways, the King and the prime minister hold equal power, for different reasons.”

 

“Doesn’t the king hold absolute authority?” Lelouch asked.

 

“No,” Illustrious shook her head. “Technically the monarch does have the power to take direct rule of the country, but only Queen Elizabeth II has been the only monarch to even use that power once in a more limited manner, and that was to broker the current compact. Britain hasn’t seen any form of absolutism since the days of Oliver Cromwell. Parliament, the people, and to a limited extent the nobility, hold the actual power to all intent and purpose,as given to them by the monarch.”

 

“No monarch has ruled with absolute authority?” Lelouch asked, very skeptical. While Britannia didn’t exist here, its predecessor did, with many of the same governmental structures and systems that carried over to Britannia, including its authoritarian nature, or so he had believed.

 

“In recent centuries,” Hermione said. “The last ones to rule in such a manner were overthrown in both the English Civil War and the Glorious Revolution. Instead, parliament does the vast majority of governance. The monarchy does have the right and power to dismiss parliament, but they mainly limit themselves to appointing the Prime Minister based on election results, giving them and parliament their royal assent to govern in their name, and signing off bills and laws that parliament passes.”

 

Lelouch leaned back, frowning as his eyes clouded in thought. That was another huge difference between this world and his own. It seemed that the United Kingdom here was much more democratic than it ever was back home. In a way, that was one of the stranger things he has heard here. Back home, no ‘democracy’ functioned at any sort of level, always used as a platform for corruption and authoritarianism. At the very least, Lelouch could appreciate that the monarch held some level of power to keep the system in check.

 

“Is it different back home for you?” Hermione asked, bringing Lelouch out of his thoughts.

 

Lelouch blinked and saw that the three KANSEN were staring at him with some concern. He sighed before nodding. “Yes, very different. Both Great Britain before the Humiliation at Edinburgh, and the Holy Britannian Empire that rose from its ashes, are authoritarian states. As the textbooks back home tell us, the British Isles held firm to their authoritarian beliefs even as the mainland European continent slowly fell to the masses of the rabble and their ‘democracies’.”

 

Illustrious frowned. “You speak as if democracy is a bad thing,” she pointed out.

 

“That’s what our textbooks say,” Lelouch corrected. “It has some merit, at least in my world. After Napoleon’s conquests led to the formation of the Europa United, Europe descended into a corrupt society, where the politicians cared only for their own pockets with no hands on their shoulders, completely holding back Europe’s potential as a global superpower.” Lelouch sighed. “However, I will admit that the vast majority of their citizens in the mainland do have a very decent standard of living, even amongst the lower strata. The same can’t be said for their subjects in Africa, but from what I’ve heard from unofficial channels, it's still not even close to being the worst possible.

 

The three KANSEN looked amongst each other, their expressions neutral. “I can’t say we don’t have some of those same issues here,” Illustrious admitted. “But no matter the issues, we do have accountability and safeguards to protect the country and system from those issues.” She leaned forward. “And what about your ‘Britannia’?”

Lelouch stiffened slightly, a bit unsure of what he should say. But he now had their attention, might as well say something. At the very least, he could finally have the opportunity to speak ill of Britannia freely now without having to catch himself before he said too much.

 

“Britannia’s safeguards are the Emperor’s absolute rule, and the loyalty of the military,” Lelouch said. As he spoke, his tone became more bitter and bitter, the hand placed on the book slowly crawling into a tense fist. “Instead of politicians being the main source of corruption within the empire, it's the nobility. Quite frankly, most are nothing more than parasites, leaching off the wealth of both the lower classes and the oppressed, and the royal family. The Britannian parliament is made up completely of nobles and military officers, and is just a formality for passing laws, with true power resting in the Emperor and the royal family.” A sneer formed on his face, as his true feelings on Britannia were finally let loose, and the floodgate opened up, unable to stop himself from continuing. “The lower classes of the homeland are exploited regularly, but are kept in check by a monstrous propaganda juggernaut feeding them the lie of social darwinism, that Britannians are superior to all other humans, as well as a vast surveillance and security apparatus.”

 

The KANSEN said nothing, allowing Lelouch to speak, concern etched onto their beautiful faces.

