Disclaimer: I should probably have put this in the first chapter. I don't own Code Geass, nor is this story for profit.

I got my AS exam results yesterday, and I'm pretty happy, so I decided to upload another chapter early.

Lelouch gaped, his mouth opening and closing without making any noise. The imperial convoy had halted abruptly in a shocked silence. Manacled prisoners, shaken civilians and dazed soldiers all stared on at the startling act of brutality. The sword in his chest twisted, and he choked faintly, biting back the pain. From Zero's stance, Lelouch knew that he truly regretted causing his friend so much pain. Lelouch knew that Suzaku shared his agony, that this would be hardest on him, on he who would have to live the rest of his life as a lie, in hiding from the people that he was trying to save. He moved a hand from his chest, to gently caress the mask of his killer.

"This is your punishment as well." He whispered softly. "You will no longer be Kururugi Suzaku."

Zero nodded sharply, before pulling the sword cleanly out of his friend's chest. Lelouch collapsed, as his muscles failed to hold him up any longer, tumbling haphazardly down the steps that led up to the throne, like a marionette with its strings cut. He came to a rest by his sister, staring up at her through unseeing eyes. He faintly heard her call his name, as the darkness that he had valiantly held at bay for so long began to descend. He choked on the blood rising from his lungs, weak tremors racking his body. It would be wrong to say he felt nothing in that moment. He was filled with… regret. Regret about the mistakes that had cost so many so much. He felt the familiar rush of power that he associated with his fully released Geass, extinguishing his lingering emotions. The power in his head built, quickly becoming an excruciating burning sensation.

A thin red sigil, a glowing brand in the shape of a flying crane, appeared on his forehead briefly, before disappearing altogether, as Lelouch inhaled as deeply as the wound on his chest would allow.

'I destroy worlds… to create them anew.'

He exhaled painfully slowly, as he closed his eyes, faintly hearing his sister's scream in the distance, before the blackness descended, closing the curtain on his life, all too quickly.

Lelouch awoke sharply, with a gasp. His right hand found its way to clutch his head as a melancholic ringing echoed through his mind. It had been a while since he had last had a nightmare like this. He was glad that he had woken up then. He had been plagued sporadically by the same nightmare in the two years since he had returned to Britannia from Japan without his sister, and he knew that the dream became ever more terrifying the further it progressed. He remembered quite clearly what had happened next; the feeling of peace, all too fleeting, quickly followed by immeasurable agony, as he was forced through the fabric of time.

C.C. told him that the strain of his death on the strands of the code that they had shared was akin to poking a hole into a soda can after shaking it. His death had caused the powers within the two of them to release, violently, latching onto his feelings of regret, pushing him backwards, giving him the opportunity to face his regrets once more, and expending itself in the process.

The power that they shared had deemed him worthy of a second chance.

It wasn't, however, the smoothest of transitions. The intense pain that Lelouch experienced, as eighteen year old man and ten year old boy melded together to make something that he still, years later didn't fully understand. He wasn't the child he used to be; raised in luxury, with the raw pain of his mother's passing as his only introduction into the world around him. Nor was he quite the amoral and ruthless tactician that had suffered so much to achieve his goals. No, he was somewhere in between and that, to Lelouch at least, was bloody well annoying. He found himself constantly criticising his own actions, being disgusted with himself for being either too cold, and seeing people merely as tools, or being too warm and becoming close to them.

The first month had been a very painful experience. It pained him both physically and mentally to discover who he was and what he could do. The trip through time had unwritten his code, returning it to C.C. until he was ready to take up its mantle again and give her greatest desire to her. Interestingly, his Geass had survived the trip, but it had reverted to its dormant form, lying in his left eye until he requires it. Lelouch had little wish to advance his Geass until he was ready to use it, meaning that he used his hidden power sparingly. His stress wasn't helped by the nightmares that plagued him, straining whatever few hours of rest he could grab. The dreams would always start in the same manner; with his death, but the rest of it varied greatly. Euphemia and Shirley featured greatly, as did Nunnally and Suzaku. His waking hours were scarcely better. He was forced to deal with a newly crippled and blinded sister, who required almost constant care and attention. Lelouch wasn't complaining though. For a man willing to tear down the world for his sister, a few days without sleep was a small price to pay for her happiness. He was also forced to confront the emperor far sooner than he would have liked, despite the thoroughly favourable result of the encounter.

