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"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men." – John Dalberg-Acton


The stench was nearly unbearable by normal standards.

Lelouch, however, found it invigorating. It was a sign of his first, of many, victories to come. Inspecting the bodies, he saw that the rats were quite efficient in their work. Not much remained of the Royal Guard unit that was. Their corpses were, quite literally, stripped to the bone. Only little bits of flesh clung on, and even those were being picked by a few remaining rats. One of these, Lelouch picked up. It was such a cute little animal. Alone, it could do nothing but nip at your shoe. But in a group, it would rip you to shreds.

"A Devouring Swarm; that is what this power will be named. Blink and Devouring Swarm. I can't wait to find out what other powers this Mark will grant me."

Meanwhile, the massacre of the Shinjuku ghetto raged outside. Civilians were lined up and shot by the hundreds. Entire homes were set aflame by squadrons of knightmare frames. Genocide, in its purest form. Lelouch was sickened by it. What was even worse, Lelouch would say, was that the Britannian public was completely ignorant of it all! The greatest magic trick of all! Britannia murdered thousands every day, and none were the wiser! Lelouch was nearly compelled, on multiple occasions, to simply take Nunnally and leave for the European Union, to escape the terrible mixture of evilness and stupidity that was rampant in their home country. Lelouch stooped down to pull a combat knife from a mangled corpse's hands. Lelouch needed a weapon, and this would do fine. Blink would come in handy with this. Just warp behind someone, slice their throat, then warp away. Might make things a bit easy, Lelouch mused. Lelouch was taken from his imagination when he heard the voice of his own half-brother, Clovis, played from a speaker.

"Elevens! Do not fear! We only mean to help you escape these slums and relocate to a new and better home! Please evacuate your homes and show yourselves to the nearest military unit. You will be given the upmost importance! I, Clovis La Britannia, swear to this by my imperial title, Third Prince of the Empire!"

Lelouch laughed at the memory of his half-brother.

"Oh Clovis. Even though you were much older than me, you always were like a little brother to me. Although you weren't as smart as me, you did have a great talent for acting. Sadly, my dear brother, you will have to die."

As if to answer his threat, the wall farthest to Lelouch erupted in smoke and fire, and out came a Sutherland knightmare frame, aiming its massive .50 caliber rail-powered machine gun straight at Lelouch. It came to a sudden halt and did nothing for a while, simply standing there, like a colossus of Greek myth, until finally, a voice came streaming through an exterior speaker.

"What happened here, boy, and why is a Britannian student in a place like this?" It was more of a command than a question.

Lelouch, on the other hand, remained silent. What were his options? He almost lost the chance to think along with his head; the Sutherland blew down the wall behind him with its gun.

"Are you deaf? Answer me or I'll—"

"I order you to come out, at once."

What this boy had said surprised the knightmare pilot.

"Who they hell do you think you are to order me?" The boy remained unintimidated.

"My name is Alan Spacer. My father's a duke. My I.D. card is in my breast pocket. After you confirm who I am, I will request your protection."

Nobility? Villetta Nu did not trust this boy, but she had no choice. If he was telling the truth, and he, indeed, was a duke's son, she would be skinned alive if she killed him. She didn't like it, but she deactivated her knightmare and opened the cockpit.

"Keep your hands up in the air," Villetta barked, "I'll take out your I.D."

What! Villetta Nu couldn't believe her eyes! This boy just…just disappeared!

Lelouch had calculated the distance perfectly. He ended up right behind the pilot. He slid the knife from his pocket and readied to strike. The last thing Villetta Nu saw was a hand, illuminated a yellow-blue, cover her mouth, and a knife, come around and slit her throat.

Lelouch let the limp body of Britannian Purist, Villetta Nu, drop to the ground. The deed was done, and his knife was bloody. He looted the pistol and two full clips from the corpse and then turned to look at the large metal construct behind him. Its freshly painted violet armor dazzled in the sunlight. Lelouch could not operate it without the needed code, and so he decided to destroy the key drive and leave the knightmare there, as a monument to what he had done.

"SOOOO are we having a bad day?"

Bright light and white metal walls filled a cramped room. An ambulance, by the looks of it. Three people resided in it. Two of them were standing; Dr. Lloyd Asplund and Cécile Croomy. The other had just awoken, laying on a fold-up bed; Suzaku Kururugi.