 

“The current Emperor, the 98th Emperor Charles zi Britannia,” Lelouch barely held back the venom in his tone, “is not only a devout social darwinist, but also an expansionist. In his reign, he has conquered the entirety of the Americas, as well as large swathes of Africa and east Asia. Each of the nations he has conquered has been turned into colonial dominions called Areas.”

 

“Oh, I can see where this is going,” Illustrious said, her expression a mix of distaste and anxiety. “I’m assuming that the local peoples were exploited and their lands turned into colonies.” She sighed in guilt. “Our country is very much guilty of those things, and the abuses we committed to so many still cast a vast shadow over the world. We… “ She looked around to both Hermione and Belfast, “were built to serve such a vast empire that had conquered, colonised, exploited and oppressed a fourth of the globe, under the promise of a mission of ‘civilising’.”

 

Lelouch hummed in thought. “Did you take away everything from them; their pride, culture, land?”

 

“Yes,” Illustrious said, looking very sullen at the fact.

 

“Did you call them numbers?” Lelouch pressed.

 

Illustrious’ eyes widened as she and the other KANSEN looked at Lelouch in horror. “What?!” They all said, with even Belfast’s composure breaking.

 

Lelouch sighed, his own turn for guilt. “The place I live in currently is the Tokyo settlement in Area Eleven, formerly known as Japan, with the city now having a large majority of Britannians while the Japanese were renamed to Elevens and cast out of their lands, now forced to live as at best second class citizens in their own countries. It’s the same in all of the other countries that Britannia has conquered. Genocide is a regular occurance by the military and no one can lift a finger because Britannia’s technology is too advanced, and their propaganda too effective, making the ordinary Britannians believers in the cause of social darwinism, and the ‘numbers’ too broken to resist en masse.”

 

The KANSEN fell silent as they processed Lelouch’s words. “Despicable,” Hermione muttered, her tone acidic, causing Lelouch to wince, as such a kind person as Hermione shouldn’t have to speak that way. Illustrious, while her expression wasn’t as horrified, her eyes blazed with fury, the passionate yet controlled and intelligent form of fury. Lelouch actually leaned back, suddenly realising that out of all of the KANSEN here, the one he wouldn’t want to get mad was Illustrious.

 

It was Belfast who recomposed herself first before speaking, her eyes narrowing slightly at Lelouch. “You claim that the propaganda machine is extremely effective, yet how come you speak of your own country in disgust.”

 

“Indeed,” Illustrious agreed. “From what you’ve said, most ‘Britannians’ would boast about their superiority yet you aren’t. Your tone is one of regret, guilt and as Belfast said, disgust.”

 

‘They’re perceptive,’ Lelouch couldn’t help but admire that. Outloud, he said, “It’s not something I like to talk about, but let's just say I had a few firsthand encounters with the ugly side of Britannia when I was younger. It certainly shaped my feelings for my own nation.”

 

“... I’ll take your word from it,” Illustrious said, accepting Lelouch’s answer. “You’ve had enough of a stressful day already, so I apologise if we’ve added to it in any way.”

 

“Don’t worry,” Lelouch assured her, “so far you’ve all been quite welcoming, which I very much appreciate.”

 

“Splendid,” Illustrious beamed at that. “Now, as for the purpose of my visit so soon after the briefing, my sister Formidable will be hosting a tea party tomorrow at noon, and was wondering if you would be interested in attending.”

 

Lelouch didn’t take long to come up with his answer. Honestly he didn’t have anything else to do on the ship, so might as well go. It was also a good opportunity to create more connections with the KANSEN, and what better way to continue this long term goal than with a tea party.

 

“I’ll be happy to attend,” Lelouch answered. “Will you also be joining us?”

 

“Unfortunately, Belfast and I have a prior commitment at the same time,” Illustrious answered regretfully, “though if it goes well, we may be able to come quite late. Instead, as your new maid, Hermione would be attending by your side.”

 

Lelouch nodded in understanding, before glancing at Hermione then back at Illustrious. “I’ll be happy with that, though I will hope to see you at the party some time hopefully.”

 

Illustrious gave a small smile. “I’ll try my best,” she promised.

 

Belfast, seeing the lull in the conversation, took a step forward, holding up the bag of clothes, offering them to Lelouch. “I’ve procured some spare overalls for you to wear. I would imagine that you would want to blend in more with the crew to avoid unnecessary attention. Unfortunately they were the only spares I could find that were around your size. I apologise if they don’t fit.”

