It ended and began with a mere thought.

As he had laid on his sister's lap, bleeding to death and uttering his final words, a thought had crossed his mind.

'Ah… I wish I could do it all over again…'

It had been his sister's crying face which had elicited this thought from within him. His vision had been blurry, and his hearing almost completely non-existent, but he could still tell with absolutely no doubt that sorrowful tears had been leaking from her eyes and anguished sobbing had been escaping from her mouth.

Lelouch Vi Britannia had regretted a lot of things before that moment, but he had always had the ambition and drive to continue looking forward.

But how could he have looked forward back then, when there was nothing to look forward to?

Turns out he had been wrong.

Because as soon as he had closed his eyes for what he had thought would have been the last time, he suddenly opened them again and found himself in a very familiar place.

The Shinjuku ghetto. The very place he had first received his Geass.

In fact, he could see C.C. collapsed on the ground in front of him, and also, the Britannian soldiers who had been the first victims of his Geass the first time he had received that power stood before him, their guns pointed at him.

"Die," Lelouch instinctively ordered. He was in no mood to be dramatic right now.

The Britannian soldiers hastily complied by shooting themselves in the neck.

Now, with the present problem dealt with, he could think about what had just happened.

Then, Lelouch found that he already knew the answer, as if he'd always known it.

He had been sent back in time because of his regret.

He would have balked at thought just a few minutes before, but somehow, as if by instinct, he already knew that not only was this possible but exactly what had happened.

However, he also somehow instinctually knew that this event was something that had never happened in the history of humanity, and would probably never happen in the future of humanity ever again.

Apparently, this was the Collective Unconsciousness' doing, and this fact too, he somehow knew instinctually.

A knightmare landing in the opening of the building in front of him brought him out of his thoughts.

Instantly, Lelouch remembered what had happened the last time. The person in that knightmare was Villetta Nu, a particularly troublesome person who had caused him and Shirley quite a lot of grief.

"What happened here, boy?" Her heated voice echoed from the knightmare, "Answer me, or I'll…"

Then she fired a few bullets close enough to cause his hair to fly messily. Like the last time this had happened, Lelouch remained unfazed.

But he raised his hands anyway, "My name is Alan Spacer, my father is a Duke. My I.D. card is in my breast pocket. After you have confirmed my identity, I ask for your protection."

Lelouch waited as Villetta deliberated over on what to do. Finally, Villetta exited her Sutherland and the answer Lelouch had been expecting came,

"Keep your hands up; I'll take out your I.D."

Lelouch was once again about to give the Geass order that he had last time, but ended up hesitating. Wouldn't it be easier to just kill this meddlesome woman now, and not have to worry about her later?

He thought over that as she approached, but in the end, decided against such a course of action. He was the Demon Emperor no longer – no longer did he need to kill or enslave all those who got in his way.

After all, there were other methods of dealing with this situation.

As Villetta reached out to check Lelouch's breast pocket, Lelouch activated his Geass and gave his order,

"Give me your Knightmare, and forget my very existence."

Villetta's face slackened, and she compliantly handed over her operating flash drive, "Understood. The code is XG21-G2D4."

Lelouch simply walked past her without a word.

Lelouch sighed. Bloodshed, destruction, war… he was tired of it all. He no longer held the same fervour for his ambition that he once did.

Still… he didn't have many choices when it came to getting out of this ghetto. Asking the Britannian army for help was out of the question unless he wanted to risk exposing his true identity.

Then, once again, only the terrorist avenue was left.

Lelouch climbed to a vantage point once all the preparations had been completed. From here, he could easily see Kallen's red Glasgow – which was being chased by two Sutherlands.

"The West entrance," he calmly ordered through his radio, "Use the tracks to move to the West entrance."

Unexpectedly, rather than the expected hostile questioning, only silence greeted him from the other end.

Lelouch frowned. What was going on? This hadn't happened last time.