More than anything, Lelouch was tired. A feeling of world-weariness hung around him in those first few months. He was just so tired of the life that he had to lead. He couldn't bring himself to conjure up that fiery passion that had led him to becoming the terrorist, Zero. Lelouch didn't want to change the world anymore; his actions were no longer governed by a naïve love for his sister, nor a misplaced sense of self important vengeance. Instead, his heart was ruled by a twisted idea of duty. He power, making it his duty to change the world; it was his charge to make it a better place for all, but he would do it without sacrifice. People without the will to fight would be protected, as only those who are prepared to be fire should be fired upon. Euphemia… Shirley… Nunnally… they would all be spared the horrors of his war. He knew that he was straying dangerously close to the plans for the world held by his brother, Schneizel, but he cared little. Tired though he was, Lelouch still cared for people; he would not stand idly by while civilians were being massacred.

His nonchalant lethargy all but disappeared upon his trip to Japan. He and his sister had left Pendragon four months after his return to the past, staying in the familiar, for him, setting of the Kururugi shrine. He had been forced to Geass a few members of their entourage in order to smuggle C.C. on board with them, but it was worth it. With V.V. and the emperor staying in Pendragon, it wouldn't be safe for her there. She had been remarkably compliant, but was predictably outraged by the lack of what she called "the basic necessities" at the Kururugi shrine. Lelouch had sighed and told her that before the Britannian invasion, it would be unlikely that she would find many 'Pizza Hut's in Japan. Particularly in a shrine. C.C. was not the slightest bit amused.

His first encounters with Suzaku had been a shock; he had forgotten that his erstwhile best friend used to be so… violent. In any case, after the rough endings to their first few meetings, it had been far easier to befriend Suzaku this time around; as Lelouch remembered what he had said the last time he was in this position. Unlike last time, Lelouch devoted the time, that he wasn't spending reading, scheming or playing with the others, to physical pursuits. He would never be anywhere near as fast or as strong as Suzaku, but after almost a year he was able attain a modicum of physical fitness, something his eighteen year old self probably couldn't achieve. His training had caught the eye of Tohdoh Kyoshiro, who was eager to see his favourite student train with the young prince.

The rest of Lelouch's time was split between playing with Nunnally, Sumeragi Kaguya and Suzaku, and his reading. Japan, being outside the current sphere of influence of the Britannian Empire, was filled with books about a variety of subjects that were banned in Britannian territories. Social and political theses, anti-Britannian 'propaganda' and the histories of defeated nations featured heavily on Lelouch's reading list. Perhaps the most intriguing book was written by a young Britannian political activist, known as John Lennon, who was charged with treason and executed nearly twenty years previously by the 97th Empress of Britannia. His book, 'Imagine', was a treatise on the unification theory that argued that if the world was united without countries, there would be no more need for war. Lelouch agreed with much of what the book said, but he believed that the late Mr Lennon had gone about it in completely the wrong fashion. Instead of dissolving the empire at this early stage of his plan, why not use the empire to unify the world, to shape it into something worth protecting. A benevolent emperor, Lelouch believed, with the support of the military could bring the world together in a matter of a few short years.

This line of argument had presented a dilemma, a rather important conundrum; should he return to Britannia, or stay in Japan. Both ideas held merit. If he returned to Britannia, he would change the timeline, meaning that his foreknowledge would become almost useless. However, if he stayed in Japan, he would be giving up the quickest and simplest route to his goals. He was sure that he didn't want Nunnally to return to Britannia. In Pendragon she would be a tool to use against him, which he couldn't risk. He would give her a normal childhood where she could be looked after by people that she would come to love as a surrogate family. Ashford Academy really was the only place for her to go. She would be fine there with Sayoko, Milly and the rest of the student council looking after her. He didn't think it would be necessary for him to hide Nunnally away, as the emperor was beginning to withdraw from the day to day running of the empire, instead diverting more and more power to his second son. In fact, soon the only person with enough influence, power and cunning to pose a threat to Nunnally while she remained in Japan would be Schneizel, who had no reason to suspect his siblings of anything.

