Code Geass 1. First Move, White King

"Geass: the power of the Kings. Under Emperor Charles zi Britannia it became a weapon, meant to destroy the will of humanity as he dragged it back into the past. In the hands of Lelouch vi Britannia it gave him the power of absolute obedience, allowing him to control whomever he wished. Lelouch used the power of Geass to create a new world, one where his little sister Nunnally could live in freedom and safety. He created the Black Knights and the persona of Zero to achieve this goal, carving a path of deceit and blood in his wake. When the Black Knights turned on him Lelouch chose the path of Zero Requiem, which will forever remember him in history as the demon king of Britannia who slayed Charles and countless others in a claim for world domination under a tyrannical ruler. He was slain by his closest friend and ally Suzaku Kururugi, as part of their contract to eliminate war from the world. In the end he cast one final 'Geass' upon Suzaku: to maintain the persona of Zero, and discard his own happiness for the world's sake."

"Time continues to flow despite the will any person has against it, and as such five years have passed since the infamous Zero Requiem and the death of Lelouch vi Britannia the Demon King..."

"Oh crap, I'm gonna be late!" Shinji Akari shouted as he bolted out the door, toast stuck in his bite and his Ashford Academy jacket draped over his shoulders. He was buttoning his shirt as quickly as he could, having overslept long enough that he nearly forgot his backpack in the rush. Even though Ashford had become a multi-cultural school since the rise of Queen Nunnally vi Britannia and the subsequent peace treaty between Britannia and the United Federation of Nations, many Japanese families chose to keep their children at home rather than the expensive dorms. To most of the students it meant little more than a brisk walk or even a simple carpool if they lived far enough away, but for Shinji that meant hauling his ass to the academy as quickly as his legs could carry him. Usually his best friend Randolph Gillimer, who went by "Ryusei Gekido" at school, would drive out and pick him up if he needed the help. As things stood however Ryusei would've probably already gotten to class, and asking him to leave now would only make the both of them late for class. As Shinji pulled the gold-trimmed academy jacket on over his white shirt as was required of the boys during class hours, he dashed through the park that would shave a few minutes off his time to the academy so long as there weren't too many people around.

As Shinji blazed through the park he caught the glimpse of a young man not much older than himself sleeping on a park bench. The man wore tattered white clothes and used a shredded cape as a blanket to cover himself. It was obvious the man was in dire need of a haircut, as his raven hair threatened to entwine itself on the seat. Under the seat and invisible to almost everyone was a Britannian sword, its wing-like guard unmistakable in modern times. Shinji pushed his thoughts on the man aside for the moment, keeping the visual memory of the sleeping man stored within his mind as he continued his trek towards Ashford. Before he could reach the gate however, Shinji was distracted by a horrible site. Three hooligans roughly his own age were assaulting an elderly man, who had chosen to defend himself by using the fetal position as cover. As late as Shinji would be, he knew that he couldn't just ignore this sight as everyone else had done before. In a surprise attack Shinji jumped onto the back of the punk closest to himself, putting the larger teenager in a choke-hold as he did so. The large punk swiveled around rapidly trying to remove Shinji from his backside, until a punch from one of his friends sent Shinji crashing into the grass. Shifting their attention away from the old man the three hooligans turned on Shinji, who had managed to right himself into a suitable fighting stance despite the obvious odds against him.

Just as Shinji braced himself for the first attack however, he heard footsteps behind him and scattered muttering. Turning around slightly Shinji saw the young man who had been sleeping on the bench, his tattered and filthy cloak dragging along behind him. What truly surprised Shinji was how the man walked forward unarmed but with the obvious intent to assist Shinji. As more people began to stare at the filthy pile of clothes that was the slightly older man the three punks turned towards him with looks of arrogance and disgust upon their faces. The stranger merely sighed as he lifted away the uncut hair that had been covering his eyes. "You've had your fun, so why don't you three go home now?" The three stared at the strange young man for a few moments as their eyes seemed to glaze over, before they shrugged it off and decided to leave their violent behavior at that. Shinji turned around in shock towards his apparent savior and attempted to thank him, but by the time his mind had caught up with events the tattered man had leaned down to assist the elderly gentleman from earlier before returning to his park bench. He gave Shinji one last look, which lingered briefly on the Ashford insignia, before smirking and shifting into a more comfortable sleeping position.

Shinji tried to be irritated at the sleeping man's poor attitude, until he realized with a jolt that he had already been pushing towards tardiness before the whole incident had occurred. Turning on the spot Shinji bolted for the gates, as his savior gave the teen one last look before drifting back to sleep. The back of his left hand burned slightly, as an image of a crimson bird quickly flashed over his hand before flickering in his closing eye. Meanwhile Shinji had taken off like a seven-forty-seven, leaping down a few flights of stairs and even skidding down the final fleet as he came to the street between Ashford and the park. He bolted through the gates just as the initial bell began to ring, dashing through the halls at breakneck speed with a wild abandon for even his own safety. Sliding to a halt in front of his classroom door Shinji took in a few deep breaths and patted down his raven hair as best he could, before opening the door in a dignified manner. However, as he began his walk Shinji was nearly trampled by a solid stream of classmates eager to leave the room. Looking around in confusion Shinji felt an arm across his shoulder as Ryusei walked beside him, the large grin on his face straining not to laugh. "Sorry Shin, but you **just** missed it!" As if to emphasize Shinji's mistake Ryusei squeezed his thumb and pointer finger as close as he could without them touching, which had been a classic joke amongst the Britannian people. "I really don't think it's that funny!" came a stern female voice from behind the two. The boys cringed slightly and turned around as a red-headed Japanese girl stood behind them with a pouting face, tapping her left foot for the added effect. "Really now Ryu," she continued, as Ryusei removed his arm from Shinji's side "we don't need Shinji to be as bad as you are. He's **supposed** to be the next Student President after all, and it's bad enough he's almost ALWAYS LATE!" she said, raising her voice as Shinji was trying in vain to sneak away.

Ryusei looked at his friend with a comical version of empathy before turning on the girl. "C'mon Sei, it's not THAT bad." Shinji cringed; Seiei Yokubo was a pretty straight-laced girl when it came to the student council they all shared seats on, and despite the friendship shared between the three Shinji thought Ryusei was pushing it by using her nickname. However, before Seiei could retort Ryusei got a devious gleam in his eyes and continued to speak with a softer voice. "Besides ..." Ryusei said shruggingly as he moved closer to Seiei to whisper something to her. Shinji could not hear whatever his friend said after that, but whatever it was caused Seiei to turn beet-red and practically scream out "You wouldn't DARE!" Shinji stepped back a few steps, pointing to the clock as he did so. "Seriously guys, we should head for the council room before Lady Ashford sends out a search party for us...again." All three cringed with the memory; the last time they had failed to show up on time, Milly (as she preferred they address her) had sent out the entire school on a hunt for them. The ensuing carnage had once more summoned a very exhausted Knight Police regiment, who upon arrival had only to hear the word "Milly" before sighing and returning to base. The new unit that had arrived prior to that had a member who had seemed intent on meeting up with Milly, but between his captain's orders and Milly's return to the news station he had sorrowfully agreed to leave. Officer Cardemonde had soon thereafter visited the Student Council a few times, although much to his chagrin Milly was never there when he was. Apparently he had gone to school with Milly and had quite the crush on her (which had nothing to do with her family's status), but after the infamous death of Lelouch the Demon he had grown very solemn and joined the Knight Police.

The three quickened their pace towards the Student Council room with Shinji in front, while Seiei continued to stare daggers at Ryusei. As they continued walking Seiei managed to lean in and whisper back to Ryusei. "If you ever tell Shinji that I...well, it won't be pretty." Ryusei gave her the hands-up sign, which had become the universal peace sign. "Alright, alright, I get it already. You SHOULD tell him though, before you lose your chance. Remember how Milly used to tell us about a girl in her class who had a crush on a boy? She used to always pine after him without his knowing, and by the time she finally confessed and went on a date with him she passed away shortly thereafter. Of course, Prez never DID mention who the boy was..." Despite their school already having a class president he was currently too busy with college applications to maintain his student council work. Then there was the fact that everyone from the older years and all the nearby alumni considered Milly the best class president they had ever been gifted with. Still, that didn't stop Milly from using some of her...unconvential approaches, such as measuring women's cup sizes and randomly screaming "GUTS!" to the council members in the hopes of perking them up (which they agreed to the effect for no reason other than to stop her using it for a while). Sure enough, as soon as Shinji opened the door Milly pounced on him. Keeping him pinned to the floor she grabbed a pair of fluffy black cat ears and stuck it to his head, motioning Seiei and Ryusei to a clothing rack filled with similar outfits. She herself had picked out a questionably sexy cat outfit, complete with tail and paws. The other two members of the council, who were both younger than Shinji, sat wearing a rabbit suit and dog suit with obvious embarrassment. Picking Shinji up off the floor and sticking him in a chair Milly had the two hold him down while she applied fake whiskers and such to Shinji, leaving Ryusei to pick out a somewhat silly-looking wolf suit while Seiei made sure to keep a red bunny suit at arms' length.

Once the three had been properly costumed (whether they wanted to be or not) they sat down in the air-conditioned room. Ever since the reconstruction of Ashford following the FLEIA warhead explosion Milly has made sure to bring the school to the cutting edge of technology. That way, despite the hot late-summer air and the furry clothing they all wore each of the council members felt nice and cozy as they continued their work. Considering how they had missed last week's meeting there was an enormous pile of paperwork to file through, from tax forms to club finances and even the grading curve of their school. At five o'clock Milly left the council to their machinations as she headed off to her career as a newscaster, nearly forgetting to change out of her suit before leaving. Time flew by after that so fast that when the five had finally finished it was already dusk. The two younger members said their farewells as they headed off for the junior dorms, leaving Shinji and his friends to head for their own rooms. Ryusei had cleared an extra space for Shinji for the night, which Shinji's parents had gladly agreed to. Seiei would likewise head for the girls' senior dorms, which was in the same general direction as the boys'. They were joking around, talking about Prez's strange habits and the weirdness she was bound to get them into soon, when the ground beneath them trembled.

All three stopped on the spot as they waited for another tremor, until a massive explosion knocked them off their feet. The corridor they had been walking through had shattered from the impact, a massive chunk of empty space through the first and second floors. Beneath them other students were climbing out of the rubble or helping their classmates out of it, as screams erupted en masse all throughout Tokyo. The last time Tokyo had been under attack it resulted in the use of the tactical weapon FLEIA, which had eliminated almost the entire city in an instant. The thoughts of another war enveloping their homes, not even five years since the last World War, had even spread into the minds of those unaware of world events at the time; almost in unison the entire student body began a chorus of wails and screams that coincided with those of the adults around them. A few of the elder students and faculty were able to keep their heads and guide the others to the safest exits. As Shinji watched he felt Ryusei tug on his sleeve and turned towards his two friends, as Ryusei pointed his thumb in the direction they had just come from. "You wanna try jumping instead?" he shouted over the screams, bringing Shinji back to their own predicament. The floor ahead of them had given way in the explosion, and adding to the distance between them and the ground was the large amount of rubble and shattered glass that littered the area beneath them.

Looking away from the carnage Shinji followed after his two friends as they backtracked through the empty corridor. The closest staircase had been on the other side of the wreckage, and it would take them a good deal of time to reach the one they had come up from. As they continued walking more explosions erupted throughout the city, the cause of which was still unknown. The three friends quickened their pace, until they were racing along the narrow strip. It was roughly ten minutes after the first explosion that something occurred which eclipsed the raging fires. As Shinji watched a series of shadows pass over the three he looked up to see a small fleet of machines flying overhead. "Knightmares?!?" Seiei shrieked, as the infamous war machines soared above them. "Why are there Knightmares HERE?" Ryusei responded, shouting just to be heard over the engines. Shinji just looked ahead and raced forward with more determination; if there was going to be a Knightmare battle here in Tokyo the LAST place he wanted to be was above ground and surrounded by glass. Ryusei and Seiei followed right behind him, just as more explosions began to erupt within the city.

As Shinji waited for his friends to catch up he caught a better glimpse of the attacking frames; almost every Knightmare was painted in a black-and-gold color scheme. "Hey, those are Black Knights models! Why are they attacking us?" Before either of Shinji's friends could respond another explosion ripped through the ground beneath them, breaking apart the already unstable walkway and plummeting the three into the empty gymnasium. Luckily none of them were too badly injured aside from a few cuts and bruises. However, as Shinji was helping Seiei out of the rubble they heard the sounds of rifles being loaded; turning around the three found themselves face-to-face with a half-dozen armed men clothed in the Black Knights uniform. "You shouldn't have come here" the leader of the six said with an evil grin. "Oh well, it's your funeral after all!" With that the other five aimed their own rifles at the kids, as both Shinji and Ryusei moved to cover a still-recovering Seiei.

Just as the men began to fire however a figure jumped down from the wrecked walkway and took the incoming bullets in stride, becoming a human shield for the three kids. Shinji looked up when he noticed the lack of pain in his body, and instantly recognized the back of the man who had saved him earlier. The guards were shocked at the sight of a man who couldn't be taken down by bullets, as their leader looked at the young man with wide eyes. "What kind of demon are y-you…I remember that face! You are Lelouch Vi Britannia, the Demon King…but you died!" The man, whether he was Lelouch the Demon or not, ignored the armed men and turned his head to the side. Following his gaze the three teens nearly vomited; they had yet to notice the gunned-down classmates and faculty who had most likely also interrupted the men in the middle of whatever they had been doing. His clothes still stained with blood from the barrage of bullets he suffered the young man looked down and spoke in a barely audible tone. "Must I atone for this sin as well? Is this yet another evil I have created?"

The leader of the men aimed his own pistol at the young man's head, his hand shaking with fear. "L-Lelouch vi Britannia, I command you to-". "Command?" the young man responded, once more peeling back his overgrown hair to reveal the crimson sigil in his eyes. "Very well then…Lelouch Vi Britannia commands all of you: Die!" At first Shinji thought this Lelouch character was insane, until two of the guards turned their rifles on each other and fired. The other soldiers performed similar actions, as the leader shouted "Happily, Your Highness" with a manic grin on his face and his pistol on his neck. As the final shots went off and the last guard fell Lelouch turned towards the three teenagers. From where he stood Shinji could see a very solemn expression on Lelouch's face. Looking down to where Shinji was kneeling Lelouch offered the young teenager his hand to help him up. Lelouch began to observe Shinji; while Ryusei and Seiei helped each other get to their feet. All three teenagers stepped back with caution, fearful of the young man before them. Lelouch looked from one teen to the next, his eyes finally returning to Shinji with a sad grin.

"Y-you saved me. Earlier today, I mean." Lelouch watched Shinji grow more confident with a half smile, an idea coming to his mind. "That's how you got them to back off, isn't it?" Lelouch's smile dropped as he thrust his open palm towards the three, igniting the crimson sigil on his hand. "Geass. That is the name of this awesome and terrible power. I have used it far too often…would you desire it?" The question took all three by surprise, as Lelouch continued his speech. "Geass is the power of 'absolute obedience', though that changes from person to person. I will give you its power on one condition…you must help me stop what is happening." Shinji looked to his two friends for guidance, but they were both just as confused as he was. Finally Shinji turned to face Lelouch once again, his mind set on his answer.

"I accept" Shinji said with confidence, though in reality his mind was racing at just what would happen to him. Lelouch opened his palm once more, this time placing his palm onto Shinji's forehead. Instantly a flood of images and memories flowed into Shinji's mind. Prince Clovis, dead before him…The helmet of Zero held in his hand…Tears flowing down his cheeks as he stood at a funeral…A silver-haired man, his manic grin distracting the pair of sigils in his eyes…watching Suzaku Kururugi become revealed as the pilot of the Lancelot…shooting Princess Euphemia, his face burning with tears…locked in a stalemate with Suzaku, his own face stained with blood and Kallen Kouzuki staring up at him with shock…standing aboard the Black Knights' flagship, his voice going hoarse telling Kallen he would save her…an orange-haired girl dying in his arms, her blood coating him entirely as he screamed in agony…Standing before the 98th Emperor Charles Zi Britannia, his fists clenched tight…A young boy dying in the cockpit of a Knightmare, a smile on his face as he passed…the destruction of a strange spiraling pillar, as Emperor Charles and deceased Empress Marianne disintegrated…The royal court of Pendragon, where the royalty saluted and bowed to him…His hand on Prince Schneizel's shoulder, almost ecstatic with the sense of victory…Empress Nunnally, handing him the key to Damocles…

Standing before Suzaku Kururugi, handing him the helm of Zero and offering him a sword. As the final image passed through his mind it gave way to a startling epiphany for Shinji; that Emperor Lelouch had planned everything, including his own demise, for the sake of the world. His mind reeling from the event Shinji was barely able to stand as he once more made eye contact with Lelouch. "I understand" Shinji said softly, causing Lelouch to betray a small amount of surprise before retrieving his composure. Before he could ask any more questions however a booming voice overtook the city. Looking skyward through the debris the four could see a large Britannian blimp flying overhead, a giant television monitor covering its side. On the screen was a calm-faced man with elegant features and blond hair. "People of Tokyo…we are the Black Knights." With that one sentence Lelouch's face began to contort with uncontrolled rage.

"SCHEIZEL!!!"


	2. Second Move, Black Knight

"Geass: the power to make anything possible. Through this power Lelouch vi Britannia gained the abilities of absolute obedience and immortality. For those who wield Geass it is both a gift and curse, forcing its users to exist on a separate reality from those around them. And for one who can fully master the power of Geass, they will ascend the power of the King…and will become a god."

TWO MONTHS AGO, FORMER "AREA THIRTEEN"

"Surround them now!" The order came from the general aboard the stolen G-1, as a collage of Britannian and Black Knights Knightmare Frame models swarmed their prey. Ever since the installation of Empress Nunnally as the hundredth liege of Britannia the various Areas had been returned to their natural governments. This decision had not gone over well with some of the nobles and military however, resulting in an indecent amount of revolts amongst the Britannian forces and the revolting parties forcefully occupying the former Areas they had desired. The United Federation of Nations, still on the fence about allowing Britannia to join their ranks after Lelouch's assault, agreed warily to create a temporary unit with Britannia. This unit was composed of both Britannian and Black Knights elites, including the infamous Knight of the Rose Gino Weinberg and Zero Squad ace Kallen Kouzuki.

Despite superior machine specs the small ten-man unit was on the defensive at the moment, the Treize League (as the occupying military had so named themselves) having out-manned them thirty-to-one. Even with the Tristan Divider and Guren-SEITEN repaired there were simply too many enemies to face with so few numbers. Add to that the large surplus of anti-air missiles and the low ammo count for the Guren's Radiant Wave Surger, and things were beginning to look almost bleak for the small squad. Not for the first time Kallen found herself missing that bastard Lelouch; he would have already figured out five different ways to win and still considered it no big deal. But Lelouch had died five years ago, leaving plenty of unfinished business behind when he was killed by Su…rather, by Zero.

As if in response to her thoughts the Friend-or-Foe indicators, more commonly referred to as IFF, began to light up with an incoming frame. The system could not receive confirmation of the frame's association however, and marked the incoming dot as a green unknown. The frame flew overhead too fast for anyone to see any details aside from the black-and-gold color scheme. Finally the frame slowed down to a halt right in the center of the enemy forces. "T-That's…the Albion Kuro" the general shouted over the communication lines. "That can only mean…Zero!" The Lancelot Albion had been rebuilt and painted as per Zero's instructions, but its power was no less immense because of it. Kallen smiled within her cockpit; at the start of the battle they had been outnumbered fifty-to-one, and with the Lancelot on the scene they were assured victory. "I will give you one final warning" Zero shouted over the frame's speaker system, his voice firmer and more solemn than when he had delivered world-famous speeches to the UFN and Black Knights. "If you surrender now you won't waste your lives in vain."

_There he goes_ again Kallen thought with a sigh. Always trying to save his enemies, always thinking about the common good first. Then again, that had always been Su-er, Zero's style in the past few years. On occasion that ideal had come in handy for negotiations, but in the middle of a conflict it was less than helpful. As expected the enemy forces were surprised by Zero's offer, but they were in no way prepared to surrender to the Black Knights. With a single order from their general the Trieze League split in half, as well over a hundred Knightmares began to rush the Lancelot en masse. Even without the monitors Kallen could still hear Zero's sigh, as the Albion's energy wings began to glow a brilliant green.

They never stood a chance.

In a flash the wings shot out a barrage of spear-shaped energy bullets, shredding the Knightmares until all that remained were a few ejection pods. The Knightmares who had avoided the assault activated their own weapons, be they the Black Knights' _Katen Yaibatou_ or the Britannian Maser Vibration Swords. In response the Albion merely spread its hands, its own wrist-mounted MVSs extending to face the oncoming horde. Leaping forward, the Albion began to spin midair so that it became a steel whirlwind that shattered the enemy Knightmares with swift strokes. Taking advantage of the turmoil Kallen reactivated the Guren, sending its claw tearing through the battlefield while firing sparse widespread Radiant Wave shots to keep the enemies scattered. Following her lead Gino put the Tristan back into action, its dual-tipped sword both attacking the enemy and blocking attacks aimed at its allies.

In only a couple of minutes since the Lancelot's arrival the tide of battle had turned, so that the captured G-1 was only guarded by a small set of Gekka and Glasgows. Out of fear the commander ordered a full retreat, but their escape was cut off by a powerful Hadron Cannon blast which irradiated the terrain. "That's far enough" a voice called out from above, as both sides looked up to the immense shadow of the Ikaruga Zwei. The rebuilt flagship of the Black Knights had gone through some serious improvements over the past few years, including a more refined Hadron system and a series of arrays along the ship's port and stern for defensive purposes. Kallen was the first to come back to her senses at the sight of the new flagship, as she broke out into a wide smile. "Ohgi!" Kallen called out, glad as always to hear the voice of the man who had become more like a father to her than her real one. Having fully accepted the role of Black Knights CEO Kaname Ohgi was just as kind-hearted as ever, but his responsible side had persevered and allowed him to make some cold decisions since his promotion. Zero had willingly stepped down and committed himself to being a soldier and a symbol, nothing more.

The Ikaruga Zwei began deploying troops, though at this point it was mostly moot to do so. The Akatsuki models were mixed in with Vincents and Gareths given to the Black Knights as a sign of peace from Britannia, though all the incoming units followed the Zangetsu in unison. With Li Xingke working to reorganize China's government as Tianzi Jiang Lihua's personal advisor there was no contest as to who would become the Black Knights' military commander other than Kyoshiro Tohdoh. Despite using a mass-produced model Kyoshiro was easily able to subdue the remaining enemy units in mere seconds, while those who followed after him surrounded the G-1 with weapons aimed at the control booth. At this point the renegade soldiers finally conceded with over ninety percent of their forces in ruins. Kallen's unit had suffered a few proverbial bumps and bruises, but nothing life-threatening.

"Man, that was a close call S...Zero" Kallen told her former leader once they had arrived on the I. Zwei once again. _Man, what is wrong with me today?_ Kallen thought to herself as she blessed the oblivious nature of her allies at the near-slip. _Lelouch has been dead for five years now, GET OVER IT!_ Try as she might Kallen still couldn't get that final image of the original Zero and her former classmate out of her mind. The way he had tumbled like a ragdoll in the end, his own blood becoming a sign of the old Britannia's defeat as he literally spilled his guts over the entire ramp of his G-1. How Zero had held the Britannian sword up high before discarding Lelouch's blood with a swipe through the air. How despite everything Lelouch had done to all of them, all of his betrayals, that it was his gentle and charismatic role as the Black Knights' leader that flowed through all their minds. It had taken Kallen over ten minutes to realize that she had been crying, her cheeks turned raw through the screams and tears.

Now they had Suzaku, their former nemesis, wearing Zero's attire. Nobody could truly blame him however, because it would be suicide for the so-called "Knight of Zero" to show his own face to the world. Indeed, just like Lelouch Suzaku had never once removed the mask in the presence of others...though it hadn't been hard for those who knew the old rivals to piece together most of what had happened. It was probably Lelouch's fallback plan, his last resort in case the Black Knights turned on him. Nobody could figure out if Suzaku had double-crossed Lelouch in the end or if there was another reason for killing the Demon King however. Whatever the reason that single assassination had become the turning point for the world, so the Black Knights could let Suzaku keep up the charade...if only for a little while longer.

"Tell Prince Schneizel we said thanks, okay?" Kallen turned to face another rival-turned-ally, as the former Knight of Three began to head back towards the Tristan. "Don't forget Kallen, we've still got a spot for you in the Knights of Rounds!" Kallen gave Gino a happy shake of the head; now that he was promoted to Knight of Two Gino had been increasingly stubborn about Kallen joining the elite Britannian ranks, but Kallen's place was with her friends in the Black Knights first and foremost. Gino shrugged in response, his foolish grin wider than ever as he jumped into his control unit and prepped his Knightmare for launch. The other Britannian members had followed his lead, making it verbally clear that they did not wish to discomfort their allies. The Black Knights squad members waved them off, a kindred spirit formed which had transcended nationality. With the mission complete Tohdoh began to retrieve feedback and mission reports from the other squad members, but as Kallen watched Zero walk away she followed after him.

When they had reached Zero's private room he tried to lock Kallen out, but she was able to jam her foot in the door and close it behind her. Once the room had been sealed Kallen let herself relax as she watched Zero slump on the bed. "C'mon Suzaku" she started, rolling a chair over to the bed at straddling it. Zero tensed at his true name, but otherwise remained motionless on his bed. "You've been wearing that thing for five years now, and we all know it's you under there. At least in here you can be yourself, and if you don't be yourself at all you'll lose it...trust me, this is coming from experience." Zero tilted his head towards Kallen and paused for a few moments, before sitting up on his bed and placing his gloved hand on the helmet. Kallen heard the familiar ihiss/i as the helmet's gears worked to fold up the famous mask, and finally Suzaku slid the mask off his face.

Kallen had been far too used to seeing the arrogant, raven-haired Lelouch under the mask that seeing Suzaku take it off had felt wrong somehow. His ruffled brown hair, always just as messy as Lelouch's, had been grown out a little in the back to partially resemble his old sword-master's style. His eyes were also different, the emotion-filled brilliant green dulled by fatigue and a crimson lining which had most likely been a by-product of his overuse of his own Geass command to "live on" during Lelouch's time as Emperor. Suzaku sighed, and for a few minutes Kallen could make out the same proud yet gentle teenager who had tried time and again to have her defect to Britannia. The moment was shattered however, as another feminine voice pierced the room.

"Who would've guessed you two were together?"

Both pilots cringed at the voice and shared a knowing look as they tilted their heads towards the origin of the voice. There was only one person who could be that annoying, one person whose very presence had been the cause of migraines for even the level-headed Lelouch, one person who had the impressive knack for entering a room without a single person ever noticing she was there. Sure enough the two saw the once-familiar face besieged by flowing green hair, now wearing a normal civilian uniform instead of her bizarre clothing choices. "C...C.C!" Kallen finally shouted out, as Suzaku just looked around the room for whatever entrance she could've gotten through without their notice. "How long have you...wait, we haven't set down in months! How did you even get aboard?" The immortal witch smirked as she turned to Kallen, and before a single word left her lips Kallen knew C.C would make some snide comment. Sure enough, all she said was "How else? I walked through the door" before getting up from her own seat and sitting next to Suzaku on the bed. "I was getting bored and figured I'd stay here." Kallen had begun to fume as she realized C.C still knew exactly which buttons of hers to press, but Suzaku just turned himself bodily so that they formed a triangle. "C.C, I know you wouldn't just come here...what happened?" C.C gave Kallen one last brief smile before looking at Suzaku. "You're just about as perceptive as that other brat" she started, causing both to tense up at the mention of Lelouch. "Alright, here's what I know..."

CURRENT DAY, TOKYO...

Shinji looked up to the video of the former prince and back to Lelouch, knowing with his newfound memories just how deep their blood feud had gone. The other two weren't as gifted, as both Seiei and Rysuei looked from the balloon to Lelouch and back again with confused looks. "I'll explain later" Shinji told the two, finally breaking their cycle and locking their eyes on himself with even greater bewilderment. "Right now we should probably get going, right?" Pointing to the distance Shinji saw both his friends and Lelouch follow his arm and turn their eyes to the horizon, where a large contingent of Knightmares were flying in towards key locations in the city. They all carried the familiar color scheme of the Black Knights, but over eighty percent of them were Vincents and Gareths. "Good idea" Ryusei responded, regaining his composure and grinning as he put his hands behind his head. "But how are we gonna do it?"

