Thanks for the comments so far, all. In case anyone was wondering, yes, this is a continuation of my previous work.


Lelouch sighed wearily as he sat down at the small table in his tiny shack of a house. Thirty five years. Thirty five long, painfully lonely years. That's how long he had been living in this tiny home – barely big enough for two − far away from civilization. However, since C.C. had died and the home therefore only needed to shelter one person, it seemed cavernous to Lelouch. In truth, there was no reason for him to keep track of time. He was completely removed from the rest of the world, and he was immortal anyway. What meaning did time have to such a being? The reason he did keep track of the slow yet ceaseless current was because there was simply nothing else to do. But then again, that was what he had wanted: punishment. Punishment for all the sins he had committed; retribution for all those he had killed. However, that did not make his ordeal any easier. Day after day, all he could do was think about all his loved ones who had died because of his ruthless pursuit of his goals. The effect was nothing short of maddening. Each day slashed open his already torn and mangled heart anew. Even when he wasn't grieving, he was pushed further towards insanity by the suffocating solitude. Moments like this – when he could simply sit and be bored – were his only respite, though still a punishment in and of themselves.

As he sat, he reflected on how truly alone he was. Certainly, he had maintained some level of solitude ever since he took up the mask of Zero. C.C. had made that perfectly clear to him after she granted him the power of geass. However, she was always the exception; the one person always by his side. So he was never truly alone. But now she was dead. His solitude had put her life into an entirely new perspective for him, and he now respected her more than ever. She had lived the same life he was enduring right now for hundreds of years, yet he couldn't even bare it for half a lifetime. However, she was not the only one who kept him company. Even at times when she was not present, Lelouch would always have something to contemplate – a consequence of living the lives of three different people. As a schoolboy, Lelouch Lamperouge, he would often drift off when he was alone and plan what his next actions would be as Zero. While carrying out those actions, he would plan who to keep the others fooled into thinking he was just the same, simple schoolboy. And all the while, he constantly hid his third identity: that of the prince, Lelouch Vi Britannia. Now, however, Lelouch Vi Britannia had been assassinated – by Zero, no less – in front of the world's eyes. Even Zero was now long forgotten by the people. Suzaku had been speaking literally when he told Lelouch that he could no longer play the part. The day after C.C.'s funeral, Lelouch discovered the mask and costume of Zero symbolically placed next to her grave. He couldn't help but agree at how fitting it was.

So now, he here was contemplating his predicament. Part of him satisfied that proper punishment was finally being doled out, part of him grieving over loved ones lost forever to the flow of time, and still another part silently screaming in agony, begging for death, in the face of the eternal solitude he was cursed to live out. Much to his surprise, though, a distant, echoing scream brought him out of his deep state of thought. At first, he surmised it was simply his own conscience, screaming yet again in its agony. But then the voice sounded again, closer this time. And it wasn't his voice.

"Hmm…?"


"AHHHHH! WHAT THE HELL! WHY DIDN'T ANYONE TELL ME THERE WOULD BE BEARS?!" Genbu screamed as he leaped over a fallen log. He screamed again as he heard a crash and a roar right behind him. Thoughts raced by in his head faster than the life-or-death chase he was currently stuck in. He knew he had to think of a way to escape the bear, or else…well, the answer was obvious. That thought simply angered him, however. The notion that he would be killed when he had barely even started his father's mission, and all while the world was disintegrating around him, was nothing short of infuriating. Unfortunately, that didn't help him run any faster, and he screamed yet again as he heard the bear hungrily snapping its jowls behind him. For the hundredth time, he wished he had learned more from his father before his death. He needed to think of something fast…but his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of his foot catching a root and his face smashing firmly into the ground.

That was it then, he had lost. He had failed the mission his father had trusted him and only him with, and yet he hadn't even done anything yet. There was nothing left to do but simply accept his fate. He lifted his head as he prepared to feel the bear's teeth sinking deeply into his back, but the sensation didn't come. Instead, he saw a figure robed in white charging towards him. Whether it was a man, a ghost, or death itself charging right at him, Genbu didn't know. He didn't remain conscious long enough to find out.


Genbu groaned as he groggily awakened. The pain in his forehead had not subsided. He was alive, but how? Summoning all his strength, he craned his head around and surveyed his surroundings, not that there was much to see. Apparently, he was in a tiny shack, modestly furnished with a few pieces of wooden furniture. He was lying on a simple wooden cot. Someone obviously lived here. Then he remembered.

That white figure…did it save me?

His question was answered as he looked to his right and noticed the same white figure in the next room. However, he couldn't make out much more than he had been able to previously, as the figure's back was currently turned to him. The only details he could make out were the figure's black hair and a strange air of familiarity surrounding him. He had the strange suspicion that he knew this person; that he had seen him before somewhere, but he couldn't quite remember who he was. Genbu was so lost in concentration he nearly jumped when the figure spoke to him.

"Let me guess…you're the son of the great Suzaku Kururugi. Genbu Kururugi."

Lelouch smiled triumphantly as he saw the boy's mixed look of confusion and terror out of the corner of his eye. He hadn't lost his talent for procuring information out of situations in which there seemed to be none available. In reality, this was an easy mystery to solve. Suzaku had been the only person to know Lelouch's whereabouts, and plus, the boy was his spitting image. He looked almost exactly as Suzaku had the last day Lelouch saw him, only with darker hair. As for the name, he knew Suzaku well enough to predict that. Before the boy could begin questioning him, he spoke again, but kept his back to the boy.