"Looks like you missed a chance to go to heaven, Private Kururugi." Lloyd Asplund was a very joking and upbeat scientist born in the nobility. He only seemed to be interested in his creations.

"I did—eugh…where?" Suzaku looked down to see his lower abdomen covered with bandage wrapping. He could feel lots of padding on a spot on his back.

"Ah, where still in the Shinjuku Ghetto." Lloyd answered.

"With Prince Clovis nearby this is probably the safest place anywhere." Cécile Croomy was the incredibly nice and motherly assistant of the Earl, Dr. Asplund. Those two had a very strange and platonic friendship.

"This is what saved your life, Mr. Suzaku," Cécile continued, pulling out a small, broken pocketwatch.

"You're lucky that was under your protective suit because that's what deflected the bullet." Dr. Asplund chimed in.

"Is it a keepsake?" Cécile inquired. Suzaku took the watch and looked at it. It would never work again.

"Yes, very," was all Suzaku could say.

"You Elevens believe that gods live inside of everything, even objects, don't you?" Suzaku ignored the Dr.'s comment. He perked up when he remembered Lelouch.

"Is Lelou—…what's the latest on the situation?"

The Doctor turned solemn.

"It looks like the poison gas has been released. Massive Eleven casualties have been reported."

Suzaku couldn't help but think of Lelouch. Did he really meet with his friend back there? Did it actually happen?

"Private Kururugi, how much experience do you have with piloting a knightmare frame?" Suzaku took this question with surprise and interest.

"But there's no way for an Eleven to be made a knight?"

"Well supposing you could…"

The wind blew strong across the top of the ruined building, causing Lelouch's hair to flutter. All around him, the tell-tale signs of battle erupted. Fires burned near and far. Explosions and gunfire could be heard with a deafening volume. Death was everywhere, and Lelouch was here to add at least one more death to the tolls. The death of Clovis, Third Prince of the Empire.

Lelouch kneeled on the roof and took out one of the gifts he had been given by the Outsider; the Heart of a Living Thing. As he grabbed it, it began to beat. His vision altered as well. He could see what runes were littered throughout the city, the Heart beating faster when he gazed upon one from far away. He remembered what the Outsider had said about the "secrets" the Heart would tell him. He allowed an ounce of energy into the Heart.

"Seven years ago, many died here in defense of their country. Now, many that are defenseless die because of their country."

No. No. No. No. No. Lelouch nearly threw the Heart over the edge. He simply could not believe it. The voice the Heart had spoken to him with was like silk, warm and comforting.

It was the voice of his mother.

Lelouch talked to the Heart. He needed to know if that truly was his mother in there. No answer.

Lelouch stood and straightened himself. It was not his mother. Only an empty shell, with the same voice.

There was a rune directly below him, in the basement of the burnt out apartments. He would seek out the artifact of power, in order to get his mind over the past.

The journey downwards was tough. His Blink ability made it much easier, but it was still rather difficult. He had no idea when exactly the ceiling or the floor might decide to cave in on him. He counted several times that quick thinking had saved him from being squished by falling rubble. Only did he thank the Outsider when he made it to the ground floor in one piece.

He found himself in a restaurant. A restaurant that may have, at one point, been filled with families and friends, stories in the air, and drinks and food to brighten the soul of many an oppressed Eleven. What remained were empty chairs at empty tables, accompanied by a silence which was only disturbed by the rumbling from outside. No families sat eating, enjoying the presence of each other. No friends leaned against the bar, telling tales of their adventures. Nothing like that anymore.

Lelouch respected the dead. Even if he did not believe in services or moments of silence for them, he dared not disturb their place of rest. He made sure to step over each and every overturned chair and bar stool on his way to the basement.

The basement served as both a cellar and meat locker. The Heart told him the rune was located in the very back of the meat locker. Lelouch swore the heads of the pigs were watching him. The freezing room ended with nothing but an air vent, which Lelouch promptly used his knife to pry open. What revealed itself on the other side was a shrine, much akin to the one he had seen in his dream with the Outsider. A pedestal, built with charred wood and wire, carried on it a single rune, made out of bone. Lelouch lifted it, feeling the same dark energy from the one in the truck, and quickly stashed it in his back pocket. His world immediately turned to black as the Outsider appeared to Lelouch for the second time.