To answer his question Shinji pointed towards the academy forest. A small group of four Knightmares had broken off from the main force and landed in the woods, their pilots outside with assault rifles raised. While the three teens were transfixed on the machines Lelouch's mind was already moving ahead to the planning stage, so that before the three could stop him Lelouch had broken out into a run straight for the trees while using the rubble as cover. _Still so bothersome_ Lelouch thought to himself, his breathing not quite as heavy from the brief sprint as it once would have been. Being unable to ride public transportation Lelouch had taken to more classic modes of travel such as walking and biking. These once impossible tasks had grown easier over time, though reaching the point of decent fitness had left Lelouch with multiple bruises and a few good tears in his clothing. Again his left eye burned, as Lelouch thought about the circumstances surrounding his rebirth. Had C's World somehow altered the rules of Geass? From what he had learned from CC and his father Lelouch had believed the code of immortality would overwrite his Geass. Instead it had only diminished the power, once more allowing Lelouch to have control over its activation. The Code had likewise weakened, keeping him invulnerable yet still allowing him to age. CC had given him no answers for this, and had left him to his own machinations roughly a year ago without any warning.

Moving so that the pilots would not hear his approach Lelouch prepared his next move. While he could have easily rushed them the gunshots would alert their allies. Besides, he had a greater plan in store than just killing them. Creeping up behind them he coughed to gain their attention, and before any of them could begin firing Lelouch sprang his trap. "Give me your Knightmares" he commanded the soldiers, motioning the three teenagers to come over while he spoke. The guards went slack at his command, their sidearms pointing down as they offered him their keys and startup passwords. Handing off three of the keys to the teens Lelouch instructed them to climb into their respective machines after handing the guards' weapons over to the three as well. Ryusei and Seiei both climbed aboard the two Gareths while Shinji climbed into one of the Vincents, as Lelouch drew his sword. No sooner had the guards come out of their stupor than Lelouch slashed through the four with a horizontal slash, beheading all four in a single movement. Wiping the excess blood off his sword with the guards' clothing Lelouch turned an entered the final Vincent, his fingers ablaze as he started up the control sequence. The system finished engaging just as a hailstorm of radio chatter came through on the comms system. Although he could barely make out most of it, a few lines of information came through clearly. Lelouch did a double-take at the broadcast, before switching the radio to a private line. "You three...N-1, B-1 and B-2" he started, as within the three machines the three teens looked at their radio with perplexed looks. "Switch over to Line C-106-P and tell me your names." The three did as instructed, while Lelouch went over his new plan. "Alright then, Shinji is N-1, Ryusei is B-2 and Seiei is B-1. Address me as K-1; it's best we don't let them hear our names in combat. Follow my signal, and stay in formation!"

ONE HOUR AGO, SOMEWHERE OVER JAPAN...

"Move it Suzaku!" The once-masked young man ducked as another shot flew over his head, as Kallen threw a smoke bomb behind them. The two had decided to stay behind to give the others time to escape, while Tohdoh had led the other pilots to the hangar to get their Knightmares ready. Kallen was still in shock from the sneak attack; it was less than an hour ago when everything had seemed normal, but in that time everything had changed. Now they were being attacked by their own, Black Knights ordered by Schneizel to attack them for treachery. Tohdoh had been the first to encounter them, but when Suzaku confessed everything they knew the war hero returned to being their ally. The other core members had gathered soon after, with Ohgi and his beloved Villetta at the helm of the group. Suzaku had unmasked then and there, though the reaction was more of grim understanding and less actual surprise. Quickly they had devised an escape plan, using a recently upgraded version of the Avalon to hold their noncombat personnel while the pilots gathered their machines and guarded the Avalon.

For once Kallen genuinely wished that CC had been there. True she wasn't much help in a fight, but her immunity to death would've been a very helpful asset at the moment. But CC had left soon after arriving, merely passing on rumors about a new military group and the rebirth of the Geass Order before leaving once again. Still, as Suzaku used his trademark spin-kick to knock out a pair of guards in their way Kallen smiled as she knew how decent their chances were. An explosion rocked the corridor, sending everyone on their backs and causing a few unlucky soldiers to shoot the lights or their allies. The two pilots exchanged looks and bolted for the Knightmare hangar, using the last of the smoke grenades to obstruct the soldiers that followed. They pulled out their Knightmare activation keys and raced through the hangar entry door to be pushed back by a strong rush of wind. Apparently the others had been unable to open the bay's outer door, and had instead blown the entire thing off to save time. With the wind buffeting them the two could not even shout to be heard, instead giving each other a thumbs-up and dashing to their machines as easily as they could.

Suzaku got to the Lancelot first, inserting the key as the familiar boot-up sequence engaged. The Lancelot Albion came to life, its green energy wings lighting up as it walked towards the opening. The Guren-SEITEN soon followed, its own brilliant red wings offset by the golden claw's constant flexing and unflexing. Looking out below the two could see the others holding formation, the Avalon's shields holding firm against the Zwei's machinegun turrets. The two machines leaped out into the open air, cutting down a few of the other Knightmares that had just begun their pursuit in the process. The two took flanking positions on the Avalon, allowing the Zangetsu to take point while the Akatsuki units spread out. Turning around in midair the two unleashed their own attacks on the Zwei's Hadron Cannon, Kallen's Radiant Wave Surger mixing with the stream of energy released from Suzaku's energy wings. While the cannon had been improved with Blaze Luminous shielding the shields could not hold up to the constant barrage, which allowed the Albion to swoop in, dual MVSs ignited, and slash through the cannon repeatedly until it would take weeks to repair.

Satisfied the convoy began to accelerate away from the Zwei and head inland. When they had finally gone outside the Zwei's radio range Kallen signaled the others to turn on their comm systems. "It's a cout!" Kallen shouted, her voice strained with the shock. "Schneizel's trying to take over the Black Knights" Suzaku interjected, his voice full of remorse. "I guess Lelouch's Geass on him wore off or something..." The original Zero's name had been taboo, but considering all that had occured nobody minded the slip. "Head for Tokyo" Ohgi instructed, causing both young adults to show expressions of confusion. "It's a highly-populated area, and we have plenty of people there. It's the best place to hide until we have a plan." The others solemnly agreed, and the convoy adjusted its course to make a beeline for the Japanese capital.

TWENTY MINUTES AGO, KNIGHT POLICE BARRACKS...

The gunshots echoed through the hall as police officers fell one by one. Rivalz had ducked behind an open doorway and was looking back to shoot the oncoming enemies. Since his acceptance into the Knight Police Rivalz had been keen on becoming the best, showing everyone what he could do. To that end he had taken up some sharpshooting lessons to improve his aim with the Knight Police concussion rifle, and had spent thousands of hours doing various Knightmare combat simulations in the training rooms. Now that training had been scaled to a human size, as Rivalz used his months of training to shoot down three of the enemy troops. The other officers around him converged their own firepower on the enemy, shooting down the remaining four with ease. Leading the small group of six police officers Rivalz raced down the hall, a thousand thoughts racing through his mind. What was going on? The barracks had just seemed to erupt with gunfire in an instant, putting everyone into a panic. The Knight Police were scattered all over the compound, with Rivalz and his newly-formed squad the closest to the Knightmares.

Turning the final corner that would bring them into the hangar Rivalz ducked back behind another wall, as one of his men raced past him and got blasted by a barrage of gunshots. "Why are you doing this, Captain Heinz?" The police captain's voice echoed through the hall, a small detail of sarcasm and arrogance in his voice. "Sorry Officer Cardemonde, but I don't have the time to explain everything to you. You just have to ask the others in the afterlife!" With that last sarcastic comment a machinegun echoed through the hall, as another approaching squad of officers fell to the ground. Rivalz took a quick glance around the corner and pulled his head back instantly, as the area his head had been shattered with gunfire. Pulling out his own handgun Rivalz motioned the others to gather behind him and whispered his insane plan to them. Rivalz then dashed through the corridor to the hall straight ahead of him, shooting his gun in the direction of the police captain as he did so. The former officers trained their weapons on him, and Rivalz switched out firepower for speed as he turned and barreled towards the unoccupied hall as fast as his legs would carry him. His squad put their plan into action, and with all the enemy firepower trained on Rivalz there was no challenge.

Soon all the enemy officers were either dead or mortally wounded, as Rivalz raced ahead and removed their weapons. Checking for any surviving threats he then motioned the other five to join him in the hangar, switching out his pistol for one of the assault rifles in the process. Once in the hangar it was idiotically simple to obtain access to the police Knightmares; they had an actual key hook like those found in hotels, in which existed both the Knightmare's key and an access code. "Johnson, Gabrielle, Mitchell" Rivalz summoned the three over to him first, keeping the other two on guard duty. "You guys take the Sutherlands. Samson and Delia, you're with me on the Gloucesters." Rivalz was happier piloting the close-combat machine left over from "Cornelia's age", when a Gloucester represented the pinnacle of ability. With the mass-production of the Vincents they had been handed down to the Knight Police, so that the original purple color scheme had been replaced by the K.P.'s classic white-and-blue one. They were still fierce fighting machines, extremely useful against the random Glasgows and Burais that various crime groups had somehow acquired.

Racing over to his own Knightmare Rivalz could hear a series of explosions ripple throughout the city. _What the hell was going on?_, Rivalz thought to himself as he powered up the Gloucester. The city goes into a state of emergency, _just_ as the Knight Police start their own little civil war? Rivalz looked to the wall beside him, where various weapons were kept. Holstering one of the concussion rifles behind the frame Rivalz grabbed a pair of MVS swords and attached them to the Gloucester's "belt". He then grabbed a riot shield off the wall, before finally retrieving the seldom-used lance which had been a favorite of great knights like Cornelia and Guilford prior to their disappearance. Rivalz had always wondered why the Knight Police had been given a few of these, but now he was more than grateful; with the city under some sort of attack having a powerful weapon would definitely help Rivalz protect those he had sworn an oath to. For a brief moment he wished Kallen or even Suzaku was there to help, but Suzaku had died years ago. As for Kallen, as soon as they graduated together she had gone right back into the Black Knights. Rivalz hadn't been sure what he had wanted to do with his life, and with the sobering effect of all his friends either dead or gone Rivalz had finally decided on becoming a Knightmare pilot so that nobody would ever have to face what he faced.

Hitting the hangar toggle switch built for rapid Knightmare deployment Rivalz raced out into the streets with his squad close-knit behind him. They had all picked up an assortment of special ordinance, ranging from Delia and her twin machineguns to Mitchell and his oversized anti-air rocket launcher. They had just cleared the Knight Police secure zone when Rivalz caught a glimpse of what was attacking them: three Black Knights frames had rounded the corner and fired upon them. The six scattered, though Johnson was unlucky as his frame was singled out and perforated by the three enemy units. They were made up of two Akatsuki frames and a Vincent, all three of which had been equipped with assault rifles to add to their already-impressive arsenal. Delia moved first, firing her machineguns in perfect rhythm to each other, catching one of the Akatsuki off-guard and blowing off its arm. Gabrielle finished what Delia had started by using the giant mortar-launcher she had grabbed on the way out to lob an explosive over her cover and onto the damaged Akatsuki. Samson moved in to attack the other Akatsuki with his own MVS, which forced the Akatsuki to activate its Float System...and fly right into the crosshairs of Mitchell's rocket launcher. With only the Vincent left Rivalz thrust the shield out in front of him and barreled forward, blocking the Vincent's infamous Elbow Pulse counterattack and skewering both pilot and frame with his lance.

Turning back Rivalz could see Johnson's Sutherland still smoldering from the assault, the ejection pod torn to shreds by the oversized bullets. Rivalz bowed his head in remorse within his frame, announcing on the private Police channel that Johnson had died with honor during a firefight. Looking to the sky Rivalz could see more Black Knights descending from above, as they began to split off towards different targets. As he watched Rivalz noticed the direction in which the assault team closest to his squad was heading...and he felt a lump in his throat as he knew where they were headed. "The broadcasting stations! They're going to take over and keep us from getting help!" The other officers proclaimed their shock and rage as the five tried to cut off the incoming Knightmares, but there was only one thing on Rivalz's mind. _Hang in there Milly, I'm gonna come and save you!_


	3. Third Move, White Knight

"Geass: the power of kings. This ancient power allowed Lelouch vi Britannia to fulfill part of his grand desire, placing his faith in the Geass known as humanity's will to grant him his wish. Now the world has once more begun its spiral down into the evils of war, as Lelouch grants a young Japanese boy the power of Geass. How will this power affect Shinji Akari and his destiny? In the end, only time knows all..."

Lelouch and the three teens moved in synch with each other, keeping close to the ground to avoid detection. Whatever the former Emperor had heard over the chatter had spooked him, and there were a few times already that he would chastise one of the three for slowing down the group. Shinji looked to his side as he caught up with the Vincent, wondering just what it was that had panicked him. They had all seem him angry, but whatever was going on now was creating a completely different response in him. Before Shinji could say anything however their private line crackled once again. "B-1 and B-2, you stay here and give us cover fire. N-1, you're going to follow me."

MEANWHILE, WITHIN THE TOKYO NEWS DISTRICT...

"SAMSON!" Rivalz cried out, at the same time ordering Delia to cover their front while Mitchell and Gabrielle prepared their explosives. Having lost his shield to the Vincent's pulse attack five minutes ago Rivalz instead took a fully offensive approach, using his dual MVS swords to hack and slash his way through the Gareth units and finally attacking the new Akatsuki with a double-downward cut to shatter the frame into three pieces as he rolled up next to his squad mate. Samson's cockpit had been hit by a shrapnel grenade, but luckily Samson himself was unharmed. The grenade had severely damaged one of the Gloucester's arms and torn apart the central camera located within the head. With some difficulty Samson was able to raise his Knightmare up again, though it came with the surprise that its Landspinners had been damaged as well. Turning his attention to the destroyed Gareth units Samson pointed to one of the machines with his frame's good arm; the Gareth in question had a compatible arm that had been undamaged by the attack. "You mind helping me out Rivalz?" Samson asked with a grin on his face as his Knightmare's comm systems finally reestablished themselves. Ejecting the dead arm Samson waited for Rivalz to walk over and use the force-eject lever located in the rear of the frame to eject the Gareth's arm. As Samson walked his machine over Rivalz inserted the new arm into the slot, hearing a rather loud and satisfying click-whirl as the gears finished connecting the new hardware. "82%...it'll have to do" Samson said with a sigh as the others continued their trek towards the news stations. "You guys go on ahead. With my Spinners shot like this I'll just slow you down. Besides" he continued, lifting the Gareth arm as he spoke, "I can use this baby to give them a few surprises."

Rivalz nodded to the other three Rivalz turned around and deployed his own spinner system. "Activating M.E. Boost...launch!" The spinners were forced into overdrive as Rivalz sped on ahead, hoping that Samson was as tough as his biblical namesake. The others followed his example, while on the IFF Rivalz could see Samson find a decent cover before disabling his signal code. Rivalz had been at the barracks when General Tohdoh had come to instruct the new pilots in some serious training, even being the first to acknowledge the Japanese man in what had once been a Britannian operation. That meeting came in handy now, as Rivalz sent the data for the Four Holy Swords battle formations to his squad as they blazed through the empty streets. Turning on the live video feed Rivalz watched as network after network went down. His panic began to spread throughout his body, afraid that in the end he would be unable to protect ANYONE who had been truly important to him. His panic turned to relief however as he heard Milly's voice come over the last broadcast network. "They're trying to shut us all down...for what I don't know, but we'll keep on airing even if nobody else does! This is Milly Ashford coming to you live from Tokyo, where as everyone can see we've come under fire by the Black Knights. Incoming news reports are scattered and contradictory, but there seems to have been infighting within the Black Knights. We'll bring you more info when we get it ourselves, and until then we are going to air nonstop until they force us to!"

"Whoa! Way to go, Pres!" Rivalz uproars got him a surge of comm signals from his confused team, bringing him back to the mission at hand. "You all heard the lady, they're still on-air! We're going to go there and KEEP them on-air for as long as we can!" The other three acknowledged Rivalz's order as they rotated their Knightmares in the direction of the signal's origin. Peeling out once more Rivalz caught a glimpse of a few enemy frames flying overhead. Opening a secure line he ordered Mitchell and Gabrielle to shoot the small force down, as he fired the Gloucester's minigun turrets to attract their attention away from his team. The bait-and-switch worked perfectly, as Mitchell knocked two out of the sky and forced the third into the volley launched by Gabrielle. They had barely finished their guerilla attack when Rivalz blasted forward once again, keen to reach Milly before the Black Knights could. The memory of six years ago came to mind during the failed Tokyo Revolution, when Rivalz had made himself a shield for the other student body members and had told Milly he would protect them from the rather vulgar Black Knights member. Of course if it hadn't been for Zero stopping the man Rivalz's brave action would've cost him at the very least some nasty bruises. He still wondered why exactly Zero had called off his soldier; certainly it held to his creed of only attacking those who harm the defenseless, but doing something like that during what was basically a declaration of war between the two nations seemed unnecessary. At the time Shirley had been talking about...something. Rivalz tried to remember what it was, because even in their panicked state whatever she said had struck a chord with him. Once again Rivalz felt that strange sensation, like part of him was missing or locked away. This time it sent a minor shock through his head, causing Rivalz to wince as he barreled on towards the news station. _What did Shirley say? And WHY can't I remember it? _These thoughts raced through Rivalz's mind as he came to a halt in front of the network.

There was a special secret entrance to the network which only the police knew about; big enough to drive a Knightmare through and padded enough that nobody else would hear you coming. It had been built for situations like this, where the Knightmares could catch a terrorist or criminal off-guard and eliminate the threats quickly and safely. Looking skyward Rivalz saw more Knightmares flying in, though he had to pray that they would prefer taking the network to destroying it. Assigning Delia to stand guard just within the special access tunnel Rivalz ushered Mitchell and Gabrielle head, driving his own machine in reverse just in case Delia got overwhelmed. The short tunnel ride was uneventful however, and as the three finished checks for any explosives in the giant elevator they fired the Slash Harkens into the shaft's ceiling. If the enemy had already breached the station it would be best if they didn't hear the police coming. Their caution was not needed however, as Rivalz launched his frame out of the shaft and into a mostly empty studio. There were a few security guards stationed below the Knightmare, all of whom freaked out at the sight of the giant machine and aimed their pistols at the behemoth. For all the good it would do them they would've done better hitting it with baseball bats. "Calm down! I am Officer Cardemonde from the Knight Police, coming up behind me are Officers Mason and Blaze." Rivalz pointed to Gabrielle and Mitchell respectively, before setting his Gloucester on one knee. "We're here to keep the station running, and boy do we have some news for you!"

SOMEWHERE IN THE FORMER SHINJUKU GHETTO DISTRICT...

"We have breaking news! An officer, who will remain unnamed at this time, has just come here with a group of Knight Police after an apparent attack from within by a squadron commander and other unknown pilots. Isn't that right, Officer?" Milly's voice, the only part of her still broadcasting in any form now, was replaced by a familiar baritone. "That's right...Miss Ashford. A small group of us were able to escape the Knight Police barracks and grab some Knightmares." Kallen and Suzaku looked at each other, the other former Black Knights crowding over their shoulders. "That's Rivalz!" Suzaku shouted with surprise. "When did he become a Knight Police officer?" Kallen shook her head as they listened to Rivalz describe his encounters. "I don't know, but it sounds like things are getting serious out there. Damn it, why do we have to stay here like frightened rats?" It was a comment directed at nobody, so as usual Ohgi was the first to reply. "Kallen, I'm sorry but we can't launch the Avalon like this. If they see us, and there's no way they won't see a ship like this, it won't take them long to shoot us down. Most of the Knightmares are in need of repair, and both Rakshata and Lloyd went out to gather intelligence and see what supply caches we still have around here. Besides, we're waiting on someone who's already decided to help us out." Kallen looked around in confusion at her teammates, but aside from Suzaku every one of them just shared the same knowing smile. Suzaku meanwhile was leaning against the wall, his hand on his chin as he went deep into thought. "What about the tunnels?" he finally asked, looking to Tohdoh for advice. "Well, most of them have been brought up to speed. However..." Tohdoh looked to Ohgi, who nodded and pulled out a map.

"Most of these were either wiped out when the FLEIA detonated or caved in when Japan was brought up to speed, but this one" Ohgi said, tracing his finger along a subway route, "should take you directly to the studio. They haven't even started working on it either, so you should have no trouble." Kallen looked down to the map and had to suppress a tear-filled laugh. "Oh no, not THAT route!" Ohgi sighed, pointing to the route once more. "Kallen, it's the ONLY safe way to get there without putting all of us at risk. I know how you feel, but it's this or nothing." Suzaku looked from Kallen to Ohgi with obvious confusion on his face, and despite having a better poker face Tohdoh was equally curious about what possible problem the route was giving one of their aces. "...Fine" Kallen finally said, submitting herself to the plan. "C'mon Suzaku, let's go before I regret this." Suzaku followed Kallen with awkward steps, stopping only to pick up a Black Knights uniform and change out of the Zero costume. Now that they all knew who he was there was little point wearing it anymore. "I guess that's one Geass that's worn off..." Suzaku said sorrowfully, placing the Zero helmet on the folded clothes as he thought about how much Lelouch had done wearing this outfit. He'd committed plenty of crimes, but because of all he did the world had become a much better place. Suzaku grudgingly admitted that the end may just have justified the means this time, though he wondered how things might've been different if Suzaku had joined Lelouch right from the beginning.

Five minutes later, Suzaku had put on a comfortable uniform similar in design to his Knight of Rounds attire and had joined Kallen below-decks where the two Knightmares had been stored in the open. The Avalon had landed in an old subway hub that was scheduled for demolition soon but in the meantime served as an excellent hideout. As the Guren and Lancelot wheeled out of the hangar bay Kallen took the lead, directing Suzaku down one of the tunnels which hadn't yet been buried in rubble. Suzaku waited for them to gain some distance from the Avalon before finally asking the question that was burning within him. "So, why were you so against using this tunnel?" Kallen looked at Suzaku over the comm's video with a grimace on her face. "These tunnels...they're where Lelouch helped us win our first victory. At least, until you showed up in the Lancelot. After that we were able to use these tunnels to evade the Britannian forces while Lelouch went after Clovis." Suzaku remembered that battle as well; the time he first became the so-called White Knight, back then just as mysterious and masked a figure as Zero himself. He had never once thought that Lelouch had been in charge of that fight as well, though looking back on the strategies the genius had used Suzaku found himself making the connections rather easily. _Which means Lelouch was that one I kept chasing after_, Suzaku thought with a grimace. It seemed that from the very moment Lelouch had begun his crusade the two had been constantly outsmarting or outmaneuvering each other at every turn, just as he and Kallen had been matching each other blow-for-blow on the frontlines.

For the most part the underground passage ride was uneventful from there on, with only a few bits of rubble blocking their path. Finally the two had gotten close enough to the network station that Kallen decided to create an exit for the two using her Slash Harkens. The sounds of the resulting cave-in were drowned out by weapons fire, and as soon as the two leapt out from the chasm they could see the source. Inside the building were no more than two Knightmares, using powerful cover and explosive rounds to fight off the incoming Black Knights frames. Judging by the ordinance one was firing an anti-air rocket launcher to knock out units that were just approaching, while the other was lobbing grenades and mortar shells at those who had already landed. Looking to the building's side the two could see another firefight occurring, in which a pair of Vincent models were completely shredded by a stream of machinegun fire. "Rivalz and Milly must still be inside!" Kallen shouted out, her fear for their friends' safety rising. "Alright Kallen, we need to help them out!" With that single command Suzaku wheeled the Lancelot away from the Guren and activated its energy wings, drawing some attention away from the station as he unlocked the VARIS from Lancelot's back and began firing.

WITHIN THE STATION...

"Captain Cardemonde, you'd better take a look at this!" Mitchell's unauthorized promotion caught Rivalz off-guard, but he realized that it simply meant he had become trusted enough by his fellow officers. As he was ushering more of the studio workers out through the secret tunnel he broke away and leapt into his Gloucester to see what Mitchell was talking about. Looking out the Knightmare-level windows Rivalz could see a small fleet of the incoming Black Knights versions of the Vincent and Gareth approaching them with weapons drawn. However, as Rivalz continued watching those units furthest to his right were shot down from a lateral angle. Turning the Gloucester Rivalz saw the black Lancelot, the elite ninth-generation frame piloted by Zero himself. Aiming the infamous VARIS blaster at more units Zero had begun to pick off the incoming air support bit by bit, leaving those who managed to land unable to even consider a counterattack much less taking the news station. Over the comms Rivalz heard Delia shout about the Guren-SEITEN having joined in as well, taking out some of the machines that had discovered their choke point. _Kallen AND Zero, saving our asses. Imagine that_, Rivalz thought with a sly grin. Rivalz had mixed feelings towards the masked man, from his heroism during the Black Knights' debut to his self-disgust when Zero unintentionally killed Shirley's father. Zero had made up partly for his past sins in executing Lelouch, but that gave Rivalz even more confused feelings when his old friend had been killed right before his eyes.

Pulling away from the window Rivalz ordered the others to do the same; with Lancelot out front and all but the last stragglers leaving they had no reason to sacrifice themselves. Mitchell pulled out right away, but Gabrielle was not as lucky as a broadsword cut through the building and into her frame. The blade found its way straight through her ejection seat, skewering her before she had any time to react. Mitchell pulled back further and fired a projectile at her killer, but by then the sword had been removed and the enemy evaded the rocket before either officer could make out what sort of model it was. "Dammit, what is Zero doing out there? He's just gonna let us die here?!?" Rivalz looked out the hole Mitchell's shell had created; outside the Lancelot had been caught in a pincer, at least a half dozen Vincent frames locking him in close-combat. "Lancelot's younger brother" kept moving as a pack, with two units moving in at a time to force his use of the dual MVS swords in defense. Their own swords were stronger than the old ones used back in the Area Thirteen battle, and unlike then the swords which clashed did not shatter but held strong. They couldn't defeat Lancelot, but neither could he lose the attackers long enough to defend the station.

An emergency call suddenly came over the police channel, and Rivalz's panic began to set in when Delia swore vehemently. "Damn bastards got us trapped!" she shouted aloud, the sound of gunfire clear in the background. Switching over to her main camera Delia showed the two the in-cover news crew, still rolling their cameras with the on-transport energy source; moving to the Guren, where Kallen had been given Delia's assault rifle for lack of a better long-range weapon; and finally to the enemy forces, where Vincents fired their shoulder turrets while Gareths launched miniaturized Hadron blasts. Behind the forces was a slightly larger Knightmare, its details obscured by the lack of lighting where it stood.

Kallen began talking to him as soon as Delia gave her the channel frequency. "Rivalz, it's me. Where's...Zero?" The pause confused Rivalz more than nearly anything else that day, but he soon shook the cobwebs from his mind before speaking. "He's out front in the Lancelot, but he's stuck fighting a bunch of Vincent troops. They're good Kallen, they got him trapped in a defensive stance." Kallen pounded her fist on the side of the machine as she let out her stress via swearing. _If only Lelouch were here...he'd figure a way out for us._ As if hearing her thoughts a muffled and poor quality broadcast echoed dully in her Knightmare. Looking around Kallen found her old radio, which she had only kept as a memento. The ancient hardware buzzed to life again, as a once-familiar voice sent orders to her. "Q-1, instruct N-0 and yourself to switch over to Channel C-115-D." The order was spoken without any emotion, but it might as well have been the man on the other end talking directly to her. "Le-Lelouch?"

TWENTY KILOMETERS FROM THE NEWS STATION...