"That's just like Suzaku. He can't let go of the past."

'And I'm exactly the same way,' he thought gloomily, reminiscing about all those he had lost once more. Meanwhile, Genbu had apparently regained his senses, as he suddenly became bold.

"Who are you? Are you the man my father told me to find?"

"Who am I? Don't lie to yourself, you already know who I am," Lelouch retorted. He finally turned to face Genbu and smirked at the renewed look of terror that splayed across the boy's face in a sudden moment of realization. "Surely you've read about me in the history books by now." Genbu's mind raced.

It can't be…that person was killed over three decades ago. Even if he was alive he'd be far more aged by now! This guy can't be much older than me!

Lelouch simply cackled. "That's right, it's me. The Demon. The one and only Lelouch Vi Britannia."

"That's impossible…you were killed…I've seen the footage over and over!"

That seemed to amuse Lelouch even more. "All a result of good planning. Since you already know of my existence, I may as well tell you the truth of what happened that day." And with that, he recounted the tale of how he and Suzaku had staged the ultimate scam, all for the sake of world peace. Genbu couldn't believe what he was hearing, and he still didn't quite understand how Lelouch had survived, but some sense of urgency inside him told him to change the subject.

"My father's been killed. The world has broken out into war; he said you were the one who could stop it."

Lelouch's smile vanished as he turned his back on Genbu once more. He wasn't surprised by the news at all. Deep down, he always knew that the peace he had constructed would be fleeting at best. But back then, he had refused to believe it. He knew better now, as he should have back then. His own words from so long ago explained why it could never last. "The more they claim to be comrades of like mind, the easier it is to divide them with the thorns of suspicion." He now knew that the world worked in cycles. Before his time, the people had been united under a series of tribes, then cities, states, nations, and empires. Finally, he had been the first to unite the world completely under one banner of peace. However, it would not last, as peace often did not last in the beginning stages of new empires. He had merely begun a new cycle. The next time the world would be united, the peace would last longer, and longer still the next time. The cycles of destruction and reconstruction would continue until nature finally stepped in and obliterated everything. So he wasn't surprised that war had broken out. Rather, he was annoyed that the topic had arisen in the conversation.

"And?"

Genbu, annoyed, pressed the subject harder. "AND...you need to help us. Bring about world peace once more."

Lelouch answered almost without hesitation. "No."

"No? What do you mean no?! If what you've told me is true then you created world peace in the first place, so why not help us now?!"

"You're wrong. All I did was destroy the world I lived in. World peace followed merely because of the conditions I had set up prior to the destruction. Regardless, the world I destroyed was the only one I lived in. I have no part in this world, and the only reason I exist in it is to atone for the destruction of the previous world. Therefore, I cannot help you bring peace to a world in which I have no stake."

Genbu was furious. "Fine, if you don't care at all about the world then hurry up and kill me."

This surprised Lelouch. "Hmm?"

"You obviously don't want me going around telling people that you exist and I doubt that you'll take too many chances. That leaves you with two options: either kill me or keep me prisoner. With my father dead, I have no more reason to live other than the task he gave me, which was to find you and do something about the violence. Since you've crushed that hope, I suggest you kill me, or I'll do it myself."

Lelouch was even more surprised by that. The kid's logic was sound, and he had analyzed the situation excellently, if somewhat rashly. He was obviously far more tactically astute than his father, something Lelouch appreciated. Hell, he was even starting to like the kid. Still with his back turned, he thought for a moment, but he was still caught in his memories of the past. Maybe it was that, or maybe it was simply because his solitary confinement had caused him to go insane. Either way, he began to think of an idea so crazy that it made him smile devilishly. He removed a glove from his right hand, revealing the blazing red symbol of geass, etched into his skin. The symbol that condemned him to his prison of eternal solitude. Recalling words once spoken to him by a lover long gone, he addressed Genbu once more.

"Now why would I kill you when you clearly have a reason to live?" Genbu seemed more confused than ever by this, but Lelouch continued. "My answer remains unchanged: I won't bring peace to the world. But that doesn't mean that you are out of luck." He turned to face Genbu, who was standing now, and approached him to come within arm's reach. "If I grant you power, could you go on? Could you finish the grand quest you have begun? But in return for this power, you must indulge one request of mine no matter what." Genbu's eyes betrayed his excitement despite the somewhat indifferent demeanor.

"Yes! Anything!"

"Then are you prepared to walk the path of blood? Are you prepared to accept the terms of this contract and in doing so condemn yourself to a life of solitude?"

"Yes, I accept the terms of this contract. I'll do anything you ask of me if it means I can avenge my father."

Lelouch smiled wickedly once more as he glanced once more at his now glowing right hand. "In that case…" He lunged out and placed his hand on Genbu's forehead. The instant they made contact Genbu screamed as they were both thrust into a strange extra-dimensional world. Genbu was amazed at what he saw, and struggled to comprehend any of it. He felt as though he had been injected with some sort of hallucinogen and sent on a psychedelic trip. The contact didn't last long, and didn't seem to faze Lelouch nearly as much as it had Genbu, for he was laughing wickedly once more when Genbu found himself back in the house. He sank to his knees, a hand clutched over his left eye. Lelouch turned away again, moving toward a drawer this time. He opened it and withdrew a mask he had not laid eyes upon in over thirty years.

"I'm just like Suzaku alright…"


Thanks for reading. Still more to come. Expect updates every couple of days.