My dear Lelouch.

Are you enjoying these powers I gave you?

I hope they aren't boring you.

The Outsider had a small grin of dark delight on his face. His eyes were as black as ever.

"I must thank you, Outsider. Without your gifts, I wouldn't be alive right now. I also wouldn't be able to accomplish what I intend to do today."

I saw what you did to those men and that woman.

You don't even feel the slightest amount of guilt.

Has it ever occurred to you that they might have ones that care for them, same as you?

People that may have missed them if they were to leave.

"It has occurred to me. I've thought of this long before you first appeared. They were soldiers, not innocents. They got exactly what they signed up for."

Oh Lelouch, as brash and stubborn as ever.

One of these days, someone you know and care for will be hurt by your actions.

"Nunnally will never be hurt. I will make sure of that."

If there's one thing I could tell every human, it's that nothing you do will ever make something certain.

And with that, the Outsider faded into ash and left Lelouch to continue on with his mission.

"…but this may be our only chance to test the Lancelot!"

"I will hear none of it, Lloyd. My decision is final. Farewell."

The Earl, Lloyd Asplund, was disconnected from the G1 Command Center. His finest creation, the Lancelot, would not see battle experience today.

"That rune must be found..." Prince Clovis's mind was abuzz with activity. Chief of all was the desire to find that rune. It was his most prized possession. He felt most comfortable when it was with him, and now, when he gives it to the Rosenberg Institute, petty terrorists steal it! He swears that once it is found, it will never leave his side. He hoped his sweating wasn't visible to his staff officers.

"Bartley will pay for this!"

The defensive perimeter around the G1 Command Center was in a triangular formation, the G1 in the center and the point of the formation at the entrance into the ghetto. In total, 13 knightmares, 2 main battle tanks, and at least a company of men were stationed around the G1. This number did not include hostiles Lelouch could not see from his spot on the 26th floor of an abandoned apartment complex. To put it bluntly, Lelouch was stumped. He did not see a way to safely infiltrate the G1 without being spotted. His school uniform would be spotted quite easily.

Just before Lelouch had given up, he spotted a small opportunity. Through a hole in the floor, he could see two soldiers, not in the view of anyone else, taking a slight break from the hell of war. Lelouch felt a bit daring, so he grinned, and prepared to move out.

Meanwhile, at ground level, a private finished nature's business and prepared to move out with his fellow trooper, a corporal.

"Think you'll get your own squad after what happened last night?"

"Chances are pretty good."

Neither of them were paying any attention what so ever to their surroundings, as they failed to notice an armed black coated individual about to strike from above.

Kallen Kōzuki was running out of time. Her one-armed Glasgow only had ten minutes left of battery power. This chase would last at least 15.

"You pathetic Eleven, this chase doesn't have much in the way of sport if you simply run away."

Jeremiah Gottwald was enjoying his job very much. He hadn't experienced proper combat in at least, what, three months maybe? Ever since he was chosen as leader of the Purist faction in Area 11 he's seen more desk work than fighting.

But that didn't matter at the moment. He was hot on the tail of a stolen Britannian Glasgow, and Jeremiah was impressed. Whoever was piloting that red outdated knightmare was rather crafty. Always taking the most unexpected turns and showing a very high aptitude for maneuvering his knightmare, Jeremiah almost lost him a couple of times in the ruins, but he wouldn't be shaken off so easily.

"Like a hound chasing a fox."

Kallen was getting desperate. This goddamn Britannian couldn't get the simple message of "fuck off!" She took the corner on Kirihara Street, where other resistance fighters had prepared an ambush. She strained her knightmare to the full extent of its abilities, forcing it to leap over the erected barricade of crushed cars and rubble. What neither Kallen nor the rebels noticed was a reconnaissance helicopter flying above. Jeremiah knew exactly what to expect.

"Simple-minded Eleven. A couple of amateurs armed with rocket launchers won't stop Jeremiah Gottwald!"

Rounding the corner, Jeremiah opened fire wildly, catching a few insurgents with his rail gun. His Sutherland brushed through the barricade and continued its pursuit of its Glasgow prey, every rocket fired at it missing its target by miles.

