By the time it was evening in Area 11, Marcus was already back in his workshop with a successful raid under his belt.
Not only did he wreck Saint Petersburg's garrison, but he also took several tons of resources from the nearby Scandinavian peninsula.
For now, his resources are in green, and he should have enough materials to begin his refinement factories and assembly lines kickstart.
The only thing lacking is… time!
These were the last steps in his base construction. It was at the point where he would be able to move out of the workshop and to his base in the Solomon Islands.
'Though… those volcanoes are a bit worrisome.' Marcus spun in his chair briefly as he wondered how to control that.
He could use all that heat to power some stuff. But the power he has is not lacking! He developed Fusion Reactors with the idea that power would be a done and dusted idea.
"Hmm, hot springs… heat vents…" Marcus already had some idea how he could industrialise volcanoes.
But, then… he got notified that someone had arrived at the Governor's building under the dark skies of Tokyo Settlement.
'Cornelia is truly protective of her little sister.' The Inventor Prince chuckled as he got up and walked towards his mech.
"We are taking a 'jog', prepare my Tiranis." He joked, his AI read him perfectly as the pedestal moved, and his machine walked out and took a few steps before folding into its plane mode.
With a smile, he walked over. It was time to see how his sister was doing. He has not seen her for over six years. It has been a while!
~~~
A pink-haired girl walked through the villa atop the government building.
She was surprised that something like that was here.
"...This place… I think I was in a similar villa before." The girl looked around for a bit, trying to recall where she had seen this place before.
But then she decided to forget it and think about her sister. She just talked to her.
'What does she mean someone will visit me?'
'Cornelia became strange!'
She pouted for a second but then brushed aside, walked out of the villa, and looked at the sky.
Her eyes glistered.
"Regardless, where I am, the stars look the same." She said to herself.
"Incorrect, my dear Euphie."
The Princess stared as she looked at the source. What she saw was a guy walking out from the shadows. He had black hair and purple eyes.
Her eyes widened as she immediately knew who it was!
"...Lelouch!?"
He smiled at her.
The Princess dashed over and hugged him tightly.
The Prince's smile tightened a bit; he didn't expect her to hug him that tightly! Then she began to rub her head into his chest.
The next second, she realised something. Her hands went to his arms, she started to feel them up… then she placed her hand on his chest…checking him.
"....Lulu… did you start to exercise?" She asked, her eyes looked innocent.
"A lot, apart from making things I love to train and practise swordmanship." He explained, and she nodded, a satisfied smile forming on her lips.
"I see… so how did you get here?" She asked, very curious! But then… her brain finally caught up, as she realised a bunch of things!
"A-And where is Nuna? And where have you been and this time?!" She began to look around him, making sure he had no injuries.
"That's the thing… when Britannia invaded, I was in Kururugi Shrine… Black Glasgows dropped on that place, thankfully, my gut feeling was right, and I ran away with Nunnally before they even arrived."
"...You mean…"
"Britannian special forces."
Euphemia gasped as she used her free hand to cover her mouth.
"Yes. After that, we spent a while homeless, going from place to place, until my mother's retainers arrived.
Ever since then, I was with the Ashford family."
"Oh! The Academy! But then you are that fancy inventor. I heard all about that!" She got excited when he mentioned Anaheim and the work he does there.
It's like the girls love that philanthropic stuff. Nina, Anna and now Euphemia, who can't barely sit in place.
"Yeah, I wanted to fix Nunnally's legs. Sadly, she can't get over the trauma and open her eyes…
Walking blind is more dangerous than using a wheelchair." He explained with a sigh.
"Don't worry, we can think of something." The Pink Princess squeezed his hand. She didn't let him go one bit!
"I know." He smiled back at her. But then he got serious.
"You didn't ask what I've been up to." He asked her, curious.
"...Umm… I would say you've been doing something? Trying to get revenge?" She replied, a bit nervous.
"Not quite…" He looked away from her and gazed up at the clear sky; he could see all the stars.
"...I dream of something far bigger than Britannia or E.U. or some other country." As he spoke, he got an idea!
"...Say, Euphie, do you want to see the best night sky possible?" He asked her. There was a mischievous smile on his lips.
"...Now? I mean…" She looked a bit nervous! The girl was Sub-Viceroy!
"Don't worry."
He pulled out his phone and pressed a couple of options. Seconds later, with a burst of speed, a machine was floating above them.
Euphemia looked at it with wide eyes.
"This is what I've been up to. What you are looking at is a Mobile Suit."
As he spoke, he led her towards it; the machine landed on the grass and offered its hand for her to stand on.
The pink princess didn't resist; instead, she was curious, and before long, they were inside the cockpit.
It was only enough space for one…
As Marcus got in his seat, he motioned for her to come over.
The Pink Princess didn't question, nor did she hesitate. The girl ended up sitting on his lap, and she even snuggled in, getting comfortable and leaning into his chest.
