"The image of the dead military forces shooting themselves went through my mind again, as I stared at there corpses. My eyes wide, I reached for my left eye, which still glowed red. 'Did I do this? With...my power?' I thought. then I rememberd the girl who gave me this power." Lelouch said. I was still in shock. My mind seemed to stop in taking everything in completly. I slowly started to catch up though. "I leaned down next to her. 'Hey, you...' I said to her. 'What did you want me to do?'" He laughed. "I was talking to a girl who was unconcious, and in no dought dead. Then I thought 'What was it you wanted me to do? Giving me...this weird power...No. This wonderful power!'"Yes his wonderful power. If used in the right way. "I griped a fist, and smiled as I headed back to Jareth's. the aircraft crash, and the death of the military forces going through my mind. I reached for my left eye, and then the corpses images went through mind again even stronger." Lelouch said. "My hand flew to my mouth, and I nearly threw up. I ran to the bathroom in Jareth's palace, and washed off. I was pale as I looked in the mirror. 'I guess my nerves got the better of me' I though. But I obtained the power to crush those who hurt me. The military...citizans...my mother." He stressed the last word. "It was my only weapon. But how would I crush them all...on my own? I thought this as I played myself in chess." Lelouch, like myself, was not the type to get over things easily. He..we just lacked the compacity to. "'I need pawns' I thought as I moved one of the pawns. Jareth was disaproving of my power, and did something to my mask so it would limit my ability to use it. (the mask has no effect on the abilities he lists later it just helps block the power) I absolutley refused to wear the mask, or do what Jareth wished me to. I would not wear that mask that my mother gave me. I lothed that mask!" He said. "I soon came to hate Jareth when he ordered me to wear the mask. I came to learn Jareth had known about me killing those military men, and apparently was having fears at what I would do with my power."
Wouldn't everyone? He had a power that in the wrong hands could be deadly. "I spent much of my time outside of the palace away from Jareth...and his nagging. Learning as much about my power as I could. It's possibilites...weaknessness...strengths...limits. Anything useful." Lelouch told me. "I decided I was ready to get back at someone who hurt me. Unfortunatly I hurt someone else trying to get back at that person! And I came to truely understand why Jareth wanted me not to use my power." His power was something to fear. "I wasn't a bad person. I didn't want to be a bad person. I was a small child...I couldn't be a murder. I was scared. The person I'd aimed to kill had been shilded by another, and the shielder had paid the price. I had killed an innoscent person that had done nothing to me." He said. "I ran. Scared of what would happen to me if I stayed. Of course he was scared. I'm sure anyone would be. "I hid from the world in the abandoned Opera house. It was going to be home. As I ran in the Opera house many things happend at once." He told me. "When I entered the house that once held beautiful music I...felt a....great sense of welcome. Home. Warmth...Darkness!"He stressed the last word of his sentense. Darkness...despite its damp, cool appearance it was very warm, and welcoming. "I tripped over some rubble as I ran, and cut myself on some glass. the glass, I quickly realized, had been part of a chandaler that had apparently been sent crashing to the ground age's ago. I saw a black mask laying on the ground, and felt I knew who it belonged to someone I was very close to." What he was discribing sounded like he was directly related to the ORIGINAL Phantom of the Opera. I wouldn't be surprised. As similer as they were it was very likely. "then I had rememberd what was on the locket I had Jareth deciper for me. I pulled it out of my pocket, and looked at it. Reading what it said now that I could read." He said. "And what did it say?" I asked before I could stop myself. He sighed. He rose, and strolled over to the curtin with the life-sized doll of me (still dressed in a wedding dress) and stared at the replica. "...
'Child of the wilderness
Born into emptiness
Learn to be lonely.
Learn to find your way in darkness.
Who will be there for you?
Comfort and care for you?
Learn to be lonely
Learn to be your one compainion
Never dream that out in the world,
There are arms to hold you
You've always known your hear was on it's own
So laugh in your loneliness
Child of the wilderness
Learn to be lonely
Learn how to love life that is lived alone
Learn to be lonely
Life can be lieved, life can be loved, alone'
..."