"Shit! Why. Won't. You. Just. Go. Away!"

Kallen faced her pursuer and fired both slash harkens, one missing, one knocking the rail gun out of the Sutherland's hands.

"Yes!"

"You fool. You have forgotten that I have slash harkens as well!"

The Sutherland returned fire with its own slash harkens, destroying the Glasgow's remaining arm and disabling its landspinners.

"Now I have you!"

The red knightmare fled, being reduced to running with its legs instead of using landspinners, significantly reducing its top speed, but also increasing its ability to traverse rough terrain, something Kallen Kōzuki would use to her advantage. She would have to hurry though. Her Glasgow would only operate for three more minutes.

"Come on girl, don't fail me now."

Kallen rushed into an all but destroyed parking garage with Jeremiah right on her heels. She would lose him here, or she would die. The two of them danced around the pillars and destroyed cars like a ballet of war machines.

"You're trapped now, Eleven." Jeremiah fired his slash harkens. Both of them missed and ended up destroying two pillars holding the ceiling up.

"No matter. There's nowhere for you to go." Jeremiah said mockingly.

This pattern continued on. Jeremiah would launch his slash harkens, only to have them miss and hit a part of the building. Finally, the Britannian Margrave had trapped the little red Glasgow in a corner. Jeremiah felt like a taunt was coming on.

"Any last words, Eleven?"

"Yeah. Look up."

Jeremiah appeased the Glasgow and looked up. What he saw made his stomach drop. A giant crack had formed in the ceiling, which was about to cave in.

"Aaaaaagh!"

Kallen caught the Sutherland off guard, tackling it and knocking it over, before continuing onward.

"Only 30 seconds left!"

Jeremiah, on the other hand, couldn't believe what was happening. First he was tricked into trapping himself, then he was caught off guard by a measly Eleven!

"Damn it!" He had no choice but to let the Glasgow go. Firing his slash harkens into a nearby wall, he broke through, retreating.

Kallen couldn't tell if she was more worried about the ten seconds left in her knightmare, or the ceiling falling on top of her.

"Come on baby go go go!"

Cars exploded and the walls collapsed around her. She could see the exit! Suddenly, the crack above couldn't handle any more stress, and gave way to tons and tons of crushed cars and building foundation, blocking her escape. Kallen cursed out loud and frantically searched for an exit while the garage fell down around her. There it was! A small busted hole in a wall off to the side! Activating the joints in the knightmare's legs, the red Glasgow bolted off. Only five seconds left to go.

5.

She tried firing her slash harkens to break open the cement wall.

4.

"Shit! They're jammed."

3.

The entirety of the ceiling collapsed.

2.

Kallen recognized her chances, and prayed.

1.

Kallen was greeted by red emergency lights when she awoke. The left side of her head was bruised, and the knightmare was laying on her side. She came to her senses slowly, unsure whether minutes or hours had passed since her chase with the Sutherland. She reached for the cockpit release lever, and pulled, draining a considerable amount of strength. It didn't open. She looked behind her and saw the switch for an emergency opening of the cockpit. She lifted the protective covering, and then smashed the button, activating the explosive bolts in the top of the cockpit, forcing it open.

Kallen carefully and methodically raised herself out of her destroyed knightmare. The parking garage had fallen in on itself and her knightmare was completely wrecked. No amount of salvage and jury-rigging could repair it. Jumping off and landing on her feet caused her to topple over in pain. Her leg was twisted. Hah, now she could play her stupid school persona with a little believability. She pulled herself up, grabbing the red Glasgow with her arms. She limped a couple meters in the direction of what she thought was safety, paused, then thanked whatever god had saved her from death.

Clovis La Britannia paced back and forth worriedly in front of his throne in the G1 control room. The rebels had been defeated. All the remaining stragglers were being taken care off. Britannia had won the day with almost no casualties.

But where was the rune? Wouldn't they have heard from the Royal Guard by now?

General Bartley's head sprang up.

"Your highness! Kinsley's squad has arrived at the location where the Royal Guard were last known to be. They located the bodies of all the missing Royal Guardsmen and the missing knightmare pilot that reported to have made it to the sight before Kinsley. However," General Bartley appeared embarrassed, "the object that resided with the stolen research truck has not been found."

