Chapter 1: Practice

It was late in the afternoon, a child's favourite time of day, a time to play, and so they did, a little boy with ebony hair chases after three girls, two of whom share his eye color, a dazzling noble violet; his beloved sisters, while the other girl, with blonde hair and a mischievous smile, played with the three siblings, while they're mothers were talking business, their game gets interrupted when the boy hears a noise unfamiliar to him, he spots the source, it came from beneath him, at first he thought it was a cave or well but he found out it was an entrance to something else, curious, he walks towards it, hoping to hear its secrets, as he looks into the dark, the noise grows louder, as if coming towards him, he gets closer to the source unable to see a thing in the dark, he hears a snap, the floor beneath him gives way, he falls into the opening, he lands on something that breaks his fall, it felt like old wood, the mechanical inhuman noise comes dangerously close, a hatch opening follows the red glow, the boy screams, he runs for the exit, but soon he falls, the room he fell in was much bigger than he'd anticipated, he holds on to the railing as tight as possible, his grip fails him, he's falling again, then it all fades to black.

Violet colored eyes shoot open, the eyes belong to a weary, terrified, young man's face, drenched with sweat he sits up to stare at the only person in the cell besides him.

An old asian man sits up, starring at his cell mate's violent awakening.

"A dream?" the old man asks, it was close to the answer but not really there yet. His younger cell mate experienced a far more specific type of dream;

"A nightmare."

The voice belonging to the 11th Prince of the Holy Britannian Empire; Lelouch vi Britannia answered just as armed guards open their tin box of a cell.

"Breakfast. Now!" the guard barked with the worst accent Lelouch had ever heard his language said in. English was popular, Britannia demanded it, it was thought to all schools in most of the countries of the world, and the reason was simple: Learn the language of your future conquerors; it would make colonization less of a hassle, and prevent any misunderstandings.

Lelouch follows his elderly cellmate out, feeling the biting cold of Northern China, his dull prison drabs barely kept him warm.

In the darkest recesses of the Chinese Federation, there lies a prison, like all garbage dumps you tend to place it where none can see or smell. Goes as north as your lungs will let you, and then go further, that's where you'll find a prison so remote they didn't even bother to name it.

Lelouch and the old man line up for what the Chinese Federations' lowest standard was for 'Breakfast'. Lelouch dreaded every time the line got shorter, knowing exactly what he was supposed to live off.

Lelouch holds up his plate and watches edible garbage dribbled into it. Breakfast was gruel on a plate, stewed left overs of the guard's dinners, with weeds growing on the ground added into it for flavour.

Prisoners are scattered in small groups, Lelouch observed that they were all spreading away from the center, it was simple to put together that they knew something messy was about to happen, and that it would involve the only Britannian in the room.

Mostly due to the fact all eyes were fixed on the exiled prince's ebony haired head.

The old man whispers to him a warning.

"They are going to fight you." The elderly prisoner was just stating the obvious for Lelouch.

In prison, the more you stick out, the more likely it is for people to target you. And a sixteen year-old Britannian in a Chinese Federation prison was the equivalent to painting a bull's-eye on your head.

Several prisoners start moving away from Lelouch as if he'd caught the plague.

"I fought them yesterday." Lelouch complained while his plate got filled with gruel, he heads for a vacant table.

"They will fight you every day. Until they kill you." The old man could have said, 'Until you leave' but that was never even a possibility, not here, not for Lelouch, for many reasons.

Lelouch takes another good look at his so-called meal. "Can't they kill me before breakfast?

And with a mouth like Lelouch's being in prison meant a dart board above your balls too.

An enormous man blocks Lelouch's path, he was obviously chinese, more than a foot taller than the fairly tall teenager, he towered over Lelouch, literally looking down on him. Backed by six equally aggressive prisoners, the enormous man smacks his plate away.

Never in Lelouch's life had he been so relieved that his plate was knocked out of his hands.

In the arguably second worst accent Lelouch heard his language spoken in, the enormous man says

"You are in hell little boy…"

The enormous man punches Lelouch in the face, being so light, he goes down hard.

The enormous man continues "…and I am the devil."

Lelouch picks himself up and dusts off his prisoner drabs.

"You're not the devil…" Lelouch should know above most who the devil is. The devil was a taller man, with white hair, and sat on a big chair, and did nothing but bully countries for his own amusement and treated his own children as pawns to do it.