 

Lelouch sat up and took the offered bag and had a quick inspection of the clothes. Inside were two sets of overalls, along with a single set of pyjamas.

 

“Thank you,” he said to Belfast, before a thought came to him. “How did you get my size?”

 

“One of my skills as a maid,” Belfast answered with professional pride.

 

Lelouch accepted the answer and looked down at the almost dry clothes he was wearing. “It would be best to wear the overalls, though I will need to find somewhere to clean and store my own clothes.”

 

“Leave that to me,” Hermione said. “My duties on the ship involve drycleaning anyways, so it won’t be any trouble at all.”

 

“Well then,” Illustrious said as she stood up, “Unfortunately, it is quite late in the evening now, so I must bid thee farewell for now.”

 

“Ah,” Lelouch looked at the clock, shocked to find it was already half past 8 in the evening. “So it is.” He looked back at both Illustrious and Belfast. “Thanks for visiting. Hopefully I will see you at the tea party tomorrow.”

 

“Likewise,” Illustrious said.

 

After some farewells, Illustrious and Belfast both curtsied before they departed, leaving just Lelouch and Hermione, along with the five Manjuu that were still in the room, forgotten about by the occupants.

 

“Time does like to fly sometimes, doesn’t it,” Lelouch murmured to himself as he sat back down.

 

“You did spend a large amount of time reading,” Hermione surmised, having heard him. “Though I am surprised you got through as many books as you did.”

 

“When I get invested into something, I can be very persistent in achieving my goal,” Lelouch stated, before a yawn suddenly overcame him. “Oh, pardon me.”

 

“I think it would be best for me to take my leave soon,” Hermione said. “You’ve had a very busy and stressful day, I would imagine.”

 

‘That’s an understatement,’ Lelouch couldn’t help but think.

 

Hermione walked over and took the plastic bag from Lelouch, opening it and swiftly yet delicately taking out the pyjamas without creasing or folding them. “I can take your clothes tonight to be ready for drycleaning in the next couple of days.”

 

Lelouch nodded, eyeing the pyjamas. “Is there any private space to change?”

 

“I can walk out,” Hermione said, though now sporting a slight blush. “I’ll wait outside until you call me back in.”

 

“Alright,” Lelouch said.

 

Hermione walked out, allowing Lelouch the chance to change. The pyjamas were slightly too big, enough to notice, but Lelouch was able to move around in it comfortably so he didn’t mind. It was better than sleeping in still slightly damp clothes. After collecting his own pieces of clothing, he called out to Hermione, summoning her in.

 

“Is there anything else you require for the night, master?” Hermione asked after taking his heap of clothes.

 

Lelouch shook his head. “I should be fine,” he told her. “Though if I haven’t left my room by nine am tomorrow, please come get me. I don’t want to oversleep and miss the tea party.”

 

“Of course,” Hermione promised before she curtsied. “Good night, master. I wish you a pleasant night.”

 

“And to you as well, Hermione,” Lelouch farewelled.

 

With that, Hermione took her leave. Now Lelouch was left alone in the room. A chirp to the side reminded him of the Manjuus that were still in the room, keeping a close eye on him. He sighed as he spotted them to the side, sitting on one of the bunk beds somehow simultaneously keeping an eye on him and playing a card game. The fact that they were actually holding cards in their wings, as well as a decently sorted stack of cards in between wasn’t missed by Lelouch.

 

Lelouch sighed in weariness before he walked up to the bunk bed. “Can you three understand me?” He asked, one arm resting on the bunk bed.

 

One Manjuu nodded before placing a card down. It then chirped in victory as the other two slumped in defeat.

 

‘They certainly are very sentient,’ Lelouch noted. ‘Almost, if not at the same level as a young child. I wonder how they evolved here, though that’s a question for another time.’

 

“I’m heading to bed now,” he told the Manjuus, gaining their full attention. “Please try not to make any noise if you can.”

 

All three birds saluted, then turned back to their game. Lelouch watched for a moment, seeing them expertly and swiftly reset their game and start another round. He shook his head in wonder before he went to the other side and got in the nearest bed, which was already made for him by Hermione earlier on. He found a comfortable position and closed his eyes, waiting for the realm of sleep to claim him.