Thirteen potential reasons for this divergence popped into his mind.

"Hey, are you listening?" Lelouch tried again, "Follow my instructions if you want to win!"

"I…it's really you…" Kallen's voice finally came, "Ze… no, that's not you yet…"

Lelouch narrowed his eyes as understanding dawned on him. He had assumed that he had been the only one sent back in time, but now he knew that wasn't the case.

Kallen had also come back in time with him.

This meant that there could be more people who had also come back. Lelouch found himself thanking the Collective Unconsciousness for not bringing back Villetta too – she would have shot him the instant she spotted him if she was her future self.

For now though, he had to deal with Kallen, "I'm sorry, you seem to know me personally. Have I ever met you before?" He asked innocently.

He had no intention of divulging to her that he was also from the future. Not until he knew what he wanted to do.

"I-I thought you sounded like someone I knew. Sorry about that," Kallen sounded shaken, "Aside from that, what now?"

A train was approaching her position and she already looked ready to jump on top of it. Lelouch almost laughed – she was so easy to read.

"Jump on the train," he ordered nonetheless; he had to maintain the appearance that he knew nothing about how much SHE knew.

She complied. As expected.

"Good. Since you trusted me, you get to win."

One Sutherland was destroyed from the impact of the train, while the other followed after Kallen by also jumping on the train.

However, that Sutherland wasn't firing for some reason. Odd.

Deeming it too risky to stick his neck out right now, he ordered, "Fire your slash harkens at the Sutherland on your tail."

"…Eh? You're not going to help me?" Kallen asked. She must have been confused as to why events had diverged from what had happened last time.

Still, at least her question let him confirm that she truly was from the future.

"How would you propose I do that?" Lelouch asked back with an amused smirk; after all, she wasn't really supposed to know that he was currently in a Sutherland.

"Uh… right! Makes sense," Kallen responded back, clearly realizing that she was about to reveal too much. Then she turned around and fired her final slash harken at the Sutherland.

The Sutherland shot its own slash harken and both slash harkens repelled each other in the middle. Kallen seemed unfazed though and merely used this opportunity to charge in and kicked the Sutherland off the train. She then fired her slash harken again at the falling Sutherland, this time managing to take off its leg.

"Impressive combat ability," Lelouch said, "Now wait there. Your friends are coming."

As soon as he said that, Ohgi and his group came running up to Kallen's Glasgow. Oghi began asking Kallen about what had just happened and who he was, but Lelouch had stopped paying attention.

Lelouch wasn't sure on how to feel about Oghi and his friends. They had, after all, betrayed at him in the end.

Still, he couldn't exactly blame them for their actions. Schneizel had manipulated them, and Lelouch himself had been distancing himself from them. Perhaps, in a way, they had been justified in betraying him.

Although, that didn't mean he was exactly okay with what had happened either. He knew that it would take some time for him to start trusting them again. If the path of the Black Knights was the one he would take again, of course.

Either way, now wasn't the time for such thoughts.

"U-Uh, hello? Can we ask who you are?" Oghi's voice came in through the radio, just as he got his mind back on track.

Hm… it sounded like Oghi hadn't come back in time.

Good. That made it easier to deal with him.

"Are you the one in charge?" Lelouch asked back.

"A-ah, yeah," responded hesitantly.

Lelouch smirked, "I present to you the cargo in that train over there. They're tools for your victory. If you want to use them to win, follow my orders."

The resistance members opened the crates to find themselves standing before a number of Sutherlands.

Lelouch waited as they talked to each other. He couldn't hear them because they weren't using their radio, but he could easily imagine the excitement that they were currently feeling.

Kallen refilling her Glasgow's energy filler then caught his eye.

He chuckled before contacting her with his radio, "Woman in the Glasgow, I'm surprised you don't want to use a Sutherland too."

"Eh?" Kallen sounded confused and surprised, "B-but, didn't you want… I mean…"

Lelouch barely managed to stop himself from laughing out loud, "Ah, it seems you have already guessed my plans – impressive."