THAT was the devil…and his name is Charles.

The so-called devil swings at again, this time Lelouch catches his fist, and with an old Aikido manoeuvre he throws the heavier man down in the ground HARDER.

Lelouch wasn't done, he wraps his leg around the downed man's arm and…

"…you're practice."

Lelouch dislocates the enormous man's arm, a powerfully cringe-worthy snapping noise was heard along with the man's unmanly screams of pain, then Lelouch kicks him in the face to stop his pathetic scream from annoying his ears any further.

The six prisoners rush Lelouch all at once, Lelouch lets go of the arm he snapped, the old man who ate behind Lelouch moves away from him, but not before giving one last hint of advice.

"Use your Tiger Crane style first then follow with Northern Shaolin…"

Lelouch nodded at his kung-fu teacher's wise words of advice. The six men come at Lelouch from all sides, but against multiple opponents, even a hundred or more, only four at most could physically be able to attack you, the only question was thinning out the herd.

Lelouch blocks there attacks skilfully, his palm strikes hitting their mark, two prisoners go down before he switches to Northern Shaolin, the aggressive movements and counter attacks made the four prisoners easy work, feeling overconfident Lelouch failed to notice a prisoner sneak behind him and use a plate as an improvised weapon. The prisoner smashes the plate on Lelouch's head, it's disgusting contents soaking his ebony hair, stumbling back Lelouch regains his footing and delivers a powerful kick at the prisoner's solar plexus. But just as one prisoner goes down another springs back up and grabs Lelouch from behind, pinning his arms so that the other two prisoners can attack, they kick and punch Lelouch, one gets a lucky shot and almost knocks his lights out, Lelouch angrily replies by kicking the attacker's knee in, making it bend the wrong way, the attacker falls down, probably never able to walk again, not with the health care here. Lelouch head-butts the prisoners pinning his arms, bloodying the man's nose, the prisoner grabs his bloody nose in pain just as Lelouch catches the other prisoner's leg that attempted to kick him, Lelouch delivers a kick to the man's groin and face just as he breaks his leg by going down hard on the ground, his full weight on top of the man's knee.

Gunfire makes everyone freeze, it was the guards, they break up the fight, or clean up what's left as they begin yelling orders to the prisoners to stop moving. Several guards restrain Lelouch and carry him off.

"Solitary!" the guard who had opened Lelouch's cell, orders his subordinates to throw him in Solitary Confinement.

Not even struggling in the guards' grasps "Why?" Lelouch asks, limp and out of breath, the whole fight took its toll on him, stamina was one thing Lelouch could never achieve, even with his years of training.

"For protection." The guard answers.

"I don't need protection." Lelouch indignantly replies.

The guard pointss angrily at the unconscious prisoners, in his clearest voice he then yells "Protection for them!"

Ever since the prince of Britannia showed up, the medical ward has never been so full.

The former prince gets literally thrown into a cell even worse than his last one, the prince acts in accordance to how he was just treated, just like garbage he lies motionless on the ground, as begging that being thrown made him paralyzed, but God had no such mercy for him. He looks at his surroundings and summarizes it in one word; empty.

Not even a mat for his exhausted, injured, arguably fragile body to lie down on. Darkness was the only abundant supply, for Lelouch darkness had always been the only abundant supply. However the cell wasn't completely barren as he had first observed, at the far end the wall is a faucet.

He had a faucet to talk to, an arguably better conversationalist than his old cell mate/kung-fu instructor.

After several hours just laying down, and brooding 'I need a drink' Lelouch thinks aloud to his brilliant but wasted mind. Limping to the faucet he guzzles down the water, hoping the toxins in the water will be enough to get him buzzed, or at the very least hallucinating.

After a few minutes, not a single ill-effect came to Lelouch's senses; he obviously overestimated the level of insanitary of a Chinese back-water prison. Giving up the need to intoxicate himself he slouches back against the wall, hoping sleep will give him escape.

He barely closed his eyes when he heard.

"I have often wondered what treasures are hidden in the dark…" a voice obscured by the shadows says. Lelouch instinctively turns to face the source, but finds nothing but shadows, the room's lack of light not helping.

"Are you really so desperate to learn the means to fight…" a man steps out of the dark corner of the room, he's strongly built and lean, fairly tall, with an expensively cut suit, and of European possibly Britannian descent. It was difficult to say in this light, or lack thereof "…that you would lock yourself in just to have an available source of practice."

