The next day had begun. It was raining outside. Lelouch sought to sleep through the cloudy morning, hoping that today would be just like any other day. The palace was not in an uproar, neither were the countries Britannia had taken over. If not for the rain, it would be just a "peaceful" kind of day.

To Lelouch, he had found peace when he slept in the mornings, despite his previous routine of waking up early and sleeping in class. But in his bed, the widespread, king-sized bed of his, he found it ironically comforting. Adding to his pleasure was the fact that he alone slept in that bed. Of course, that was only when C.C. decided to sleep in the separate room she was given. At times, he found it annoying that she'd sleep in his bed without noticing. But it was something that he could not control, so he let her be.

He arose from his bed, feeling a bit groggy by both the rain and the lingering bitterness from last night. He scanned the room over and over.

"Ah, alone again" he silently whispered to himself, feeling the nostalgia coming back.

It reminded him of when he was in school. When he woke up, it was mostly, if not always to the sight of solitude. He'd surely leave his bed tidy, trying not to burden Sayoko with too much since she was basically his "maid".

'More like a mother actually' he added to his thoughts.

Sure, she was always keeping things tidy for the two, but it never seemed to be like she was an actual maid for them. And even though she was of Japanese descent, popularly know at the time as just another "eleven", she remained near, if not totally equal to them. They needed her not for the constant maintenance, but for the motherly care and love they could hardly remember when their own mother was still alive. Now, it was just another memory that he can only keep due to the fact that he had her imprisoned in the prison block of the palace.

So, in silence, he made his bed and tidied his room a bit, feeling a bit bitter at how things must be.

Breakfast was served like any other day, minus the love.

After breakfast, Lelouch strolled back to his room to dress in his "royal" clothing. Afterwards, he headed towards the throne room, to wait for updates and to convene meetings.

At the throne room, Lelouch spotted C.C. standing by the door, holding her "Cheese-kun" plush doll to her chest like a little girl. But to Lelouch, it was just how she is back when she first had the plush doll

"You weren't at the breakfast table…" spoke Lelouch in his usual manner.

C.C. glanced at him. "I wasn't hungry, that's all."

"Fine by me" replied Lelouch.

The two hushed their little talk and opened the doors. As usual, the palace guards stood, rank and file, alongside the boundaries of the red carpet below their feet. When the two neared their seats, they saw Jeremiah standing to greet them both and motioned for the doors to be closed. As they took their seats, an envoy came up and bowed before them.

"Give your report" commanded Lelouch in a king-like fashion.

"Your Majesty, several squabbles in a few countries broke out, but was quickly subdued by the soldiers stationed there. Due to some recent violence in those areas, few have begun to protest against your rule."

"Have the soldiers remind them of who they are exactly protesting against."

"Yes sir. Also, there have been a number of reports saying that there is a resistance group forming. Intel has received reports of suspicious activity taking place in few places."

"Send a few spies into the next few meetings they spot taking place. I want to know exactly what they are doing. Have them place a few taps in each of the rendezvous points. If the meeting takes more than half an hour, have the spies signal a raid through their intercoms. Have each person arrested and executed in front of the public. It would also be more effective to execute them during the next protest. Is that clear?"

"Yes, my lord."

"Is there anything else?"

"No sir, there is nothing else to report."

"Good, now all of you be gone!"

"Yes, my lord!"

When the soldiers were gone, the three began to convene their own meeting.

"Are there any reports on our own soldiers?"

"So far, not one has been detected since yesterday" stated Jeremiah.

"I'm pretty sure that their will has been fortified by yesterday's event. None would dare double-cross you."

"Still, I find it hard to believe that such a person was in my army."

"Not everyone can tolerate a dictator, much less work for one" noted C.C.

"Hush your tongue, witch!" retorted Jeremiah in haste.

"Jeremiah, C.C. is right."

"But my lord…"

Lelouch let himself fall back into the chair.

"It is true that not many can tolerate what I am doing to the world. I have not forgotten why I must do these things as well. I trust that both of you have not forgotten as well. What I do must be tolerated for now. The people must endure this dictatorship that I have created; my goal requires that they do so."

"Yes, my lord" replied Jeremiah in a somewhat bitter manner. It was not because he had been notified of the goal, but it was because of the part he too must play for the plan.

Lelouch felt a bit constricted by the atmosphere of the room. Talking about his plan always did. So, Lelouch rose from his chair.

"I'm going to go see if our other accomplice is feeling okay."

Both C.C. and Jeremiah knew who Lelouch was referring to and excused themselves from the room. Soon, Lelouch had also left the room, but through a door behind the throne itself.