"Let's go."
With that said, the mech launched from the ground and rushed towards the Pacific Ocean at absurd speed.
"Hmm~hmm~hmm."
The girl hummed in his lap, but after a few short minutes, she noticed that they were flying through darkness.
"Where are we going?" Euphemia asked him.
"Solomon Islands, where I have a base." He replied to her.
"...Is that place…"
"No, it's a pit stop. Don't worry, I won't take much of your time, Sub-Viceroy." He joked when he mentioned her title.
"I only took this job so that I could look for you and Nuna." She replied with a small frown. Clearly, this was not the top job on her list.
"Good enough." He smiled as he looked at the map. Flying inside the atmosphere will take a lot of time, so he began to climb up.
Her eyes slowly began to widen as she saw the change; even in the darkness of the night, there was a difference!
Before long, her hair began to rise, and she started to float.
"...This is…"
"We left the planet's atmosphere." He pulled her back to his land.
"Now hold on to me. Otherwise, you will fly around." Marcus instructed as he needed to push her hair away from his face.
"O-Okay…" She had no idea what was going on. But this was new!
After organising her hair, it was a bit hard in this situation, but somehow she managed to pull it into a ponytail.
Though it only lasted a few moments, as they were back where her hair didn't fly all over the place.
Before long, they were above an island. There are several walking lights and stationary ones.
The machine landed not far from a large building carved in the mountainside.
"We are here. Come, we need to grab something before we can leave."
"...Umm, okay."
He took her inside… it was a locker room.
Marcus pulled out a pink suit of some sort.
"This is…"
"A pilot suit meant for space." The Inventor Prince explained to her.
"...Space.. "
"I will take you to the dark side of the moon. Over there, you will see true space in all of its glory. Now go and change."
He handed over the suit and took his then walked to the changing room.
Euphemia looked at the suit she was holding.
A strange feeling washed over her. Was he expecting to meet her when he designed this kind of suit? Pink was her colour… her whole life.
Regardless, she changed a few moments later. In front of the mirror, she realised that it was a tight fit.
"Now take this." He placed something on her back and then handed her a pink helmet.
"You should comb your hair into a bun."
The girl immediately tried to fix her long hair.
"I need something to hold it…" She complained for a second, but soon enough she had a selection of choices…
"..."
Euphemia looked at all of them.
"From my girls." He clarified the source of these.
"...'Girls'?" If it were one, then she would be super sad. Since well… but if he has that many… he was like the Emperor!
"Yep. I got five." He didn't to her.
"...Womaniser!" She puffed her cheeks. Her anger wasn't as bad as he could imagine from his other girls.
Instead, he shrugged at her.
"It is what it is. I am not holding back my needs and desires."
"Sometimes control is a good thing." She replied as she took a hair ornament that could help her make a bun.
"Indeed. That is why I am trying to control when it comes to my technology development." He honestly nodded. She was right in that regard!
"...I don't mean it like that!" She sighed; there was a bit of frustration in her tone.
"Anyway. I got my hair under control." Euphemia said to Marcus.
"Good, then we can go." He handed over the helmet to her before the pair walked out of the base, which was being constructed 24/7.
Once they were back in Tiranis, the mobile suit blasted out and rushed towards space.
~~~~~~Less Than Half an Hour Later~~~~~~
"It's so quiet here." The Pink Princess said via comms as the pair were walking through the grey wasteland.
It was extremely alien to her! No sound! She could feel that she could fly off, and it was extremely dark!
Yet, the sky…
It was… a sea of stars! She could rarely see anything like this.
"The stars are different here. Don't you think?" He commented as he looked at the starry sky.
"...It's beautiful. You still remember those times when we used to look at the night sky?" Euphemia asked.
"Yes. However, back then, it was simply a beautiful sight to behold. Now, it's different. Now it's a challenge. I want to touch every single one of them.
And each day I am closer to it." He honestly replied to her.
The Pink Princess wasn't dumb; she was aware of some things.
And Lelouch, next to her, was hinting at something…
If he wants to go to the stars… Things are needed… resources, people, facilities…
"What is your goal, Lulu?" Euphemia asked, already having an idea…
"To take over the world and unite everyone. Make everyone focus on the next stage in our civilisation." He finally explained his goal.
She wasn't shocked. It was a feeling she had. The Princess felt that it was something like that!
"...and I assume it won't going to be a peaceful one." She softly commented.
"Sometimes humans forget that we clawed ourselves to the top of the pecking order of nature, not through dialogue.
That is why I created my mobile suits. Their power will make everyone take a moment to think before engaging me."
He explained to her while looking at the Milky Way. The Princess did the same.
Here they were, on the Moon, looking at one of the greatest sights in the whole of the Solar System.
The best part… There is no light pollution, no traffic sounds, and no annoying noises.