az: Some discussions in the Geass comm. made me ponder about this kind of plot twist... and for almost a month it had been bothering me, even during the time I'm trying to figure out how to end Shadow Sun. And Fallen King didn't curb this need to write this and oh... Charles! And Baccano made me wanna attempt this type of storytelling. So yeah... damn new multichaptered fic. And since I have free time might as well get this done.

Disclaimer: Code Geass: Hangyaku no Lelouch is copyrighted by Sunrise as well as character designs by CLAMP. I'm only borrowing the fandom for the sake of the fic and the love of it.

Checkmate

Chapter 1: Crimson Moon

by Izzu alias honou-no-izumi

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She wondered how fate had turned out the way it did now. Everything that had happened from the very beginning until now was indeed real. Yet, she felt as if she was still inside a dream. Everything had happened too fast. During the Black Rebellion... and also, this second one. Now, when time seemed to have stopped; she began wondering if everything that had happened in the past... had only been a dream or a nightmare. Everything had seemed to be unreal, yet this was indeed reality.

Kozuki Kallen winced as blood trickled out from the side of her lips when she had bit too hard on it. This pain was real so there was no mistake... this predicament, it was no illusion. The Order of the Black Knights had indeed fallen. Everyone including herself, yet again... were now prisoners of their most dreaded enemy...

The Holy Empire of Britannia.

xxx

The first time she first met him—no, heard him, the times earlier when she had rarely saw him at the academy could not be counted as an encounter—had been during the time when she and Nagaki had gone stealing the poison gas capsule from one of the secret facilities run under the late Prince Clovis. That time, she had already disliked hearing his commanding voice—giving instructions to them suddenly as if they were his underlings. Yet, even though she had mistrusted him at first, his instructions had helped them a lot and saved her from the pinch. When he had lead them to acquiring new Frames to counter attack the Britannians as well as leading them to fight, she could not deny that a part of her at that time had admired his intelligence. Ignoring the fact that Suzaku's Lancelot had turned the tables against them that time, what Lelouch did back then at Shinjuku was unbelievable.

And she never thought that Lelouch had been behind the strange orders made by Lord Clovis that spared their lives as well of the lives of the rest of the Japanese refugees.

That time... she had never thought that that voice was someone that she could get near to. But now, ironically, the thing that she thought was impossible... had indeed come true. She ended up becoming one of Lelouch's most trusted followers. And she had also become one of the strongest fighter pilots in the world. This certainly was not something she would think to be possible before.

But, even if she was among the strongest fighters... they still ended up losing. Kallen let out a cynical laugh.

"What did we do that was not enough... Lelouch?"

She snickered by herself as she glanced out of her cell, towards her other companions. The remaining members of the Order of the Black Knights, who had also been captured by their enemies. Everyone had looked dejected as she turned away.

Kallen closed her eyes as she let sleep overcame her.

xxx

Kallen walked out of the canteen as she returned towards her cell. Looking around, she could barely feel the nagging feeling that the amount of people around her was decreasing. And most of the cells that she noticed this; was from the cells that held the rest of the Order's members. But then again, the number of people that had joined the Order was too many for her to remember and she could have not even met some of them at all. And the other people that she was close with were still around. Hmm... perhaps she was being paranoid.

The clang of the iron door behind her reverberated as the female guard that was escorting her left for other duties. Kallen sighed again. Despite the fact that all of them were prisoners, they had been treated fairly nicely compared to when the others had been detained a year earlier back in Japan. Or so, as the others had told her. Somehow that part puzzled her a little. But at least, she would not have to hear anyone around her muttering complaints. At least this quietness allowed her time to think about everything, now that it stopped moving at a faster rate.

Come to think, she did not heard anything about where Lelouch had been detained. During the times when they were allowed to go out, she had tried asking around but no one seemed to know about him. C.C. though, she had managed to overhear a conversation among the guards saying that she had been detained in a tighter security cell than the ones they were in. She wondered what had happened to him. During the last few days she had been by his side, before they had launched this operation; he had told her the things that he had promised to tell her long time ago. About his true identity as the eleventh prince of Britannia as well as his original reason to fight. Even if that reasoning had evolved into a far greater resolve. For some reason, after knowing all of that; she could not be angry at him for keeping the details about his origins a secret for so long.

Kallen smiled weakly. Just now she had eaten a meagre lunch provided to all of the prisoners but what about him? Was he eating well? But then again considering that it was him, she could not expect anything more. Even in the past, he had not eaten that much at a time. If he did, perhaps he could have been fitter that he was now. She grinned again by herself.

"In the end, I couldn't even stop thinking about you... isn't it, Lelouch?"

xxx

It was truly at that time, when he had first used his geass on her. She barely remembered it, partly because of the side effects of the geass on its victims. Then what he had said to her earlier was true, that she had followed him on her own accord. Her loyalty to him was true. There was no force on that... she herself had been willing to do anything for him.

