Backdated to IC Tuesday

[countryofassholes]

Characters: Britannia and yooou~
Format: Action or prose!
This log is: open
Location: Fortitude Campus.
Summary: Having woken up with some fresh new memories and injuries to match, Britannia tries to make it to where her boss is but is having a pretty hard time of it.
Warnings: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANGST

When Britannia had opened her eyes on Tuesday morning, she had expected to find tall ceilings, elegant furnishings and the barest hint of light peeking through her curtains. She had expected to find herself in her room back at home.

What she got instead were simple furnishings and agony. Her body beat with the burning sensation and it nearly made her pass out from the sheer intensity of it all. Choking back a surprised shriek of pain and breaking the skin on her bottom lip in the process, her hand immediately went to her chest where the pain originated from as her brain tried to sort through the sudden confusion that was her memories.

'This is... home? No, Rakuen. But I was just- memory games. FLEIJA.' As her mind registered that one word, she unintentionally bit down hard enough that a drop or two of blood slipped down onto her pillow.

And then she remembered- Schneizel had unleashed FLEIJA on her heart, on her capital city whose name she couldn't bloody remember because of this damned place. She would never forget the agony of a part of her being seared off the face of the Earth. The burn on her hand from the Tokyo Settlement fiasco had seen to that.

Still, she could hardly stay here in her current state. Weak and vulnerable, it would be easy for her to become prey to someone else- anyone else and that thought terrified her more than any other. She needed to call the only person who could protect her in this situation. (God help her.)

With a low curse, she fumbled through distant memories for where she'd left her PDA and finally remembered- drawer on the night table. With a soft hiss, she stretched for it and nearly cried at the effort it demanded of her. Slowly, easing her way towards the table, she finally grabbed the knob and yanked, groping blindly for her phone within. Once she had it, she hit the speed dial, knowing it would at least save her some time.

That is, of course, provided Lelouch even answered. It was then, as she was rewarded with his voicemail, that she noticed the time.

6:23am.

She would have to go in person.

"Damn you." She swore softly, breathing through gritted teeth as she slowly forced herself out of bed, head spinning as every beat of her heart sent another dizzying wave of pain down her spine. Somehow, she wasn't exactly sure how, she managed to pull on a pair of pants and her shoes. Her shirt, a plain white tee, was too much effort she immediately decided and it was left alone. Appearance thus satisfactory (though appalling to her normal standards) she quietly shuffled out of her room, one hand clutching her phone and the other held to her chest like it could stifle the pain.

If asked how she had managed the walk between the dorms, Britannia would never have been able to answer. All she knew was that it was one slow step after the other, forced onward by the simple drive to get somewhere safer. Still, there was only so far she could go on willpower alone.

As she came to the recreational building, she finally had to stop as her legs threatened to give out on her. Her body was shaking all over and her breathing was coming hard. Leaning against the side of the campus building, Britannia took a deep breath and tightened her fist over her chest, cursing the way it drained her of energy with every painful throb. When she finally drew her hand away, she was completely unsurprised to see the spots of blood that dotted her fingers. Of course she was bleeding, Schneizel had essentially taken a canon to her body and set it off. Ruthless and cruel, everything Ricardo would have ever wanted. Her first Emperor would be proud.

When she checked her phone again, the clock mocked her with a cheerful 7:05. It had taken her over half an hour to get out of Black Dorm and to here. Barely halfway and her body refused to go any further.

It was pathetic and it was weak.

"... dammit." She hissed, slumping down against the wall.


[ooc: tl;dr she's hurt and leaning against building 4 on the settings map.]

Comments

[Voice]

[veepofchess]

When her first call had come, he had been woken up by it, and when he saw her name come up, he had obstinately ignored it. Dealing with her had never boded well for him. So he would deal with her later, once his alarm went off with his proper wakeup time.

Once it had, he laid there for another couple minutes. He didn't feel rested, but he had to get up. It seemed his nightmares were returning. Only now they featured fantastical beasts devouring everyone he loved, instead of replaying his failures over and over. He supposed it was a change of pace.

He reached over and returned her call as he started to get dressed. "What do you want, Britannia?" he said, groggily when she picked up.

Re: [Voice]

[countryofassholes]

Britannia would never admit it but the sound of her boss's voice comforted her. At least enough to ease some of the tension out of her shoulders. Though her hand remained tightly fisted over her heart, something of a pained grimace that was a smile curled her lips.

"Good morning." She began, voice quiet and slightly strained. "Did I wake you?"