 

---

HMS King George V lay restlessly on a bed in the medical bay. The side of her face had been bandaged up, though thankfully the medics had told her that due to her KANSEN nature, she would be able to take off the bandages tomorrow morning. Her arm was still in a sling, which meant that she couldn’t hold many things with ease for now. So all in all, not the worse she has had to deal with before, nor anything her sisters couldn’t handle as well. Nothing that the others should be worried about.

 

Yet, still, she did understand why they were, ensuring that she was here in the med bay instead of walking around. She was, after all, the Knight Commander of the Royal Navy, the de facto second in command. If she got even more seriously wounded, morale would be crippled, just like it did when poor Hood was…

 

George’s fists curled up into fists as she remembered the aftermath of that horrible, horrible sight. Hood, under the water, sinking ever faster, Wales frozen in shock and horror, both Norfolk and Suffolk were on their knees openly crying, while both Bismarck and Prinz Eugen fled the scene, though even their smugness seemed to have a sad, almost regretful twist. That, and the fact that Hood was still alive today, was the only reason why George doesn’t hate the two for what they had done. This is a war, and they were on the opposing side. Fighting and trying to kill the other was inevitable. Still, George continues to dream of a rematch against Bismarck, if only to assuage her own fear and guilt for not arriving in time to save Hood.

 

George shook her head, clearing out her thoughts. Now was not the time to be reminiscing about the past.

 

There was a knock on the door. “Enter,” George said, sitting upright.

 

Both Belfast and Illustrious entered. George greeted them with a warm smile. “Ah, good,” she said, “I was hoping that you would visit.”

 

“How are you feeling?” Illustrious asked.

 

“Not bad,” George replied, shifting slightly on the bed. “Just restless. Can’t really relax while we’re still in not totally secure waters.

 

Belfast nodded. “I can understand that, but please do rest somewhat for the rest of the day.”

 

“I will,” George assured her, “but first things first, how is Mr Lamperouge?”

 

“He seems to have adjusted remarkably well, all things considered,” Illustrious said. “He’s consistently polite and doesn’t seem to judge us as being inhuman, which is a breath of fresh air.” She hesitated for a moment before continuing. “That said, from what I’ve heard from him, his world is… not one we may want to contact any time soon.”

 

George’s posture straightened, her expression turning serious. “How so?” she asked.

 

“Mr Lamperouge’s country, Britannia, seems to be an even more imperialistic and exploitative country than the British Empire ever was,” Illustrious explained, “with their current laws, genocide is a common practice, with their conquered subjects being viewed as far less than humans. Their treatment was far worse than what we did to any of our colonial possessions.”

 

“My god,” George muttered in horror. “That is… difficult to fathom.” George then narrowed her eyes. “Did Mr Lamperouge admit to it?”

 

“Yes, but in a manner that showed that he is not a supporter of those policies.” Illustrious said, with Belfast quickly jumping in, “The disgust in his voice was very clear.”

 

“Could he be faking that?” George asked Illustrious directly, knowing that despite her behaviour and demeanour as an innocent air-head, Illustrious was amongst the smartest in the Royal Navy, and amongst, if not the best, at discerning someone’s true nature.

 

“No,” Illustrious said. “The disgust, anger and rage were genuine. In fact, he was holding himself back.” She sighed. “He is hiding things, I can tell, but he genuinely despises his country.”

 

George nodded, before turning to Belfast. “Contact Formidable, Hermione, London and Unicorn. Tell them to come here asap, if they are available. I’ll want us all to have a debrief on everything that we know so far about Mr Lamperouge.”

 

“At once, my lady,” Belfast curtsied before walking to the radio in the med bay. It didn’t take long for the other KANSEN to arrive. Once they did, Illustrious and Hermione recounted everything Lelouch has done and said so far. By the end, everyone had been caught up.

 

“So, Lelouch’s world isn’t something I want to ever visit now,” Formidable said. “It sounds like a horrible place to live in.”

 

“It is disturbing,” London agreed. “Though we don’t know everything and should take what Mr Lamperouge says with a grain of salt, just in case.”

 

“He wasn’t lying,” Illustrious reaffirmed. “Not about that.”

 

“I don’t doubt that,” London defended herself. “He most likely is completely correct, but we should still be slightly wary that he may have some bias that colours his perception. Though from what we heard, that bias may be justified.”