"E-er, right." He could easily see her blushing at her mistake in his mind's eye, "Thanks."

"Stay in the Glasgow then. As you've already figured out, your unit will run decoy."

"Understood."

It was too easy. Fighting Clovis was far too easy.

Lelouch knew that his skills in strategy had improved due to facing opponents like Schneizel and Xing Ke, but still, this was far too easy.

He was using the exact same tactics as last time and Clovis wasn't even trying anything different from last time.

Which meant that Clovis hadn't come back in time. Good.

"Q1, now," Lelouch ordered when Clovis' forces took the same bait as last time.

"Got it!"

A second later, a bunch of "LOST" notifications peppered the screen.

Lelouch smirked. Even if he was tired of warfare, he still couldn't deny the thrill he felt when he outsmarted an opponent.

Then, his smirk disappeared. Suzaku would be making his entrance soon.

Had Suzaku also come back in time? If so, then how would he react to seeing Lelouch again? Would Suzaku forgive him for all his past transgressions because Euphemia was once again alive? Or would Suzaku still hate him for all the suffering Lelouch had put him through?

Either way, now was not the time to think about these kinds of things. Suzaku's Lancelot would be taking to the field soon, and Lelouch couldn't think of a single way to take him on with this ragtag group of rebels.

If only Kallen had her Guren…

But she didn't, so Lelouch had to find a way to retreat without letting Kallen know that he knew what was going to happen.

"Ze—I mean, mysterious voice!" Kallen's voice came in through the radio, "The Britannians are going to be deploying a prototype knightmare soon. It's powerful enough to take all of us down in a flash!"

Oh? How generous of Kallen to just hand him an excuse.

"Kallen?" Oghi's voice came through, "How do you know this?"

"I… overheard some Britannian soldiers talking about how they're trying to find battlefields to run some practical tests on their new prototype knightmare," Kallen made an excuse.

"Is that so?" Lelouch joined in before Oghi could say anything, "It is time for us to retreat then. The encirclement has already been broken, so you people can escape from wherever you want. If you prefer to try and protect the locals, then you can do that too. I'll go for the Viceroy."

Lelouch expected Kallen to speak, but instead, it was Oghi who accepted,

"Got it, we'll do what we can to help the locals escape."

Lelouch cut the line. All tasks at hand had been cleared.

It was time for the checkmate.

Suzaku frowned. The streets were devoid of any knightmares.

This wasn't the way he had remembered the Shinjuku skirmish going.

Yes, he had been through this battle before. The curious question then would have, of course, been, what was going on?

One minute, he was stabbing Lelouch through the chest, and the next, he was waking up on the hospital bed that he had first met Lloyd-san and Cecile-san on.

However, there was no need to ask that question. His mind instinctively seemed to know that he had been sent back in time. He wasn't really sure why, but at least he could somehow tell that this was the Collective Unconsciousness' doing.

Suzaku looked at his radar and only a single enemy signature stared back at him.

Where were the rest of the enemies? Things hadn't gone this way before…

Was he in some sort of alternate timeline?

Either way, going after the single enemy signature was probably better than nothing, so he took off.

When he got there, only a single Sutherland stood before him, its cockpit open and empty.

With a start, Suzaku realized what was going on. He looked back at the G1 where Viceroy Clovis was commanding from, and then back at the empty Sutherland.

This Sutherland had been bait. For him.

Lelouch…

As she tried to calm the people of Shinjuku, Kallen frowned.

She wasn't stupid. She knew she wasn't as smart as Xing Ke, or Schneizel, or Lelouch; but she wasn't stupid.

Lelouch had accepted her statement about the prototype knightmare too easily.

They had been winning; Lelouch had no reason to stop there and retreat, except for the word of some girl he had never even met.

Yes, she knew that Lelouch had a plan to win by infiltrating the G1, but still. She knew just how much pride he had in his abilities.