"Lelouch, that's you...isn't it?" Lelouch paused, his mouth dry at the response. He should have expected this, he _knew_ Kallen would recognize his voice...but the actual response left him speechless and stunned. He did not _do_ speechless _or_ stunned, let alone both. Flipping the old radio back on Lelouch expanded on his orders. "Q-1, this is K-1. You and N-0 are to switch over to the secure line I have given you within the next two-point-five minutes, or I will issue another channel." Listening to Kallen over the old radio Lelouch heard her open a private line with Suzaku, addressing him by name rather than as Zero. _Interesting_, Lelouch thought with a grimace. The fact that she knew who the new Zero was most likely meant he had been exposed aboard the Ikaruga, which explained this new battle over Tokyo's skies. His pondering was cut short as the two connected to his secure line, with only little over a minute before he would risk their communications being detected and their positions leaked. "Very good, now switch to E-97-I." As soon as everyone had done so Lelouch began to explain his plan. "Q-1 and N-0, you'll hold your current positions. B-1 and B-2, you will strafe the enemy forces and give them time to escape. N-1, you and I will insert ourselves into the nearest unit we can find and take it out from within, then move to the next one. Eventually we will slip away, causing insurgence between the enemy units. Switch to channel R-56-L in two minutes. Is everything clear?"

There were murmurs of assent from the five, but before they could break radio contact Kallen butted in. "Le...K-1, Rivalz is here too! He's piloting a Knightmare and has remnants of the Knight Police with him!" _Rivalz?!?_ Lelouch exclaimed silently. While he had always believed in making his own luck and creating his own destiny, Lelouch was hard-pressed not to believe this was an act of faith to find almost all of his old friends together again. Lelouch chuckled, that almost-silent laugh of his, before returning to his stoic voice. "Very well then, order N-2 and his forces to switch to this channel so that I may give them the proper orders and assignments." "Yes, Sir!"

A few minutes later he had heard from Rivalz and the other Knight Police, who on a very good performance by Kallen referred to him as Zero and Suzaku merely as N-0. The officers had been assigned the titles of R-1 and R-2, pieces best meant for the protection of others. Lelouch barely had time to remember the names of the two officers before he once more ordered the change in frequency. It would keep the enemy from intercepting their commands, and with only nine units between them there was no room for error. Adding the three newest pieces to his plan Lelouch instructed the Knight Police to hold positions as well, using a sound-only transmission with the partial truth that he had taken off a broken mask. To be precise Lelouch had broken many of his old masks, and by the end of the day he hoped to break just one more.

Seiei and Ryusei began their strafing attacks as soon as the Gareth pilots found an enemy in range, broiling some while simply surprising others. The latter groups found their numbers bolstered by units from the rear, who would wipe them out as soon as they entered the group. For Suzaku's part in the grand plan he performed perfectly, though that was more from the inability to react than from his mission requirements. It was Kallen and the Knight Police who had the most trouble, as even with Rivalz and Mitchell joining the first two they were fighting a corridor-style battle with fewer units and less long-range weaponry than their attackers. A few times Mitchell had tried to fire a rocket shell into the advancing force, but each time he was forced back into cover. "Dammit, when is Zero gonna get here already?!?" the policeman finally shouted, and Kallen reluctantly agreed with his outburst. Where was Lelouch when they needed him most? Was this little more than his payback for how the Black Knights had abandoned him all those years ago? Kallen knew in her heart that he had not wished to fight his old comrades, but his loss mixed with their betrayal had fermented into a powerful rage which equaled his original reasons to fight.

Kallen's fears were cast aside however when the units closest to the exit either fell back or were destroyed. She recognized the aftereffects of Hadron blasts on some of the machines, while others had been perforated or slashed to ribbons. Looking beyond the enemy Kallen could no longer see the larger machine in the background; perhaps it was merely a bored command unit, who felt he no longer needed to stay on the battlefield? But that frame bothered Kallen for some reason; though she had never seen anything _quite_ like it, there was something disturbingly familiar about it. A single order for cover snapped Kallen out of her funk, as a shrapnel grenade was rolled into the center of the enemy forces from their rear flank. Protecting the media trucks with the Knightmares' hands the four watched the enemy force get decimated in a single attack...the kind of ingenious yet simple stratagem only Lelouch could cook up.

Above them Kallen heard the combined voices of Suzaku and the two Gareth pilots assigned the titles of B-1 and B-2 by Lelouch as they took out the unusually-organized pack of Vincent frames. The two sounded rather young to her, as did the Vincent pilot who was assisting Lelouch clear up the final enemy forces outside the once-secret entrance. They sounded...well, to be honest they sounded no older than she was when she first started fighting in a Knightmare. Kallen's musings were cut short the moment she saw one of the Vincent units close enough to the position the shadow-clad machine had been in to properly scale the other machine's height. With a gasp Kallen raced outside, barely avoiding one of the Knight Police as she passed. Frantic with newfound fear Kallen forgot herself for a moment, shouting over the private line as she blazed ahead. "Lelouch, look out!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lelouch looked up from his latest victim with surprise and anger in his eyes. _Damn Kallen, why couldn't she just STICK to the codenames until we have a fully secure line?_ Lelouch would've thought more on the apparent lack of discipline his former Black Ace had fallen into, if Shinji hadn't slammed into his unit at the last moment. Lelouch was surprised by the young teen's insane move, but even more shocked at the broadsword which had slammed into the earth Lelouch had been standing on only seconds ago. Looking at the Knightmare who had swung the giant sword Lelouch had to take a second look as he shook the insane thought from his head. The suit looked almost identical to the Galahad, the famous sword-swinging frame used by none other than the Knight of One Sir Waldstein. The suit itself was smaller, only slightly larger than the Guren or Lancelot. The broadsword was also only slightly different, exchanging the original hook concept for a classic broadsword. After a brief pause the suit was able to lift its sword up into the air, showing off a new Float system as the glider fins split apart into six glider units. Lelouch recognized the concept as the one his Gawain had once used, though he never knew the energy could be held in the fins themselves as well. _Damn Schneizel_, Lelouch thought as he clenched his teeth.

"Well well, not bad kid!" The voice surprised both Lelouch and Shinji, as the latter had to duck to barely avoid another swing from the broadsword. The Knightmare pilot had opened an open channel, using speakers to broadcast his voice outside of his frame. There was a tint of malice in his tone, but it was engulfed by a startling amount of bloodlust. Not even Luciano Bradley, the deceased Knight of Ten was ever this violent; swinging the broadsword haphazardly around like that, not caring who it hit. Already he had cut through two of his own without noticing, his sword barely losing momentum as it spun. "Captain Jinrui! Please sto-AAGH!" The final Vincent pilot's cry was cut short as his commander sliced through the frame, leaving himself to face the nine other frames. "Well, I guess he kinda botched up my big introduction eh? People call me Zangai Jinrui, the Steel Reaper at your service." The entire introduction put Lelouch off his guard with confusion and bewilderment; obviously this man was more insane than anyone else Lelouch had ever met, and that included the likes of Sayoko and Anya. "S-Steel Reaper?" Shinji echoed with a mix of fear and humor in his voice; such a ridiculous nickname for such a terrifying pilot. "A kid huh? Yep, I'm Zangai and this baby" he shouted aloud, commanding the frame to point at itself with its free hand, "is the newest model Knightmare frame, straight off the assembly line: The Galahalt, Galahad's new mass-produced son!"

While Zangai had been introducing himself the other Knightmares had arrived to back up Lelouch and Shinji, with Kallen at their helm. "Le-Lelouch?" Lelouch gaped for a moment, hearing one of his closest friends say his name over the comms. "Lelouch, Kallen said it was you! It's me, Rivalz! Milly's here too, why don't you answer us?" Lelouch was now becoming sick of this new inability to think or speak, his wicked half-smile forming as more of a defense than anything else. The other two officers were looking from Rivalz to Lelouch in confusion, then constantly turning from Lelouch to Zangai and back again as if unsure which one was their enemy. Finally Mitchell had made up his mind, discarding his rocket launcher in order to draw his MVS and charge the Galahalt. "R-2, hold formation and retreat!" Lelouch's order fell on deaf ears however, as the Galahalt once more proved its superiority by cutting through both the blade and the machine. "Dammit! R-1 and B-units, fall back into optimal firing range! N-0 and Q-1, use a pincer attack to put the enemy frame on the defensive!" Suzaku nearly let slip a "Yes, my lord", but was able to recover quickly enough so that both pilots shouted out "Sir, Yes Sir!" Lelouch then ordered N-1 to stay on his own position, trying to create a new strategy for this new turn of events.

_The Galahad's become mass-produced?_ Lelouch thought to himself, his throat clenching as the implications of this overwhelmed him. That meant newer Knightmare frames were in development, which would lead to an entirely new war for humanity. If that happened, than what was the purpose for everything they had sacrificed?!? Among the faceless civilians Lelouch began to clearly see those whose death was either directly or indirectly caused by Geass and Zero Requiem: Clovis, Euphie, Shirley, VV, Rolo, Charles & Marianne, and so many of his own Black Knights. It was as he told Schneizel during their final dialogue: that by living among the people he had witnessed so many hopes and dreams, so many normal people who still desired something pure in their lives. If the world once more descended into war, then what the hell was the point of all their deaths in the first place?!?

"R-1 and N-2, deploy shrapnel grenades! B-1 and B-2, prepare to fire Hadron blasts on my mark!! N-0, prepare to charge your VARIS; Q-1, load all Radiant Wave shells you still have; N-1, you and I will move in with the Elbow Pulse as soon as R-1 and N-2 throw their grenades!!! I don't care how, but that machine can NOT SURVIVE!!!!!" Those final words caused some spittle to fly from Lelouch's mouth, and it wasn't until then that he realized just how angry he had become. Though put off-guard by Lelouch's rage the others began to move into position, as both Rivalz and Delia tossed their grenades towards the frame. It was from there that everything began to go downhill, as Zangai used the Galahalt's speed to evade the grenades and race towards Delia's frame. Despite being point-blank her machineguns were unable to fully puncture the Galahalt, and with a swift strike Zangai slashed right through the ejection block. Turning towards Seiei and Ryusei the Galahalt lifted its sword once more, as Zangai screamed out over the loudspeakers. "You're next, kiddies!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shinji watched in horror as the new frame cut through friend and foe alike, looking at Lelouch's machine out of the corner of his eye as they prepared the assault. He had seen Lelouch's memories and knew why the former king had reacted so angrily to the Galahalt, but he could also feel a deep rage building within himself. _Even in a Knightmare, I'm powerless to help anyone. Is this really all I'm good for, just a pawn to be ordered around?_ Before Shinji could finish his internal monologue he saw Zangai raise his blade towards his friends, both of whom were unprepared for his attack. In an instant Shinji saw both the Guren and Lancelot, neither of which could reach his friends in time. _NO! I won't just stand here and do nothing while they get hurt! Damn it, what good is this power if it doesn't save the people I care about?_ As his thoughts raced a mile a minute Shinji felt a massive pain echo through his forehead.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lelouch stared ahead, his blood boiling at the sight of this new model which had already killed two of his own in under a minute. As the Galahalt turned to the two teenagers piloting the Gareth units Lelouch became even more embittered as he realized no plan of his could save them in time. _-good is this power if it doesn't save the people I care about?_ Lelouch flinched, the thought forcing its way into his mind. "Is...Is this?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shinji looked around him, but no matter where he looked everything was a grayish-white. He also discovered his lack of decency, though his waist area seemed to be obscured by a fog. "Wha-What is this place?" Shinji shouted aloud, not sure if he wanted an answer.

"C's World" came the response from behind him. Performing a complete one-eighty Shinji found himself once more face-to-face with Lelouch. Lelouch was also the same ghostly-white, his midsection obscured in the exact same way. "I never thought I would see this place again, least of all like this. We see this place because we are connected, because we have a contract...at least, that's what C.C. tells me." Lelouch didn't seem to catch Shinji's confusion, the least of which was the bizarre name. Instead Lelouch had turned his head to watch a barrage of images, scenes of destruction from his own life. Finally he spoke again, not lifting his head to face Shinji. "I heard your thoughts, Shinji Akari. I have had similar thoughts when I had just begun to understand my own Geass, so perhaps that is why I entered into a contract with you. You ask for power, the power to save yourself, and more importantly your friends. You seem to forget, you already have that power. I issued you a Geass, though I myself don't even know quite what it is. The power is born from the need, so if you desire power it will come to you."

The strange encounter had lasted virtually no time at all, spanning the eternity between milliseconds. Looking ahead once more Shinji felt a strange sensation overtake him, as his vision became tinted. Suddenly Shinji could _see_ everything, know every move there was to take. It didn't stop there however, as he felt an enormous pool of adrenaline flood his system beyond the human limits. _Yes, I CAN save them! With the power of this Geass, I can save everyone!!!_ With that single thought Shinji launched the Vincent forward faster than had been deemed humanly survivable. Twisting the Vincent mid-flight Shinji saw and caught the Galahalt's own blade with his MVS, using the block as a perfect stance to launch an Elbow Pulse attack at Zangai's ejection unit. Instead of hitting his target however Shinji found his attack blocked by a pair of Slash Harkens which had been installed at the Galahalt's waist, destroying them instead of their owner. "Well well, that was fun kiddies. Sadly, Boss-Man wants to make sure I don't mess up this bad boy too much before we're ready to go. Oh, and tell your friends in the news crew this ain't gonna show up on any video! See ya later!" With that last gloat Zangai launched the Galahalt into the air, using a short-term variant of the Gefion net to paralyze the Knightmare frames. Opening his hatch Lelouch stared up at the fleeing machine. "Zangai...Jinrui" Lelouch said to himself, his eyes having turned solemn with the knowledge of what was to come. Meanwhile the others had likewise opened their hatches, and as the six other surviving pilots looked towards Lelouch it was Suzaku who said what most of them were thinking.

"Lelouch...Lamperouge..."


	4. Fourth Move, Black Bishop

Dear FF Readers: This is mostly a flashback chapter, though there is plenty of inter-character development. Please read anyhow, because it does set the stage for later events...

"Geass: the power of kings. Lelouch Lamperouge attempted to use this power to put an end to war, creating a world where his little sister Nunnally could live in peace. But now there is absolute proof that war is surfacing yet again, as Lelouch and his newfound team barely survive an encounter with an entirely new Knightmare frame known as the Galahalt. Piloted by warmonger Zangai Jinrui the "Steel Reaper", this new frame poses a serious threat to Lelouch's dream. Now he must also rely on Shinji Akari, a young boy who received a Geass from Lelouch which allows him to perform inhuman acts. For the next generation, the war is only beginning..."

TWENTY MINUTES LATER, ABOARD THE AVALON...

The central conference room was divided into three groups. On one side there were the three teenagers, along with Rivalz and Milly; after the brief shock of seeing members of the student council Milly had agreed that Shinji should be considered the head of their group for the upcoming dialogue. On the other side were the Black Knights Remnants, those who had managed to slip away when the organization had turned on them. A few members who had left the Black Knights to find normal lives now found themselves back in action, with both Yoshitaka Minami and Kento Sugiyama standing beside their leader Ohgi. Kaguya Sumeragi had even flown in to meet with them, though she did so using multiple secret channels and using paths which would allow her jet to remain undetected. The entire group had put on the special Geass-cancelling shades they had used when Lelouch had begun his world domination campaign years ago. Tohdoh stood at the front of this group, his katana clenched tight in his fist to the point where it had begun to hurt.

In the middle stood three people: Kallen Kouzuki, the Black Ace of Japan; Suzaku Kururugi, former Knight of Zero and the man the Black Knights had fought beside for the past five years; and...Lelouch.

"Ze...no, Lelouch Vi Britannia" Tohdoh started, his expression straining to stay neutral. "The Demon King who killed countless people in his bid for world domination. You tricked all of us once before, and now you intend to do it again?" There was a slight raise in Tohdoh's voice throughout his tiny speech, but before Lelouch could respond the young man behind Lelouch spoke up. "Hold on Sir Tohdoh, you don't know the whole story!" Lelouch turned his head just enough to look at Shinji, out of the corner of his mouth Lelouch hissed at Shinji to stay quiet. Either Shinji didn't notice or didn't care however, as he continued on. "You think you know more about this monster than we do?!?" Chiba shouted, her temperance not as easily-maintained as Tohdoh's. Shinji stepped back for only a second before advancing in equal amounts. "Yeah actually, I do!" Lifting up his hair Shinji pointed to the crimson sigil that had once more taken form in his eye. "See this? When Lelouch here gave it to me I learned everything there is to know about him! Everything with the Black Knights, Geass, the Zero Re-"

"Silence!" The order came not from Tohdoh, but rather from Lelouch himself. The order caught both sides off-guard, though to the other members of Lelouch's makeshift unit this was more akin to watching a dramatic fiction. Both Kallen and Suzaku had moved to cover Lelouch during the heated dialogue, but Lelouch had gently pushed them to his sides so that he was completely exposed. "Kill me if you'd like Tohdoh, but from what I understand you might need me." Tohdoh tightened his grip even more, an action which should've been impossible as the blood to his digits began to stop flowing. Taking note of the fact that nobody made a move to attack him Lelouch turned away from the group and began walking towards where he knew the living quarters would be. "One more thing...I will no longer assume the name of Lelouch Vi Britannia. That is the name of a demon who should've died long ago. From now on, please refer to me by my real name...Lelouch Lamperouge."

The massive tension in the room was shattered when Sugiyama reported an incoming vehicle. All heads turned to the blue-haired man as he sat down at the radar station, but Sugiyama breathed a sigh of relief and informed the rest of the ragtag crew that the truck had used one of their old signals from when it was just the few of them. Ohgi smiled at Lelouch' s momentary lapse in composure and took advantage of the unique moment. "Don't worry Lelouch, we aren't as incompetent as you think." Lelouch turned to Ohgi, his shock quickly turning into a scowl as he returned to his quest to find a room, dragging Shinji along by the collar as Suzaku followed in his steps. "Come on you" Lelouch said, lifting Shinji off his feet from five years of need for exercise. Shinji tried to struggle his way out of Lelouch's grip, as Seiei and Ryusei followed the three with muffled laughter. Milly and Rivalz left soon after, still somewhat uncomfortable about being near the Black Knights. They also had questions for Lelouch, key to which was why everyone else seemed to know more about him than they did.

As soon as Lelouch was out of sight Kallen sighed, allowing herself a small smile as she did so. _He's back_, she thought to herself, realizing just how wrong things had felt without the original Zero around. Turning to face Ohgi Kallen had already wiped her smile away, noticing the identical expressions on both Ohgi's and Tohdoh's faces. "You think he can be trusted, after all he did to us?" Ohgi thought briefly about Tohdoh's question, his face in a partial scowl. "Honestly, I don't know. Even after all he did, there's still a part of me that wants to trust in him. Maybe it's just because it never felt right after he left..." Tohdoh stood ramrod-still, his thoughts following a similar pattern. Finally Ohgi once more turned to Sugiyama, ordering the blue-haired soldier to open the Avalon's entry ramp and allow their teammates onboard. "Man, he's going to go berserk when he finds out Lelouch is here isn't he?" Ohgi laughed at Sugiyama's little joke...yes, that did seem like something their old friend would do.

Meanwhile, Lelouch had been searching for his old chambers out of nostalgia. Suzaku pointed out to his old friend that things HAD changed in the past five years, instead leading the group to "Zero's new room." Once the door slid open Lelouch only wasted a second examining the room before throwing Shinji Akari onto the bed with more force than intended. "What the hell was that for?!?" Seiei shouted from behind them, shoving Lelouch out of the way easily as the others gathered around Shinji. Despite himself Suzaku let out a small laugh when seeing how Lelouch was _still_ somewhat out of shape, a laugh that refused to die out when his old friend glared at him. "You will not mention that to them...or anyone else" Lelouch said calmly after returning his gaze to Shinji. As Shinji's friends helped him up his temper flared. "But why not? If you told them about the Zero Req-" "I said BE QUIET!" Lelouch finally exploded, slamming his fist on the door frame as he did so. Suzaku's smile quickly turned into his trademark repentant look, while the other four looked from Lelouch to Shinji and back as if watching a high-pace tennis match. Of the four it was Rivalz who spoke first, drawing the attention of the two Geass users away from each other. "Umm...could somebody explain what is going on here?" Lelouch looked at Rivalz with an intense glare for a moment, then realized what he was doing and replaced his gaze with a solemn side-glance. _Rivalz...and Milly too...they remained pure, all the way through Zero Requiem. I can't pull them into this as well...I don't have the right to._

It seemed Shinji was reading Lelouch's thoughts however as he softened his own expression towards the former king. "Lelouch...they're already in over their heads here. They at least deserve to know the truth." If Lelouch didn't need every ally he could get at the moment he most likely would've cast a Geass on Shinji to jump off a cliff, or something to that effect. Instead he simply collapsed on the chair opposite the bed, placing his head in his hands as he remembered all the horrible details of the time since his rebirth, his resurrection and his "death". "You're right...perhaps once I explain you'll understand why I can't inform the Black Knights about the Zero Requiem." Turning to his former classmates Lelouch became even more depressed than before, his hands now crossed over his lap and his head hung low. "I'm sorry for everything I never told you, but I had hoped to keep that shred of happiness alive." Finally bringing his head up Lelouch had wiped away all sorrow from his face, leaving a deadened look in his eyes as he spoke. "It all started thirteen years ago, when I was a member of the Royal Family...when I began to realize the fragility of life."

Lelouch spoke for the next hour or so, during which time Kallen had arrived and joined their group. He told them of his meeting with Suzaku and C.C., and of the power he received from the latter. He told them of how he began to create the Black Knights, using the mask of Zero to keep those close to him safe while still defying Charles' Darwinist government. Taking notice of the beginnings of shock on the faces of his friends Lelouch plowed on through, going straight from the formation of the Black Knights to the battle at Narita. How for the first time he felt first-hand the effects of his actions, of how disgusted he felt that his own actions had killed Shirley's father. But Lelouch explained that because he had sacrificed people's lives he refused to stop, that if he accomplished nothing then there would be no point to the losses suffered. So he continued onwards, eventually meeting his greatest threat: the Geass-wielding Mao, whose power made him Lelouch's worst enemy to date. Despite the fear of losing himself to Geass Lelouch still continued his quest, until the time finally came: when he lost control of his Geass, forcing Euphemia to commit genocide. The others were taken aback by Lelouch's soft-spoken confession; even though it was purely accidental Lelouch still cast all the blame for that disaster onto himself. Looking up at his friends' looks Lelouch once more dropped his head, not wanting to watch their judging looks any longer. To his right Kallen had been forced to sit down upon hearing this; she had never heard Lelouch talk about his short time in conference with Euphemia, let alone cast blame on himself for the catastrophe. Both she and Suzaku had noticed the mention of his loss of control however, as Suzaku began to feel his anger fade with the knowledge Lelouch had kept from him.

"So when the Black Knights captured Ashford Academy..." Milly spoke softly, slowly taking in all that Lelouch had told them. "Yes, that was my plan to protect you all...as well as Nunnally. But something happened that ruined everything...Emperor Charles became involved directly." "Wait a minute!" Rivalz exclaimed, his headache from earlier in the day worsening as he thought about what Lelouch was saying. The pain intensified rapidly, to the point where he fell to his knees on the floor as Milly held him close out of concern. Finally Rivalz stopped shaking, his vision completely clear. "I-I remember now..." he said aloud, causing Lelouch to flinch as he understood what must have just happened. "Lelouch, I remember when Charles came to us. He sealed away our memories of Nunnally, right?" Lelouch gaped briefly, looking at Rivalz as his old friend had retrieved his goofy smile. "And that's not all I remember...Lelouch, Shirley KNEW it was you all along." This piece of information caused Lelouch to stumble, old memories and feelings towards the girl who loved him with all her heart pouring over him. "She kept telling us that everything would be alright, that she knew we'd be safe thanks to Ze...I mean, thanks to you. When you aimed that giant Knightmare towards us she began to cry out in disbelief. _Shirley knew, even then? Did she break the Geass, or was I just that careless?_ Lelouch shook his head free of these thoughts, knowing that he'd have time for them later.

"That man, the man everyone calls my father...he kidnapped Nunnally to bait me and destroy the Black Knights' morale, all in one fell swoop!" Lelouch's tender voice had once more been replaced by anger, as the young man found more solace in his rage than in his sorrow. Lelouch explained how he had painfully learned of Charles' Geass, of how for an entire year he had been unknowingly forced to live yet another lie. Then came the meeting with C.C., whose name had already begun to spark curiosity in most of the newcomers. The discovery of his true existence, of the sacrilege Charles had stooped to in order to acquire C.C., had more than just rekindled Lelouch's blazing desire for vengeance; it had evolved into nothing less than absolute hatred for the man who had stolen away Lelouch's life twice. Then came the new lies: Rolo, the brother he never had whose Geass was outmatched only by his instability; Villeta Nu, the agent who had pieced together his identity even before Charles knew; and Suzaku, whose vengeful grief over Euphemia had caused him to desire more and more power at the cost of his principals. Lelouch had used all these things to his advantage however, only pausing his new crusade briefly when confronted with the dilemma of facing his sister Nunnally; she claimed to do it of her own free will, but the circumstances were far too convenient for Charles' side for her choice to have been made completely on her own.

Then came the Exodus, where millions of Japanese who followed Zero fled with him to the Chinese Federation only to be used as pawns for a union between Britannia and the Federation. Lelouch had discovered plans made by the brilliant Xingke to overthrow the government both for his people and for the Tianzi, whom he had pledged a vow of loyalty to. Using Xingke's strategies Lelouch had been able to kidnap Tianzi before she could be sold off to Britainnia, then used her as bait to trick the nation's leaders into confessing their betrayal and sparking yet another rebellion. In all the combat however Lelouch had lost Kallen to the Britannian Empire, severely diminishing both the Black Knights' combat ability and morale. In his quest to both rescue Kallen and keep his disguise intact Lelouch returned home just in time for another of Milly's...unusual events. Rivalz sniggered a little as the three of them recalled that most bizarre of days, then sobered when he realized what was to come. Lelouch explained the return of Shirley's memories shortly after they had started dating, and how despite all he had done she still wanted to follow him. Lelouch told them that sadly Rolo's obsession with Lelouch had gotten in the way, and while Lelouch had been preoccupied the young "sibling" had killed Shirley in cold blood. In his rage Lelouch planned a massacre of all other Geass users, making sure nobody like Rolo would ever exist again. Kallen put her hand over her mouth in shock while Suzaku lowered his gaze; neither one had heard anything about this particular section of Lelouch's past, and by the sound of it he would've preferred never to speak of it again. After that things went by pretty rapidly: defeating the immortal V.V. with the help of the captured Cornelia, discovering that Charles had stolen his elder brother's immortality, stopping C.C. from connecting with Charles and escaping C's World, the second Battle of Tokyo and the FLEIA nuclear device, Lelouch's breakdown at the apparent death of his beloved sister, how Schneizel took advantage of Lelouch's pain to trick the Black Knights into turning on him, Lelouch's outburst towards Rolo and the young boy's saint-like ability to forgive Lelouch his harsh words and use his own life to save his "brother".

Then came the confrontation at Ragnorak, where Lelouch finally understood the reasons behind his banishment and revolted against both his parents, using the will of humanity itself to give him another Geass enhancement and eliminate his parents from existence. "Looking back, that was probably when I received this Code" Lelouch said, pointing to the back of his right hand where the familiar sigil burned a dark red. "It might also explain the unusual nature of my Geass surviving the transition." Lelouch continued on after this brief consideration, explaining to all of them his Zero Requiem project and apologizing to each of his old friends in turn for what he had done during that time. For a long time nobody spoke, until Kallen rose from her seat. "That's it, then." Walking up to Lelouch she smacked him across the face, somewhat surprised by his little reaction to the blow. Answering his bewildered eyes she looked at him with a mix of anger and sorrow. "So you did ALL THAT, just to make yourself a villain in everyone's eyes? Why couldn't you have just come back to us and explained all this in the first place?!?" Lelouch did not respond, only turning his head in that bizarre way that was both repentant and attractive to her. "Kallen" Suzaku said calmly, stepping between the two. "If Lelouch had just made a regular peace with the U.F.N. what would've happened after his time on the throne?" Kallen stumbled over Suzaku's question until he continued. "There is a good chance that whomever came after him would just restart the war, and we'd all be back where we started. With this Lelouch chose the best way to make everyone terrified of ever having war again. We discussed this for the entire month prior to when he took the throne, and we all agreed it was the best we could do."