In any case, Lelouch's dilemma had been put on hold when the empire began its invasion of Japan. Suzaku, Lelouch and Nunnally had been forced to pick their way slowly through the war torn country, with C.C. trailing them at a distance, unwilling to reveal herself to Suzaku. The two boys had constantly reassured their younger companion that everything was going to be alright, painting a tempered picture of the gruesome scenes that they encountered on their march to Tokyo. What Lelouch realised in this time, was that the Britannian army, while cold and unforgiving, was also surprisingly clean in their dealings with civilians. It appeared to him that the regular foot soldiers and Knightmare pilots were not mindless; instead, their actions proved that they had no love for unnecessary bloodshed. Incidences of soldiers actively helping civilians were few and far between, masked by the overwhelming tales of carnage as millions of people were uprooted from their homes. However, this proved a valuable point to Lelouch; racism and xenophobia didn't have the same hold in the military as it did in the upper echelons of Britannian society. Essentially, that proved to be the final tipping point in his choice between Britannia and Japan. He had always been leaning in favour of returning to Pendragon, not least because the memory of the betrayal of the Order of the Black Knights meant that he was not, at least not personally, going to take up the mantle of Zero again. At least, not yet.

Throughout his journey, Lelouch had made sure that the three traveling companions were never separated. Suzaku believed that it was fear; that Lelouch didn't want to lose any more people that were close to him. In actual fact, Lelouch had decided to kill two birds with one stone. Before becoming loyal to him, Suzaku and the Lancelot were a thorn in his side. If his friend was to join the military of his own accord, that was on his own head, but he would have to be loyal to Lelouch and Lelouch alone. His other reasons were slightly more… personal. Suzaku had had a harsh life, and Lelouch firmly believed that he had earned a normal school life. Besides, Nunnally would need a brother figure once Lelouch returned to Pendragon and who better than Suzaku?

Their arrival in Tokyo had been a hectic one. They had immediately sought refuge with the Ashfords, before sending a message to his sister Cornelia to let her know that they were alive. Unsurprisingly, she had dropped everything and rushed to the newly formed Area 11, to find her stony eyed brother waiting for her, a petulant denial ready for her requests for his return to Britannia immediately. He had asked to spend a few months as a normal citizen in Area 11 and all but demanded that his sister stay in the country indefinitely. Without the emperor's interference in such a trivial matter, the final ruling was left to Cornelia, who quickly agreed to his terms, on the condition that he would stay with Euphemia and the li Britannia family upon his return to Pendragon, and that Nunnally would keep her true identity a secret during her education.

Nunnally was shocked to find that her brother would be leaving her. Only the reassuring promises of constant visits, droves of presents and the comfort of staying with Suzaku, managed to soothe her. Lelouch kept reassuring himself that he was trying to protect her, but he had come to terms with the truth; that he was being selfish. He remembered vividly the look of disgust on his little sister's face when she was informed of the atrocities he had committed as Zero. He couldn't bear to see that face on her again, so he distanced himself from her, literally. He didn't want to be anywhere near her while he was scheming. It would only hurt her.

The rest of his time in Tokyo was spent working diligently with the Ashfords. They had already began work on their next generation Knightmare Frame, the Juno, which they claimed would outstrip the new Glasgows by leaps and bounds. He was mildly impressed by the design; it didn't have the agility of a Gloucester, or the strength of a Sutherland, but its core gave it a slightly longer operating period than either of the future military models, and the new design for the land-spinners meant that it would be much more versatile over difficult terrain. The governors of the newly built Ashford Academy initially put up a fuss over the inclusion of an Eleven at what was promised to be an establishment for the Britannian elite. However, they were quickly placated when they were informed that his inclusion meant a hefty donation would be given to the school. Anonymously, of course. Lelouch didn't want to be seen favouring anyone.