To simply back down… it was suspicious.

Could it… could it be that Lelouch had also come back in time?

She had to find out for sure.

Then, the expected announcement from Clovis came.

"Are you satisfied?" Clovis asked, voice carrying undertones of both annoyance and fear.

"Very. Well done," Lelouch responded.

"And what shall we do now? Sing a few ballads, or perhaps a nice game of chess?"

Lelouch stayed silent. He still wasn't sure whether he was going to once again kill Clovis, so he couldn't exactly reveal his identity right now.

"Well?" Clovis asked

Lelouch sighed. What point was there in killing Clovis right now? Lelouch wasn't even sure that he wanted to rebel against Britannia again.

"Clovis La Britannia, I will grant you mercy and leave you alive today," Lelouch said, "However, I leave you with a warning. If you orchestrate a massacre like this again, I will reappear to take your life."

Clovis scowled, but Lelouch knew that his words would at least ensure the current safety of Kallen and the rest.

"Farewell."

The sky had already become dark by the time Lelouch made it back home.

He was about to open the main door, but hesitated. The last time he had seen Nunnally, she had been crying her eyes out over him.

He wouldn't pretend that he didn't feel happy that Nunnally loved him so much, but the sight of her in so much suffering had hurt far more than the sword that had pierced his chest.

What would he do if she too came back in time? What would he do if she remembered all the atrocities that she had forced herself to commit, all because of her brother who had failed to keep her away from the hands of the Royal family?

He wouldn't say that he preferred the innocent Nunnally to the more grown-up Nunnally in the Damocles. She had matured, and while that made him sad, it also made him exceedingly proud.

But still, some part of him also wanted to shelter Nunnally from all the suffering she had been through.

He opened the door and walked in.

Nunnally was waiting in the living room.

His heart sank. The solemn expression on her face instantly told him all that he needed to know.

"Onii-sama?"

"…Nunnally."

Silence enveloped the room, until finally, tears started streaming down Nunally's face. She brought her wheelchair forward and enveloped Lelouch in a surprisingly strong embrace.

Lelouch wrapped his arms around her.

"Onii-sama… you…" Nunally tearfully trailed off.

Lelouch closed his eyes and hardened his resolve.

"What happened, Nunnally?" He asked gently.

Nunally stiffened.

He couldn't let her know. He couldn't let her know that he too had gone back in time. That he was the Demon Emperor Lelouch.

Not yet.

He had to let her believe that he wasn't the mass murderer that he had become in the future. He had to let her believe that he was still redeemable.

"Onii-sama, don't you… don't you remember becoming the emperor?" Nunally asked quietly.

Lelouch smiled sadly, but kept his voice curious, "What kind of dreams have you been having, Nunally? Do you want me to stay with you while you sleep?"

Nunally shook, "…Yes please."

Lelouch laughed pathetically in his mind as he took her to his room.

Perhaps he was just making excuses. Perhaps it was just that he didn't have the courage to face her honestly after all he had done…

The next morning, Lelouch entered the Student Council room, only to find himself being clung to by a crying Rivalz.

"LELOUUUUUUUUUCH!"

"What the—?"

Lelouch tried to pry the sobbing Rivalz off of him, but his friend turned out to be too strong.

Then, Milly barged in and joined Rivalz.

"Lelouch!"

"President? What's wrong with you guys?"

Nina walked in with Shirley, and they both just stared confusedly at the scene.

Rivalz and Milly both slowly disengaged at the same time and looked at each other with surprised looks on their faces.

Milly then turned to Lelouch and gave him a smile, "Don't worry about it. It's a secret."

She proceeded to drag Rivalz out of the Student Council room.

Shirley and Nina both looked at Lelouch curiously, but Lelouch simply shrugged.

Although, Lelouch did have a suspicion on what was going on.

"Milly, you time-travelled too!?" Rivalz asked, more than a little happy. Things had gotten really screwed up in the future.