A tear escaped the cornor of my eye. Though the words on the locket were meant for Lelouch, they cut deep into my shreaded heart, from so many heartbreaks. For Lelouch I would show him HE did not need to be alone anymore. I was here. That locket would not shun him, nor make that angel weep any longer! The angel shouldn't weep, it was wrong! If the lockets should shun anyone...hurt anyone let it be me! ME! Let me be the one to take the hurt for him! Leave the angel be! He was innocent of everything! He did nothing to deserve the lonely life he had! "I cried," He said. "I wondered around the Opera till I fell through an old trap door, and came upon this place where we are now." Then he was in fact related to the original phantom! It had all actually happened! Christina, all of it! I knew Gaston Leroux told the story as if it actually happened but I never thought it actually did! OMG! How could I be so blind! Blonde moment much! OMFG! I'm such a ******** idiot. "As I looked around I felt the feeling of welcoming, home, warmth and darkness again...but it felt stronger. Like the mask I felt like this place had belonged to someone I knew, and was close to." he said. "But there was no one around but me. but the feeling stayed. Jareth found me (no surprise there)...as I worked on feeling at home. He knew what had happend (still no surprise there). he knew I wasn't going back so he said "Erik.." I told him to call me Lelouch so he tried again and said 'Lelouch...it's time you knew the orgins of your family. You've heard of the legends that happened here right? The stories of Christina Daa'e, rhoul De Changy, and Erik...the Phantom of the Opera?" Jareth, sense meeting Lelouch, sense laying eyes on him, knew he was related to the original phantom of the opera. "He explained that I was this original phantom's great great grandson, and that I resembled and ultimatly looked like this phantom. My ultimate ancestor." He said. "Jareth left me be to my reflections. I haven't seen him sense, but I know he was keeping an eye on me as the years went by. And as time passed I made this place my home. It became my artistic domain, home, and playground." I was glad to learn he had found a home. "I rid myself of that locket by throwing it into the ocean..but the inscription not leaving my head. I decided to wear the mask as everyone wanted me to. After it never came off again." He said. "But I still wanted to help people. Change the world. Find love, and start a family. But the world was cruel."
The world was a cruel place. "I wanted to change that." He said coming near the end of his tale. "I would be the mastermind behind it all. Why did I resort to violence? Destruction only calls for more hate and sorrow. War...terrorism..it's a cycle of hatred and pain taht repeats itself. It's a senseless game of cat and mouse. That is why someone has to stop the cycle. And that's you. I'm not that arrogant. I just want a world with no war, where no one loses their dear ones...But...that's why...I'm going to crush those who hurt me, anyone I care about, or tries to make war. I'll tell you something, though. You can only shoot...if you are prepared to be shot." These last words of his monologe would burn in my head forever. These words of war, terrorism and stopping it...were 100% true. It WAS senseless, and caused us to lose our dear one's. In life only we can stop it. But because no one agreed on the some thing...there would always be war.Lelouch held his hand out for me. I took it. He took his mask. "Your power..." I said. "Geass," He said, "Is a strange thing. It is bestowed upon others and given by certin people (witches). Witches who are immortal and eternally youthful; they are immune to it." He explained. "The form the Geass takes is different in each individual. Some have long believed Geass to be a myth. The girl who gave me Geass calls it the 'power of kings.'" So the power could only be given by these witch's "It is represented by a bird-shaped symbol which glows red when active. ...Every Geass has it's own unique set of restrictions, limitations, or idiosyncrasies. these factors allow a Geass to be defeated, or its power limited, by someone who is aware of it's characteristics. All Geass abilities thus far (in legend's, myth, etc.) have been related to the mind, influencing such aspects as will, thought, memory, emotion, and perception, some are said to have no limitations." So when used you could tamper with almost anything like memory, emotions, or will. "Various people could make peopl do different things. Some can make other's fall in love with you. Alter people's memories, read minds, and like me, issure commands that are always obeyed (only once per person). Freeze the perception of time for living beings around him/her or even cancel the Geass on himself and others." He continued. The power and history of Geass seemed endless. "the power of Geass increases with use, usually starting in one eye. It can eventually spread to both eyes and become uncontrollable with repeated use. when a Geass is at full power this person can now become a recipient of the "code," (whatever this code was) the power which gave the person Geass in the first place." he said. "The person who bestowed the Geas scan relinquish his or her "code" to this person, allowing the recipient to continue the cycle while the giver is allowed to die. In exchange for their original Geass power, a person who takes on the "code" becomes both immortal and immune to other Geass and gains the ability to him/herself bestow the power of Geass to others."