Unaware of Lelouch's immense monologue, the other members of the Black Knights were busy activating the Avalon's ramp, all of them filled with anticipation for the incoming convoy. What they had first thought to be a simple delivery truck had cleverly evolved into a decent caravan of five or six transport vehicles, each of which no doubt had something essential to their survival. As soon as the lead truck pulled onto the ramp Ohgi and Tohdoh joined the queue of exiled Black Knights in the hangar to greet their old friends. The lead truck pulled into an open area and stopped, as both doors opened in synch. The greeting party was unnerved by the sound of laughter that began to emit the moment the sound-proof doors had opened, though upon seeing who was in the truck their annoyance turned to joy almost instantly.

"Hey there Ohgi, still keepin' everyone in one piece eh?" The group's leader grinned as he patted Ohgi on the back, handing over a large container of sake to Tohdoh as he did so. "It's good to see you too, Tamaki." Shinichiro Tamaki grinned his usual semi-idiotic grin, pulling out his own bottle as the three co-pilots of the Ikaruga hopped out. As the three began to talk with Kaguya about her various "developments" over the past five years Ohgi turned to his old friend with a curious grin. "PLEASE tell me you weren't drinking that on the way here." Tamaki simply looked at his sake and back at his friend before letting out a somewhat-overboard laugh. "No way Ohgi, I got a reputation to keep now remember? What would happen to my precious Black Haven if I got busted like that?" The Black Haven was a now-famous Japanese restaurant and grill founded by Tamaki so that his Black Knights friends would always have a place to eat with a good discount. "So what about this then?" Ohgi asked, motioning to the other trucks. Along with a few of the other former Black Knights the caravan had opened up to reveal a dozen Akatsuki models plus enough supplies to last the group for months. "Come on Ohgi, I'm not gonna turn you all away now am I? That's what the Black Haven's for, after all!"

Ohgi smiled softly as his friend let out yet another laugh. _Still the same old Tamaki_, Ohgi thought gently. As he watched some of the others unload supplies Ohgi noticed Tamaki looking curiously around the room. Finally Tamaki asked Ohgi where Kallen was, since he had hoped to see all his old friends at once. Ohgi cringed as he thought about how best to phrase his answer, but unfortunately he could think of nothing other than the plain facts. "Actually Tamaki, I need to talk to you about that." Tamaki looked at Ohgi with concern, as the other crew members grew stoic and nonresponsive. "So, Schneizel finally turned on us eh?" The others stared at Tamaki in wonder, as Tamaki had never been known to connect the dots so easily. "Hey, the guy gave me the creeps from day one, I'm just surprised he waited this long! So, let me guess: you guys and...er, Zero...jumped ship before he could get ya. Now you're hidin' out here, waiting for his guys to leave. Am I right?" Ohgi looked at Tohdoh in total shock, as Tohdoh merely grinned his approval. "Not bad at all, Tamaki" Tohdoh answered for Ohgi, realizing that this may have been the first time he ever actually addressed Tamaki by name. "However, there is something else we should mention..."

After Lelouch ushered out the others into a sort of guest room he reentered Zero's quarters and headed straight for the showers. Removing what shreds were left of his old Emperor's uniform Lelouch stepped into the shower and sighed happily as the warm water began to run. Being unable to show his face or identity in public had its slew of problems, one of which was that it had been nearly impossible for Lelouch to have any form of private bathing. Usually he would stick near a body of water and bathe in the nearby stream or river, but from time to time he would have to make do with little more than bottled water poured over his head. Grabbing the scissors he had brought in with him Lelouch began to trim his hair back to the way it was; since CC had always worn her hair long Lelouch had never once considered that the immortal Code-wielders would have troubles such as this, though in retrospect he should've realized this when he had seen VV in his father's memories as opposed to how he knew his so-called uncle. Tilting forward Lelouch slammed his fist on the wall in anger, thinking about how much things had changed and yet remained the same.

A knock on the door alerted Lelouch to the presence of someone in his room, causing Lelouch to grab the scissors tightly in his hand as his only weapon. However as he saw Kallen enter Lelouch loosened his grip and set the blade on the shower's base. There was an awkward pause between them as both recalled their last time alone together, when Kallen had finally kissed him while in the Ashford Academy negotiations. As Lelouch turned his back on his old squad-mate Kallen tried to break the tension between them, but stopped when she got a good look at his back. Now more chiseled and masculine from years of exercise, her attention was drawn to a wide scar that spread out from the small of his back to just short of both shoulder blades. As Lelouch grabbed a towel and covered himself below the waist Kallen got a good look at his chest, where an even wider scar cut across his chest. "From the sword" Lelouch said calmly, finally pulling Kallen's attention away from his chest with a small laugh. "Apparently immortality takes some time to get used to..." _So, it's true then_, Kallen thought to herself as she remembered what CC had told her during their year in hiding. Despite herself Kallen still felt some jealousy for the witch who had known so much more about who Lelouch, who Zero, truly was. "Always have a plan, don't you?" Kallen said, resuming her former attitude when dealing with the Lelouch aspect of Zero. "Hah...you'd be surprised" Lelouch said as he grabbed another towel to dry off his hair and chest. Kallen tried not to stare at Lelouch too much, as memories of her mixed feelings flooded her mind. "So then, you're Lelouch now right?" Lelouch smiled under the towel as he sighed, reaching out for a nearby Black Knights uniform. "Yes, I am just Lelouch. I have disowned the name Vi Britannia, and I am no longer worthy of being Zero. You know, I never once wore one of these myself...not bad, all things considered." As Lelouch faced Kallen, now fully clothed, she saw her flinch as he realized he had left out his Geass-blocking contact. "Right...Don't worry Kallen, I will not use Geass on you. Or rather, I no longer can." Kallen cocked her head inquisitively, until she thought of the ramifications of what he had said to her.

"Wait...you've used Geass on me before, haven't you?!?" Kallen shouted, reaching for her pistol. Lelouch sighed as he realized what his words had meant to her, knowing full well that he would need as much trust as possible for the months ahead. "I have, but I have never done anything to change your will. I only used it to know what motive a Britannian student would have to attack her home country. However, it was thanks to you that I learned the limitations of this cursed power I still have..." Lelouch turned away from Kallen as he spoke, reaching out for the Geass-cancelling contacts he had maintained over the years. "And what about what you said during the Second Battle of Tokyo? You told me to live on, even after calling me nothing more than a pawn! So Lelouch, what exactly am I to you?!?" Lelouch turned back to see tears forming in Kallen's eyes, bottled up emotions from the past five years. He flinched for a moment, never being one who enjoyed expressing his emotions. Finally he met Kallen's eyes with his own, the Geass sigil no longer infecting his gaze. "You are...you are one of the few people in this world that I can trust wholeheartedly. Suzaku...Rolo...CC...Jeremiah...Nunnally...and you, Kallen. As a prince of Britannia I had no one I could truly trust, and even living the lie of an ordinary student I didn't dare expose my secret to those closest to me until it was too late. Always living in fear of being exposed, of being betrayed, and of having those I called friends or allies become victims of my secret. You have my praise, and my thanks, for being there for me." Without warning Lelouch suddenly walked forward and embraced Kallen in a firm hug, causing the red-haired girl to blush heavily. "L-Lelouch!" She felt Lelouch's head droop onto her shoulder as he slumped somewhat in her arms. "You...all of you...are all I have left. Please let me enjoy this, if only for a moment..."

Kallen waited until Lelouch regained his composure, but as he released her a glint from the bag he had brought with him caught her gaze. "Ah, that..." Lelouch said halfheartedly as he followed her eyes to his satchel. Reaching into the bag he pulled out a helmet similar to his Zero mask, except this one was pure white. Turning the mask so that Kallen could see it Lelouch motioned to the crimson lines and single eye-socket that covered the front. "Although I can no longer claim the mask of Zero as my own it would be troublesome if people were to see my face. To that end I had an old acquaintance build me this mask. This is...the mask of human desire, something I picked up in C's World. Until the Geass known as a peaceful world is fulfilled I will continue to wear this mask, to remind myself of all my lies and sins." Lifting the mask over his head Lelouch settled the mask around his face, listening for the sounds of the mask sealing in place with an additional locking mechanism holding the rear and front parts of the mask together. Were something to expose Lelouch's face now it would undoubtedly complicate things, and the last thing he wanted was for his mask to slip off mid-battle. "Until such a time as I have earned the title of Zero along with the respect of the Black Knights, I would rather you call me...Ningen. That sounds appropriate for the symbol of humanity's desire, don't you think?" Kallen could hear the sorrow buried deep within the bravado as Lelouch tried to salvage his composure and act like the self-centered man he had at one time pretended to be. She watched him remove the new mask and followed him into his new quarters, thinking of how she could best console him. With a solemn glance at Zero's uniform Lelouch placed this new mask right next to his old Zero mask, distracted only for a moment by the blood smear on the helmet. As Kallen stared at Lelouch's back she decided to act on the impulses that would best console Lelouch, taking a step towards him as she did so.

A sudden slam on the door brought an abrupt halt to Kallen's train of thought, as Tamaki burst through the door. "Tama-" Before Kallen could say anything Tamaki stared her down, an unusual anger burning in his eyes. "Where is he, Kallen?!? Where's that punk Lelouch?" Before Kallen could respond she heard footsteps behind her as Lelouch walked out into the open and looked straight at Tamaki. "I'm here, Tamaki." As Tamaki shifted his gaze from Kallen to Lelouch he took a stride towards Lelouch, fists clenched tight. Without warning Tamaki slammed his one fist into Lelouch's gut, then with his other hand grabbed Lelouch's shirt and threw him to the floor. "You've got a lot of nerve coming here after all the crap you put us through!" Kallen cringed a little as the others were drawn by the commotion, as Shinji and Suzaku came across Tohdoh in the hall. "You used all of us, and then you tried to destroy us when we figured you out?!?" Kallen tried to interrupt the enraged Tamaki, but was cut short as Lelouch let out a small laugh. "It's exactly as you said Tamaki, though it would seem things didn't go according to plan now did-" Before Lelouch could further vilify himself he was hit once more, this time by a pretty decent left hook. "CUT THE CRAP!" This time even Lelouch flinched as some of those out in the hall had come into his room to watch the spectacle. "You must think we're all idiots or something, eh? That we couldn't put two and two together and figure you out? Go ahead then, tell us that Suzaku here posing as Zero and attacking you wasn't part of your plan!" Lelouch looked up in surprise, then shifted his gaze to the other Black Knights who shared similar expressions of sadness and disgust. Lelouch rose to his feet, smiling a little as he did so. "Well said Tamaki, though you are incorrect in one aspect. Suzaku didn't attack me," Lelouch said as he opened his shirt to reveal his scar. "He really did kill me..."

There were scattered murmurs amongst the Black Knights, as Milly gasped slightly and Rivalz gawked somewhat. Both Seiei and Ryusei turned to Shinji, who just shrugged and smiled as he walked over to Lelouch. "Whatever happened to keeping it a secret?" Shinji asked aloud, a hint of humor in his voice. For his part Lelouch hid his own happiness behind a scowl as he let Shinji help him to his feet. "Shut up...besides, it's not like they know everything. I underestimated them is all..." The Black Knights looked from Lelouch to Shinji and back, clearly lost as to what was going on. Before anyone could comment on this bizarre conflict however the airship-wide speakers echoed with the voices of the former pilot trio of the Ikaruga, who had taken to manning the helm of the Avalon. "Everyone, come to the bridge ASAP! We've got huge trouble!" As if waiting for this exact moment Lelouch grabbed his new mask off the shelf and bolted out the door past the stunned Black Knights, Shinji hot on his tracks. As Kallen and Suzaku followed soon after the Black Knights finally collected themselves and followed, leaving the Ashford company to pick up the rear with Tamaki despite some awkwardness between him and Rivalz. "So much for taking a break!" Lelouch said with annoyance, slamming the mask over his face just before entering the bridge. As the trio looked at the masked Lelouch in confusion Kallen managed to get past him, telling them to ignore him and that he was a new ally of theirs. "What's the problem?" Tohdoh asked as he followed them into the room, causing the trio to fix their attention on him alone. "Bringing it up onscreen now" said Minase Mutsuki, the trio's intelligence manager. As the rest of the crew entered the bridge they clustered around Tohdoh and Suzaku, now also in a Black Knights uniform, both of whom stood to either side of the masked Lelouch. As the broadcast feed settled there were gasps and growls from the entire crew, as they stared at the man onscreen.

It was Zero. As the group watched the video Lelouch unfastened his helmet, staring up at the monitor with combined shock and rage. "Wh-What is this? What the hell is this?!?" Those closest to Lelouch backed away somewhat, as even Tohdoh was slightly unnerved by Lelouch's expression: his eyes were wider than most humans thought normally possible, and his jaw was locked in an insurmountable rage. As Suzaku and Kallen recovered and stood next to Lelouch they exchanged glances, both concerned for what was to come.

"People of Japan, of the United Federation of Nations, please listen! I am...Zero!"


	5. Fifth Move, White Pawn

"Geass: the power of the King. If there can be only one King, what does that mean for Lelouch and Shinji? Lelouch created the symbol of Zero as a method of opposing Britannia, yet now he finds himself fighting that very symbol. With war looming ever closer, what will be the outcome of Lelouch's new actions? When the dust clears, who will remain standing? The future is one thing which no one can predict..."

"People of Japan, of the United Federation of Nations, please listen! I am...Zero!"

Lelouch stared up at the image of this imposter, never before wishing so much that his Geass could pass over broadcast waves as he did now. Ignorant of the stares he was getting Lelouch ordered the trio to expand the image so that he could better watch his new enemy in action. The three shared a glance, but agreed when Tohdoh silently motioned for them to do as Lelouch had asked. As the group watched the video panned out from the source, showing former Second Prince Schneizel el Britannia standing at the fake Zero's right side as his advisor. There was also a muscular man in his thirties with spiky black hair and a slightly demonic visage standing on the fake's other side, spinning a knife in his fingers subconsciously. As Lelouch took in this new data he focused his attention back onto the fake Zero as he continued to speak.

"I am Zero...but I am not the original Zero. The true Zero, my predecessor who united those who were oppressed by unfit rulers and uncaring politicians, was betrayed. Yes, betrayed by the very people he considered allies! Jealous of the skills Zero possessed they struck a deal with Britannia, to hand over Zero in exchange for Japan. The Zero who saved us from Lelouch the Demon King, just a fraud hired by the Black Knights to gather glory around themselves! However, Zero had set up a system in place so that someone like me, someone who shared his ideals, would take his place as he entered eternity. I am Zero, the Second Zero...Zero-Two! Seeing as how Japanese Prime Minister and Black Knights CEO Kaname Ohgi was among the betrayers, as my first declaration as CEO I will place tactical placement of the Black Knights to Schneizel el Britannia. The head of the Zero Squad will be Zangai Jinrui" the imposter said, motioning to the black-haired man, "and the Director of Science will be Nina Einstein."

Those who had been on the student council shared a look of shock at that final statement, while both Rakshata and Lloyd shared a knowing look. Without either of them or Cecile, it was only natural that Lloyd's protégé would take their place. As for the young trio of Shinji, Seiei and Ryusei: their attention was fixed on Zangai, the man who had attacked them only hours ago. Other minor changes scrolled down Zero-Two's face as he continued to speak out against the core members of the Black Knights. Finally Lelouch put his new helmet back on and turned to leave the bridge. "We need to leave...NOW!" he screamed out as he began to walk away, jolting everyone else out of their stupors. "Wh-what do you mean, now? We can't leave yet, Schneizel's people are covering the skies all around us!" Lelouch turned on Ohgi, noticing the former deputy commander's hand on his shoulder before shoving it aside. "You don't understand, do you? Schneizel would not just stage all of this so that we would look bad...he's trying to draw our attention to him! Don't you get it, he's already FOUND us!!!" As if to emphasize what Lelouch had said a series of minor explosions rocked the Avalon, giving Lelouch the opening to take his leave of the Black Knights with both Kallen and Suzaku following close behind. Shinji followed soon after, bumping into Tohdoh as he passed and causing the general to regain his composure and follow the foursome while Ohgi began preparations for the Avalon to lift off.

_Damn it, why now?_ Lelouch thought to himself as he jumped into his stolen Vincent as Shinji did the same. Kallen and Suzaku split off to access their personal Knightmares, while Tohdoh led the few fighters they had to the Zangetsu and the Akatsuki models. Despite being rushed the core members still had a sizeable Knightmare force, though that was partly due to the Avalon always being prepared for emergency situations such as this. As Chiba jumped into the command unit next to Tohdoh's Zangetsu both Tamaki and Rivalz grabbed some of the units they had no pilots for. "Just like old times, eh Kallen?" Tamaki shouted as the comm. system booted up., reminiscing about their conflicts prior to the formation of the Black Knights. Kallen smiled softly in response, her focus on their odds for this upcoming battle. While they no doubt had superior fighters, they would most likely be fighting hundreds of fellow Black Knights soldiers. To add to their dilemma was the new Knightmare frame Galahalt, which had proven its capabilities in their previous battle. Even if it was only a shoddy replica of the Galahad it was still a foe to watch out for, especially if that deranged man was piloting it. "Tohdoh" Lelouch's voice rang out over the comm. system, though now he had enabled the camera so that the others could see him in his new mask. "This is Ningen...I will follow your command, but I ask that you give any advice I give you consideration." "Ningen?" Tohdoh said in confusion, until a look of knowing crossed his face. "Very well then...Ningen. I will put your input into consideration. All units, launch!"

With that command all eight units, followed by a small contingent of loyal grunts, launched into the burning skies of Tokyo, as the Avalon began its takeoff to avoid further bombardment. So sooner had they lifted off than they were attacked on all sides by Vincent, Gareth and Akatsuki models. Though both Suzaku and Kallen were able to easily hold their own even as dozens of units swarmed them it was the unusual tag-team of Tamaki and Rivalz that surprised everyone; the two had put aside their differences for the sake of a common goal, something which seemed to exponentially improve their abilities. Whether it was Tamaki strafing an enemy unit into Rivalz's attack range or Rivalz distracting the enemies until Tamaki could launch missiles into them, both pilots seemed to perform far better than anyone could have expected. Lelouch watched the duo fight with a decent amount of surprise, always chalking up Tamaki's combat skills as little more than an emergency distraction. Then there was Rivalz, the overemotional friend Lelouch had made during his time at Ashford, now completely serious save for a relief joke here and there. _Time continues to flow, no matter how people react to it. _This thought invaded Lelouch's mind as he fought back the enemy as well, using an entirely different battle strategy than he used to. Back then he had known himself to be severely limited, both physically and as a Knightmare pilot. It was for that reason that he had chosen to leave the more advanced frames to his allies, only becoming the pilot of the Gawain out of convenience and to support his allies from a distance. Now however he was much stronger, and being immortal brought with it a certain recklessness as he fought. His moves and reflexes were swifter now, allowing him to pilot a melee unit such as the Vincent without much concern. Even with his improved physique Lelouch fought like a demon, knowing full well that even in the worst case scenario he would not die. Shinji followed his lead, his Geass straining the limits of his Vincent as he swept through the enemy units without the sense of remorse his Black Knights allies must've felt.

For their part Tohdoh and Chiba were not about to be upstaged by these new allies, as the Miracle Worker and Last of the Four Holy Swords led their other allies against the enemy units who were getting too close to the Avalon. Just in case they did get too close Villeta was at the main gun turret, while Seiei and Ryusei were standing by at the side turrets. "I won't let you scum touch them...Ohgi...Heion...or anyone else on this ship!" Villeta screamed out to the approaching units as she shot each one down, images of their four-year-old child passing through her mind as she grew embittered at the enemy. For all their inexperience in combat both Seiei and Ryusei were able to perform decently as well, usually strafing their fire to corral enemy units into Villeta's line of fire. Eventually the enemy units began to use unorthodox movements, such as diving deep below the Avalon in daredevil runs to shoot up at the airship from below. Luckily the Avalon's Core Luminous shield systems had been upgraded over the years, so that only a few shots could get through and dent the hull. By this time Lelouch had taken notice of their attempts, instructing Chiba to take a few Knightmares below the Avalon and shoot down these daredevils. As for Tohdoh, his Zangetsu had proven itself an equal match for these machines time and again during the war with Lelouch; the Divine Wind blew many times during the battle, slicing apart machines without killing their pilots in a way only master swordsmen could. Having given his support units instruction in the attack patterns of the Four Holy Swords Tohdoh was able to issue his infamous commands during the battle, making it almost appear as if the Four Holy Swords had been reborn.

They were not truly the Four Holy Swords however, and as the battle continued their numbers continued to whittle down until there was only a handful left. All three gun turrets were running low on ammunition as well, so that the Avalon was forced to conserve its shots for emergencies only. Many of the surviving Knightmares had been ordered to retreat by Tohdoh, with advisement from "Ningen". Those who had fallen back watched in awe as the former rivals Lancelot and Guren swirled around each other, covering each other with VARIS shots and Radiant Wave bursts. Tohdoh and Chiba held up their rear defense, aided by the still-surviving Tamaki and Rivalz. While the enemy was distracted by the famous eighth-generation Knightmares Lelouch and Shinji had snuck past the enemy units, using their anonymity to blend in with other Vincent units who had fallen back for repairs or resupplies. When they had reached one of the five ships which had surrounded the Avalon Lelouch sprung the trap, slicing into one of the main engines as Shinji matched his movements on another engine. They left the ship alone once its engines were damaged enough, allowing it to perform an emergency crash-landing in Tokyo Bay. Taking their chance the Avalon began to accelerate in the direction of the downed frigate, causing the airships furthest from the bay to halt their fire for fear of hitting their fellow ships. With a smaller threat against them the Akatsuki units were able to return to the Avalon and resupply, while the Lancelot and Guren pushed the enemy units back even further. As Lelouch and Shinji wiped out the few stragglers from the airship they had downed, a new signal appeared on the IFF. It was a Knightmare frame of unknown design and origin, moving faster than any of the other units possibly could..."Galahalt" Lelouch said with a growl, his advanced mind putting the facts together before anyone else could even think. As the sword-swinging mech flew into visual range however Lelouch picked out a few key differences from the one they had fought earlier: this one was painted a navy blue/blood red mix, the head piece which was almost identical to the Galahad's had a pair of large horns on top, and instead of the broadsword from earlier it had two sheathed Maser Vibration Swords which were slightly wider than the normal MVSs.

As if in response to Lelouch's growl the modified Galahalt unit's speakers blew out over the twilight skies of Tokyo, so that a single voice eclipsed all else. "That's right everyone, the Steel Reaper is back on the battlefield!" As if to emphasize his point Zangai had the Galahalt draw the two cleaver-shaped MVSs, pointing one straight ahead while holding the other to block its torso. It then slammed the two together, as a series of locks connected the swords. To Lelouch's surprise the sword began to glow the same dark red as other Maser Vibration Swords, although far wider than any other MVS ever created. To further agitate Lelouch his terminal went out, replaced only by static for a few moments. When it reactivated it was with the visage of that same psychotic black-haired man staring back at him. "Well hey there Baldy, any idea where Big L is?" It took Lelouch no time at all to understand what Zangai was asking; and as far as codenames went Big L wasn't bad at all. _What are you playing at, Schneizel? _Although Lelouch couldn't figure out what Schneizel's reason was for keeping his revival a secret Lelouch was happy to play along, as he chuckled from within the white mask. "I do not know where Big L is Zangai, but I am not this Baldy character you mistake me for. My name is Ningen, the culmination of Zero's dream!" Zangai stared at Lelouch for a full minute before letting out a guttural laugh. "And people call ME insane! Are you serious? Ningen, as in human? Come now, surely you could do better than that!" Lelouch was beginning to feel irritated, as he watched this murderous scum mock him. "Well then Ningen, check this out! My custom Galahalt, the latest and greatest Knightmare frame fresh from assem-"

Zangai was cut short as the Guren's claw launched out to grab onto the Galahalt's sword, though he was able to pull back just before Kallen shot out a Radiant Wave surge. "You talk too much" Kallen said calmly as the Guren's claw retracted along the tether that kept it connected. "And you don't talk enough, little wench!" Kallen blushed out of anger at Zangai's remark, but smirked as she saw Suzaku fly towards the enemy unit from behind. In a flash the Lancelot had deployed both of its wrist-mounted MVSs, accelerating as it grew closer to the Galahalt. Just before impact the Galahalt turned its head to face the Lancelot and disengaged its Float Unit, causing it to drop below the Lancelot's blades much to everyone's surprise. As the Galahalt reengaged its Float system it struck out at the vulnerable Albion, severing its left leg at the knee joint. The loss of Lancelot's leg was of little importance in aerial combat, and far less important than the skill in which Zangai had severed it. Clearly there was more to this adversary than just a marauder; as skilled as Zangai was, he might even be a fair match for Tohdoh in terms of swordsmanship. As Suzaku looked down at the damage and back again it reminded him of his battle against Bismarck Waldstein and the Galahad five years prior, wondering if Zangai held a similar Geass power. As Tohdoh and the others launched to help fight the Galahalt Lelouch began to formulate a series of plans, each one being discarded if it held even a single flaw. Whether it was the pilot or the machine, or perhaps even the combination of the two, the Galahalt was an even match for the advanced eighth-generation Knightmares; there could be no mistakes, because even one tiny error could prove fatal.

Giving Lelouch the time he needed to form an effective strategy Tohdoh charged forward, locking blades with Zangai in the attempt of keeping the Galahalt on the defensive. The Galahalt had both higher-specs and a fuller Energy Filler however, and soon Tohdoh found himself on the defensive. As both Kallen and Suzaku moved to assist him Lelouch went over the concrete facts in his head. _The Galahalt's speed, maneuverability and power far surpasses the Akatsuki and Zangetsu...It can hold its own against Suzaku and the Lancelot, and even Kallen and her Guren can't take it down...Then there's our two Vincent suits, and Shinji...Shinji..._"All units, surround and encircle the Galahalt! Use Spiral Formation Number Six!" As Lelouch issued the command the others followed his lead, creating a series of revolutions around the Galahalt. Lelouch watched from above, keeping a firm eye on Zangai's response. True to his plan the Galahalt began to swing the sword with too much force, as Zangai screamed out in anger for them to hold still. Finally when the Galahalt's sword swings had become too reckless Lelouch initiated his plan. "Suzaku, strike NOW!" Cutting its orbit short the Lancelot dashed towards the Galahalt, its dual MVSs clashing against the MVS broadsword before returning to its orbit. "Now, Tohdoh and Chiba!" The Zangetsu and Command Akatsuki dashed in from perpendicular angles, their katana pushing the Galahalt back slightly as they sped past. "Tamaki and Rivalz!" From above the two Akatsuki units struck down as the Galahalt swung its sword skywards, each one putting a minor scar on the Galahalt before dashing off to opposite sides. "Kallen!" With the Galahalt's sword putting it off-balance the Guren launched a frontal assault, catching and disintegrating the Galahalt's Slash Harkens with a Radiant Wave shot before falling back to avoid Zangai's counter. Lelouch smirked as he watched Zangai grow more and more unstable. _He may be skilled, but he is little more than a wild animal._ Finally Lelouch gave Shinji the kill order, as the youngest pilot of the group activated his own Geass. Pulling out the Vincent's twin-saber Shinji slashed down towards the rear of the Galahalt.

At that moment Lelouch's carefully-planned strategy went straight to hell. Within seconds of being sliced in half the Galahalt cut power to the right side of its Float System, causing the unit to rotate slightly while being slammed to the right and barely dodging Shinji's attack. Despite his Geass Shinji was unable to alter his trajectory with the limitations of his Vincent, as the Galahalt raised his sword and cut open the ejection block just inches away from slicing through Shinji as well. "Well well, this is the little brat who's causing me so much trouble eh? Pathetic!" Instead of killing Shinji outright Zangai used the Galahalt's free hand to throw Shinji's Vincent into the Zangetsu, forcing the others to break formation. While Lelouch looked on in horror the Galahalt's Float tips began to gyrate as it swung its broadsword in a horizontal arc, causing the frame to accelerate as it spun until it resembled a very deadly spinning top. _Almost like the Siegfried, _Lelouch thought to himself as the other units scattered to avoid getting sliced in half. Once the airspace had been cleared the Galahalt launched itself at Lelouch's Vincent frame, slicing off one of its arms with an uppercut attack. "Nice try Big L, but now you're MINE!" As the Galahalt began its chop attack Lelouch knew he could not move the Vincent fast enough to dodge the attack. Instead Lelouch relied on his newfound immortality as he rushed the Galahalt mid-strike, wrapping the Vincent's remaining arm around the Galahalt's midsection. As the Galahalt peppered the Vincent with mounted gun turrets Lelouch rocked back and forth in his control seat from the impacts, but kept the Vincent's grip firmly on his enemy. Without any other weapons to use Lelouch maneuvered the Vincent's legs so that the soles of its feet were firmly planted on the Galahalt's legs, then activated the Landspinners. As the wheels began to burn on Galahalt's legs the larger Knightmare finally got a firm grasp on the Vincent and threw it off, bringing its sword back to bear as the others gathered around Lelouch.