Re: [Voice]

[veepofchess]

"Yes, but that's irrelevant at this point." He noticed the strain in her voice, but he didn't worry too much about it. "Is there something going on I should be aware of?" He changed his PDA from one side of his head to the other. He missed the ear clips on Britannian cell phones. He sat down to pull his uniform trousers on. "You're typically content to reserve your harassment until after breakfast."

Re: [Voice]

[countryofassholes]

It was a strange feeling, she noted absently, to be suddenly wrenched from a position of power and security into situation where she was forced to rely on Lelouch vi Britannia of all people for aid. It was beginning to bring back memories of her childhood, none of them good.

For a moment she was silent, swallowing past a tight throat and coming to terms with what she was about to say. Finally, just before the silence was unbearable, she spat it out.

"I need your help." She hated how pathetic that seemed to sound.

Re: [Voice]

[veepofchess]

For a moment he'd thought their connection had dropped, and pulled the phone away from his head to make sure the call was still in progress. "What happened?" His tone was appropriately businesslike, any irritation that he'd made apparent had vanished. As stubborn as she was, he knew she wouldn't ask for help any more quickly than he would. He pulled his shirt and vest on quickly and buttoned the former as he pushed his feet into his shoes. It was fortunate he'd long since been used to making himself presentable in a hurry.

Re: [Voice]

[countryofassholes]

At Lelouch's abrupt businesslike tone, she felt a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding escape her lips. It was comforting, she was startled to realize, to know that her boss was concerned about her well being, regardless of whatever reasons why he might be so.

"I don't know." She answered quietly, breath catching in her throat as her body protested the movement. "I think the city gave me back some memories this morning. Only it..." She broke off for a moment, before adding on the last part of that sentence in a murmur. "It hurts."

Re: [Voice]

[veepofchess]

"Where are you?" The last thing he had to do before he could finally leave was tie his shoes. The timing had gone well.

He'd gotten accustomed to the idea that she was his nation, his future empire, and perhaps his resolve to destroy her had been shaken now that there was a face other than his father's to consider. Was she one of those important people that he would respond to without question if she needed his help? He wasn't sure yet.

Re: [Voice]

[countryofassholes]

"The facilities building." She answered, attempting a small laugh. "I didn't make it very far."

Her attempt at levity, however, cost her as her lungs protested the motion of laughing. Quickly pulling the phone away from her ear, her other hand came up quickly to help muffle the whimper that escaped her lips. Breathing in soft, shallow breaths, only when she was certain the moment of humiliation had passed did she return the phone to its proper position.

[Voice ends here]

[veepofchess]

He wasn't sure what that sound he heard was, but it didn't sound good. "I'm on my way." And he hung up.

He left the Prefect's dorms, and made his way toward the building she'd indicated. He didn't run, just strode quickly and determinedly toward her, once he'd spotted her. She didn't look good. He couldn't pinpoint any specific source. When he came up beside her, he still looked stern, but it wasn't his usual frown of disapproval of her existence. "What's the problem?"

action!

[countryofassholes]

With Lelouch there in person, Britannia made a stronger effort to hide the small stain of red on her shirt as she looked up at him, shifting so that she could face him fully. The movement, notably, caused her to grit her brow to furrow as she bit her already split lower lip again.

"I can't remember," she began, voice low as she carefully selected each word. "Do you remember what FLEIJA is?"

Re: action!

[veepofchess]

He did catch a flash of the red, but he didn't press the matter yet. "Yes, I do. I arrived here shortly after the FLEIJA detonation over the Tokyo Settlement. I had thought Nunnally had been killed. I have never been more glad to be incorrect."

He crouched down beside her. Watching her fight her pride wondered if he was looking in a mirror, a peculiar kind that reflects one's own personality back instead of their physical features.

Re: action!

[countryofassholes]

At the mention of the Tokyo Settlement, Britannia's left hand, the one that was holding her PDA, twitched slightly as she became acutely more aware of the burn mark there. Still, the fact that he knew about FLEIJA definitely saved her some time explaining.

As she took as deep of a breath as she could, she finally spoke, forcing herself to meet his eyes. "I never told you this, here or there, but... I have a physical weakness. My land and my citizens make up what I am. If they're hurt badly, it effects me. If they're destroyed... so am I." Here she paused to take another deep/shallow breath before she continued.

"Some of the memories I got back were of a second detonation of FLEIJA."

Re: action!