 

The other KANSEN nodded along, agreeing with London’s reasoning. No one was free from bias, making it always a constant factor in everything.

 

“Master also didn’t seem that affected physically,” Hermione noted, “His clothes weren’t worn out, or of low quality, other than recent damages from today.”

 

“Well, he is a ‘Britannian’, so a member of the overlords of their empire,” Formidable said. “That doesn’t mean he isn’t someone who was mistreated by his own country.”

 

George noticed that Illustrious had a thoughtful expression on her face. “What are you thinking?” she asked.

 

“Mr Lamperouge’s manner and demeanor," Illustrious said after a moment of contemplation. “While they are that of a student, which he certainly is, there is a layer underneath, as if he’s acting a part.” She turned to look at Hermione. “Was there anything familiar about how Mr Lamperouge interacted with anything from what you’ve seen so far?”

 

Hermione thought for a moment. “Now that you mention it, his mannerisms a couple of times almost seemed to be at least that of a high class.”

 

Illustrious nodded. “I thought so too,” she said. “And yet he claims to be a simple student, and for the most part seems to be. Yet during those couple of times he seemed to let slip, it seemed something natural to him.”

 

“You think maybe it's related to why he hates his country?” Formidable asked.

 

“Yes,” Illustrious said confidently. “There’s really no evidence to support that, but my gut is telling me that there is a connection.” she sighed. “That being said, I’m only going to keep a slight watch on him for now. Currently nothing is relevant to us, except for information about him. We shouldn’t change our attitude and behaviour towards him because of my suspicion, especially since there’s no chance of him being a spy for the Sirens or any of our enemies.”

 

“Agreed,” George said. “No extra surveillance beyond what is necessary to fully confirm he’s not a Siren spy.”

 

“I’m glad that he isn’t,” Hermione said, “He’s one of the nicest individuals I’ve met, and he treated us as proper humans, only curious about our abilities as KANSEN.”

 

“He’s also quite handsome, isn’t he?” London then noted out loud.

 

Almost all of the KANSEN present blushed slightly, as if suddenly realising this fact, or at the very least being embarrassed at the public acknowledgment.

 

“I didn’t really notice during the battle, or in the drenched clothes,” Hermione said, her blush more prominent than most of the others, “but he definitely is.”

 

“Good looking, and very nice,” Belfast commented. “A good combination for a man. He seems to be a good man to serve.”

 

George was silent. Kain’s intention of using Lelouch came back to the forefront of her mind, yet now there was another idea brewing along with it. If the hints that Lelouch had at least some tactical skills proved correct, then maybe Lelouch being brought into the fold of the Royal Navy wasn’t such a bad idea anymore. If he continued to be as nice to KANSEN as he is currently, then having a genius working with them as a leader in the Royal Navy would potentially change the situation into a much more positive and welcoming environment for the KANSEN, who wouldn’t have to fear about a commander being harsh and treating them as simple weapons.

 

Plus there was the womanly side of her that wouldn’t mind having to spend large amounts of time interacting with a handsome person.

 

Finally she spoke up. “We stay the course,” she decided, “treat him like how we are currently, though with the hope that we won’t have to view him with suspicion for much longer. That was Her Majesty’s orders from when I had contacted her earlier. She seems eager to meet him.”

 

All of the KANSEN nodded along in agreement.

 

“Since he’ll be coming to the tea party I will be hosting tomorrow,” Formidable began, “It should be a good way to see how he interacts with us after a little bit of time to relax and process everything.”

 

“And maybe keep him occupied while we meet with the Eagle Union KANSEN arriving tomorrow,” George said.

 

“Wait, you didn’t tell us about that,” Illustrious said, surprised.

 

“Kain told me after you all left,” George explained. “We don’t know who’s coming tomorrow, or how many KANSEN, but I think it's best if we don’t introduce them to Lelouch straight away, at least until after we explain the situation to him. Does everyone agree?” After no one objected, George smiled. “Good, then shall we wrap this meeting up?.”

 

“I was about to say that it was past time you started resting,” Hermione said. “The ship doctor would be most displeased if you weren’t going to, as will I.”

 

“Noted,” George’s smile became slightly strained. “On that note, dismissed.”

