Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass, its franchise or any of the characters. The only things I do own are the characters I have created and the other things that I have placed within the original plotline of Code Geass.

Chapter 1: A dream of Memories past

a.t.b. 2009, August 4th, 11:45 PM, The Corvon Family Estate on the western coast of the North American Homeland of the Holy Britannian Empire.

I was dreaming, that much was obvious. I saw my younger, fourteen year old self in the mirror of the massive hallway. In the light of the mansion of my family, I could see my aristocratic outfit and the vibrant shade of my red hair. My eyes were stimulated by the brightness of the lab coat I wore over the outfit and I stretched to relax my stiff muscles and noticed the lack of a scar across the right side of my face. I realized that all I was doing was watching, my body moved on its own, like my muscles remember moving almost exactly a year ago, which is when this memory of a dream is taking place. Realizing that, I knew it was only a matter of time when I would receive the scar.

I glanced in the mirror and gazed back at my own green eyes. I turned when I heard running footsteps. I turned and saw my older brother Kythe Corvon. He was dressed more like a noble and he even wore a cape like us Britannians used to wear in medieval times. His face was five years older than me and his strange, light orange eyes were blocked by strands of unkempt black hair.

"Rylus, Rylus! Father is dying! He wants to see us, now!"

My face grew wide with concern. I buttoned my lab coat and raced down the hallways and up a few flights of stairs to find my father's room. I finally found it and burst through the doors. I flinched when I remembered that my dad has a rare form of Tuberculosis, and grabbed the filtered health hazard mask out of my pocket and held it to my face while I looped the bands around my ears. I looked around and saw the numerous people gathered around my father's bed. I recognized them as my father's lawyers but I couldn't figure out why they were here. My line of thought was shattered by the barrage of savage coughs and the startled men that were forced to step back from the bed.

They parted and I could get a good look at my father. He was dressed in his usual red pajamas. His face was sickly. The drivel and blood on his face made his overall appearance worse than I thought it did. He looked at me with sick eyes and they darted to Kythe arriving behind me and adjusting his health hazard mask. He glared and showed extreme intent to ignore Kythe.

"Shut the door." One of the doctors said. Kythe closed the door and the two of us strode over to the bedside. Our father, the strongest man we knew in our lives and here he was coughing up the last few drops of his own blood. He looked frail but he was strong enough to sit up and face us. He gestured to the lawyers and they began to take down notes. One of them held a page titled "Revised Last Will and Testament of Edward Cassius Corvon." I was a little nervous, which surprised me considering that I had already lived through these events. I lost the feeling when my father began to speak. Much of his words were lost in the ethereal sensations of the dream but I could hear the last few sentences.

"My title," began Edward Corvon, my father, "is nonexistent but the most important thing I have to leave you two is my fortune."

I thought about the situation as the dream continued. I quickly remembered the day that we begged father for the entire fortune of our family and not half. We were children at the time and we both had dreams that we wanted to accomplish which required all of our father's funds to achieve them, or so we thought. I wanted to be a scientist and Kythe wanted to be a knight. It seems that I took both mine and Kythe's dreams and achieved them. I was a knight and Emperor Charles' personal Knightmare Technician, a job I had obtained a matter of weeks ago obtained. Back to the point, we both wanted our father's money and he was discussing the issue once again, and on his deathbed too.

"I have all the money this family has amassed that is not in your hands and I have planned to give equal shares to the both of you." Kythe took advantage of our father's pause when he coughed violently.

"I realize that you have had contempt for me ever since that incident with the Refrain but I have put those days behind me. I will not sink the family into the depths of my mistakes." Kythe opened his mouth to keep speaking but father interrupted.

The two of them got into an argument about Kythe's life, father revealed that he found out about the numerous other times that Kythe had used Refrain in his life. The details were lost in the blur of the dream and I almost woke up and I wish that I did.