"Okay you little punk, NOW you're gonna get it!" Zangai screamed out as he pushed his sword out in front of his Knightmare and dashed forward. The Knightmares continued to scatter as Zangai's movements became more and more manic and wild, unable to safely land a blow on the enemy machine. Finally the eight had scattered so much that each was spaced far apart from each other. Taking advantage of their separation Zangai used a feint to put Kallen and Suzaku on the defense, before turning around mid-strike and launching himself at Rivalz's suit. As the others watched in horror Zangai sliced diagonally across the Akatsuki, barely avoiding its ejection block but severing both legs and one arm in the process. As Zangai moved in for the killing blow Lelouch launched his damaged Vincent at Rivalz, shoving the Akatsuki out of the way as time seemed to slow down around him. _I suppose this will be my first death as a Knightmare pilot, _Lelouch thought solemnly as the Galahalt's blade came closer. Suddenly a new voice broke out over the radio, another familiar voice with a Chinese dialect. "_Tengaku Haoh Juuryushi Hou_", shouted the new voice as a beam of orange energy blasted the space between the Vincent and Galahalt while mildly damaging the latter. "Xingke!" Kallen exclaimed in joy, as the Shen Hu flew between the eight Black Knights and their attacker. As the Shen Hu maneuvered itself to attack the Galahalt Schneizel spoke calmly over the radio, using a Sound-Only feed so that he could keep his expression masked. "Xingke, is this truly what the United States of China desires? To start a war with-" Xingke cut Schneizel short however, as a small contingent of former Black Knights vessels and frames began to catch up with him. "It is not anything of the sort, Sir Schneizel. I am making this intervention of my own will, having already resigned as commander of the Chinese branch of the Black Knights. So attack me if you so desire, but harm the USC and it will be you who declares war."

Within his mask Lelouch smiled, noticing once more Xingke's unappreciated aptitude for politics. As the other units began to join the nine Lelouch heard Zangai sigh from within his cockpit. "Oh well, I guess that's enough fun for one day." The Galahalt began to accelerate away from the group as he spoke, retreating towards one of the Black Knights' cruisers. Even with the shots from the two cruisers closest to the Avalon the Knightmares were able to return to their nomadic base, though for Rivalz it was more of a crash than a landing. As Tamaki helped the former Ashford student out of the wreckage Lelouch turned to face their new allies, though in his case "face" was a figurative term. Xingke only gave him a quick second-take before addressing Tohdoh, while those who were unloading from the other Knightmares and shuttles were far more obvious in their curiosity. "I had hoped to find you here" Xingke said to his Japanese counterpart, smiling slightly as the Tianzi Jiang Lihua and Kaguya emerged from one of the shuttles. Despite the overall awkwardness of their supposed bond Xingke had only shown brotherly affection towards the former Empress of the United States of China, which had been emphasized more and more as Jiang hit puberty. The now twenty-year-old Kaguya was a sight to behold as well, causing Kallen to glare at Lelouch for the jokes he had made about being her groom years before. As Xingke's eyes scanned the room once more his gaze lingered on Suzaku, causing his smile to fade away as he guessed at the severity of the situation. Those who had come with him had followed the direction of his eyes, and many began to point and shout at the former Knight of Zero in recognition of his past endeavors. By the time Xingke and Tohdoh had calmed down the group with what they knew of Suzaku's part in the Zero Requiem most of the shuttles had been emptied, leaving only a couple of Knightmares piloted as well.

"Hello again, my little Devicer!" Suzaku cringed slightly but when he turned to the silver-haired slender man walking out of the final shuttle he had a wide smile on his face. "Lloyd...and Cecile too! Glad you two could make it!" The blue-haired assistant followed Lloyd in an exhausted slump, her patience strained to the very limit as Rakshata strode past the duo. "Thought you could leave us behind in Tokyo, huh?" Kallen blinked rapidly at Rakshata's remark, before turning to Ohgi in confusion. The current Black Knights leader merely shrugged his shoulders, reminding Kallen that they had been forced to leave thanks to Schneizel's sudden attack. Rakshata simply looked at Ohgi with a blank stare before laughing, mentioning how she was just messing around. As Cecile finally found a decent place to sit with Kaguya and Jiang FAR away from Lloyd and Rakshata the former was giving the Albion a close inspection, moaning a little at each and every scratch the Lancelot had gotten. Taking charge of the moment Lelouch walked over to Lloyd, sliding the Geass contact over his eye while keeping his face hidden. "Well then Earl Asplund, you wouldn't happen to know anything about the Galahalt would you?" The hangar suddenly became hushed, as Lloyd let his head droop and Cecile rose up to speak with Lelouch on his behalf. "Unfortunately, we were the ones who built it. Lord Schneizel had mentioned it was a request from Sir Zero, and since there are still plenty of people opposing the UFN-" "-We didn't want to be left behind in the dust." Lelouch turned back to Lloyd as he finished Cecile's explanation with his own blunt interpretation. "So then, who are you? Some sort of Zero knockoff, or maybe-" Lelouch cut Lloyd short, his eyes lowering somewhat as he noticed the others paying attention to his discussion with Lloyd. "I am...I am merely a representation of human desire. Nothing more, nothing less."

Lelouch was sure he would get more questions about his declaration, if it weren't for the two Knightmare pilots who had finally jumped out of their frames. The one closer to Lelouch was not entirely extraordinary, though the grey-haired youth did give Lelouch a disturbing look as if he could see through the mask. The other pilot however who was slowly overtaking the young man was far more recognizable. "N-Nonette? Nonette Enneagram, is that you?" Suzaku had turned towards the duet when their hatches first opened, and now he had walked forward briskly to greet the Knight of Nine despite any bad blood there might have been. He had just stuck out his hand in awkward greeting when the grey-haired youth stepped in between the two, his right hand hovering at the hilt of a short sword on his waist. "It's alright Rai, he's an old friend...I think." Rai looked to her with concern, then back at Suzaku with a tint of envy. "Okay Nonette, just let me know if you need me." With that Rai separated himself from the group and began to examine the room in earnest. Nonette looked over to Rai with a tender gaze, the twenty-five year old woman smiling at the grey-haired youth not much older than Lelouch or Suzaku. "Rai's a good guy, but he's a little overprotective." Nonette noticed the inquisitive looks she was getting from the Knight of Zero, blushing a little as she realized what she had expressed. Xingke helped her out however, walking over to the duo with a half-smile. "Nonette here had decided to remain separate from our battle five years ago, her loyalty and emotions conflicting over what was right. After...Zero...executed Lelouch" Xingke said with a pause, hinting to Suzaku that he too knew some of the truth, "she came to us and apologized for her lack of determination towards either side. I told her there was nothing to apologize for, and so she joined us in the Chinese division of the Black Knights under a false name...Rebecca Anagram, wasn't it?" Nonette looked at her feet, her blush now practically radiant as Suzaku stifled a smirk.

"As for Rai...well, to be honest we don't really know much about him." By this time the grey-haired youth had finished inspecting the hangar itself and was busy taking inventory of the pilots, again putting most of his focus on Lelouch. Lelouch, both to distance himself from Rai and learn what Xingke knew of current events, had continuously crept towards the trio while staying closest to Suzaku. "So far, only Nonette has really gotten him to open up. He's an excellent pilot however, maybe even on par with you and Kallen. As for his past however we only know one thing for sure: when we found him, he was wandering the Indian desert in a suit similar to the one CC used to wear." When Lelouch heard this he did a double-take, nearly tripping over himself in the process. Was it possible that Rai had been at the Order? That during Lelouch's extermination of the Geass users and the Order itself, his people had somehow let this young man slip through? Lelouch racked his mind with all the possibilities, but as he continued to think he thought of an idea completely unrelated to Rai. _The Geass Order, _Lelouch thought with a scowl. While they had destroyed a few buildings in the crossfire the majority of the base should be safely preserved, being deep enough underground to have weathered the sandstorms properly. Add to that the fact that the location had remained hidden, even from the majority of the Black Knights..."Tohdoh!" Lelouch called out, causing the others in the hangar to stop conversing as Lelouch walked over to the warrior. "Might I suggest a temporary base of operations?" Tohdoh gave Lelouch an inquisitive look, trying to figure out what Lelouch was thinking behind those masks of his. Finally he conceded, walking alongside Lelouch as the group made their way to the bridge. When they arrived it was to find the three pilots conversing with Milly, the former three shouting out with delight as Kaguya raced over to them. Both Seiei and Ryusei had made a point of staying as far away from the four as possible, helping Minami and Sugiyama helm the Avalon in their stead. Villeta had left to check on her son Heion, leaving Ohgi to try and maintain order on the bridge. When Lelouch walked over to him Ohgi's smile had been replaced by a look of conflicted emotions, as he was still working through what felt like a betrayal by the young man before him. "Ohgi, I know of a place we can stay hidden for a while. With any luck Schneizel has not discovered it yet; it took me months to find it, and since then it has severed all connections to the outside world." Ohgi looked from Lelouch to Tohdoh, who nodded solemnly, before agreeing. "Alright then...Seiei! Ryusei!" The two looked up as Lelouch called out their names. "Change our heading to west-northwest. Our destination: The United States of India!"

Schneizel looked at the monitor as the Avalon pulled away at full retreat, his chin resting on his hand in a truly bored expression. He didn't even have to turn to know who had walked into his private sanctuary, as a gruff sigh told him everything he needed to know. "Well done Zangai, though I suppose next time you could show a bit more finesse." True enough, the black-haired man walked past him and sat down at the seat to his right. He had customized his Black Knights attire, so that twin streaks of red ran down the torso. Many times Schneizel had been curious as to the origin of the red substance, but dismissed it as an unimportant query. Zangai gave Schneizel an eye roll at his evaluation of the warrior's capabilities, but shrugged his shoulders in apology. "Tell you what Schneizel, as soon as The M is finished I'll do just that for you." Schneizel looked at Zangai in minor annoyance but simply sighed; someone as vulgar as Zangai would never quite understand the importance of noble blood, but he could allow Zangai his faults so long as the warrior provided excellent results. "Fair enough Sir Jinrui, we have a deal. Now, where is...ah, you have arrived."

Both Schneizel and Zangai watched as Zero-Two entered the room, followed by a brown-haired man in long black robes. The two were followed soon after by two women: one purple-haired and curvy, the other red-headed and quite unfeminine. Both also wore masks: the purple-haired vixen wore a pink mask with only holes in the mouth and right eye, while her shorter red-haired accomplice wore a yellow mask with only eye spaces. Schneizel and Zangai watched as the four took their seats, but surprisingly it was the robed man who took the seat of power; Zero-Two had sat down on his right, removing his mask to reveal curly raven hair and sharp green eyes. The two women sat opposite each other, with the elder between Schneizel and the unmasked Zero and the younger between Zangai and the robed man. "Were those theatrics really necessary, Lord Z?" The robed man turned to face the red-haired girl with a smile. "Lily...my beautiful, deadly Onyx Lily...do you not remember? I have asked, on many occasions, that you refer to me by my proper title: ZZ. After all, was it not I who rescued you and the luscious Violet Rose here from disintegration and freed you from Lelouch's Geass?" The young girl fidgeted in her seat, no doubt blushing at ZZ's praise. For his part the robed man took no notice of Lily's motions, instead raising his hand to Schneizel. "I did this for Schneizel's sake. Freeing his mind took much more work, because the conditions of his enslavement were far more strict. Truth be told Schneizel is not exactly "free"; rather, I used the conditions of his enslavement contract to give him some control over his own destiny. You, who were ordered to serve Zero...would you not say that you still do? And yet, this man is not Zero...but still, he is. A paradox, you see, is the most powerful counteragent there is for a Geass of Lelouch's breed. Through this you can do as you see fit, while still fulfilling the condition of your contract." As Schneizel smiled in agreement he once more stole a quick glance towards the paradox in question; this young man, no older than nineteen, had followed ZZ from the moment the duo arrived on the Ikaruga. From time to time Schneizel would overhear ZZ call him Nicolai or Son, and the youth clearly had deep-seated loyalty to ZZ. Whatever ZZ's true goal was Schneizel was sure Nicolai would follow him, even if it meant jumping head-first into the deepest pits of Hell. Aside from him however the rest of those in the room were only there out of self-interest: the masked women had been saved by ZZ and Schneizel had been freed by him, but Zangai's motive for joining their union was supposedly just so he could continue fighting.

The group discussed their plans for some time, as both Rose and Lily departed for their respective missions. Zangai had cleared out soon after, complaining about all the combat practice he had missed. With a sigh Schneizel bid the remaining duet farewell also, only giving them a sharp glance when he turned his back to them. When the room had finally cleared Nicolai retrieved his helmet and returned to the persona of Zero-Two, as he followed ZZ out of the meeting room. "Master ZZ" he finally said after unmasking once more, when the two had taken enough turns to place them in an empty corridor of the airship. "Do we truly need that man? I think he's beginning to suspect us, and even you have admitted to the extent his mind can work. Would it not be best to-" ZZ chuckled as the two stopped, making sure that not a soul was within earshot. "Do not worry, my child. With Lelouch out there threatening all of us, rest assured that Schneizel will put his blood feud before any business with us. Lelouch will do likewise of course, though I highly doubt the matter will mean as much to an Immortal as it will to a human. With any luck Lelouch will take care of Schneizel for us." Nicolai, or rather Zero-Two, smiled at his mentor as he leaned against the wall and admired the robed man. "ZZ...you truly are the King of kings, aren't you?" ZZ stared blankly at Nicolai for a moment, then broke out into a fit of laughter. "King of kings...yes, that is a good way of putting it." Nicolai looked to his master with concern, a faint tinge of red echoing beneath his green eyes. When ZZ had finished laughing he straightened himself, a V-shaped burn blazing on his back. "Let me ask you, dearest Nicolai: What power comes after that of the King?"


	6. Sixth Move, Black Rook

_**Author's Note: Hello again, beloved readers. I apologize for taking so long to upload this chapter, though with final exams out of the way until September I plan on putting most of my focus into this fanseries. Having etched out many of the key details to LotA I can now tell you this project will be roughly 25 "Moves" in keeping with the pattern of the two seasons of Code Geass LotR. Also, expect a bit of Kallen x Lelouch from now on. CC will also return (for all you enraged Lelouch x CC fans), but as a KaLulu fan boy myself I can't bring myself to write that pairing to decent effect. Even so don't expect anything too serious, and above all else please keep enjoying and sending me the extremely helpful reviews!**_

"Geass: the power of the King. As the former King Lelouch Vi Britannia embarks on the exodus to the remains of the Geass Order base, he is beset by fate as many of those he considered allies now rejoin him in his quest. Unaware of the existence of the mysterious ZZ, how will Lelouch fare in this new conflict? Who will survive the outcome, and who will remain to speak of it?"

Having left troop assignment to Ohgi Lelouch slipped out of the bridge and made a beeline straight for his room, undaunted by the small entourage which had followed after him. Lelouch had resigned himself to not having a moment of alone time until nightfall at least, collapsing on his bed as the seven sat themselves down where they could. "'What now?" Ryusei asked, looking from Suzaku to Kallen to Lelouch is curiosity as Lelouch sat up. "I don't know" Lelouch said somberly, resting his head on his hand as he unsealed his new mask and plopped it down next to him. Rivalz despite still having tons of questions looked to his old friends as well. "He's right...do we go after Schneizel now, or are we going on the defensive?" "I don't know" Lelouch said once more, this time slightly louder as he ran his hands through his hair. Shinji looked up at Lelouch calmly, having decided to set himself on the floor. "C'mon Lelouch, we need some sort of plan or-" "I DON'T KNOW!" The others recoiled as Lelouch rose back to his feet, his eyes wide with anger as he clenched his fists. Lelouch turned towards the window, watching as the Avalon continued westward towards the United States of India with his head hung. "Lelouch..." Kallen said with a partially-outstretched hand, while Milly looked at the younger kids with kind eyes. Seiei and Ryusei were still flinching somewhat from Lelouch's outburst, while Shinji had already recovered and had begun to rise. As Shinji walked over to Lelouch he tensed up, waiting for Lelouch to face him. When Lelouch finally did turn it was to meet Shinji's right fist head-on, as Shinji knocked him to the floor. "Get over it already, Lelouch!" The room had fallen deathly silent as the others watched on, all of them too surprised to even move. As Lelouch stared up at Shinji in shock he saw a smile flash across the younger man's face as he continued to speak. "We entered a Geass contract, so I know what you're capable of! You're Zero, the friggin' miracle worker! You took a ragtag group of revolutionaries...No offense, Miss Kallen...and turned them into the greatest threat to inequality out there. So don't even BEGIN to think we can't handle something like this!" The others silently nodded their approval, as Seiei and Ryusei shared an impressed look. They had never known Shinji to be so motivated before, with Seiei always chastising him and Ryusei always joking about his lack of drive.

The door opened once more, and despite himself Lelouch was unable to reach his mask before it slid fully open. Turning away from the entrance in the hope that he might somehow be ignored Lelouch heard the gruff and military voice of Tohdoh as he entered. "Lelouch, I have kept your secret from Xingke and the others long enough. You will tell me now why I should trust you, or I will inform the others of your existence on this ship." "Tohdoh, wait a-" "No Kallen, it's alright." Kallen watched on somberly as Lelouch turned to face Tohdoh, the sting of Shinji's right hook still evident on his face. _Kallen's already given up too much for me...I can't let her drag herself down with me._ "I'm afraid I can't tell you Tohdoh...nor can I expect either of us to trust the other." Tohdoh looked surprised by his inclusion in Lelouch's retort, before wiping the expression from his face. Lelouch had caught the shock however, and with a smile bordering on a sneer he continued. "You and I are both guilty of that sin Tohdoh, as you should well know. Were it not for YOUR betrayal I would not have had to fight you in the end..." Tohdoh stared at Lelouch with hardened eyes, the cruel logic of Lelouch's statement hitting home. Finally he sighed, admitting that there would be time for answers later. "Very well then Lelouch, I'll leave it to you to explain yourself to Xingke...when the time comes. For now you should take up the-" "No Tohdoh, I will not." Lelouch looked down at his white mask as he cut Tohdoh short, already knowing what the general had in mind. "As much as I despise saying this, you must become Zero once more...for the sake of those who believed in us." "And what exactly would I say to them: Sorry I used you for vengeance on my own family? I wore the mask of Zero to avoid that very issue, but right now it would only cause problems we cannot afford."

When Tohdoh finally withdrew his argument another thought crept back into Lelouch's mind. "Tohdoh...that young man who came with Xingke...Rai Kenbō, if I remember correctly...what can you tell me about him?" Tohdoh could not prevent a small smile from forming as he noticed the irony in how Lelouch, who refused to answer any questions, wanted answers from him. Finally the aging samurai let out a sigh as he thought back to what Xingke had told him when they had first recruited the strange boy. "As you already know, Xingke and his people found Rai wandering the deserts near the United States of India. When we pressed him for more information he began to shut himself off from the world, and there were a few times that he would simply assault whoever had asked him the question in the first place. Apparently Miss Enneagram was the one who found him, and ever since then she's been the only one he'll ever open up to. He seems overly protective of her, but most of us believe that is just his way of showing gratitude-" "Nope!" The entire room fell silent as every head turned to face the fear-inducing grin of Milly Ashford as she rose up to challenge Tohdoh. "I'm sorry Mr. Tohdoh, but you've got it all wrong. It's really simple really…he likes her!" Most of the room, Tohdoh included, simply let their mouths hang open at Milly's random interpretation of things, though Lelouch was able to let out a snicker at the look on Tohdoh's face. _The more things change the more they stay the same, _Lelouch thought to himself as the other former Student Council members began to emulate Lelouch's laughter until finally only Tohdoh was left wondering whether someone onboard had forgotten to change the water filter. "I don't see how-" "Trust the Prez on this one Tohdoh, she's as much an expert at this as you are in combat." It felt right to Lelouch that he would call Milly Prez again, despite the fact that she had graduated long before his Zero Requiem.

Turning to Milly Lelouch gave her a nod, silently asking her to continue. "It's so obvious from the way he looks at her I'm surprised none of you have caught on yet…though I suppose given your track record Lelouch it's just surprising that you even accepted the idea." Lelouch's smirk quickly reformed into his trademark scowl, as the other young adults began to turn and snicker in his direction. Lelouch covered his face with his palm as best he could, pretending to push aside an obnoxious bang even as his face became more crimson than Kallen's hair. "Can we move on to the subject at hand Milly?" Lelouch asked with annoyance, doing his best to cover the humiliation in his voice with arrogance. Naturally it didn't come close to fooling Milly, but as a sign of their friendship she let her embarrassing retort slide as she turned back to Tohdoh. "It's not just Rai either; I bet Nonette feels exactly the same way, but she's just too afraid to express herself!" The two generations of Student Council members shared awkward glances as they saw the figurative gears turning in Milly's head; the last thing anyone needed was another Broken Hearts Contest, or even the Confession Dance she had held the previous year in order to get Seiei to confess to Shinji while Ryusei had been trapped with confessions from five different rival girls. Ryusei physically shuddered at the nightmarish memories and the thoughts of the bruises which would last for the next two weeks when he had been unable to make a snap decision, while Seiei blushed deeply and Shinji sulked at the total absence of any girls who had confessed to him. Lelouch had the most recognizable reaction to their combined memories, flailing backwards right off his bed as the mentally-scarring images of that accursed Cupid's Day rushed through his mind; that would definitely be one MAJOR advantage to accumulating so many "experiences" which would forever erase that wound from Lelouch's psyche. As the group turned to watch Lelouch rise up he pointed his index finger straight at Milly, a slightly manic look in his face. "DON'T…GET…INVOLVED" was all Lelouch said before slumping back down onto his bed, the redness rising to new levels in his face.

"Fair enough, but if they don't figure it out soon then it'll be my civic duty to help them in their Quest of Lov-" "Oh no it won't!" The voices of Lelouch and Kallen echoed off the three recruits, as Suzaku and Rivalz exchanged the look only those who have watched such comedy unfold before them could have. As Suzaku struggled to hold in his own laughter his mind came full-circle to the situation at hand. "Seriously though Lelouch, where are we headed?" Lelouch turned to his oldest friend-turned nemesis-turned knight with a solemn gaze, knowing the reaction his declaration would create. "We're going to the remains of the Geass Order, where not only VV but also Rolo and Jeremiah were stationed alongside hundreds of Geass test subjects." The reactions were expected: Suzaku had risen to his feet in a mix of Geass-focused hatred and shock, Kallen's eyes were wide with disbelief, and despite being left out of Lelouch's briefing on the subject Tohdoh's grip on his sword tightened immensely. Surprisingly it was Rivalz who first came to Lelouch's support, giving the group his favorite wide-mouth smile as he remembered all of Lelouch's old chess matches. "Same old crazy Lelouch…it makes the perfect hiding place though, doesn't it?" When the others looked to Rivalz with wavering expressions the former Knight Police officer rose up and stretched his arms behind his head. "I mean, think about it! If only VV and Emperor Charles knew about the place to begin with, all we have to do is hope none of the Black Knights who went there will bother to bring it up!" Tohdoh looked to Rivalz as the memory of Asahina's last word and testimony came back into the light, the massacre which had begun the process by which Lelouch would eventually be overthrown. "They're dead" the general responded solemnly, causing Rivalz's wide smile to falter and drop entirely. "The last survivor transmitted data to Asahina, who then gave it to myself shortly before his death. There were files and images I would rather not remember…" Tohdoh concluded, watching as Lelouch's fingers interlocked beneath his chin. "The Geass Massacre was a necessary evil at the time, Tohdoh. Each and every one of those who was killed had the potential to annihilate us entirely."

"Which is why you want to know if Rai came from there or not" Shinji said aloud, his insight into Lelouch's mind granting him the ability to conclude Lelouch's own thoughts. "Precisely. If he had the power of obedience as I do there would be no problem in using the same Geass countermeasures which worked against me. However…we do not know what kind of Geass-" "KIND of Geass?" Tohdoh exclaimed with only mild deviation from his normal calm, putting a heavy emphasis on "kind". "Yes Tohdoh, I have battled many types of Geass…whether it is the power to read someone's mind…alter their perception of time…or even overwrite their memories or emotions…Until we know for sure what Geass Rai has, or if he even has a Geass to begin with, we should treat him with some degree of caution." The entire room grew silent as they realized the importance of Lelouch's warning: there was the likely possibility that any one of them could be under Rai's control or ability to manipulate, without them ever knowing it. That meant the other members of the Black Knights were at risk too…it was impossible to know who they could trust from here on out…

Schneizel remained almost motionless as his personal carrier soared through the independent airspace of the Pacific Ocean, his left hand curled around his visage as he expressed mild curiosity outwards towards those guarding him. Mentally he was far more concerned than he was willing to show, the only sign to the outside world of his thought path laid within his darkening eyes. _The United States of India…what are you planning, Lelouch?_ As Zangai casually strolled through Schneizel's personal conference room with his usual gall Schneizel thought more about his strange new associate. Like his former aide Kanon had once said Schneizel had a knack for attracting unusual people to his cause, and Zangai no doubt fulfilled that requirement. Schneizel smile widened slightly as he thought of how Zangai's abilities had gained his attention; being the only Number to work directly under the Knight of Ten Zangai had learned far more about warfare and torture from Luciano than any other pilot Schneizel had ever met. When ZZ had joined Schneizel Zangai was the first Knightmare Schneizel had scouted for their grand plan, and consequently he was the only one Schneizel allowed into their inner circle. He had all the respect and discipline one would expect from a commoner, let alone one from Luciano's unit, but Schneizel could only marvel at Zangai's distorted sense of honor and loyalty. As far as Schneizel could tell, so long as he continued to provide Zangai with opportunities to fight and kill Zangai would in turn swear his allegiance to Schneizel to the point where Zangai had become Schneizel's most trusted ally in the underlying battle for power that would eventually arise between himself and ZZ.

As the shuttle landed at the Indian Black Knights headquarters Schneizel requested that his advisors and personal guard discuss converging assaults on Lelouch's forces with the Indian division without him. Taking his request as that of the bored man Schneizel had become known as the majority of the troops left the shuttle, leaving only himself and Zangai onboard. After waiting for the rooftop to clear Schneizel finally left the shuttle, as Zangai followed him off with a small grin. Sacrificing the speed of the elevator Schneizel turned towards the anonymity of the silent staircase, calmly walking down roughly twelve flights of stairs without being interrupted by the local government forces. Letting Zangai take the lead Schneizel pointed out the door which would lead the duet to their target, letting Zangai swing open the door and enter the chambers reserved for only the elite Knightmare pilots. Inside were six teenagers of varying looks and expressions, though all of them turned to face the newcomers in a mix of awe and contempt. At their head was a slightly older man with long brown hair, whose eyes were eclipsed by a jet-black visor holding a red-tinted V-shaped lens in place. The other six were all holding onto similar visors in their own unique ways, though the other visors were instead a turquoise lens encased in a silvery-white metal. Schneizel either took no notice of the looks he was getting or simply didn't care as he sat at the opposite end of the table from the brown-haired gentleman, allowing Zangai to swing his chair around and straddle it as he analyzed the other young men.