Clovis La Britannia's face was bursting with red like a ripe strawberry.

"Your highness, this is only a minor mishap! The rune will be found! I promise!"

"All of you…Get out of here!"

"You-your highness?"

"Get out of here and find me my treasure!"

General Bartley sweated uncontrollably and faced his fellow staff officers. He motioned for all of them to leave, and they did. They were all as scared of Prince Clovis as he was. Soon, the G1 control room was all but empty. Clovis laid himself down upon his throne, frantic about his precious rune.

"I'll have my rune soon enough. I know I will. I know, I know I will."

Clovis began a fit of hysterical laughing which was only cut short by the sudden deactivation of power within the G1. Nothing worked; not the lights, not the security cameras, nothing. Now, instead of being scared that he wouldn't see his precious treasure again, he was afraid he wouldn't see the sun again.

"Who's there? Sh-show yourselves!" The fear in the royal prince's voice was all too obvious.

Nothing revealed themselves from the shadows, feeding Clovis's trembling.

"I, Clovis, Third Prince of Britannia, order you to show yourself at once!"

Clovis blinked once and saw that a figure had appeared in front of him. He was armed.

"Who are you?!" Clovis's voice was half a scream and half a whimper.

The shadowy figure did not answer, instead, it chose to steadily walk towards the throne, a pistol in hand. Clovis tried to push himself away, succeeding in nothing.

"St-stay back! I order you to stay back!"

The shadowy figure stepped forward and placed a pistol directly on the center of Clovis's forehead.

Clovis closed his eyes and prepared for the inevitable.

"Do you think we can get all of them out of the ghettos alive?" Kallen asked Ohgi. This particular garage used by the rebels had been cleared out to take in many hundred refugees. Many of them stunk of death, sweat and tears. Many had soiled their clothes. None had anywhere to go. Those damn Britannians. Kallen was nearly reduced to tears by what that godforsaken empire had done to her people.

"I'm not sure. Maybe we could sneak them out through the sewers."

"Stop crying! I said stop crying! Stop crying!" Tamaki, the dumbest, most brash rebel Kallen had ever met was threatening a poor woman.

"Tamaki lay off her!" Ohgi intervened before Tamaki accidently shot the woman.

"Heh, sorry man, just trying to get the bitch to shut up." Ohgi was not pleased with this answer.

"Tamaki, go upstairs and check on Sunohara."

"Alright, I'm going. Shut this bitch up for me will ya?" Ohgi did not answer Tamaki as he left.

Kallen had a look of disgust.

"Can I kill him?"

"No, you can't. No matter what he does, he's one of us."

"He's not one of us. He's an asshole."

The sounds of heavy fighting had relatively died down when Ohgi had an idea pop into his head,

"Kallen! Kallen!"

Ohgi got up from his dirty seat in the corner and began to run to Kallen, who was on the other side of the hideout. He was loudly interrupted by a Britannian tank busting down the main door.

"So this is where you Eleven scurried off to! Prepare to fire!"

Kallen covered her face with her arms and screamed her brother's name.

"Commence—"

"Attention all forces!"

"Wha—"

"Ceasefire at once!"

"Ceasefire?!" Clovis himself was ordering a ceasefire on an open channel?

"I, Clovis, Third Prince of Britannia and Royal Viceroy of Area 11, hereby command you, all forces are ordered to cease fire at once! You will also cease destruction of any buildings or property! All casualties, whether Britannian or Eleven, shall be treated equally and without prejudice! In the name of Clovis La Britannia, you are hereby ordered, ceasefire at once! I shall allow no further fighting!

Clovis eased himself into his throne when the gun was lifted from his head. His usual, cool, calm attitude returned to him.

"Are you satisfied?" Clovis asked the man brave or foolish enough to blackmail him.

"Yes, very. Well done."

"What shall we do now, sing a few lively ballads? Or perhaps a nice game of chess?"

"That has a familiar ring."

Clovis raised an eyebrow to this.

"Don't you recall? We used to play chess together as boys. Of course, I would always win."

Clovis's eyes widened at that.

"Remember? At the Aries Villa?"

Clovis couldn't take it anymore.

"You! Who are you?!"