Kallen chuckled. Those earlier memories were starting to become dear to her. Even that time when he had first walked up to her, obviously to try to divert her suspicions away from him about his true identity as the owner of the voice that had helped them in Shinjuku. Amusingly, that exchange had caused a massive misunderstanding among the Ashford female students, thinking that both of them were together. Which strangely although unintentionally, they did end up that way later. Her thoughts wandered over the time at the clubhouse after that wine accident. The time when Lelouch had skilfully tricked her into believing that he and Zero were different people, probably with the help from Sayako. And also that time when—Kallen blushed—no, she should not be thinking about that right now.

Lelouch perhaps had found out about her reasons to join the resistance through the geass that time, probably that was why during those times; Zero had been particularly trusting to her. Even when they had been together at Ashford, in their outward persona; Lelouch had openly talked with her about his true thoughts on the situation that was happening between the Britanians living in Japan and the Japanese people. His true thoughts, spoken in such a way that she would not realize that it was indeed Zero who was speaking to her.

She wondered when was it that she had first started to grow attached to him. Not just to Zero but to Lelouch as well. True, that time at Kaminejima Island when she had found out about Zero's true identity; part of her resolve had wavered a little. But that was because she had not expected that Zero and Lelouch was the same person. After everything that had happened... after all.

Then again, it was not like she had truly disliked Lelouch. They may had several times disagreed on each other's opinions, partially because he found out that she was not really that frail a person as well as those constant bickering that they have had; but those times at Ashford really got her closer to learning who was this Lelouch Lamperouge really inside. And to realize that this same person was the very man she thought to be mysterious and hard to approach, that certainly would make anyone stuck in a daze. That was why, when they had started the operation to recover him and his memories; she had asked that important question.

Thus they started again, the second rebellion. And after fighting again for so long, facing even more obstacles; it was ironic that they ended up losing again. Even when this time, Lelouch has stayed and fought together with them. They even managed to subdued most of the military power that Britannia could throw at them. Yet... they have lost. They have lost not to the Britannian forces but to the Emperor's ultimate weapon.

The sword of Akasha.

With that kind of absolute power, the Emperor would have had annihilated them long time ago. But to only use it now when the Order had grown so strong—What was the true intention of that person?

Lelouch... what kind of a person was your father truly?

xxx

The sound of metal grating snapped her mind back to reality as she immediately turned towards the exit. Her eyes narrowed as the figure revealed to be none other than Kururugi Suzaku.

"Suzaku... what are you doing here? Is it not enough that you had defeated me in combat? Now do you want to mock me even more by coming here?"

The look of indifference on Suzaku's face did not waver as he threw a neatly wrapped package on her lap.

"Go change and follow me. I need you to do something."

Kallen spat.

"Why must I follow your orders? Just because I'm now—!"

"Kallen please... I don't want to fight with you. I just need you to help me with something..."

Kallen stared at him suspiciously before grabbing the package angrily.

"Alright! It's not like you'd leave me alone if I refuse to your request, isn't it? The same thing as last time... ch!" she snapped at him as Suzaku left her to wait outside.

xxx

"So where are you taking me...?" she asked as Suzaku did not give any reply. Kallen frowned as she grumpily followed behind him as they exited the detention facility, where a modest car awaits them. She followed Suzaku inside as the car went further into the city into another group of buildings. The car stopped as Kallen trailed behind the Knight of Seven, wondering why the person brought her to this place.

They entered a peculiar building as Kallen looked around in wonder. At one side, the place looked a bit like the detention cell that she had left but at another side it looked as if it was a hospital. Some of the rooms that they had passed appeared to be occupied by some serious looking researchers as they tinkered with some strange machineries. Another room had some scientists conducting some experiments. Kallen became even more confused. Why on earth did Suzaku dragged her over here and what was that something that he needed her to do that he could not do?

As she pondered about it, they entered an escalator as Suzaku pressed on button to head towards the topmost level. Kallen frowned as they remained in silence. The escalator door opened towards a long corridor. They passed several rooms as she stopped as Suzaku took out a key card and unlocked the tenth room. The door swished open as Suzaku stared at her.

"Enter."

Kallen frowned as she grumpily obliged.

"—so, what was it that you want me to do that you had to so hard—!"

Kallen's mouth snapped open as she turned towards Suzaku in surprised shock. She immediately dashed towards the occupant of the room before she stopped on her tracks. Kallen gasped as she slowly sat on the bedside, reaching out as her hand touched the person's cheek. Her face twisted in sadness as she pulled him into her embrace. Kallen turned towards Suzaku as her face changed into that of full anger.

"What did you do to him... bastard!" she cried aloud as Suzaku stared coldly back at her. Leaning on her shoulders, eyes blank as if all life had been sucked out of them; was non other than that Lelouch Lamperouge or formally known as Zero. The man, who should have been able to win the war. But now... by her side, he was no more Zero.

It was just Lelouch Lamperounge... nothing more or less than that.

CHECK.

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az: One of the discussion on how R2 would end spurred this thought. And I was driven crazy about this plot that it refused to leave me alone even as I prepared to do some works on other stuffs. So there... yeah. The story flow just when off like that.