"Well then Cla-" Schneizel saw just enough eye through the transparent plate to see the leader's eyes narrow, and realized his tactical error. "Ah yes, please excuse me…Cyan then, is it?" The other man's eyes returned to a state of complacency while the six who had begun to rise before settled with a wave from their leader's hand. "It is an honor as unusual Lord Schneizel, though I do not believe your bodyguard has introduced himself to us yet." As eight pairs of eyes focused on Zangai he seemed oblivious at first to the meaning behind Cyan's words, as Schneizel let out a small sigh at yet another showing of his associate's lack of subtlety. Finally Zangai seemed to get the message however, swiveling his chair back to normal as he gave Cyan a curious look. "Sorry man, Zangai Jinrui at your service!" Zangai had stretched back as he spoke, causing Schneizel to lock his teeth to avoid hissing at Zangai's rude demeanor; it was hard to overcome the fact that he had been born of royal blood after all, so Schneizel took his grievance as a sign that he had not yet acclimated to Lelouch's new world. The younger soldiers were not as reserved as Schneizel was however, as the purple-haired youth nearest Zangai suddenly rose from his seat in an attempt to tackle Zangai. Amidst shouts of "Gregory, stop!" Zangai merely rolled slightly as Gregory slid right past him, then grabbed the youth by his military crew-cut and slammed against the table with a knife already in hand. As the others rose to rescue their comrade Zangai released Gregory into the unexpecting arms of his allies, sheathing his blade and returning to his relaxed position. For his part Cyan had only tensed up without the sudden movements of his subordinates, but Schneizel could see his hand hidden inside his jacket most likely wrapped around a firearm. "An interesting find you have here Lord Schneizel, but what makes you so certain that I would join you? You clearly have something you desire of me and my brethren, otherwise you would not have wasted your time here."

Schneizel chuckled as the cogs of his plan meshed perfectly, seeing Zangai smile out of the corner of his eye. "My dear Cyan, I have merely come to you in order to personally give you two things. The first is information: The splinter group of the Black Knights is on their way here for some reason. Chief among these vagabonds is Lady Kouzuki, someone I believe you are very well connected with." The six youths had already begun to growl at Kallen's name, and even the stoic Cyan had let loose a scowl. "The filth…and the other thing?" Schneizel grinned slightly as he saw Cyan's desire for the bait he had planted, reaching into his coat as he scanned the faces of Cyan's forces. "The other…is a mission. Entirely voluntary mind you, but I felt you might want this one for yourselves." As Schneizel spoke he retrieved a manila envelope from his person and slid it across the table to Cyan, watching as the gentleman carefully opened the package. Within the package were a few pages of text, schematics of various ships and Knightmare frames, and a single Knightmare operational key. The key was jet-black with traces of a light blue etched along the sides. Cyan's eyes wandered from the key to the schematics and back again, his gaze widening with each visual circuit. "I believe you are familiar with the DVS project? We have prepared the prototype model for your use…if you are interested, of course. The text however…I would highly recommend reading _that _on your own time." Despite Schneizel's warning Cyan browsed through the files, keeping the text invisible to prying eyes with the schematics and his own person. Finally Cyan rose up and bowed to Schneizel, indicating for the others to follow his example. "We live to serve, Lord Schneizel." Schneizel rose up as well, while Zangai lazily got to his feet and began to head towards the door. "Very well then Cyan, one last thing remains…about your team designation-" "Cralzedon Guard" was all Cyan said as the six grouped around him, "it's…kind of a family tradition."

Once the duet had made it back to their shuttle undetected Zangai turned to face Schneizel. "So, Boss Man…how'd you know they'd go for it?" Schneizel ignored Zangai's rudeness as best he could; it seemed that Zangai had made a personal goal out of eliciting a physical response from the former Prince, and Schneizel was in no way about to give him the satisfaction of getting one today. "It's simple, my brash friend. Our friend Cyan and his brothers lost more family to the Black Rebellion than any other soldier I know. During our final dialogue Lelouch and I had discussed the very nature of humanity. In his arrogance Lelouch told me that he would gamble his own mortality, his infamy and his legacy on the collective desire mankind has to improve. Be that as it may I too have decided to wager my future on humanity's desire for blood and revenge, a desire to which Cyan has given himself completely." Zangai shrugged as he chuckled, sitting down opposite Schneizel as he did so. "Cold and callous, eh? I don't really care of course, just keep letting me fight and we'll have no problem whatsoever. Oh yeah, what about that DSV thing?" Schneizel looked to Zangai with a small smile, allowing his eyes to wander around the room as he made sure the security cameras had remained disabled; they hardly needed this kind of conversation around for anybody to hear, after all. "What, did you think the M was our only surprise? Don't worry about it Zangai, I've had the M built to suit you. Just consider the DSV your…backup, I suppose is the right word." Zangai had perked up at the mention of the M, but had then returned to his relaxed state as he let loose an excessive laugh. "Backup? Clearly you have yet to fully understand me, Mister Schneizel." _And there it is again, _Schneizel thought with a sigh. _This time he even called me mister! _Schneizel had to admit, above even fighting and killing Zangai was quickly becoming a master at finding just the right buttons to push. "Fair enough then Zangai, if that is your desire I will simply send Cyan out with his team. I had thought you would join him, your new subordinate, on the battlefield…but, if you wish to work independently from the Cralzedon Guard then I fully understand." Schneizel tried to restrain himself as Zangai's laughter died down into a growl, though he was sure at least a wider smile had escaped his control at the reaction. _Now then Lelouch, what will your move be?_

"So then Tohdoh, care to explain exactly where we're going?" Having given command of the Avalon to his military superior Xingke, Tohdoh looked from the Chinese general to the masked Lelouch with an annoyed look. 'Ningen' for his part was nonchalant as he skimmed the files on a personal hard drive, then pointing the pilots in the right direction while setting a series of temporary marks on their private system map. They had come into the United States of India through the Beijing Strait within the United States of China, once again regretting the loss of their submersible back during the prelude to the Exodus of Japan. The various Knightmares had flown out in shifts, so that Rai and Nonette had just returned as Kallen launched in the Guren-SEITEN. The two Gareth models they had been piloting were being repaired in the hangar, replacing Energy Fillers and the like; if not for corrosion from the sandy air the units would be in perfect condition with their lack of enemy contact. As Rai and Nonette entered the bridge Xingke once again stole a look at this new masked figure, his mind spinning as his suspicions grew. For his part Lelouch remained calm and quiet, occasionally stealing glances at Rai from within his helmet. After their brief meeting the nine of them had done their best to be cautious without being obvious about it, as Milly and Rivalz had joined the Black Knights' crew for easier rotations for the core members. The younger students were more obvious, but thanks to their youth and constant Knightmare training it had been passed off as curiosity and their eagerness to learn about their new lives. Despite his knack for being easily shot down Tamaki had agreed to train the three in advanced Knightmare combat, showing a surprising amount of humility when it was discovered that Shinji had already surpassed him and was well on his way to becoming the new top ace. Ryusei and Seiei both showed great aptitude for piloting Knightmares as well, though both had widely different styles than Shinji: due to her karate club Seiei had instinctively fought hand-to-hand in the Knightmare simulator, while Ryusei's laidback attitude had made him better at dodging than practically every other Black Knight pilot they had.

As Lelouch continued to keep his eyes on Rai and Nonette he found his attention drifting to Suzaku, who was also scanning the room and who gave Lelouch a curt nod as if he could see Lelouch's face even through the mask. As much as he wanted to deny it Lelouch had to admit to himself that he had also been avoiding the eventual confrontation with his friend-turned-nemesis. Despite everything Lelouch had said those two nights ago it still felt like a hollow excuse even to himself, and he had little doubt Suzaku's rage towards him would have been abolished so easily. After all, it was Euphemia and her death at Lelouch's hands which had driven the friends to openly hate each other for a brief time; had the roles been reversed Lelouch knew he would have gone berserk, as he had done when he believed Nunnally had perished in the FLEIA those years ago. Even after the Ragnorak Confrontation (as Lelouch had named his victory over Charles and subsequent Zero Requiem planning) there was still that tint of malice in Suzaku's eyes and in his voice, no matter how drowned it had been by sorrow and determination. With a smirk Lelouch looked back humorously on those two dark days when both men had lost someone so very dear to them; if not for those deaths Lelouch would not have been forced to abandon the Black Knights in favor of what he was sure was a suicide mission, having been unsure whether or not C's World would deny him death. It was almost ironic in a tragic sense that Suzaku now wore the Black Knight's attire, as Lelouch remembered that night prior to his first glimpse of Lancelot pilot Suzaku when he had planned to bring Suzaku into his innermost circle. I So many losses/I, Lelouch thought to himself as he slipped briefly into an inaudible slumber, in his immortal state having grown an easier aptitude for trusting people to alert him should anything go wrong. His last thoughts before slumping against the rear wall of the bridge were of the loved ones he had lost, and of those who he still had to protect with everything he had.

It would be hours before Lelouch would sleep again, this time slamming himself onto his bed as he prepared for the day to come. The night shift had taken over, as the majority of the Black Knights returned to their quarters for a good night's sleep; the Avalon's biggest improvement since its minor crash appeared to be its brand new Float System, whose massive power boost also lowered the need for conventional fuel while using newer rechargeable Energy Fillers to keep the system operational. Lelouch had taken steps to protect himself during the night, not wanting those who were not privy to his secret to take it from him; yet another blessing of being immortal was the newfound relief from fear of being assassinated or poisoned, so that despite the mild discomforts these deaths brought him Lelouch could breath easy. However in his exhaustion Lelouch had forgotten to key in his security pad to seal his door shut, so that Lelouch was only on his bed a few minutes before he heard the whooshing sound of his door sliding open. While Lelouch had not yet begun to undress himself he had set aside his new mask, so that as the unknown person entered the room he slid his head beneath the pillow in the hopes that whoever it was could not recognize him. "Go…Away…" Lelouch said in a muffled tone, hoping the distortion would garble his voice enough to keep his guest from discovering him. The person did not move however, though the door did slide closed behind them. When the door finally sealed shut the person spoke in a calm and gentle voice. "Lelouch…it's me."

"Kallen?" Truth be told Lelouch had not thought of this. He had considered many scenarios: where Suzaku would come and beat him to a pulp; where Tohdoh and his team would come in demanding answers of Lelouch; where Xingke or one of his allies would sneak in to discover who was under the Ningen mask and overreact at the outcome; where Milly or Rivalz would ask those personal questions about Lelouch during his time as Zero, asking all those awkward questions he had purposefully avoided; or where Shinji would come in asking more questions about his Geass or that he couldn't turn it off (a thought that still intrigued Lelouch, given the nature and spontaneity of Shinji's Geass). He had never once considered this as a possible scenario, his mind so focused on battle that for a while Lelouch the human being had taken a back seat once more to Lelouch the Rebel and Lelouch the Emperor. Lelouch looked out from under his pillow and immediately shoved his face back under it, hoping that Kallen had not noticed the deep degrees of red it had become. Kallen had walked in wearing her nightwear, which while completely covering everything important only showed off her beautiful figure even more. The nightgown's main parts matched her hair in color, while a semi-transparent lighter shade covered the rest. _What the hell is she doing? _Lelouch turned his face away, the reddening only growing brighter as if it would soon illuminate his face even in the darkness. He remembered how he had multiple times seen her or fallen into mistakenly-compromising situations during the Black Rebellion, and once again he remembered the kiss they had shared when he arrived at Ashford Academy as a king instead of a student.

In those five years her figure had only improved to what seemed unfair levels for Lelouch, who was steadily realizing that in many ways he was still just as human as everyone else. "What are you doing here Kallen? Both of us need to sleep, in case you forgot about our alert status?" He silently prayed that she would let out some snide reply and storm off in a huff, but instead he heard the footsteps grow even closer. _Damn it…_ "Lelouch, I want…I _need _to talk to you." He heard her sit down beside him and finally uncovered his face after a substantial amount of blushing had cleared away, realizing that she would not be turned away so easily. "Alright Kallen, I'm listening. What did you want to talk about?" Despite himself Lelouch found his eyes forcing themselves away from Kallen's face, as if looking directly at her would have such an impact on Lelouch's resolve. "That day, the day you left-" "The day you all abandoned me, you mean?" Kallen recoiled as her shoulders slumped, while Lelouch felt an unusual mix of pleasure and self-loathing. "Right, that…you lied to all of us, right? I mean, you went on about how you were using us all, but that was all just a show for Schneizel wasn't it?" "I don't know…" Lelouch said, masking his inner conflict with a sneer and arrogant tone in his voice as he raised his nose at Kallen. "Maybe it was, and maybe it wasn't-"

"Don't say that Lelouch!" On reflex Lelouch snapped out of his avoiding sneer and looked at Kallen eye to tear-filled eye, as she sniffled while continuing on. "You told me…you told me to live on, don't you remember?" "K-Kallen…" Lelouch tried to think of a good excuse, some way of pushing off the event as something he saw as unimportant that would keep him in that same villainous light. However, the more he thought about it the harder it became for Lelouch to bring himself to lie to Kallen's now fully tear-streaked face. The truth of it was that the betrayal had truly hit close to home for Lelouch, making him realize how dangerously close he had begun to relate himself to his allies. But that had been back then, back when he couldn't afford to let anyone in; even CC was only let into his inner circle because she had already known, and it wasn't like Lelouch could actually kill her in any case. Ironically it was the fact that he was technically dead that now filled Lelouch with a new sense of life and vigor, that he could risk making connections now without as much fear of being betrayed. Finally Lelouch simply collapsed his head on Kallen's shoulder, tenderly wrapping his arms around her frame before the sound of shock could fully escape her lips. "I'm sorry, Kallen…I am so, so sorry…"

Before either of them could say another word the ship's alarm bells began to go off at maximum volume, bringing the duo back to themselves as Lelouch sighed as reset his mask. "Once, just once, I'd like to get a decent bit of sleep." Tossing Kallen a spare uniform to save her from embarrassment Lelouch stormed out of his room before Kallen had even begun to change, lest anyone get the wrong idea about them. Joining the others on the way to the bridge Lelouch followed after Ohgi, watching as Xingke and Tohdoh led the other pilots towards the hangar. To his surprise Lelouch not only saw Shinji but also Seiei and Ryusei practically leading the pack alongside Suzaku and Rivalz; apparently they had already been cleared as upcoming ace pilots, as each of them wore the special outfits worn only by the top Knightmare pilots such as Kallen and Tohdoh. While Shinji had picked out a purple uniform which complimented his Geass perfectly, Ryusei was wearing a brown jumpsuit and strangely enough Seiei had decided on a bright pink color for her uniform. Even Rivalz and Suzaku were wearing the special Black Knights uniform, wearing respective green and white outfits. After a few minutes Kallen had caught up and squirmed her way to the front, her old ace uniform not fully zipped in her desperation to avoid being a burden. Lelouch heard that all-knowing sigh he had heard once too often, turning his masked face towards Milly as the Prez walked right behind. "Something I should know about?" Milly asked in that tone that told Lelouch that Milly already knew far more than she needed to and had no doubt created that one false conclusion Lelouch had wanted to avoid. "Trust me, just drop it." As Lelouch turned to face forward he caught Milly shrugging out of the corner of his eye and realized with a sickening lurch that she was far from satisfied.

Luckily Lelouch didn't have much time to think about it, as the spiky gray top of a certain suspected Geass-user floated over the sea of people to come face-to-face with him. Unlike the previous day however Rai's mood could not have been more positive as he gave Lelouch a wide smile. "Ningen, right? Hi, my name's Rai Kenbō…sorry if we got off to a rocky start yesterday. Miss Nonette sent me to get you, said Master Xingke wants all pilots ready to deploy." Rai's demeanor became more serious as he spoke, until he poked Lelouch with an extremely determined look in his eyes. "That includes YOU, according to Tohdoh's report. So come on, before things get hairy!" Lelouch wasn't sure whether to be angry or glad towards Tohdoh; while he felt the samurai was no doubt putting him on the front lines as some sort of payback Lelouch had to thank Tohdoh for getting him safely away from Milly before things could escalate. Much to his surprise Lelouch found his way to the front of the pack of pilots rather quickly, as Rai seemed to show as much skill in real life as he was rumored to on the battlefield. For his part Rai was wearing the regular Black Knights uniform as well, making the duo the only regular-uniform soldiers amidst a row of color-assorted aces. Lelouch stole glances to his sides, making a mental note to configure his next mask with better side perception so that he could look without turning his head. Seiei had told Kallen about her uniform's faux pas, so that despite a heavy amount of blushing Kallen was now fully zipped. Ryusei and Rivalz were adding morale to the crew through their bravado, each of them adding relief through their light-hearted nature. Finally Suzaku and Shinji had stepped to either side of Lelouch as Rai turned off to walk beside Nonette, both of them giving Lelouch knowing looks. As they split off to access their personal Knightmare frames Lelouch took one last look at Rai and Nonette, Milly's absurd conclusion becoming more and more logical much to Lelouch's chagrin.

"Attention all pilots, we have detected multiple Knightmare frames of unknown origin heading our way. Keep a firm perimeter until we can identify our attackers." Tohdoh's voice crackled over the radio, affirming Ohgi's recommendations. Lelouch watched as the Zangetsu and the Shen Hu blasted out of the hangar, as Kallen and Suzaku prepared to deploy in their frames. The other units began to activate as well, though Lelouch took notice when Rai switched over to a dual-MVS equipped Vincent instead of the Gareth he had used earlier. After the four personalized Knightmares had finally taken off the remainder of their forces began to launch in droves, as Britannian and Japanese models took to orbiting the Avalon while the four aces created an outer ring of defense in the front. The pilots did not have to wait long however, as within minutes of their initial launch the Black Knights were scattered as the enemy frigate fired volley after volley towards the Avalon. The Avalon had undergone some improvements during its rebuild however, as the Core Luminous shield now extended to cover the ship's front as well as its top and underside. Even so the shield would not hold forever; realizing this the Zangetsu and Shen Hu diverged from the main group alongside a contingent of Akatsuki and a few Gareths, charging straight towards the enemy ship as the Guren and Lancelot maneuvered the other troops to prepare for the counterattack. Sure enough a line of explosions began to appear in the distance where the elder warriors were working to disable the ship, while an entirely separate unit headed straight towards the Avalon. This group was far more diverse than the others they had fought so far; rather than just their fellow Vincent and Gareth units there were assorted Burai and Sutherlands, even going so far as to include a squad of Gloucesters.

"Wait a second…" Lelouch turned towards Suzaku as the Albion floated there, MVS half-drawn. "Those designs…aren't those the Glaston Knights' Gloucesters?" Lelouch took another look at the half-dozen custom units, and sure enough there were the added colors and shoulder-mounted missile launchers which had made Glaston so infamous. "So, they've resorted to stealing old relics have they?" Lelouch had made his usual arrogant boast, but inside his mind the gears were working rapidly. _With all the Knightmares Schneizel has at his disposal, why send out these older models? He has already shown off that new sword-wielding unit, so why doesn't he…_"It's a diversion!" Sure enough, as the first over enthusiastic pilots flew to defeat the Float-equipped Gloucesters they found themselves face-to-face with Hadron shells, the six Gloucesters just standing by as their attackers fell into the ocean. "Below us!" Lelouch shouted, as those closest to the shells' origin readjusted their aim and fired volley after volley at the unidentified model. The unit seemed to fly straight through the shells as it avoided them, losing no momentum as it swiveled around shells and missiles before plowing into the closest Knightmare frame with a spear in its grasp, killing the pilot on impact. As the mysterious new unit stopped to remove the carcass from its weapon Lelouch was able to get his first good look at it: like the Galahalt it was equipped with that bizarre six-point Float System, while its feet had folded into its legs to create a pair of lance-shaped appendages. Its spear was a slimmed-down variant of the Gloucester's own infamous weapon, while its other hand was composed entirely of a Hadron Cannon surrounded by miniature Slash Harkens similar to the Shen Hu's. It's most unusual quality lie in the headpiece however: not only did it have six vibrant-blue optical units akin to the Shinkiro's "eyes", but its covering was a slanted-back dome which gave the head a stretched appearance. The entire unit was a mix of pure white and aqua, a stark contrast to the Galahalt.

Lelouch sighed as he let the sight before him fully sink in, switching on his communications terminal and keying it to the Avalon's bridge. "Lloyd, please tell me you didn't make this one too." Rather than Lloyd it was Cecile who appeared over the video feed, a truly shocked look evident on her face. "Not at all L-Ningen" she said, as Lelouch watched for any sign that the others had noticed her slip-up. Lloyd strolled up to the console beside his assistant, his casual attitude belying his frustration and anger. "Looks like Schneizel was hiding more from us than just his intentions" Lloyd said dryly, and Lelouch took notice as Lloyd refused to acknowledge Schneizel as royalty for the first time since he had met the developer. "I hate to admit it, but I am impressed. Nonetheless I doubt we can capture it for study…Rai? Rai my boy, are you there?" Lelouch was stunned to hear Lloyd refer to Rai so casually, before forgetting that the mysterious youth had been in the Black Knights for some time already. "Yeah, I'm here Mr. Asplund. What do you need?" Lelouch looked to Lloyd in annoyance as he turned to face another video terminal. "Ah, there you are. Rai, I'm guessing you can't capture that thing without great risk…am I right?" It took a few moments before Rai responded, a sigh preceding his answer. "Doesn't look it, Mister Lloyd. It looks pretty nasty, to be honest…not the kind of thing we need anyway, right?" Lloyd straightened himself with a smile, pushing his glasses back up his face as he did so. "Exactly, so Rai…activate the V-Club, if you would."

_V-Club? What the hell are they talking about? _Lelouch didn't have to wait long to see however, as the Vincent's form began to change drastically. The Vincent Ward's elbow armor retracted to reveal personal shield generators identical to the Lancelot's, while an extra pair of Slash Harkens appeared beneath the unit's palms. The shoulder and leg armor also changed, this time extending as an under layer of armor filled in the gaps. Finally the chest piece opened up, revealing a Core Luminous cone just as Rai connected the MVS lances into the Vincent's trademark double-saber. "You see Ningen" Lloyd said as he returned his attention to a stunned Lelouch, "during the initial development of the Lancelot and Vincent we decided to…blend certain concepts together. The original frame proved too unstable, so we built the Vincent Club model instead." Lelouch looked on as Rai activated the V-Club's energy shield on its off-hand, pushing itself forward towards the unknown machine with wild abandon as skirmishes began to spread out all around the Avalon's airspace. Lelouch stole quick glances at his friends and allies, taking an unusual sense of pride in seeing his three new protégées fighting alongside each other in a trio of Vincent Commander units, their attacks not only complementing each other but also the Hadron blasts from Rivalz's and Tamaki's Gareths. Suzaku was easily holding his own in the Albion as wave after wave of Knightmares tried to rush him, leaving Lelouch and Kallen detached from the skirmishes as Nonette raced to team up with Rai against this new unit.

However, as Lelouch turned his attention back to the Vincent Club he saw their mysterious commander pull off an amazing acrobatic feat, spiraling around Rai's sword slash before counterattacking with his sharpened leg joints. Between his shields and parries Rai was unable to get a successful attack to pierce the enemy's rhythm, while Nonette was cut off by the Gloucesters. Despite her more advanced unit she had still brought a long-range unit up against a set of melee fighters, a near-impossible task for even a Knight of Round. Utilizing what few weapons she had Nonette launched the Gareth's Cluster Harkens and missiles, trying her best to get into firing range as Kallen and Lelouch accelerated to aide the two. However the enemy commander had taken notice of the reinforcements, as waves of enemies threatened to flank the Knightmares and hit the Avalon point-blank. Lelouch ordered Kallen to continue on as he unsheathed his Vincent's own dual-MVS saber, launching himself at the nearest enemy unit in a frenzy. Shinji and the others had caught on to the enemy's ploy, and as the other Knightmares formed a looser net around their flagship Shinji led the charge to help Lelouch stop the oncoming sneak attack.

Despite facing superior numbers Lelouch risked looking away from his fight towards where Kallen was headed, and the sight was not pretty. Nonette's Gareth was lacking an arm and was unstable in its flight path, while Rai's advanced Vincent have proven itself not enough of a challenge for the enemy machine. Rai's ejection block had been just barely pierced by his assailant's attacks, so that Lelouch could see the exhausted young adult within. His energy shields seemed to be failing as well, forcing him to block more with his sword and give the enemy more opportunities to attack. Kallen was forcing her way through the enemy onslaught, blasting past more enemy units than Lelouch cared to count; at the rate she was going however there was no way she would make it, at least in time to save them both. Finally destroying enough of the would-be saboteurs to lessen the threat Lelouch ordered Shinji to help the trio, knowing that only Shinji's Geass could make enough of a difference. It was as he gave this order that a message began to crackle through on the international combat channel. "Attention, former Black Knights! My name is Claudio S. Darlton, son of Andreas Darlton and last of the Glaston Knights. Today my brothers and I take back our family's honor, with the help of this Dengrave Sans Villainy!" As Lelouch listened to the audio-only broadcast he watched as the enemy flagship began to alter its course away from the Avalon, smoke rising steadily from key sections of the ship. _Damn it you two, hurry before it's too late! _Despite the loss of their ship the enemy Knightmares continued to rush the Avalon, so that in spite of everything Lelouch had no choice but to order the others to maintain the perimeter and watch as Claudio severed the segments which controlled the limb movements of Rai's Vincent. Elevating the Vincent with him as the Dengrave joined the Gloucesters Claudio aimed his lance at Nonette's cockpit, ordering his brothers to do likewise. "I do this not just for justice and peace, but also for vengeance. I, who was forced to watch as you butchered my brothers and smeared my family name with Zero's accursed power…I will now watch as you feel that same suffering!"

"STOP!" As the Dengrave and the Gloucesters prepared to pierce Nonette and her frame Lelouch heard the scream even through the garbled radio. Zooming in on the execution Lelouch watched in amazement as Rai clambered out of his Knightmare and into the roaring ocean winds, his clothes threatening to tear away from him from the sheer velocity of the ocean breeze. Lelouch was not the only one caught in awe; despite themselves units from both sides stopped battling for brief moments in order to witness Rai's insane bravado. No doubt amused by Rai's bravery the Darlton brothers began to laugh, seven voices echoing over the intercom. As their laughter built up Rai began to shudder in anger, as he clenched his fists tight. "I said…GET AWAY FROM NONETTE, RIGHT NOW! JUST LEAVE US ALONE!" Lelouch's mind seemed to shut down for a brief moment…_That tone…there's something in his tone…_And then, as Lelouch snapped back to his senses the impossible happened: Claudio, his brothers, and the entire contingent of enemy troops began to fall back into full retreat as Kallen went to keep Rai and Nonette from falling into the murky depths below. "That…what was that?" Scattered murmurs with almost-identical questions surged through the private channels, so that in order to think Lelouch was forced to shut down his radio terminal. "So, I was right after all…He…Haha…Hahaha!" Lelouch merely leaned back and laughed in his isolated space, enjoying the karmic humor of it all: that Rai had a Geass nearly identical to his own, but which worked in sound rather than sight and seemed to work fine through radio waves as well…if he could work this properly Lelouch could have a very important piece added to his set…

Lelouch's joy and tranquility were shattered however as an explosion behind him buffeted his frame with debris. As he turned Lelouch saw the impossible: the Avalon's engine had been heavily damaged, causing a chain of smaller explosions to ripple along the engine section that had been hit. Switching his radio back on Lelouch heard scattered damage reports from the Avalon that the damage was not permanent, but it was serious enough that they would soon need to make an emergency landing in the next few hours or risk much more severe damage to their entire engine block. Thankfully only a few people had been hurt, and since the engine hit was not one of the major engines there had been no engineers working on it at the time of the explosion. _One of the benefits of a skeleton crew, I suppose_. Lelouch listened as Tohdoh ordered the remaining Knightmares back to the Avalon for emergency repairs, in case their attackers returned. Lending Kallen a hand Lelouch grabbed hold of Rai's unit with his own Vincent, watching as Suzaku kept the Albion on sentry duty until the last Knightmares had boarded. Once aboard the Avalon Lelouch headed for the bridge, where the three co-commanders were arguing about their next course of action. Ignoring them completely Lelouch turned instead to Minami, checking the local area map for a good landing area. Finally he decided on one in the slums of a massive city which had been constructed during Britannian rule. Lelouch ordered Minami to have the flight crew make their heading with as low an elevation as they could muster, knowing with a masked smile the looks he was getting from Ohgi and Tohdoh. Xingke stared at the masked soldier as if he could see who stood behind the mask, but turned to Ohgi and Tohdoh as the two acknowledged the wisdom in Lelouch's choice of a crowded repair zone.