Outside of his business arrangements, Lelouch found himself with little to do. C.C. had quickly made herself noticed again, as she continued to haunt the abode of the vi Britannia siblings. She found herself both happy and frustrated in equal measures. Frustrated due to the continuing pizza 'drought,' but happy because of the sense of peace that she had found; no impending war, no threat, no stress. Just her and her… what was he? It would be wrong to say that they were lovers once again. Due to unforeseen circumstances, he was a child again, and they were both very unwilling to explore that territory at the moment. It was probably best to describe him as an 'important person' to her; she trusted him with her name, he trusted her with his soul. They were accomplices, and they always would be. They had almost relaxed into a quasi-normal routine, the only problem being keeping him away from the other inhabitants of the house. Fortunately, the situation with Nunnally had worked itself out quite well, and Lelouch had resigned himself to entrusting his sister to the tender devices of Sayoko (whose services were quickly acquisitioned from Milly), Suzaku and the she-devil in the making, Millicent Ashford.

Lelouch returned to Pendragon in mid-December of 2012, less than a week after his twelfth birthday had been celebrated with typical royal extravagance and exuberance. He received a multitude of useless, childish gifts that he had quickly and secretly palmed off to his sister. The only gift that he had held onto was a simple invitation to play chess at the Imperial Palace. As his brother had only recently taken up the office of Prime Minister, he was inundated with work, meaning that time for a chess match would be hard to find. Lelouch relished the thought of pitting his wits against his brother, the only opponent that he had never defeated, his greatest foe; Schneizel.

He had spent the better part of two years in Japan, securing the protection and loyalty of his most intimate companions. Apparently the old saying was true; absence does make the heart grow fonder, for Euphie refused to let Lelouch out of her sight for the first month, even resorting to sleeping beside him in his new room in the li Britannia villa. Said problem had been very aggravating to a certain witch, who was threatening to take it upon herself to 'straighten that brat out.' Other than running around trying to stop his accomplice from murdering his sister, Lelouch was forced to attend party after party after party. He understood the necessity of gaining the support of the nobles, but he was well aware that his future policies would ostracise him from many of the people whose support he was trying to gain.

Time after time he was stuffed into a slim black tuxedo, to be ushered off to some charitable function held by a wealthy noble with a guilty conscience and more money than sense. That's not to say that he hadn't found some use for the social gatherings; at one such event, hosted by the Colchester Institute, he had met a rather annoying man in his twenties, Lloyd Asplund. It had taken little coercion to get the scientist to agree to work as the Britannian liaison to the secret research and development department of the Ashford Foundation. The offer of patronage from one of the princes of the empire was more than enough to get him to agree to his deal. Publicly, Lelouch had organised the creation of a scholarship that offered the best and brightest of Britannia, and the Areas, a chance to join a research team into new Knightmare Frames for the military. Reuben Ashford had secured a majority stake in a small defence corporation, using Lelouch's money of course. The company, under the sponsorship of the eleventh prince, had won a five-year contract with the Britannian military, for the design and production of new KMF's. Naturally, some level of their time and resources would be spent on designing 'toys' for Lelouch, without his siblings finding anything untoward in his dealings.

The year had passed quickly after that. Lelouch had begged Cornelia to teach him how to properly use a KMF. He had had some practice as a pilot in the Ganymede during his stay in Tokyo, and before he came to the past he was a more than competent pilot, however, he found that his muscle memory wasn't quite the same as it was in the past; he just hadn't built the reflexes that he had acquired before his death, meaning that he was essentially starting his training from scratch. His sister had promised to tutor him personally in the basics of KMF operations, on the condition that he spent more time with her and Nunnally, as a family. His dealings with Cornelia went little further than tit-for-tat; if he wanted something from her, he had to be willing to offer something in return. That didn't mean that he didn't care for his sisters greatly, he loved them dearly, all the more for realising that Cornelia had put her military career on hold for his sake. That, however, did not stop him from disappearing from their sight at every opportunity. On some occasions, Lelouch had managed to get halfway to Tokyo before his absence was noticed and his elder sister started barking orders for her commanders to go and fetch him. It wasn't his fault; he missed Nunnally.