[veepofchess]

It really didn't take him long to put the pieces together. There was something wrong with her chest, her heart. And knowing what she just told him, there is only one place her heart could be. "Pendragon," he concluded. "Who fired it?"

Would this damage to her be permanent? Would she have to continue her stay here with a crater in her chest? Or would the healing afforded by her death relieve this particular problem? But that wasn't a question to be answered at the moment.

Later in Town

[swordofzero]

It was still early and Suzaku had gone to the lake side to train, Stellaluna, or Pip, was his Player now and since she couldn't fight there was always the chance that he would have to fight in the tournament for her.

He was on his way back when he saw her, even from a distance he could tell something was wrong. "Britannia?"

[countryofassholes]

Attempting a semblance of normalcy, Brittania had left Lelouch alone after taking a nap so as to spare him the worries of being caught by Nanami. Her attempt was aided by some pain killers she had taken and the bandage she had wrapped around her chest. Not that it did much to take the edge off of what was essentially a nuke going off inside her body, but at least it meant she wouldn't be bleeding on her shirts anymore and could at least try to walk upright.

With her condition marginally improved, she had returned to her room and tried to dress appropriately, but even she knew it was still rather sloppy. Something she hated. Once she had finished, however, she had been left with a single problem: her shirt. With so few clothes as it was, losing even on shirt was bound to disrupt her routine, leaving her with little choice but to replace it immediately. That was why she was walking through the mercantile district at that very moment with a slow, shuffling sort of step.

At the sound of her name being called, inside she winced but outwardly she smiled. Though the lines of exhaustion and pain on her face told a different story, she could at least manage that much now.

"Good afternoon, Suzaku."

[swordofzero]

"Good Afternoon," he nodded politely at her but frowned in worried. "You don't look well did something happen?" He moved to her side, had she gotten into a fight?

[countryofassholes]

With honesty as one of her inherent traits (in that she didn't lie when there was little need/point) and the realization that Suzaku would most likely find out sooner or later, either from Lelouch or her own failings, Britannia gave Suzaku the brightest smile she could manage.

"You could say I discovered FLEIJA."

[swordofzero]

Suzaku paled straight away at the mention of the weapon, he knew that she had not heard of FLEIJA because they had discussed it before when Suzaku remembered firing it... But... she had discovered it? "What do you mean..."

[countryofassholes]

"Hmm..." The casual, thoughtful sound that she usually made had a notably more somber tone to it now. Crossing one arm over her chest and resisting a habitual shrug which would only cause herself more pain, Britannia finally looked back into his eyes with a carefully neutral expression.

"I got some memories back today. FLEIJA was one of them." Two of them, actually, as the burn on the back of her left hand attested.

[swordofzero]

Memories were definitely more trouble than they were worth, though Suzaku disliked the fact their memories had been taken, some things were better off forgotten. Or at least, painful when remembered.

"I'm sorry..."

[countryofassholes]

Suzaku's reply caused her to blink in polite confusion, the expression much closer to her usual self than anything else she had displayed thus far in their conversation.

"For what?" She inquired, wondering if he was merely saying the words out of sympathy.

[swordofzero]

"Getting memories back is never pleasant." He told her, he didn't know exactly what she had remembered. "Especially of FLEIJA, it is not a pleasant thing to remember..." His voice was barely steady but he was trying to stay formal and polite.

[countryofassholes]

For a moment Britannia was quiet as she contemplated something, before finally speaking.

"Suzaku, when you got your memories back... did it come back all at once or did it feel like... like a long time had passed?" It was a question that had been bothering her for some time now because, honestly? There had already been a few times when she had paused mid-step to look around herself and wonder where she was. It hadn't been just a single memory either but the more troubling thing was that her bracelet still only bore a single memory charm.

So where had all those extra memories come from?

[swordofzero]

"All at once..." He answered with a frown, "Like a rush of emotions and knowledge hitting me." Had it been different for her? He assumed so or she wouldn't have asked.

"How did it feel like for you?"

[countryofassholes]

For a moment she was quiet as her eyes involuntarily flickered towards her memory bracelet and the single charm that dangled there. A charm that didn't even belong to her. It had been England's, she assumed, and contained his memories of America. Of raising him, loving him and ultimately being betrayed by him.

But the point was that when she had clipped it onto her bracelet, all the memories had come at once. A single rush of knowledge that, while disorientating, had only taken a few minutes to recover from. But her own memories? They had felt so... different.

"... like I was living them again. I feel like I aged several months in one night."