The conversation got physical, father arose from the bed and proceeded to swing at Kythe and even succeeded in choking the man for a few seconds. I moved out of the way as the frail man swung and missed, nearly hitting me and falling on the floor. I helped him up and he used me to push off of as he took another swing at the surprised Kythe.

Kythe had a look on his face that was beyond all forms of surprise. He was showing a mixture of surprise, fear, rage and confusion all at once. He suddenly grew mad and he grabbed father's hands to steady him. Edward Corvon sat back down on his bed and began talking while he coughed.

"In light of Kythe's actions and all the pain and misery that he has caused me, I have come to the decision, *Cough!* *Cough!* *COUGH!* That Kythe is the last person I would ever give my fortune to, even half of it." His voice was lost in an explosion of coughs and sputum. I was at a loss for words and I was wide eyed. I knew what was coming next. Even so, the sensation of anxiety affected me as much as it did that day.

"Without anyone else to give it to, I will give it all, *COUGH* to *COUGH* Rylus, my one and only true heir!"

The last sentence shot through me. My father loved to be vague and commonly allowed other people to figure out what he truly meant. I had only one thing to assume at the time. I had to assume that Kythe was not truly my brother. And I hated father for that detail about him but I loved the fact that Kythe was not the same blood as me, because of his behavior. Despite this, I was also saddened that my brother was a fake the entire time.

I already knew the outcome of this conversation but the emotions of surprise and all others implied were flooding my mind. In reality, I would simply brush the subject off as a huge annoyance. Kythe would have punched whoever brought it up.

"Now father, that's taking the joke too far! YOU CANNOT DENY THAT I AM YOUR SON! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO SAY THAT!" Kythe's words were cut short when he was punched in the face by Father.

"Silence bastard!" He coughed up a large amount of blood before he continued. "I was just like you years ago! But those days were washed behind me once I met Rylus' mother." He coughed again and pushed off concerned lawyers or doctors that encouraged him to rest. "But she could not bear a child at first. So I resorted to adopting a boy that I saw potential in, but look what that dream brought me!" he pointed at Kythe and stood off the bed once more.

"Now I have a damn bastard son that constantly reminds me of the man I used to be! The only reason that I know that you are not my son is that you are far worse than I was! There is no way I could be related to such scum!" He coughed one last glob of blood and he said his last words with a large onslaught of laughter.

"I hate you boy! I hate you so much that I wanted to make some of my last words the ones that deal a devastating blow to you!" He stopped laughing and assumed serious face before looking at me directly.

"But I also wanted my very last words to be the ones that reassure Rylus of my decision." He fell limp and he caught my shoulder and pulled himself to my ear. "Do not despair Rylus, you shall Change this family's name for the better." I felt blood and heat seep into my lab coat and tears ran down my face. I felt weight too, the weight of my father felt like the weight of the entire world. I slumped to my knees and my father's body forced me to the floor.

I was speechless. How could any of my thoughts be translated into words now?

"Help him! Help Sir Corvon!" I knew that the servants didn't mean my father, he never held any sort of official title other than "Mr." They never referred to me by my title as a Knight until now. Some people thought that I was way too young to be a knight, so no one really gave me the respect I anticipated. And now, I have a title that has more weight than ever, I have the responsibility to represent my family and avoid disgracing my father's name. I hated the feeling. The feeling of rising off the floor didn't relieve me, the weight on my feet almost made me loose balance and fall again.

The doctors lifted my father's body off the floor and laid him back on the bed. They hounded me with questions and offers to get me drinks or anything else. I pushed them aside and left without saying a word. I slammed the door behind me and sprinted down the hallway to the massive balcony above the main entrance to the mansion. I threw off my Tuberculosis infected lab coat and the filtered mask. I walked to the edge of the huge balcony, closed my eyes and soaked in my surroundings.