Zangai sighed as he landed on the small mobile outpost Schneizel had secretly set up for him. He had agreed to let the noble brat Claudio take command of the operation, only to watch as the fool ordered his forces into full retreat. Maintaining radio silence while just beneath the ocean's surface Zangai had watched the bizarre end to the conflict with a mix of disgust and joy; while the whole event had sickened him Zangai was glad that Claudio had not destroyed any of the promising opponents Zangai was observing. When Lelouch's gang had seemed the least cautious Zangai had launched the Galahalt out of the water, landing a single massive slash on their precious flagship before returning to the depths. Returning his thoughts to the present time Zangai waited for his machine to finally finish docking just as the foolish Claudio landed his own machine. _At least the Dengrave is impressive_, Zangai thought to himself. _Just not as impressive as the M, of course._ Zangai watched with a sense of superiority as Claudio climbed out from the Dengrave, waiting until just the right moment to add insult to Claudio's injured pride. "I told you they weren't pushovers, didn't I?" Claudio merely scowled at Zangai as the two made their way to Schneizel's briefing room.

As Claudio told the two his story Zangai gave Schneizel a knowing look hidden by a yawn. Finally Claudio mentioned the moment he had felt compelled to simply leave, a feeling many of the other soldiers had expressed. Zangai watched as Schneizel turned to him with a look that said everything Zangai needed to "hear". Zangai shrugged back with a smile, the coded way of agreeing with Schneizel's unspoken thoughts. "Very well then Claudio…I believe you. I have seen first-hand the extent of this power, even suffered its humiliation myself. Your father…we suspect he was also put under such an influence against his conscious will. It would seem then that we have yet another Geass issue to contend with, eh Zangai?"


	7. Seventh Move, White Rook

_**Author's Note: This time I actually have a few good reasons for the delay. Between a cross-country trip to the US Midwest to visit family and an international trip to Germany and Italy (also to visit family), my Microsoft Word program has since shut down and barred me from further typing without paying $150 USD (which, considering the fact that NOBODY I know is in need of the other two instances included in the full version makes it kind of a rip-off). This forced me to reset everything I was working on in Word (aside from this I'm also writing about five separate novels along with the script for a fan-based crossover game), and the replacement program just doesn't fill all the gaps left by Word. Hopefully you can read this…**_

"Geass: the power of miracles, the gift of destiny. As Lelouch and the Black Knights make their way into the Indian metropolis to repair the damaged Avalon Lelouch turns his thoughts to another Geass user: Rai Kenbō, the mysterious young man with the shrouded past whose Geass allows him to issue commands via sound waves rather than eye contact. As the Black Knights prepare to gather supplies Lelouch's thoughts are focused on the dangers this young man represents to him and his cause. By the end of the day whose willpower will prove stronger? In the battle for the future, there can be only one king…"

"Sugiyama, watch out for that-" "I am!"

"Sugiyama, don't hit the-" "I WON'T!"

"Sugiyama, look out! There's a-"

"TAMAKI! DO YOU WANT TO FLY THIS THING? NO? THEN SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP! IT'S HARD ENOUGH WITHOUT YOU SCREAMING IN MY EAR!"

The crew of the Avalon stared at Sugiyama with dumbfounded expressions as the auxiliary helmsman blushed and returned to doing his best at flying the Avalon in its constantly-decaying state. For his part Tamaki had listened to Sugiyama and buckled himself into a nearby chair, as the others in the room were already doing likewise. Despite his immortal status even Lelouch felt anxious as the Avalon's four pilots did their best to avoid crashing into little things like birds…and trees…and the occasional skyscraper. He had agreed to set aside time to discuss Rai's Geass later, if there was a later to be had. As it was it took every once of Lelouch's nerve not only to just rush back to the hangar and abandon ship but to also offer words of encouragement to his fellow crew. "Steady…hold it together now…" Lelouch looked around the room as the Avalon banked and swerved erratically to avoid the more clustered building centers, seeing fear and anxiety on nearly every face. Even the commanders were affected, while Ohgi was monitoring the Avalon's descent path with a moist washcloth draped over his head Xingke and Tohdoh were doing their best to show that stoic expression one only wore when they were truly disturbed by something. Strangely enough only two people on the bridge seemed to be unaffected by their predicament: Rai was shell-shocked, no doubt from understanding his Geass activation and the implications of that event; Lloyd meanwhile was his usual self, almost laughing at the danger as he cringed from the slightest dings the Avalon received. _Sometimes it's good to have a sociopath on the team, _Lelouch thought with a smirk. It definitely helped distill the panic in the room, as many people who would normally have wet themselves out of fright were staring at Lloyd with an even greater sense of fear for their proximity to the lunatic.

Lelouch once more checked the underbelly camera of the Avalon, watching as both the Guren and Lancelot were doing their best to adjust the Avalon's angle and velocity. It was a risky gamble should enemy reinforcements appear, but since the Avalon's engines had begun to shut down more rapidly than the crew had predicted it was all they could do to avoid a complete system failure while also not crashing the Avalon in the busier sections of the city. The city had been built during Britannia's brief occupation of India, and since being given its independence India had yet to rename the city. In a twist of irony the city had been named after the late Charles Zi Britannia, giving Lelouch a migraine as the Avalon entered what was currently known as Charleston. Lelouch continued to watch as the duo of ace pilots helped angle the Avalon between city streets, praying that the people of Charleston would think it a military accident that would not need reporting. Of course that guise would only stay in effect so long as the Avalon didn't do anything noticeable, such as decimating an entire city block. Between the Avalon's shadow and the late hour in which they were landing the Guren and Lancelot were almost entirely shrouded from view, their energy wings giving off a faint glow in the midnight hours.

As the Avalon coasted over the sleeping metropolis Lelouch detected a slum area, a key trait of the Britannia his father had once created. Though Empress Nunnally had set aside a massive amount of reparation funds for the aftermath of the last World War the money had clearly yet to make its way to those in need. _Politicians and businessmen, the same greedy bastards as they've always been. _As the Avalon began its descent into a particularly abandoned slum Lelouch made a mental note to himself, to eradicate corruption in the government as best he could when this campaign finally ended and further his dream of creating a world befitting his sister. The Lancelot and Guren had set down markers to aide the Avalon in its emergency landing before rising back up into the urban skyline, watching as the Avalon half-crashed, half-landed in the wreckage of past cities. The area they landed in had very little protection from the elements, so luckily the Avalon did not have to worry about crushing innocent bystanders. As the Avalon activated its Float system and cut power to the engines the Guren and Lancelot flew to opposite sides of the aircraft, turning the Avalon so that its stern was well defended by the semi-stable rubble of a former parking garage. The Avalon had been modified over the years with mounted anti-air turrets, all of which were now aimed at the breach in the derelict building's rooftop. If anyone had seen them and thought to investigate the Avalon would tear them to pieces.

As the crew finally settled down enough to move again Lelouch stole another glance at Rai. He appeared completely unaffected by their ordeal, the activation of his Geass giving Rai a haunted look in his eyes. Nonette had also noticed Rai's dilemma, concern evident on her face as she walked over to him. _There's no way of speaking with Rai without involving Nonette, is there? So be it._ Lelouch sighed as he rose to his feet, walking up to the still-disheveled Ohgi. "I request permission to send out a sentry team, Ohgi-san. We don't know who saw us, and it'd be best if we were prepared for the worst." Ohgi looked at Lelouch in a stunned silence, realizing that their former leader was asking him for directions. Ohgi looked over to Tohdoh, who gave him a curt nod in return. "Alright then Ningen, I'll see if we can send out a few Knightmares to patrol the-" "That won't be necessary, or wise for that matter. If we send out Knightmares then people will know we're preparing for battle. Instead, I'm going to lead a small team on foot. We'd have a better chance of blending in, and hopefully we can scout some good terrain advantages in case we have to dig in." Ohgi sighed, getting the feeling that despite appearances Lelouch was still in command of the Black Knights. "Okay, I understand. Who exactly were you planning to bring with you, anyway?" Lelouch looked around the room; a decent ploy, since he had already decided on the people he would bring.

"The three new recruits, for starters." Seiei and Ryusei both looked up from the consoles they had kept death-grips on during the landing, and even Shinji looked shocked at Lelouch's request. "They could use the experience, and I believe they've proven themselves competent allies in case we run into trouble. Also…" Lelouch thumbed over to where Nonette was cradling Rai's head against her chest, the two ignoring the world around them. "I'd like for Rai and Nonette to join us. Rai seems pretty green as well, and it would be good to have a veteran soldier like Nonette with us." Nonette had tensed when Lelouch called their names, but after hearing his reasons she had agreed to join their group. Lelouch smiled under his mask, knowing that the bait had been taken. He knew that Rai would not go anywhere without Nonette, realizing that there was some truth to Milly's earlier conclusion. Rai had shown much confusion in his current state, but once again there was that look he gave Lelouch. Every time Rai looked at him that way Lelouch felt exposed, as if those Geass-empowered eyes were stripping away each of Lelouch's masks straight to his core. It was like how Suzaku had looked at him after discovering his dual persona, not quite hate but still dangerously close. Truth be told Lelouch hadn't even tested his immortal status against other Geass users, believing that he had crushed that cursed power during the demolition of the Geass Order; considering the conditions of his unique Code Lelouch had no idea whether or not it still granted him immunity to other Geass users.

Lelouch retreated to his disheveled quarters soon after, retrieving his gun from the cluttered mess the landing had made his room into. It was a bittersweet moment for Lelouch; the last time he had used the gun was in his confrontation with Suzaku, and prior to that the execution of his sister Euphemia. Despite all his bravado Lelouch had to hold his hand from shivering, holstering the weapon as Suzaku and Kallen entered his room. Turning to face his old comrades Lelouch tried to put on his trademark smirk, but found that with everything going on he could not summon the willpower to maintain the façade. "I imagine most of the rooms look like this" Lelouch said softly, still able to keep some degree of humor in his tone. "Are you planning to leave again Lelouch?" The words stung, but Kallen had a point; as Lelouch looked back to his friends he could tell Suzaku was thinking the exact same thing. "No, but we do need to be prepared." The two Knightmare aces looked to each other in confusion, while Lelouch sorted through the disaster which had once been his room to find a decent overcoat to hide the firearm in. "Keep an eye out for enemy patrols. I'm going to see what we can find out about our situation." Kallen and Suzaku looked to each other with worried expressions: since when did Lelouch give such a straight-forward answer? What had happened to the callous and secretive man who had led the Black Knights to victory, even from within the Britannian Empire's command structure?

It seemed that Lelouch could read their expressions with ease, as he sat down with a sigh. "Let me ask you two…what does it mean to wear a mask?" Kallen and Suzaku each answered their own beliefs on the nature of masks and in Suzaku's case the experience that being Zero had done for him. After the two had given their answers Lelouch smiled sadly, shaking his head at their commonplace responses. "It means always watching your back, always fearful that someone will remove that mask and announce your true self to the world. For ten years I wore the mask of a common Britannian, never trusting any of my classmates or so-called friends with who I really was. Next to that becoming a revolutionary leader was more than simple; it was practically mundane in how easy it was to maintain that persona. Maybe that's why I lost, maybe I simply grew too comfortable with my masks to realize when things were changing. If there's one good thing about dying, one great detail about my immortality, is that I no longer have to worry about betrayal. Even if someone tries to kill me now it'll only prove to me where their allegiances lie. Now my only concern is for you lot, and everyone else I ever cared for. That's why I wear this mask, so that until I can gather together all those who are important to me I can protect them from harm with anonymity." Neither of the two pilots had a response to that, leaving Lelouch to smile as he placed the Ningen mask over his face and lock it shut. "I'll be back shortly…try not to take off without us." With that Lelouch walked past the duo frozen in place, only turning to face his back after he passed them by.

The next hour or so was relatively uneventful, as Lelouch gathered his reconnaissance party in the hangar and picked out one of the less conspicuous cars for their group to drive. Much to his own chagrin Lelouch had found Tamaki waiting for them in the hangar, and it was with some concern that he allowed Seiei and Ryusei to split off from the group and join him; being as this was Tamaki who would drive, memories of his less-than-excellent track record when it came to operating Knightmares flooded Lelouch's mind. That said, it would seem very suspicious to Xingke and his lot if this newcomer was so opposed to the Black Knights' veteran; Lelouch finally accepted Tamaki's aid, leaving the four of them to travel on foot as Tamaki drove the other two in the opposite direction. As much as Lelouch would hate himself later for admitting it Tamaki's plan was well thought out in its series of seemingly-randomized movements, further proof that Lelouch's tactical thought process was too focused on Rai and the other recent developments. Half an hour after Tamaki drove off in a red minivan Lelouch ushered the other three members of his team forward onto the decaying streets, using his immortality as a shield by maintaining the point position. Each of them had grabbed a concealed weapon of some sort: Shinji had an assault rifle strapped to his back beneath an overcoat, Rai had grabbed a pair of handguns and stuffed them in his jacket pockets, and Nonette had chosen a sub-machinegun which now rested comfortably against her hip.

At Lelouch's command they had also grabbed various plainclothes, though the fact that he himself wore such a bizarre mask would surely grab some attention. For the first time in five years Lelouch wore some of his old school clothes, having left them behind as extra weight and added risk to his vanishing act. Instead he had stolen clothes every now and again from Laundromats or grabbed whatever he could from local homeless shelters, keeping his old imperial outfit mostly for warmth during the winter months. Now he wore well-fitting jeans and a red jacket over a black tank top, while the others had chosen similarly common outfits of varying colors and designs. Even then they would get the occasional odd look from the locals, who were no doubt envious while wearing old rags and ill-fitting mismatched clothes. Lelouch made sure the four stayed close together, his hand on his holster in case any of the locals became particularly violent. The four continued to attract attention as they walked, keeping within a decided perimeter in case they needed to retreat to the Avalon. The further away from the crash site they got the fewer odd looks they received however, so that after a good half hour or so of walking Lelouch finally removed his hand from his weapon and began to relax.

Taking a short break in the downtown bar Lelouch looked over to Rai, whose earlier shock had begun to dissipate as panic and confusion overtook him. While they ate Lelouch would hear him mutter how his ability was impossible, or how it couldn't be happening to him. Despite the accusing glances Shinji was giving him Lelouch kept his eyes on the silver-haired youth, waiting for the opportune moment to tell him the truth. Finally his chance arose as Nonette wrapped her arms around him and offered Rai words of comfort, causing Lelouch to smile at the ease with which his recruitment strategy was proceeding. "Geass" Lelouch said simply, causing both Rai and Nonette to turn to him as if they had misheard something. "It's what you felt earlier tonight. That power, that ability to make those soldiers obey you completely…that is something you must own. Shinji here has one that affects his ability to react, his mind pushing his body to its human limits. I am also very familiar with Geass, because I am one of only two people in this entire world who was given the ability to be immune to the Geass of others. I have seen many forms of Geass over the years, and I could teach you what little I know so that your Geass does not overtake you." Lelouch smiled as Rai gave Nonette a hopeful look, taking notice of just how useful his indirect truths were. He had in no way denied possessing his own Geass, a hidden ace which might become a deciding factor should Rai ever turn on them. While he was slowly becoming more open and honest Lelouch still had a flair for drama and a genealogical knack for deception and tactics. While Rai could not directly affect Lelouch with a Geass he could still turn Lelouch's few allies into enemies, which Lelouch would now be able to instantly counter by surprising Rai shortly before killing him.

While Lelouch was thinking into the far future however he failed to notice Nonette's growing disbelief and suspicion. "Alright, let's say for one minute that you aren't clearly insane and that Rai really does have this crazy power you seem to be so well informed about. Even then, why should he trust someone who never shows their true face?" Lelouch smiled as his thoughts raced, comparing current events to his origin as Zero. "You shouldn't, just as I should not trust either of you. To be perfectly honest the Black Knights are at their breaking point and factions are forming within our group. In spite of whatever we may think of each other, all other paths to survival have been blocked. We either coexist long enough to kill each other later, or else we all die before the sun rises. Now come on, it's about time we headed back to the ship." The three remained silent as they followed Lelouch outside of the pub, the bartender taking Lelouch's mask as just another fashion statement which had arisen from Zero's fame. Of the three it was actually Shinji who was most shaken, the cold and calculating gazes from their teammates tracking his every move. _Welcome to my life_, Lelouch thought as he stifled a small mocking laugh.

While the four were praying for an uneventful reconnaissance around the Indian city their prayers seemingly fell on deaf ears, as a group of local thugs quickly surrounded the four. There were roughly twenty of them in all, ranging from high school dropouts to young adults. All of them wore the same ragged style, no doubt a token from their heritage in the ghettos left over from the Charles dynasty. They were also surprisingly well armed; while a few wielded little more than knives or metal pipes the group's leader was removing his likely-stolen pistol from its holster. The leader aimed the pistol right at Lelouch's helmet, watching as his friends snickered around them. Even with Shinji's advanced reaction time Lelouch knew that his protégé could not survive taking on all of them alone. There was also the issue of abusing his newfound lease on life; while the bullet would have little effect on Lelouch his immunity to firearms would likely reach Schneizel and his own group far too soon.

Of course, Lelouch could always use his Geass on them…but he soon set aside that option as a last resort method. To use his Geass would reveal Lelouch's rebirth to everyone who knew about his Geass, and it would be just as impossible for him to make eye contact in a 360 degree radius as it would be for Shinji to take down twenty armed thugs. _Even Geass has its limits, _Lelouch thought somberly as he whittled away every plan he could think of. As if realizing his thoughts the gang leader switched off the pistol's safety with a smile. "You know" the gang leader started, shifting his aim from Lelouch to the others in a wide arc, "this is a real treat for us. Usually we just mess with tourists, grab whatever they leave behind, you know? But look at what we have here: four people in Black Knights getups. But the Black Knights outpost is miles away, and they never bother coming down here. That can only mean one thing: you morons are part of that splinter group that the new Zero warned us about. Imagine what they'll say when we hand you over, along with the location of your traitorous buddies. Hell, we might even get knighted for this!"

Lelouch watched the thug once more focus on him, taking careful aim to hit the mask without killing the wearer. Had they been under less strenuous conditions Lelouch would've laughed at that particular irony, but at the moment he was more concerned with escaping with his squad and identity intact. However the would-be gunman's aim was thrown off as a large rock connected with the gang leader's skull, resounding with a sickening _crack_ as blood began to pour out from the point of contact. To his side Lelouch could barely make out the outline of a burlesque figure in the shadows, picking up another rock as they moved away from their original throwing position. Taking advantage of the confusion Lelouch signaled his team to uncover their own firearms partially, carefully making sure that the injured gang leader did not notice his own handgun being drawn from his jacket. As the mysterious figure threw another rock at the gang leader Lelouch used the opening to his advantage, rushing the leader as his teammates raced past.

Nearly tackling the armed assailant to prevent him firing on the others Lelouch fired his own needle-gun into the man's torso, waiting for the all-too-familiar slump of body weight before releasing the man and following the others. Turning to a side alley he caught up to the others who stood face-to-face with their savior, though their guide still kept to the shadows. "In here, quickly!" the other man said quietly while pointing to an opening in one of the broken-down houses; Lelouch took keen note of the man's higher than expected voice and youthful demeanor. As the others crawled into their makeshift escape route Lelouch stole one last glance at their pursuers, and froze and the dying gang leader aimed his gun and fired. The single shot ricocheted off Lelouch's helmet as he ducked back into the alley and into the crevice, pulling a piece of wreckage over the hole to mask their progress. Lelouch felt his mask splinter, but unlike his confrontation with Suzaku it did not break. The others still gave him odd looks, no doubt surprised that he was able to withstand the bullet and the recoil. Compared to the still-aching gash across his chest Lelouch could've honestly claimed the shot to have been of little consequence, but to his unaware squad it would've seemed more like bravado than honesty.

As soon as the last sounds of the confounded gang members had died away Lelouch turned to thank their shadow-engulfed savior, but stopped when he got a better look at the guy. Their aide was no older than nineteen, and wore the same ragged outfit as the gang they had fled. He was muscular without being burly, most likely an effect of living on the streets with such vicious hooligans lurking around. He had probably had a few bad run-ins with gangs already; a crescent-shaped scar ran the length of his right cheek, and there were signs of bruising on his arms and legs. The youth gave each of them a quick glance, his gaze lingering on Lelouch's mask, then ushered them to follow him further into the decrepit landscape. The kid clearly knew his way around the desolate terrain; more than once he'd have to slow down while Lelouch and the others crept, crawled and hobbled their way for what felt like hours. When the kid finally came to an open area he stopped, and with a shock Lelouch realized that they had taken a shortcut to the Avalon which would shave off an hour or so of walking. Lelouch looked to the younger man with suspicion: was this youth merely doing a good deed, or was he trying to follow them to the Avalon?

"So…" The kid turned to face the group, a sad smile on his face. "You lot okay then? If so, you'd better get lost before more goons show up. This neck of town is pretty clear, but you'd be a whole lot safer getting out of here as soon as you can." Lelouch stood stoic, unsure whether to shake the kid's hand or wipe his memory as a precaution. His young disciple did not share his suspicions however, as Shinji stepped forward and outstretched his hand. "Thanks, man. You never even told us your name." The kid's eyes darted at the four, his movements awkwardly uncomfortable in dealing with signs of gratitude. "…Thomas. Thomas Phant, though I doubt that'd mean much." Shinji smiled and shook Thomas's hand, using his free hand to motion to the others. "I'm Shinji Akari, he's Rai, she's Nonette, and that charismatic guy calls himself Ningen." Lelouch smirked despite himself; here was proof that he had chosen a good protégé, someone whose social skills eclipsed his own. Thomas gave Lelouch the lingering look he had become used to as Zero, before shrugging it off and turning back to Shinji. "Well, whatever floats your boat I suppose. Seriously though, you guys should leave as soon as you can. There's no telling when more of those guys will-"

"That's quite enough, young man." The five newfound allies cringed, turning towards the sound of the new voice. The gang members had reappeared, along with a platoon of police officers led by a sneering Britannian. _Corrupt cops, _Lelouch thought with a scowl as he reached for his hidden pistol with his off hand. His mask had chipped further during their short journey, forcing him to hold it up with his other hand while his teammates moved their hands away from their revealed weapons. Lelouch fully understood; unlike him, none of them had the advantage of being immortal or the physical ability to dodge volleys of bullets. The police chieftain handed a small wad of bills over to what Lelouch assumed was the second-in-command of the gang, before pulling his police-issued rifle onto the five. "Kid, these bastards are part of the Black Knights deserters. We have orders to either arrest them or shoot them down, and you would be wise to move out of the way." Thomas looked the four over with a conflicted look, then moved closer to the targeted group. Lelouch smiled at the young man's bravery, though there wasn't much to be said for his common sense. "Fair enough, you can die along with the rest of them. We got our orders directly from Lord Schneizel and-"

The cop was interrupted by Lelouch's laugh, as the attention of both his allies and the police focused entirely on himself. "So despite everything he still calls himself Lord eh? What a joke…" As expected the police chief tightened his grip on the rifle, a scowl on his face. "And who are you, to dare insulting Lord Schneizel at gunpoint?" Lelouch chuckled, feeling the crack along the side of his mask finally hit the bottom as part of his mask splintered off. He stared at his teammates with his Geass-infected eye, his gaze sweeping over them as he popped the release on his fractured mask. "Who am I, you ask?" Lelouch let the mask slip off his face and drop to the ground, listening as nearly everyone around him let out a sharp intake of breath. "I am…I was Lelouch vi Britannia, former Emperor of Britannia. But now I have only one thing to say: all of you, die!" Lelouch felt the usual strain of focusing his power on multiple targets at once, though he did not feel any pity towards these men and women: cop or thug, they were corrupted and had threatened his team. As their enemies killed one another Lelouch's sole concern was that this spectacle would lead Schneizel straight to their position as soon as it reached his wide information network.

He looked down at the corpses: some had simply been shot as was the norm for these mass-Geass attacks, while those without firearms had resorted to bludgeoning each other. The more carnage he processed the more he realized that they had an out: the majority of bludgeoning had been at the hands of the gang members, while they had in turn been shot by police when they were finished. While grotesque he could spin the brunt of the massacre as police engaging the hoodlums in a firefight, though the suicides and friendly-fire homicides would still be questioned. In his hindsight however Lelouch felt an unusual twinge of guilt: having detached himself from death the former Emperor had ironically begun to better understand life's meaning, and now what had once been survival instinct was instead slowly becoming a crutch he would have to dispose of. Turning away from his own thoughts Lelouch faced his four teammates to gauge their approval: Shinji had a look of solemn understanding on his face, while both Rai and Thomas were simply stunned at the display of his power. Nonette had taken it the hardest, her eyes wide with shock and fear as Lelouch sighed and bent down to grab his helmet. "What…the hell…was that?" she finally exclaimed, her fear contorting her face slightly. Thomas shifted uncomfortably as he no doubt wished to echo her exclamation, though for him it was more a thing of awe and curiosity than plain terror. Lelouch turned to face her, a smile crossing his lips as he opened the helmet and reset it on his head. "I told you…that was Geass." "Geass? What the heck is that?" Lelouch turned back to Thomas and sighed; the absolute last thing he wanted to do was go through this whole discussion again, least of all with someone he wasn't particularly planning to bring along.

The spark in Thomas's eyes was strong however, and as Lelouch looked him over he realized something. Before him CC had made contracts with an unknown number of people, though he knew at least of Mao and his own mother. Why then couldn't Lelouch issue his own multiple Geass contracts? He had been rather vague regarding his terms with Shinji after all, only giving the kid power so that he could have someone watching his back for signs of trouble. Furthermore Thomas had risked life and limb to save them, and had it not been for the power of Geass his risk would have been a foolish one. "I will show you Geass's power Thomas, but you must make a pact with me. You must agree to aid us in our battle against Schneizel until this conflict is over; in doing so you will have a power beyond your wildest imagining." There was the hook that nobody seemed able to avoid: the promise of a mysterious power, one that would forever change the lives of those who sought it and everyone around them. Thomas perked up at the mystic offering but kept his stance, a smile forming on his face as he agreed. "Very well then" Lelouch replied, reaching out his hand to shake Thomas's and feeling an unusual energy flow once more into his fingertips. He had felt the strange sensation during his contract with Shinji but had brushed it off as adrenaline; now he realized that the energy he felt was most likely the core of Geass flowing from the Immortal to the Gifted, those who were given a Geass power. Thomas reached out to shake his hand, then froze upon contact as the power of Geass and Lelouch's memories flowed into him. His eyes flared with the power of Geass briefly as Lelouch felt his own sigil burn in his eye; this time however the sigil on his hand sent a shockwave up his arm, causing him to convulse slightly until the pain receded. While Thomas continued to sift through the memories flooding his mind Lelouch noticed Shinji staring at him with concern and did his best to shrug off the pain as a freak accident. Inside however Lelouch's mind was abuzz with questions about the weird sensation, questions which he knew would have to wait.

It took Thomas only a few minutes more to finally recover from his stupor, giving Lelouch that same look of understanding that Shinji had been giving him. "Alright Lelouch, I'm ready whenever you are. Heck, I'm just glad you don't have to issue contracts like CC does." Lelouch had stopped for a moment as he heard that non-name the witch had addressed herself by and realized that he had not been in contact with her for over three years. At first she had stuck with him, helping him adjust to his new life and giving him what little advice she could about his aberrant Code. As time passed however she had grown more and more distant, no doubt irked by the fact that all of the work she had put into preparing him to receive her Code had instead stolen away Charles's. In the end she simply told Lelouch that there was no reason for them to continue traveling together and that she wished him good luck. Since then Lelouch had learned that CC had gone to visit the Avalon and the Ikaruga, supposedly to pick up a few things she had left behind. CC always had an ulterior motive however, and it bugged Lelouch to be completely unable to comprehend her actions. Whatever she was up to involved HIS Black Knights after all, so the least she could've done was left him some clue.