The man now stands directly in front of Lelouch, looking down at the prince leaning on the wall. He passes his judgement on the pathetic display.

"I had expected more from you Lelouch vi Britannia."

Lelouch widen at the sound of his own name being spoken, it had been so long since the last time he was called that. "How do you my name?"

The shadowy figure lightly chuckles "Not even the world is big enough for a man like yourself to hide, your highness."

"Don't call me that!" Lelouch snapped, that title means nothing to him now. "Who are you?" This man was definitely not a Britannian; any Britannian would have at least grovelled at the sight of royalty, but the man here did not, quite the contrary, he looked down on Lelouch, an heir to the Britannian throne.

Not even nobility had the balls to do that…

Despite this, Lelouch was relieved, a Britannian would've have informed the Emperor of his location by now, no doubt immediately followed by sending him back to his father's feet, with the incentive of a reward from his majesty.

"My name is merely Dusan, but I speak in behalf of Ra's al Ghul. Have you heard of him?"

The look of realization on Lelouch's face told he knew the weight of that name. "Yes, one of my first masters was trained under him, master martial artist, international mercenary, feared in all circles of the underworld, one of the most dangerous men who have ever walked the earth, and some swear he's even immortal."

Dusan smiles, Lelouch notices the smile, he was supposed to notice it, for that was his confirmation. Lelouch now knows everything he's heard about Ra's al Ghul was indeed true.

The emissary continues "Ra's al Ghul offers you a path."

"I already have one."

"Yes, infiltrating the fraternities of criminals, spying on government agents, raiding Britannian supply lines, and finally here…" Dusan summarized Lelouch's exploits from the top of his mind, it was clear whoever Ra's al Ghul is, he's been keeping an eye on him for some time. "Whatever path you had, it's original intentions have been lost, just like you." Dusan flat-out deadpans, giving Lelouch a well needed reality check.

Lelouch flicks his gaze from Dusan's penetrating gaze. "And what path can Ra's al Ghul give me?"

"The path of a man who shares his hatred for evil and wishes to serve true justice; The path of the League of Shadows, is one Ra's al Ghul offers to those that are capable of upholding our code." Dusan was starting to sound like a sales man more than anything else.

And our defiant prince wasn't buying it.

Lelouch instantly scoff at that idea. "You're either terrorists or vigilantes." Possibly both, depending on how relaxed you were in the definition. Dusan looks slightly offended by that classification.

"A terrorist is a fool who blames the world for his own failures in life. A vigilante is just lost in the scramble for self-gratification. Both have one fatal weakness; there are just men underneath their hatred, flesh and bone can be destroyed or…" he gestures to the cell and to Lelouch. "…locked up"

Lelouch nods, he concedes to the point Dusan was making.

"But if you make yourself more than just a man, if you devote yourself to an ideal and if they can't stop you, you become something else entirely."

"Which is?"

"A legend, your Highness."

Those words left an impression on the brooding teenaged prince, for so long he'd always been the smartest one in the room, but after a quick verbal jab and philosophy lesson, Lelouch felt as though he'd finally met another intellectual equal.

Dusan walks to the metal door, he knocks it once, and instantly a guard opens it. "Tomorrow, you will be released. If you are bored of brawling with thieves and want to achieve something..."

"There is as a rare flower-a blue double-bloomed poppy-that grows at the base of a mountain, pick one and if you survive the journey to the top…" It appears Dusan highly doubts Lelouch's chances of survival. Just thinking about hiking makes Lelouch's skinny legs sore.

"There you could find a monastery at the far end of this country. Maybe that is where you will find what it is you are searching for."

"And what is that?" that was a question he directed to himself just as much as it was directed to Duscan. What was he searching for? What could be so precious as too endure the hardships most man would die from, and want more to endure? What could possibly excuse such masochism?

In the most unlikely place, a stranger has the answer. "If I were to guess…" Dusan pauses in thought "…Power."

Dusan leaves the prison cell, the large metal door slams shut followed with the cold mechanical lock, leaving Lelouch, once again, alone in the dark.

And for the first time in a while, Lelouch feels a smile creep up his regal features. It rapidly changes from a smile to an insane grin.

That night, guards swore they heard the sickest laughter coming from Lelouch's cell.

End of Chapter 1