The humid August breeze was moist and its warmth sent a tingle through my body. I let my mind go blank and float away from the physical senses of my body. The sensation was strange but comfortable. The feeling allowed me to forget all the troubles I had and wonder my own thoughts in solitary ecstasy. I still felt hot tears stream down my face though, so my mind was not completely at peace. I lost control and knelt in defeat before sorrow.

The feeling of sorrow was something I welcomed greatly. It was infinitely more preferable to feeling the happiness I longed to immerse myself with. I felt sorrow for my father's death and the circumstances separating me and Kythe as true family members only made it worse. But I had to endure it. My sorrow was the only emotion keeping me from feeling insanely joyful about Kythe not being my brother. I had always loved Kythe as any true brother should but true adoration is nonexistent between us.

Kythe was a terrible loser that would use underhanded tactics to win almost anything involving conflict. He was merciless as well, when he and I practiced fencing separately, he would beat his opponent until he was covered with bruises and countless opened wounds. He also thinks he is above everybody else and treats the servants in our house like dirt. He even tried to seduce a few of the maids. When he wasn't doing that, he was often flooding his bloodstream with Refrain.

The day he first became a Knight was the day he started using Refrain. He made the mistake of facing another Knight after partaking in alcohol. Kythe grew too lustful for blood and ended up killing the knight, earning him a bad reputation and a lack of employment for a few years. He was so miserable that he nearly overdosed on Refrain trying to remember the feelings he had from his childhood. He was so excited about being a knight back then, that the slightest thought of it would brighten his face with a huge smile. But all of that was killed off shortly after he began Refrain.

He would take Refrain and shut himself in his room for hours. It was only last year that I realized that he was doing this. With a few therapy sessions, he quit Refrain. He didn't start it again until the day that I became a Knight myself. He grew envious and depressed, longing to remember his joy for becoming a Knight. I found him one night as he was just about to inject himself. I promised not to bring him to father if he stops Refrain immediately. He did stop and has been clean ever since, as far as I know. There is only one question that comes to mind when I think about that. How isn't his mind being damaged or affected negatively by the Refrain?

My sorrow was now starting to drift towards my hatred. So I focused on the happy, energetic and loving brother I knew him to be all those years ago. It worked only for a minute, so I stopped thinking all together. I was uneasy within the mentality of my dream. Every last memory I listed in my mind brought every last emotion that I felt that day. This still confused me but I felt the satisfaction of relief pleasing now. I remember deciding to go inside and go to sleep before anything else happened.

It was now that I wished that I had woken up, because I always hated what came next.

"Rylus!" I flinched and stood when I heard Kythe shouting my name behind me.

Kythe stood there immutably. His face was contorted by rage and the tears that streamed down his cheeks were not from sorrow. My gaze lowered to the sword in his hand. Another sword entered my vision as he threw a sheathed rapier at me. I caught it and instinctively unsheathed it as Kythe lunged at me with his. Our blades met with a sound of metal clashing and our eyes exchanged the bloodthirsty looks of brothers fighting to the death.

"I will fight you for the money! If I win then you have to give me every last bit of it!" He lunged at me again when I nodded in response.

"Just don't lie to me Kythe! You and I both know that you really just want to fight me because you hate me!" I shouted at him while thrusting my sword at his torso.

"Exactly! All I've ever wanted to do, for a long time now, was to fight and beat you at sword play just once! And now is the perfect time Rylus!" He shouted back.

Our bodies and blades danced across the balcony. We focused on avoiding each other's strikes, preparing complicated thrusts and other attacks we each thought the other wouldn't be able to avoid. Once we locked blades against each other and Kythe tried to force me off the balcony. And another time he nearly decapitated me.

I realized that he truly wanted to kill me, it didn't, matter what came next. His blood lust was unstoppable now. The thought distracted me and Kythe buried the blade in my shoulder. I tripped and fell over, accidentally keeping the sword from going too deep into my body.