Shaking the thoughts of the obnoxious witch from his head Lelouch turned to find one of the cars their deceased attackers had arrived in, relatively unscathed by the bullets and blood. "Everyone, get in" Lelouch ordered as he took the driver's seat, realizing with a jolt that he was running dangerously close to the operation's cut-off time. After that the Avalon would be on high alert and preparing its departure, and after everything they had been through over the night Lelouch was less than content with being left behind. The others clambered in around him, as Rai kicked aside a younger gang member who had been too slow in exiting his ride to escape harm from the Geass shockwave Lelouch had cast. The car the criminals had arrived in was a decent-looking sports car, no doubt obtained through illicit means which lessened Lelouch's newfound sense of guilt. Lelouch handed Thomas a rifle he had taken from one of the rogue officers as his newest recruit climbed in next to him. If Rai were to be counted then this addition to Lelouch's squad of "Gifted" had tripled in under an hour, though Rai's allegiance towards him had yet to be proven. There was also the exact nature of Thomas's Geass which had yet to be determined, though with Rai already in possession of a control-type Geass Lelouch wasn't sure how he would handle working with another who'd rival his power. That was a revelation which would come in due time, no doubt when Thomas would need it most as Lelouch himself had needed it. Of course in his scenario its need was dire, whereas now Lelouch had given Geass powers to two individuals after the fighting had ended. If his Immortal status held long enough perhaps Lelouch could experiment with that, see if the overall need of a Geass power determined its effect; he was already curious how the aberrant enhancement-type Geass Shinji had would manifest itself later, given how much had changed for him because of his Geass Pure Manifestation. All these thoughts passed through Lelouch's head as he calmly but quickly maneuvered their car towards the Avalon, as Shinji and Thomas added some realism to the idea of their joyride by acting as normal teenage guys would.

By the time the five had arrived Tamaki and the others had only just boarded the Avalon themselves, as the Black Knights cast questioning looks at Lelouch's new ride and new companion. To his credit Thomas shrugged off the looks, and with a pang of remorse Lelouch realized that as a child of the streets he had probably gotten that look many times before. He watched as Thomas walked over and introduced himself to Seiei and Ryusei before bowing abruptly to Tamaki, who as always was easy to win over when one stroked his ego properly. Turning Lelouch watched as Nonette slowly climbed out of the backseat, batting away a confused Rai as she walked off in a daze towards her temporary quarters. Rai turned and walked over to Lelouch, a mix of solemn determination and utter confusion evident on his visage. "So, what now?" he simply asked, his eyes darting over to Thomas and the others. Beneath his mask Lelouch smiled: even though there were those still onboard the Avalon he had to hide his identity from hearing Rai put his faith in Lelouch's judgment made the evening that much more of a success. "Do you mean what do we as the Black Knights do now, or what do we as Gifted do to train you?" Rai looked taken aback by Lelouch's retort, his gaze focusing more on Lelouch's exposed eye. "Both, I suppose." Lelouch chuckled, an echo of his laugh escaping through the crack in his mask. He swiftly turned and ushered Rai to follow him, making sure nobody passed on his right side as the duo left the cargo bay. "Very well Rai, I will teach you everything I know about our type of Geass. I suspect however that given the difference in our delivery methods you will find some of my teaching either in need of modification or elimination, which we will study as a team. That will come later I'm afraid, when we finally have enough time to observe your Geass in effect. I also highly doubt anyone onboard will volunteer for the experiment, so we will most likely be forced to wait until the Avalon lands elsewhere. Of course you can use it freely on our adversaries, but I shouldn't have to ask you to keep it discreet. Luckily for us both your earlier outburst towards the enemy forces was only heard by a select few; it'd be hard to explain your condition to the troops without exposing my secret and ensnaring many others in the complications of that secret, yourself and Miss Nonette included."

Lelouch stopped at his door and punched in his entrance code quickly, noticing as Rai looked down at the mention of Nonette's name. _I really don't want to tell Milly she was right; knowing her, she'll NEVER let it go. _Lelouch sighed and shook his head slightly as his door opened, leaving the immortal to his thoughts as he reached into his closet. Once more he purposefully avoided his Zero mask, instead grabbing one of many spare plates he had made for the mask's front in his five years of spare time. He silently thanked CC for her part in their delivery: upon their parting of ways CC had taken some of the masks Lelouch had made, joking as she called them a memento of the good times. Placing his tattered mask on his bed Lelouch reached inside and triggered a hidden switch which unlocked the faceplate from the mask. Holding the helmet's frame up Lelouch slid the spare plate in until he heard a satisfactory click from within the mask, then proceeded to slip the mask back on. "As for the Black Knights-" Lelouch started, but was stopped short as the ship entered a massive acceleration. Bracing himself against the bed Lelouch practically leapt across the room to where Rai was pushing himself against the door frame, slamming the transmission panel as he finished his jump. "Ohgi, what's happening up there?" To his credit the reigning commander kept his cool as he responded, his voice barely raised as he responded. "Looks like they found us Lelouch; the Avalon's making an emergency launch, and we're getting ready every Knightmare we can. I think it's the same group from earlier, so we'll have to fight that new model again…wait, what was that?"

The trace of panic in Ohgi's voice was not left unnoticed by Lelouch as he ushered Rai back towards the hangar. Grabbing one of the old headsets that pilots frequently used Lelouch switched the frequency over to the bridge channel to continue his conversation. "Ohgi, what happened? What's the problem now?" There was incomprehensible chatter on the other end, as in the background Lelouch could hear Tohdoh shouting orders as he hopefully headed towards the launch bay. Finally Ohgi's voice emerged from the shouts and confusion, his breathing heavy from giving out some of those orders himself. "Lelouch, one of out Knightmares just launched prematurely. They haven't responded to our IFF signals either, and they're broadcasting an open frequency to lead Schneizel's group right to us!" Lelouch growled in his helmet as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his Vincent key, watching as Rai followed suit. "Alright, calm down Ohgi. Worrying about this traitor won't do us any good right now. How are the Knightmare repairs coming along?" As soon as he asked Lelouch felt a tint of fear and regret flood his system, and sure enough Lloyd's voice was the next to fill the channel. "Well Your Highness, we've finished most of the units but if you're just going to break them again then maybe I'd better just leave them." Lelouch heard Cecile chastise her superior even through the audio waves, then the clatter which meant she had taken the headset from him. "We've done everything we can but I don't think we can keep making repairs like this. Without any supply routes or bases to restock at…" "We're fighting a battle of attrition then. I understand, Miss Croomy. Thank you for the update." Aside from Lloyd seeming more testy than he remembered it was all as Lelouch had guessed: just like old times they were fighting an enemy with superior numbers and a tactical advantage. Despite their lack of trade routes or enemy shipments to ransack however Lelouch knew they still had the better pilots, so at least this battle could be won easily enough on most occasions.

His primary concern were those two new Knightmare frames and their pilots: while Zangai seemed like a brute his savagery was well-suited to the Galahalt's abilities and had cost them precious hours with just a single surprise attack, whereas Claudio Darlton was a veteran soldier fighting for vengeance in his family's name. Lelouch could easily relate and understand Claudio's feelings, but that compassion did not exempt him and his Dengrave machine from Lelouch's loathing. Both of the machines and their respective pilots had proven themselves as admirable threats to Lelouch's Black Knights, each of them going so far as to fight his best aces to a standoff. He couldn't always rely on the Geass powers his subordinates had either, so if either general appeared his troops would be torn between the commanding unit and the entirety of their forces. Already Lelouch was formulating contingency plans and escape routes just in case either one bothered to approach them; despite his pride Lelouch now found himself desperately wishing that the incoming aircraft was filled with meager cannon-fodder pilots, though he knew he was only fooling himself with that belief. Both enemy aces had their unique reasons, which in his heart Lelouch knew would attract them to him and his team.

Lelouch was shaken from his train of thought as Rai's movements became more erratic and frantic as they entered the hangar; he was practically leaping from person to person, and it wasn't until he reached Tamaki that Lelouch understood why. "She left, kid" was all the blunt man said, causing Rai to step back in obvious shock to the point where his legs had begun to tremble. Lelouch walked forward as quickly and casually as he could, taking great strides not to draw even more attention to himself and Rai. "What's happened Tamaki? Who left?" Tamaki had only just begun to answer him when Rai slumped to the floor, his legs finally giving way. Crouching to help his newest disciple up Lelouch was taken aback at the raw emotion he saw on the young man's face. "It's Nonette! She's the one who left us…who left me…" Lelouch's grip on Rai loosened as the implications of Rai's announcement hit home: A Knight of the Round, whom he had foolishly not only revealed himself to but also explained the complexities of Geass to, was on her way to report to Schneizel and his subordinates. Despite his growing affection towards Rai as what he saw to be his own younger self Lelouch could not help but hope that Schneizel's forces would simply shoot her down; another pipe dream considering the open channel broadcast she had been streaming a signal on for the last ten minutes or so. That left Lelouch only one option: to capture or shoot down Nonette before she could reach the enemy forces. If it came to the latter Lelouch was unsure how he would go about such an act: to kill Nonette would drive Rai berserk, and having a control-type Gifted as their enemy was almost worse than losing valuable intel. "Tamaki, ready all available Knightmare frames and summon as many pilots as you can to the launch deck. We absolutely must not let that unit reach their ship!" Tamaki looked at Lelouch and gave him a strange grin, no doubt remembering better times. "You got it Lel-I mean, Ningen!" Lelouch scowled under his helmet as Tamaki blathered on to cover his tongue-slip; did NOBODY on this ship understand the value and need of having an alter-ego?

By the time Tamaki had gathered the bulk of the Black Knights' troops Kallen and Suzaku had made it to the launch bay followed by Tohdoh and Xingke, while Shinji and Rai practically leapt into the Vincent units next to Lelouch's own. Shinji had shot the Shen Hu a curious look before closing the Vincent's lid, looking at his rear camera as Seiei and Ryusei helped Thomas into a Gareth unit and entered their own. At the point position of their small unit Lelouch smiled as he unhinged his helmet within the cockpit; at the very least his new squadron was becoming larger and more cohesive with every battle, though this time he'd make sure to keep a satisfactory degree of their trust. Off to the side of the hangar Lelouch could just barely make out the Knightmare repair crew working diligently to repair the damaged models from their last encounter as Lloyd chewed them out over every minor detail he could find. Behind the eccentric professor Lelouch could make out Rakshata lounging on the couch and a clearly-worried Cecile, no doubt preparing for the eventual backlash her superior's complaints would receive from the workers. He chuckled as he wondered just how many more damaged units Lloyd would have to freak out over after this next battle, then quickly pushed the thought from his mind as he focused on the task at hand. If they could clear this quickly then there were dozens of extra escape methods, but turning this into a battle of attrition would only hurt their forces even more.

Lelouch watched as the Black Knights' ace units led the charge from the Avalon, his own squad following closely in their wake. As he launched Lelouch pinged Nonette's frame as the target, launching his own series of measures and countermeasures to keep the target lock on her unit in case the enemy succeeded in scrambling his codes. Being the paranoid guy that he was Lelouch even went an unprecedented step further, launching waves of E.C.C.C.M. to cover the last line of defense. Somewhere in the back of his mind Lelouch knew it was hopeless, that unless Shinji's Geass could break the laws of physics there would be not a single person who could stop Nonette. Not even Rai could reach her; with her communications equipment switched off Nonette was immune to both natural persuasion and Rai's Geass, showing Lelouch just how much attention she had been paying once Lelouch revealed the power's existence through practice. _So much for trust, _Lelouch thought with a scowl as his new recruitment policy showed its greatest risk; this was the reason why he had worn a mask for so many years after all, and one of his first experiences in being almost entirely open with a comrade had only made things worse for his side. Despite everything Rai raced forward with Lelouch forgoing his normal degree of strategy in favor of a quick victory. Lelouch realized that these rush tactics were their best possible strategy in a sense: swarming the enemy flagship before they could launch might allow Lelouch and the others to capture Nonette, or failing there kill her on sight. He ordered his squad to press forward, looking behind him as the stunned aces of his old organization increased their velocity to follow his example. Given their past history Lelouch found a small degree of comfort and superiority that his former allies still looked to him for guidance, even if Xingke had not been privy to the secret just yet. _For the pawns to move the king must lead them, _Lelouch thought as he chastised himself for calling his allies "pawns".

Lelouch barely noticed the shot in time to swerve his Vincent out of the way, as a Hadron blast dissolved into the open air. Without need of any verbal command Lelouch's teammates broke rank and scattered, giving them better chances to avoid collateral fire should one of the blasts hit an ally. Ahead of them the enemy's Gareth units gathered, each of their thirty or so artillery-types flanked by four or five Vincent units. Lelouch didn't need to be as brilliant as he was to realize how outnumbered they were, but he smiled when he noticed the lack of any custom models or advanced units. Without the Galahalt or Dengrave to contend with it would be all too easy for Suzaku and Kallen to take down the enemy units, and only slightly more difficult for them to do it without killing anyone. With that positive thought in mind Lelouch reorganized his battle plan, leaving the enemy hangar to Tohdoh's group while he would lead the invasion forces himself, taking full advantage of his immortality to shield the others as they abducted Nonette and returned her to the Avalon. Lelouch could then persuade her with ease, using his Geass if it came down to that. Even if Rai came to hate him for it, even if the others lost all respect for him, Lelouch would not allow Nonette to defy him if the lives of everyone he cared about were on the line.

As Lelouch put his plan into motion he watched as the sentry units deployed towards the hangar, but pulled back just in time as a concentrated Hadron blast shredded the frames before him into a wide range of mutilated parts. Even without the orders shouted by Xingke and Tohdoh the remaining pilots weren't stupid enough to stay in the enemy's firing range, clearing the hangar as quickly as their mass-production suits would go. It wasn't fast enough for two of them however, as a pair of Knightmares launched from the hangar in a flash and each took one of the sentries down in an instant. For all his bravado and strategy Lelouch just floated there, mouth hanging open as the two frames dislodged their respective spear and broadsword from their victims. _The Galahalt AND The Dengrave? Shit, I hadn't expected Schneizel to plan this far ahead…_ Lelouch berated himself for his lack of brainstorming, though he likewise defended himself for being so rushed in creating strategies for this sortie. Nonetheless they were stuck in the situation for now at least, so until they either won or escaped Lelouch could not afford to reflect on past mistakes. Opening one of his private channels Lelouch signaled the other officers to fan out, calculating various attack patterns as quickly as his mind would allow him under such stress. With the Dengrave's enhanced Hadron blaster and the Galahalt's intense speed and agility Lelouch had devised and scrapped over forty plans in a single minute, barely holding onto those he saw as last resort methods. There was no doubt that they could not win this battle without severe casualties; with the new ninth-generation suits going a separate route from the Albion and Guren's construction type they most likely had other secret functions that had not yet been revealed to the group. Even so Lelouch had to try something at the very least; if it came down to it he could always set his Knightmare on a suicide course, using such an insane tactic to give his allies time to retreat.

With that in mind Lelouch ordered the Knightmares who had survived the Hadron blast at the cost of heavy damage to return to the Avalon and order a hasty retreat, leaving both the Knightmares and the flagship itself to those remaining. Running from the enemy ship would be easy enough once they stole a tactic from Schneizel's works, disabling an engine or two when the Avalon's own engines had just been repaired to the full extent of what a skeleton crew led by Lloyd could do…in other words fully repaired. The problem lay in the new frames, because based on what Lelouch had seen it would be easy for them to simply overtake the Avalon and shoot it down. No, for this sortie they had to do more than simply survive the battle; they had to disable or damage the enemy's advanced Float Units, which taking into account the enemy units' raw power would be no easy task. It could be done though, so long as they had the right units and the proper strategy. Lelouch looked out to his tactical assets: to the Albion and Guren, whose ninth-generation status matched the new units' power with their own speed and considerable strength; to the Zangetsu, whose power and skill had kept it a key adversary for the Knights of Round; and to the Shen Hu, which despite its early age had surpassed seventh-generation frames and made it a fair challenge even for the Albion when using only 40% of its true power. Then there were the pilots: Suzaku, kind-hearted and noble to a fault; Kallen, ever loyal and trustworthy; Tohdoh, the tactical genius and last of the samurai; and Xingke, a man who'd easily give his own life if it meant saving his loved ones. Lelouch turned his thoughts to the next generation of pilots as well: to Shinji's courage, Seiei's determination, Ryusei's humor, Rai's passion, and Thomas's decency. _I can do this, _Lelouch thought as he overlooked the battlefield. _I can save them from this!_

"Q-1 and N-0, circle and engage the Galahalt with guerilla tactics. R-1 and R-2" he continued, assigning the respective call-signs to Tohdoh and Xingke respectively as he continued to flag targets and ping allies in their shared IFF network, "engage the enemy flagship and disable its engines. N-1 and B-Group, you're with me. Our objective is to disable the Dengrave's Float Unit, so don't take unnecessary risks!" Both Rai and Thomas seemed surprised by their sudden call-signs at first but quickly caught on, shouting out their affirmation only seconds after the others. Their pause did not go unnoticed by Lelouch, but rather than being stern as he would have been in his past life the immortal found himself forgiving them their confusion; after all, neither one had been with him long enough to know how his mind worked in these strategic encounters. Again Lelouch noticed the change he was slowly going through as the concept of a finite life slipped from his grasp but pushed the uncomfortable thought aside. As long as his base values remained the same Lelouch would not lose himself, so allowing himself to feel emotion at this stage in his development wasn't an issue. Focusing on the matter at hand Lelouch took point as his personal unit rushed the Dengrave, leaving Rai and Shinji to cover his flanks while the other three covered their rear. Behind their small unit Chiba was busy rallying the remaining soldiers to fight off the older Knightmares sent against them, showing off a surprising knack for leadership she had gained since their last confrontation years ago. If not for her complete and utter distrust bordering on hatred towards the former king Lelouch might've considered promoting her to yet another officer in what the fallen ashes of the Black Knights would eventually become; as things stood however Lelouch would have to trust in her devotion to Tohdoh to keep her from becoming a threat.

Turning his eyes from the multitude of clashing machines and explosions on both sides Lelouch accelerated his Vincent ahead of his pack, nearly slamming into the Dengrave to the point where the pilot he assumed was Claudio barely had enough time to dodge the would-be tackle even with his advanced Float system. Right on cue Shinji used his superhuman reflexes to launch his own Vincent into a spinning overhead chop that sheared off the end of the enemy's Hadron-machinegun, though the Dengrave soon retaliated by launching the Slash Harkens mounted into the base of said gun. Even though the resulting impact had nearly amputated the Vincent's limbs Lelouch smiled as Shinji's part of the operation was over, leaving the Dengrave without a dependable long-range attack. With a quick assist from Rai Shinji was freed from the embedded tendrils which instantly began to recoil back into the Dengrave's wrist, but without a hostage to worry about Lelouch ordered his three Gareth-piloting teammates to fire upon the Dengrave in waves to hammer away at its functionality. The Dengrave was still a threat at close range Lelouch realized, pushing his frame to its limits in order to block the retaliatory spear thrust the Dengrave had intended to use on Rai. In a flash Lelouch knew that his human instinct of self-preservation had remained intact until that moment, as he once again felt the bittersweet feeling of death by impalement; looking down Lelouch could see the very tip of the Dengrave's spear pierce his side, as those within his unit discarded their formalities and called out to him in panicked tones. Over the public channels Lelouch could hear Claudio chuckle as he went on about how idiotic their companionship was if it led to death while also venomously comparing it to the deaths of his brothers at the hands of the Black Knights. _Don't count me out yet_, Lelouch thought snidely as he looked over the Vincent's systems for any operable functions. Seeing that the basic motion controls were still in order Lelouch grabbed hold of the spear with his frame's right arm and launched his own Slash Harkens into the Dengrave's midsection, just below the cockpit. Taking full advantage of Claudio's shock and knowing that the Vincent's minor firepower couldn't destroy the Dengrave before it broke free of the harkens Lelouch aimed the wrist-mounted guns at the closest wingtip he could line up a shot with and unloaded the entirety of the weapon into the tip which shattered with a small yet satisfying explosion.

His task complete Lelouch let Shinji's Vincent catch his own critically-damaged model as the sextet moved further away from the Dengrave's drunken movement, its remaining wingtips overextending their usual limits in a vain attempt to make up for the destroyed tip. With only five tips active and one forced into shutdown to prevent an unwanted strafe the Dengrave's velocity was now a third less than normal, more than enough for even the older models to flee. To their side Lelouch could see Seiei and Ryusei breaking formation to join the legion of Gareth units bombarding the Galahalt while Suzaku and Kallen repeatedly slashed at its own Float unit. Their victory came almost simultaneously with Tohdoh's and Xingke's, as the enemy flagship began emitting heavy amounts of smoke and fire from its engines. Not wanting to push his luck based on past experiences with the strategy-destroying factor Lelouch signaled his comrades for a full retreat. As Lelouch expected Rai shot off in the opposite direction almost immediately after the signal was sent, though thanks to Suzaku the enraged pilot didn't get far before his Vincent found itself immobilized by Slash Harkens. As soon as the last pilots boarded the Avalon Lelouch slammed the hangar door shut and called Ohgi on the bridge for a full retreat while maintaining their current course. As he made the call Lelouch tried not to be bothered by the stares other pilots were giving his blood-soaked midriff, merely thankful that the code of immortality still carried healing properties even when it was as fractured as his was. Better still, his replacement mask had miraculously remained undamaged from the ordeal and the dried blood made it nearly impossible for any of the other pilots to distinguish his ethnicity or any other key details. In the back of his mind Lelouch wondered what that area would look like after the blood had been washed off: from his time with CC the young immortal had seen her shot multiple times, impaled by a rock and had even heard of her experiencing body-crushing depths in the ocean; yet aside from the strange scar on her chest the witch had never shown any other sign of her eternal life. If it weren't for his own desire for life Lelouch would've liked to experiment more with this strange power, to see why in most cases it seemed to freeze the immortal's form at the time of their inheritance and to see how his imperfect Code compared to those he had seen.

The sound of humans fighting brought Lelouch out of his self-absorbed stupor, turning to witness an unbelievable sight. He watched in the same stunned silence as most of the crew as Rai tried to fight off Suzaku, as both Shinji and Thomas did their best to help Suzaku restrain the enraged youth. Rai had become so enraged that his strength was almost inhuman however, so that even while being held down by three others he managed to drag himself over to where Lelouch stood frozen in place. "Why the hell didn't you save her, you bastard?" The exclamation silenced the few whispers that had begun emerging, and now every eye in the hangar was fixed solely on Rai and "Ningen". "We had them beat, and you just let them capture Nonette? How could you-" Caught between sadness and rage Lelouch found himself hoisting his junior off the ground in a feat of strength he could not have pulled off before his exile. "You stubborn fool! Do you really think if there was a way to rescue her I wouldn't have tried it? She LEFT us Rai, of her own accord! She left us, and if I could've stopped her I would…by any means necessary. But I had to think of the bigger picture, and saving one person would be worthless if their forces shot us ALL down!" Rai's eyes were blurred with intense fury to the extent where he was finally able to break Lelouch's grip on his collar and was on his feet once more. "Bull-shit! You expect me to believe you when all you are capable of is lying to people? I mean, how many people here even know what you are? Then let ME tell them!" Lelouch could already see where this was going, but before he could devise a way to stop it without casting even more suspicion upon himself Rai suddenly lurched forward and grabbed onto his mask with all his might. "This man you all think of as an ally…this man here…" Rai said, tugging on the mask as he prepared himself for the incoming tackle from Shinji, "this man is-" Before Rai could finish Shinji finally made contact, thrusting Rai to Lelouch's side and to the floor in a full-body tackle. The damage was done however, as not even the new enhancements made to Lelouch's mask could handle the full weight of two mostly-grown men. The metal around the faceplate locking mechanism dislodged with a snap, as the entire plate flew clear of Lelouch's face leaving behind a stoic and somewhat-enraged visage. With what little breath he could muster under Shinji's weight Rai called out: "Lelouch Vi Britannia!"

Aboard the flagship _Ten Miles to Dawn _Nonette looked over her confined quarters with more curiosity than fear. Following her surprise landing aboard the flagship she had been immediately apprehended by the ship's security detail just before the Black Knights-no, _Lelouch's _Black Knights had begun their assault. Despite her being a prisoner of war the men still recognized her as a Knight of the Round, placing her in an unused officer's chambers and sealing it rather than just locking her in the onboard prison. As the battle finally died down Nonette could see plenty of workers shuffling back and forth past her door in their hasty effort to make repairs to their ship in time to catch up to the fleeing Avalon. Time and again she had called out to her room's guard, informing him that she had vital information to give to Lord Schneizel. The former prince was not due to arrive onboard for some time however, off busy working on other methods in which he could capture the renegade soldiers. In his stead both Claudio and Zangai had introduced themselves and comment on both her past exploits and her current valor in rebelling against her fellow traitors in order to bring them important data. Despite their assurances Nonette did not trust either of them for entirely different reasons, instead asking yet again to speak to Schneizel through a secure line if by no other means.

After two hours or so of solitary confinement Nonette found herself receiving yet another visitor, this one stranger by far than any of the others. He was clad head-to-toe in a dark red cloak, with a blood-red shawl covering all but his nose. To either side of him were two men in similar dress, except each one wore a pitch-black mask over their face with matching gloves and boots. Outside the room the guards stood ramrod still, as if completely ignorant of the trio's entrance. Looking to both sides the apparent leader of the group looked over his shoulder as the man calling himself Zero-Two rubbed the back of his helmet in the Britannian symbolism for apology. Looking at the new masked man Nonette felt no more kinship with him than she had with that bastard Lelouch, crossing her legs and arms while giving the new Zero a look of her greatest contempt. "Sorry, Master ZZ" the masked man said in a surprisingly sheepish tone. "Mister Zangai was acting oddly, so I thought it best to shake his attention." "That's alright my child, we were just about to begin." Nonette looked from Zero-Two to this "ZZ" character with confusion masked under anger, as she wondered just what exactly these strange people were "about to begin". Looking to one of his aides ZZ nodded, leaving the guard to close and seal the door. "What are you-" "You met him, right? Lelouch Lamperouge, that is." Nonette stopped mid-thought with her mouth agape as ZZ perfectly assessed the situation. "Ho-How did you know?" ZZ chuckled lightly as he paced back and forth in front of Nonette, while his two aides moved to the sides of the room. "My young lady, I have done plenty of research on that man. After all, for our dreams to be realized I cannot allow our allies to lose to him again." Nonette simply stared at ZZ, most of his monologue lost to her. "Our…never mind that, you need to know! Lelouch Vi Britannia, he has this bizarre and evil power. I witnessed him use it myself, and he killed those poor-" "Yes, yes…Geass, correct? Both Lord Schneizel and I know all about it, his power to compel a person. You were wise to leave when you did, before he got the chance to use it on you too. I imagine seeing it was terrifying for you, wasn't it?" Despite her earlier misgivings about this ZZ Nonette found herself inexplicitly growing more comfortable talking with him, as if behind those eyes was a kind-hearted elder eager to learn and share his own knowledge.

"If you already know all that, then how can you stop him?" That question seemed to shake ZZ's calm, causing the robed man to stare intently at Nonette for a brief moment before regaining his composure. "I intend to kill him, of course. It's really quite as simple as that, after all." Nonette seemed taken aback by the man's lack of restraint towards thoughts of murder, but an even more urgent matter came first. "Then you don't know…Lelouch Lamperouge is…I mean, he cannot die. I saw him shot earlier this evening, but he acted as if it were nothing. He's not human at all-" Nonette was cut short as ZZ's personality seemed to shift in an instant, as the robed figure suddenly lurched for the arms of her chair with slightly manic eyes. Caught in the sudden fear of his violent change Nonette did not notice as the two guards moved further down the walls of her room. "Then he has it after all? Adam's Code, the Unending Life, the Pure Elixir itself?" As he spoke the sanity in his eyes seemed to restore itself, so that as he finished ZZ righted himself and adjusted his robes while removing his cowl. Nonette recoiled at the sight: the scar from a large gash was cut across his throat, and in the center of his forehead a red V-shaped mark glowed intensely. Nonette tried to move away but suddenly found her arms held down by ZZ's guards, as their master began to laugh at some unseen joke. "I had thought so, but to think he really has that power as well is incredible. Such a lucky bastard, that one: to be given a true Code and a top-ranking King's Eye as well…ah, you didn't know that did you? The Geass power Lelouch possesses, the power so many possess, was once known by another name: the Power of Kings, or the King's Eyes. Sadly, I can make no such boast on either account. You see, my immortality is artificial and fractured. Eventually it will break down, and I do not know what will become of me then. As for that other power…" ZZ had been speaking to Nonette with his back turned to her until now, and as she realized why she let out a scream of pure terror as the two men used their free hands to peel open her closed eyes. "My Geass power was always weak and limited, though it is of the same breed as that bastard Lelouch. You see, Lelouch can command a person to do anything they can possibly do within human limits: he can alter the balance of life and death, destroy a person's very morals, even force them to do what they desire least. Me, I can only do one thing with my Geass…and so now, Nonette Enneagram, I order you: OBEY ME!"


End file.