---

 

Hamburg, 2024ce

 

In a dark clad room, a figure sat at a desk, only illuminated by the series of blue holographic screens at the front of the desk. The figure’s hands, clad in black and red gloves with claws, were clasped together in front of her face, her elbows on the desk, as she stared intensely at the middle screen in front of her. Her golden coloured eyes narrowed as she processed the words in front of her.

 

Without a word, she flicked the screen to the side and stood up, her long black hair flowing from the movement. She looked to the side, reached over and activated the vinyl player at the edge of her desk. Immediately Beethoven’s Symphony No 9 filled the room. The figure closed her eyes, embracing the music for but a slight moment, her arms automatically moving along, as if she was the conductor to the piece.

 

She was brought out of her musical enjoyment by a chime from the desk. Only slightly annoyed at the interruption, she paused the vinyl and went back to the desk, sitting back down. With just a press of a button, the holographic displays were replaced by a single display of another woman. This woman had white hair done up in short twintails with a single strand of red hair on the woman’s left side, orange eyes, and a grey and red uniform that exposed the sides of her breasts, leaving the mole on her right breast visible.

 

“Fraulein Friedrich,” the woman in the hologram greeted.

 

KMS Friedrich the Große, the Decisive Priority Research Battleship smiled kindly. “Guten tag Eugen,” she greeted back in a motherly tone. “How is your mission going?”

 

“We have reached the outskirts of Eagle Union controlled waters, as requested,” KMS Prinz Eugen remarked, now sounding a bit bored. “Any updates on why our ‘Benefectors’ were interested in this area? It’s getting a bit tricky dodging the various patrols from both the Royals and the Yanks. I don’t want to be here for too long with nothing to do.”

 

“That is why I asked Königsberg to get you to contact me,” Friedrich answered. “It appears the Sirens have gained an interest in a small flotilla of Royal Navy vessels, with less than a dozen KANSEN including King George V herself, currently traversing the Caribbean.”

 

Eugen frowned slightly. “I know George is the 2nd in command of the Royal Navy, but the Sirens never had an interest in her before, both for observation nor elimination.”

 

“I agree, so I am inclined to believe that it is not George the Sirens are interested in,” Friedrich said. “Sensors from the Tower of Mitgard detected that the flotilla had caught the foul of a siren ambush, with multiple portals opening up. However, one portal seemed different.”

 

“How so?” Eugen asked, raising an eyebrow.

 

“The energy readings from this specific portal were much stronger than any other portal we’ve encountered,” Friedrich answered. She pulled up the screen from before and sent a copy over to Eugen’s end of the call. “Not even Observer’s portals emit this much energy.”

 

“Oh, now this is getting interesting,” Eugen muttered, a spark of interest appearing on the normally apathetic face of hers. “What happened to the ambush?”

 

“Destroyed, though at the cost of the majority of the Royal’s mass-produced escorts.” Friedrich leaned forward. “And it seems that the Sirens will be attacking this flotilla again sometime in the next couple of days.”

 

“And my flotilla is nearby,” Eugen quickly caught on to what Friedrich was after. “You want me to observe the battle?”

 

“Yes, and intervene if need be,” Friedrich said, “If there is a new powerful Siren, or Siren artifact that has fallen into the hands of the Royals, we must know about it as soon as possible, or deny the Sirens getting it back.”

 

“Ah, in our ‘assistance’ to the Siren attack fleet, we just happen to destroy the thing they want accidentally,” Eugen smirked. “We’ll set course immediately.”

 

“Very good,” Friedrich said. “We mustn’t let the Sirens get too powerful, even if they currently write our score.” While her tone and expression remained the same, internally Friedrich felt disgusted at the insinuation of the last part, for a variety of reasons. ‘For now,’ she thought to herself. Outloud, she continued. “Once you complete your objective, head back to our ports for resupply. We’ll need you near Magaskar if our intel is correct.”

 

Eugen nodded. “Got it.”

 

“Good luck, Eugen,” Friedrich said. “I have faith you can do this without any issue.”

 

Eugen gave a small bitter chuckle. “With my ‘luck’, who knows,” she self-mocked, before giving a slack salute. “Hail Ironblood,” she said.

 

“Hail Ironblood,” Friedrich echoed, before ending the call.