My shallow wound made me grunt in pain as I hit the stone ground. I barely managed to roll over to evade Kythe's next thrust. I rolled onto my feet and sliced Kythe on the back of his leg, making him stumble forward and stagger back to his feet. I calmly walked to the rail opposite the one Kythe was staggering to. We were both tired of this tedious fight and wanted something to push off of to run at each other. It was strange how well we knew what the other would be thinking. I clutched my shoulder and felt the hot blood on the palm of my clenching hand. Then I lifted my leg and placed my foot on the rail, staring at Kythe across from me. He did the same.

We both suddenly glanced at the grandfather clock in the middle of the hallway in the open entrance of the balcony. It was only seconds away from midnight.

We nodded at each other and readied ourselves. The humid summer breeze slowed and the sounds of the insect and other nightly noises faded away as my mind calmed. I closed my eyes, inhaled and exhaled deeply, cutting off all sensation except focus. I opened my eyes and the sound of the grandfather clock drowned out all my thoughts.

*dong* *dong* *dong* *dong* *dong* *dong* *dong* *dong* *dong* *dong* *dong* *dong*

…

I pushed off the rail and sprinted at Kythe. Kythe staggered at first but ignored his injury to sprint at me. We nearly reached each other and our swords glinted with moonlight as they slashed through the air. I suddenly felt like something was touching me and I was forced back. I caught the sight of Kythe being forced to his right, like someone had tackled him.

I landed on someone before I could hit the ground. This person held my hands back with his arms and pulled his face to my ear.

"Stop, Rylus! What are you two doing!?" I recognized the voice as my father's personal butler, John Ferris. I looked up to see Kythe being held on the ground by the maid that was in charge of all the other maids, Serene Bredbeddle. Kythe tried to push her off but she put both hands on him and slammed him down on the ground. I tried to get up and rush at Kythe again but John wrenched my sword from my grip and pushed me back to the ground.

"Stop it sir! He's a pathetic Refrain addict! He's not worth your time!" John stood me up and sheathed my sword. He handed it to me as he continued speaking.

"Just go sir. We'll take care of things here."

I took the sword and stared at John. He was only three years older than me but was far taller than what seemed physically possible. His blonde hair was rough and as unkempt as Kythe's, covering his evergreen eyes. He wore any fancy clothing a butler would wear. He was thin and muscular like me and liked to be my fencing partner when Kythe was not available.

I also looked at Serene and noticed the concern in her sapphire eyes. She always hated when I fought with Kythe like this but was even sadder because we almost killed each other. Her black hair blended in with the maid's outfit she wore. Nothing like any pervert would have a woman wear, a true outfit. The fabric was breathable and the skirt of the dress reached her ankles. She held Kythe to the ground with strength you would not find in that many women today, even less for women her age. She was fifteen, a little over a year older than me.

I took a brief look at Kythe, long enough only to see his enraged face and the everlasting glare of hatred in his deep blue eyes. I turned and walked away.

"What's wrong Kythe? Not strong enough to handle a woman?" I called back to him as I neared the doors to the house. I heard Serene laugh. She was taking my words as a joke and not an offense to her.

"Sir Corvon! Look out!" I heard John cry out.

I turned in time to see Kythe charging at me with his sword slicing at me faster than I thought possible. He had pushed Serene off and John was too far away to do anything. I drew my own sword and thrust at Kythe purely out of instinct. We shouted in rage as our strikes neared their targets.

"Kythe!"

"Rylus!"

I closed my eyes at the last second. All I could feel was pain radiating from the gash that Kythe made on the left side of my face. I could also feel the tension in my right hand. The hard steel of my sword felt something against it. I knew that my strike had hit its mark. The feeling of steel against flesh from this end would always stay with me. My scar would also stay with me from now on.

I opened my eyes and all I could see was darkness. My vision eventually adjusted and a bright light that burned my eyes enveloped all of my vision.

Pronunciations of names, just in case anyone was confused.

Rylus, Rye-lus, rhymes with Stylus.

Kythe, Kai-th, rhymes with Scythe.