Yes. Yes, Geass was a power with no limits. "This transfer, however, does not necessarily require the consent of both parners involved. A person with the "code" bears a physical mark (a sigil resembling that of the Geass) somewhere on his of her body. "Geass" may be an intentional corruption of the word geass or geis, a term for a type of magical contract in Irish mythology" Lelouch said. Geass sounded incredible from my understanding. but sounded dangerous in the wrong hands. "My Geass," Lelouch said. "grants me 'the power of absolute obediene,' allowing me to plant commands withing a person's mind upon eye contact which they will obey without question. Activation of my Geass is visually represented by the manisfestation of a Geass sigil in my left eye. Commands dictated in this state are written into the minds of the designated targets once the sigil projects from my eye to theirs." He said. Despite all the big words he was using I followed him exactly. "I could initially toggle Geass activation at will, but subsequently lose this control. I can use a contacts lense taht blocks my Geass, but indecates that my Geass will eventually grow powerful enought to render it ineffective." e said. "Of all the Geass abilites, I have explored the most, and also seem to have the most restrictions and side effects of any Geass yet introduced to the world." I stared at him. "Yes my Geass has many restrictions and limits." He said. "Like? I don't understand how. What kind of limits?" I asked. He turned from the life-sized doll of me, to stare at me. "...Commands must be issued verbally," He said plunging into his long list. "...The victim must make direct eye contact for commands to be issured. The maximum distance is 270 meters. Line of sight via a reflective surface is sufficient for the effect to occur."
I listened as he spoke about his Geass. The list was endless. "Commands may be issued only once to any give individual, but any number of commands may be issured at initial application so long as eye contact is unbroken. Since some Geass abilites can cancel negates all Geass effects, those exposed to it may be commanded once again." He explained. "the victim will not person an action disallowed by their physical or mental capabilites, thought they will try to carry out the command to the best of their ability. For exacple, a victim will not be able to correctly answer a question they don't know the answer to, but will direct the user to someone who can if they are able. However, commands that affect the mind or consciousness, such as telling the victim to forget something, will take effect despite the fact taht the victim could not normally force themselves to do so." War...terrism all of it was possible to change. Lelouch... "An action will be carried out for as long as dictated in it's command, or upon the indicated conditional circumstance. Eye contact does not need to be maintained for command exectuion to occur. no upper limit has been established, but they conditional command can still be in effect more then a year later, for example, even if the user of the Geass is killed." Lelouch said. "The victim's memories for the duration of command issure and execution are sealed and cannot be recalled, thus anyone affected by the power will not be able to remember anything they did while carrying out the command or who ordered the to do it."It was all possible. L-lelouch...he..."Two victims has shown the ability to resist a command for a short period before being forced to submit, both times the command being one that the victim finds utterly reprehensible and outside therir normal character." He said. "So long as the listed conditions are met, commands may be issued to anybody (includign the user himself) besides those who have gained the power of immortality and to any number of individual at once. Those under the effect of Geass have a red outline on their irises, presumably a visual cue for the showing it's in affect since its never really pointed out." (he's very ubservant). All of it...was capable of being stopped. We could live in a world where no one loses there dear one's. A world where no one is judge by the color of skin, race, gender, religion...sexual orientation. Lelouch...Lelouch has the power to change the world! But the world was not easy to change. "Will you demonstrate your power for me?" I asked. He stared at me as if I were insane. "Yes." He said after a moment silence. He layed his mask to the side, and left the room for a moment. He came back with a bird in a cage. He let the bird out and placed it on a unlite candel. His eye turned red, and the Geass sigil appeared. "I, Erik (Lelouch) Phoenix Legrange order you! You can...chirp a lullaby!" He told the bird. The bird, and Lelouch made eye contact, and its eye glowed red around the edges. Then before my eyes the bird started chirping a lullaby! "Now stop!" Lelouch said. It went dead quite. The bird flew away.
He strolled back over to his mask, and picked it up. He stared at it for a moment. I sensed pain and sorrow around him. "Fear me, Melissa...for I'm tne one to pass judgement on this sinful world. Fear me for I'm the messanger of death to sinners. Fear me for I'm the one with the Power of the King. Fear me for I'm a human cursed by god." He said. And with these words he glared at me with a look that said 'I'm sorry I have to hide myself.' before placing his mask over the left half of his face.
To be continued in Chapter 31...