 

---

 

Prinz Eugen’s smirk faded as the hologram switched off, while the heavy cruiser continued to stand on her shipform amongst the waters of the Atlantic. She lowered the hand held device and absentmindedly put it in her pocket. She was more focused on what Friedrich had just told her, and the possibilities that it could lead to, many of which potentially could be catastrophic for Humanity as a whole, not just Iron Blood.

 

“Eugen?” a voice called from behind her.

 

Eugen turned around and saw a teenage girl with brown hair in a bob style, a hat with a white ribbon, and a dark grey and white uniform with gold trims. Her rigging was also deployed, with her right hand gripping the trigger to the ‘bow’ of her shipform that was shaped like a shark with its mouth open, a single cannon within the mouth, and a torpedo launcher to her left.

 

“Ah, Z23,” Eugen said. “Have there been any patrols today?”

 

“None that came close,” the Ironblood destroyer. “We’re still undetected for now. But each day we stay here, the chances go up.”

 

“Good thing then that we’re not staying here now,” Eugen said. “We’re heading towards the Carribean.”

 

“T…That would take us closer to the enemy!” Z23 was shocked. “Is this another one of your jokes?”

 

Eugen shook her head. “Oh how little faith you have in me…” she said, mock pouting, before becoming more serious. “No, Friedrich wants us to tail a Royal flotilla. Apparently the Sirens are going to attack them in the next couple of days, and we need to observe and be ready to intervene.”

 

“That soon? Then we’ll need to head out now,” Z23’s face became determined.

 

“Agreed,” Eugen said. With a flash of light, Eugen’s ship disappeared as her rigging appeared around her, made up of her deck connected with cranes around her shoulders, and her bow duplicated into two shark shaped forms with two turrets on each near her waist. “Rally the others, we’ll head out now, and I’ll debrief what Friedrich told me on the way, to everyone this time.

Notes:

And that's another chapter finished! Sorry for the long wait, my muse is really proving to be very difficult to bring up. Also I haven’t been in the best state of mind this year for a variety of reasons. That doesn’t mean I have given up on this story, nor Lelouch of the Night. Especially with the latter, I just need time to best figure out how to write the long anticipated early reunion between Lelouch and Euphie.

But back to this story. Here, Lelouch learns about this world, and reveals some parts of his own. There is some suspicion on the side of the KANSEN but also optimism and a willingness to give Lelouch a chance. And we get our first look at the Ironblood, as well as their current leader Friedrich der Große. Why not Bismarck, some Azur Lane fans may be wondering? Well, Scherzo of Iron and Blood happened, and Bismarck is out of commission and is believed dead, like Azur Lane canon, with Friedrich having taken over as a caretaker until she returns. Don’t worry, Bismarck will appear eventually. However, I think that Friedrich will be a more fitting antagonist for Lelouch to combat.

Next time, we get two tea parties and the arrival of the Eagle Union!

Special thanks to SeerKing for beta reading this chapter! Go check out his awesome content!

Until next time!

Regards,
dalek117

Notes:

Hello there and welcome to another adventure! This story here is inspired by the story on Archive of Our Own "Code Azur: Lelouch of the Fleet" by META2012. Go check it out!

 

First of all, to all of the fans of Lelouch of the Night, don't worry, this project will not be taking over that one, especially after the year long hiatus I had with it! This is just something on the side. I may have an update for this one sooner than LotN, but my main overall focus will still be on LotN.

 

Secondly, you may be wondering, why a Code Geass and Azur Lane crossover? Well, for one, since September last year, I have been playing Azur Lane non-stop almost every single day, having become addicted to the characters, story and lore. Secondly, I discovered Code Azur, and instantly became a fan of it. It had been on a hiatus for over a year and a half and I wasn't expecting any more content for it. Still the idea of those two IPs crossing over stayed in my mind, and my muse started to churn slowly, even in the midst of my very large writer's block. I just started thinking of scenarios of what I wanted to see, and soon enough that eventually translated into me actually writing a starting chapter on pen and paper, a chapter that would become this very chapter.

 

So here we are! Lelouch is thrown into another world by the mysterious Dreamweaver. Expect to see her on the odd, uncommon occurrence. And Lelouch has already made contact with the Royal Navy KANSEN and the Sirens as well. How will that turn out? You will see.

 

That's it from me for now. I hope you all enjoy!

 

Special thanks to Seerking for Beta reading this chapter! Go check out his awesome content!

 

Regards,

 

dalek117