Milly nodded enthusiastically, "Yep. I was reporting Lelouch's arrival to Japan live on the scene, and then suddenly, I found myself in the club room with Shirley and Nina! It was so weird!"

"Yeah!" Rivalz agreed, "But I also somehow knew that I had time-travelled!"

"You too?"

"Yep!"

The two fell silent for a few seconds.

"What now?" Rivalz asked, "I mean, now that we know that Lelouch is a Britannian prince…"

Milly turned away a little guiltily.

Rivalz gaped at her expression, "You knew!?"

Milly nodded, "Our Ashford family is sheltering them, after all."

Rivalz found it to be a shock that Milly already knew something so big about someone he had considered his best friend, but let it go for something even more important in his mind.

"Hey, President… Do you also remember Rolo?"

Milly frowned, "Yeah… I do, but it's weird. I have clear memories of him in my final year, but the rest before that is super hazy."

"Did you also forget Nunnally for a while?" Rivalz asked hesitantly.

Milly's frown deepened, "Yeah… I don't even get why though. And why did Rolo replace Nunnally as Lelouch's younger sibling? All I know is that he appeared one day, and then we had memories of spending time with him. I even forgot that Lelouch was royalty after that."

"President… you're going to think I'm crazy, but I think I remember the emperor opening my eye and doing something while I was sleeping before I got these weird memories about Rolo," Rivalz confided.

Milly put a hand on her chin, "Well… it's not like we can do anything right now. Let's just see how this plays out."

Rivalz laughed, "Let's try and stop Lelouch from taking over the world this time," his smile faded away a little, "It didn't end so well the last time…"

Milly put a comforting hand on Rivalz' shoulder, "Don't worry, we'll make sure to keep Lelouch on the right path this time. After all, he's our friend."

Rivalz smiled back.

"Of course."

Rivalz and Milly had both travelled back to the past too – Lelouch was sure of it.

Nothing else explained their behaviour back then as well.

It seemed like Shirley and Nina both hadn't time-travelled though. If Nina had time travelled, then there would at least be some anger or disgust on her face when she saw him; and Shirley… he didn't know how she would react, but he was sure it wouldn't be as normal as this.

Why hadn't they time-travelled when Rivalz and Milly had? What was the condition required to be sent back to the past?

Lelouch scowled. If only he could understand the conditions, he could predict who to be wary of and who not to. More importantly, he could then find out whether Charles, Marianne, or Schneizel had been sent back too.

Those three people worried him the most. Charles and Marianne were hell-bent on achieving the Ragnarok Connection, so if either of them had also come back in time, then they would swiftly try to crush Lelouch before he could become a significant threat again.

Schneizel had developed a resolve to take over the world in the future, so if he too came back in time, then he too would try and take out Lelouch before he could mount a sufficient resistance.

And all three would probably try and use Nunnally to get to him.

Lelouch fists clenched in defiance.

He wouldn't allow that to happen to Nunally – not again.

Lelouch's fists loosened as he calmed his mind. He had to think.

He did have one advantage. Schneizel and Charles' ideal worlds differed from the other. That meant that they would also try to fight each other rather than just Lelouch if they came back in time.

Still, they would consider Lelouch a viable threat, which meant that he would have to prepare his own defences.

The Black Knights.

After all, living in hiding forever with Nunnally was never an option anyway.

AN - So... I've been gone a while. I know I said that I was 100% sure that I would have some free time, but it turns out that I should have said I was 99% sure, because that 1% came to bite me back in the ass.

Anyway, yeah. I'm still working on "I Don't Need Chakra To Win!" and "I'm a Wanted Criminal!?", but for now, I present to you a completely unplanned Code Geass fic. Like, I mean, that this fic is even less planned than "I'm a Wanted Criminal!?".

Maybe that's not a good approach to write for a Code Geass fic, but oh well. I had an idea, and I acted on it.