Down a corridor or two, the setting began to turn into a more natural feel. The corridor itself was still modern, but became surrounded by glass. Outside was more natural than the inside itself. Outside, the setting was natural; grass-covered land with trees growing as well. The sun was out, shining through the glass corridor. Further down the corridor was a steel door. When Lelouch opened the door, the room itself resembled that of a hospital room. In the bed was a person sitting up.

"I'm glad to see that you are awake" said Lelouch in a happy manner.

The person smiled back.

"How long have I been out?"

"Around a month probably…I was beginning to think that you had really died."

The person scoffed. "Not while I have the geass that you placed on me, Lelouch."

"I guess that's true."

For a moment the two laughed at the possibilities, but then turned serious in a snap.

"You wouldn't have died by that anyways. You still have a purpose to serve Suzaku, right?"

"Yeah, I didn't forget about that." Suzaku scratched his head in slight irritation. "And for that reason, I couldn't let myself die so early. But I was surprised at Kallen's will, even more so when she landed that cheap shot to the Lancelot. I thought I was a goner, had I not opened the hatch at the last minute."

"You do have a knack for close-calls don't you?"

"Ah, someday it will get me killed."

"Thankfully it wasn't that time yet. When we found you, you were bleeding from the head quite a lot. So I had some doctors patch you up and now here you are."

"Yeah"

Lelouch and Suzaku sat quietly beside each other. It was funny how both managed to make miracles happen for themselves. Close-calls or not, each had the will to live through anything.

"How is everyone?"

"Oh, they are being held in the prison block of the palace. Yup, the world is now in my hands. All bow down to me, their ruler. The countries have fallen into ruin and many are living in fear of my fist."

To Suzaku, it seemed that the goal was in reach, and that he should be happy. But somewhere, he felt a bit saddened at how things must turn out. He could sense the sad sarcasm in Lelouch's voice, but never spoke a word about it.

"What about Nunnally?"

Lelouch felt a sting when he heard his sister's name.

"She too is held in a cell."

It took most of Suzaku's will to force him not to hit Lelouch. It was cruel to hear and imagine Nunnally in a cell; chained up and withering away.

"I've done all I could to keep her in good condition. She says nothing to me anymore. When I pass by, I look at her and see her with her head down. I know she is disappointed in me, and it pains me to keep her like that. Every time I see her like that…It takes me a while to keep myself from freeing her."

Lelouch lowered his head.

"Our friends too…They look at me with such sad and angry faces. It is tolerable to see them like that, but it too is hard to bear. If I were any other person, I would not be able to handle the stress."

Lelouch soon felt his head fall into his hands.

"Lelouch…"

"But Nunnally was right Suzaku."

"What?"

"Back on the Damocles, I confronted Nunnally. Did you know that she was the one who fired the F.L.E.I.A. warheads?"

This took Suzaku by surprise.

"I couldn't believe that she had fired them. She told me that I had the face of a murderer, and so did she. She told me all sorts of things Suzaku."

Suzaku remained speechless as Lelouch continued to talk.

"She told me that she would've had been better off had we stayed like we were back then. She'd rather have a life of running and hiding than the gentle world she wanted, the world we can give to her. She said that geass was vile and that it twisted the people's hearts, I know that to be true. She had become headstrong in her beliefs. She even said that her goal for the Damocles was for hatred to gather there, and therefore would not give the key to the Damocles up."

Suzaku had understood what Nunnally was doing, but still had more doubt at that sort of plan; to have the Damocles become a symbol.

"So I used my geass on her."

At that moment, Suzaku felt a bit enraged by that fact. But he waited to hear the whole story.

"I only used it on her to gain the key. I had to do so. But she struggled against it, just like Euphie."

"When you told her to kill the Japanese?"

"Yes. That show of resistance reminded me of how Euphie was at that moment. You don't know how painful it was to see Nunnally doing the same thing. But like Euphie, she gave in and handed the key over to me. I had done the one thing that I thought I would never have to do to her. But what she said afterwards was true."

"What did she say to you?"

"She…" Lelouch paused, shuttering at the feeling of being reminded of that moment.

"She came after me in her wheelchair. I had reached the steps below and knew she could not get to me. She screamed for me to wait, but I did not, and she fell out of her wheelchair and onto the steps. I looked back, hoping that she wasn't injured. It was hard to keep my composure because of that. But she struggled to raise her head. And then…"

"Then what?"

Lelouch remembered that event. Rather, he could never forget it. In his mind echoed the words she spoke.

'Brother, you are the devil!'

"She said I was the devil."

Suzaku was shocked to even hear the words coming from Lelouch. To think that Nunnally would even utter such words, even to Lelouch, was a bit deplorable to Suzaku. Despite that, Suzaku remembered that he once said something similar to Lelouch as well. It was a very vivid memory to him, since it was one of the most shocking things he'd ever seen. He remembered back when he found out that Lelouch was Zero.