The figure threw off the helmet he was wearing to reveal a head of quite long black hair.

"It's been a long time, big brother." Lelouch said with a sinister smile.

Clovis could not believe this madness.

"Lelouch? But I thought…"

"That I was dead? You were wrong."

Lelouch knelt, still wearing that sinister grin.

"Son of the late imperial consort Marianne and seventeenth in line to the imperial throne, Lelouch Vi Britannia, at your service."

Clovis was speechless.

"I have returned, your highness, and I've come back to change everything."

In a flash, Lelouch had teleported directly in front of Clovis, combat knife in hand. He grabbed Clovis by his cloak, reached back, and struck his knife dead center into Clovis's chest. Clovis's last glimpse of life showed Lelouch's indifferent face. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but failed to emit any noise. Quite soon, Clovis, Third Prince of Britannia, no longer struggled to escape Lelouch's grasp. He fell to the ground with thump.

Lelouch had done it. He had taken his first big step on the journey to his destiny. With his own hands, he had killed his half-brother. And with those hands he would kill his father, and make him pay for what he had done.

Lelouch, arrived home very late, same as the last few nights. Only, this time he came with a few souvenirs. He hung his school's signature coat on a hangar and preceded to the kitchen. After enjoying a nice bowl of easy-make ramen, he quietly peered through the door to his sister, Nunnally's, room.

"Fast asleep," Lelouch whispered with a smile. He creped over to Nunnally's bedside and knelt down.

"Beautiful, as always."

Lelouch was glad, that after hours of bloodshed and fighting, he could see his sister's face. He stayed by her side for perhaps an hour, making his way to his own room afterwards. All clean. Sayoko, their faithful caretaker, had been through here. Fortunately, for him, Sayoko never managed to find his secret room. Pulling a nameless book off of the bookcase activated the cogs that moved the bookcase to the side, revealing a downward staircase. Lelouch retrieved a candle from one of the various wooden cabinets in his room and took the stairwell down to the empty room.

Lelouch gently laid the candle on the ground and extracted the two runes he had gathered. Placing one on each side of the candle, He mused that this was a little shrine of his own. As with the shrine in the meat locker, the world seeped into darkness, and the Outsider blinked into existence.

My dear Lelouch.

You have surprised me.

I thought you would be a little more hesitant to kill your own brother.

Instead, you acted as if you had rehearsed for that moment every day of your life.

If I may ask, why did you kill him?

"He had ordered the massacre of thousands of innocent men, women, and children as carelessly as swatting an insect. He was a monster. He deserved to die."

That was Lelouch's rationalization, of course.

And, yet, he was your brother.

He may have only been half, but you two were still blood.

I wonder, do you realize the greater impact of your actions?

The Outsider looked slightly mischievous.

"Of course I do," Lelouch answered, "Britannia has lost one of its commanders and that uncaring bastard of an emperor has lost one of his sons."

But, did you ever stop and think of what others close to him would feel when they learned of his passing?

"No one was close to him."

That is where you are wrong, my dear Lelouch.

His mother, Gabrielle, was very close to him indeed.

I can see what will happen to her when she hears of his death.

Would you like to see as well?

"Yes."

Lelouch opened his eyes and saw Gabrielle La Britannia, wife to Emperor Charles Zi Britannia.

As you can see, she quickly seeps into a hard depression.

This soon leads to a sickness which doctors cannot identify.

A coma envelops her, one that she never awakes from.

Lelouch felt hollow inside.

Do you see what effects your actions have?

"Gabrielle was a jealous woman. She hated seeing Charles with other women and she especially hated my mother."

But did she deserve death?

Lelouch did not answer that.

You fascinate me Lelouch.

Farewell for now.

Lelouch gazed into the candle, and cursed himself.

Closing the hidden door, Lelouch plopped down onto his bed, clothes still attached, and had the best sleep he had gotten in a while.


Yes. I killed off Villetta. Sorry, Ohgi.

darkkrt: Ask, and you shall recieve.

Bboy46: Still, I go off and read from some of my favorite novels, and I feel guilty that I don't write nearly as good as John Green or George Orwell.

mastermind: Honestly, did you ever see Lelouch as a low-chaos kind of guy?

Please review my humble story. It doesn't take that very long to post one.