'You are a mistake, Lelouch. Your very existence is a mistake.'

"I was betrayed again. Everyone had betrayed me; my parents, my friends, even you and Nunnally. And worst of all, I had betrayed everyone, including myself. So in a sense, you and Nunnally were right."

"Whether it was or not, you have to-"

"Live on? Face it, I'm a pathetic person. I'm the devil himself. And I will stay a devil because of the fate I chose for myself."

The room began to fill with an awkward, depressing silence. Suzaku felt helpless when seeing his friend descend into a possible state of depression. It was hard enough to grasp what Lelouch was already feeling, but to understand what it means to be betrayed by everything is a bit too much to handle.

"Do you remember, what you told me back at the shrine?"

Suzaku turned his head toward his friend.

"You told me to make the lies I told true…"

"Oh that…"

"Kallen told me something similar to that…"

"What did she tell you?"

Lelouch had contemplated on what Kallen did in fact say. To him, the memory was clear as crystal.

'You are still Zero! If you have to lie, lie until the very end!'

"She told me to lie right to the end. I had before resorted to using Refrain to end the suffering, but she caught me before I did." Lelouch scoffed. "To think I was so desperate enough to use Refrain…"

Suzaku could not hide the fact that he was nearly appalled by the thought of Lelouch using drugs. He knew Lelouch well enough to think that he would never act so desperate, but he also knew that people change. It came as a shock to think that if Kallen didn't make it in time, Lelouch would probably be worse off than he was now.

"It was then that I understood what should be done, or so I believed. I would continue to live as Zero, to become a fake hero for the Japanese, to lie to the world and everyone else just to attain my goal. But then…"

Lelouch felt a knot in his heart welling up as he continued.

"It was around the time you betrayed me that I finally, truly understood what her words meant. I had to abandon any trust I had left and to continue lying to everyone just to survive. I had turned out like my father, Suzaku."

"I wouldn't say that…"

"No, it's true. I did become what my father had become. I never thought that I would be like him until now. Even now, he haunts me. I know that he is laughing somewhere, enjoying that his exiled son had succeeded in becoming like him."

Suzaku felt pity toward Lelouch for that. It is not easy to accept that one day, children would wind up as or closely mimicking their parents.

"It is such a waste to feel this way, laughable even…"

Lelouch had begun to chuckle at his own faults. It was indeed humorous to think of it in that sense, but it had been a serious matter overall. For minutes, the room filled with awkward silence. Suzaku felt less at ease to see Lelouch continuously beat himself up mentally.

"Even so, I will lie until the very end if it is necessary for my plans. I must once again put on a mask for the people." Lelouch stood and headed for the door. Suzaku grasped his friend's hand just in time before he was out of range.

"Lelouch, I too must put on a mask. I too have condemned myself to this fate, just like you."

Lelouch smiled. "I know…" As Lelouch neared the door, he paused in place. Without looking at Suzaku, he spoke.

"Tell me, Suzaku…"

He remembered something that was once said to him by Kallen.

"Yeah Lelouch?"

Lelouch paused for a moment and thought back on that memory.

'Which Lelouch are you? Are you Lelouch Lamperouge the student, or are you the Lelouch that is Zero?'

"Never mind…See you later, Suzaku."

Suzaku wondered what exactly Lelouch was going to ask, but felt a bit exhausted by their conversation and placed his questions aside.

Lelouch walked away from Suzaku's room, replaying thoughts in his mind.

'I am Lelouch Lamperouge…it's a pleasure to meet you all.'

'To the Japanese, I am Zero!'

'I am 99th Emperor of the Holy Britannian Empire, Lelouch vi Britannia!'

'So that is what the face of a murderer looks like.'

Lelouch scoffed once more.

"I've worn so many masks, that even I can't discern who I am playing as. I've had to wear so many masks, that I don't know what my real face looks like. I can no longer tell who I am anymore."

Lelouch pondered these thoughts as he made his way back to the life he had come to hate, to return to the place he wished to destroy. He knew what his life had led him to be. But even that made the bittersweet taste in his mouth seem all the more bitter.

It was a feeling that lingered for way too long in his life, but he has already grown accustomed to meaningless thoughts of self identity. And so he headed back to being a tyrant of the people.

But even that seemed too bittersweet for him.

To be continued…if desired…

A/N: I kinda dragged this chapter far more than what I had hoped in the first place. I wanted the talk between Lelouch and Suzaku to be a bit more insightful and intellectual, but then it leaned toward being more depressing than intended…hopefully that doesn't deter readers…Anyway, thanks for your support of this fic…