On the occasions that he managed to escape capture, he spent time with her and her new friends; the recently established junior school council; Shirley, Rivalz, Milly, Suzaku and Nina. He found it disconcerting to spend time with people who he knew so well, but didn't know him at all. Surprisingly, he fit right in with his old friends, once again in the role of Lelouch Lamperouge, protective older brother of the blind and adorable Nunnally Lamperouge. With them, for some reason, he was destined never to be the Britannian prince, instead doomed to hide as a Lamperouge forevermore. As much fun as he had on his trips, they would never last for longer than a few days before either Cornelia or Clovis would get fed up, and come to fetch him themselves.

Clovis' presence had been a surprise. Apparently, without the loss of the vi Britannia siblings, he had had no reason to become the governor of Area 11, and instead spent his time painting and partying, enjoying the finer points of life that were part of the privilege of being royalty. Vain and useless though his elder half-brother could be, he was exceptionally talented as a manipulator of propaganda. Behind his pompous bluster and his false charm, Clovis was as devious as Schneizel. He may not have had the intelligence, or the power to use it, but he could be a powerful ally, if he was applied in the correct circumstances. As long as the third prince was kept well bereft of a position of power, he would be content, and a very useful tool in Lelouch's arsenal. To that end, Lelouch regularly met with his brother, to pose for a painting or watch some inane play that had caught his brother's fancy. By the end of their third meeting, Lelouch was almost sure that his brother would never join him of his own accord. Quickly and discretely, he had used his Geass on his brother at the beginning of their next meeting. It had been a simple command, whispered in a sibilant hiss, rather than in his glorious, commanding shout, "Follow me." With that, his alliance was complete, and two years had passed since his return to Pendragon.

Upon his fourteenth birthday, Lelouch was summoned before his brother, Schneizel. Schneizel had kept close tabs on his younger brother after he had heard that he had literally begged Cornelia to be instructed in the art of the Knightmare Frame. He had not taken Lelouch for one to follow the path of the soldier; rather he had quite hoped that he may one day have made Lelouch his Foreign Secretary, second in command of his world empire. Instead of encouraging Lelouch's rise in politics, the natural course of action would be to have him supplant Cornelia in the military, for she was far too stubborn to truly oppose the emperor, while Lelouch… well, he had seen the hatred for the emperor in Lelouch's eyes far too many times. With this in mind, he had secured a place for Lelouch at the Imperial Military Academy Sandhurst, the premier officer training centre in Britannia, situated on Britannia's east coast. If Lelouch wanted to, he could graduate from the academy in two years, and be in command of a regiment in North Africa or South East Asia, where the fight to expand the empire was fiercest.

Considering how Lelouch's plans were forming, it was unsurprising that he accepted the offer in a heartbeat. And so, Lelouch found himself bundled off to the military academy, mere days after his birthday celebrations, a rather lacklustre and half-hearted affair, staying in the cadet barracks at Sandhurst. He was the first one there, arriving the night before the course was set to begin. His quarters were unimpressive; far smaller and more Spartan than he was used to. Still, he wasn't one to complain. As Sandhurst was an officer specific training establishment, the cadets were not required to stay together in dorms; instead they were assigned small rooms that they would share with another cadet. The academy was geared towards the production of the gentleman-officer, an ideal that had only survived in the Britannian military. In Britannia, the officers were the elite; chivalrous, sophisticated and ruthless when necessary, the perfect officer was the perfect noble as well. Lelouch was the archetypal officer, as he was intelligent and ruthless to his enemies, but also warm and generous to his allies. Of course, hardly any of the officers produced by the Britannian system matched the ideal that they were trying to fit. Most saw only the need to further themselves, in pursuit of greater influence and power. Lelouch was fortunate, in that respect, as he was the easiest route to wealth and power in the academy; he would be sought after and wooed at every opportunity, making this a breeding ground for potentially influential and powerful allies.

It was no surprise that C.C. had decided to come with him. The fact that it was impossible, or that she would get caught never even crossed her mind. He had just sighed and bent to her will. He found himself doing that far too often these days, but then again, if she could evade Cornelia's sharp watch for almost two years, then she could evade a few spoiled cadets for two more. As the school was almost exclusively for the children of well to do nobles, there was a rather limited invasion of privacy, with the stress instead being placed upon leadership skills and intelligence, rather than obedience and physical fitness, which were still important, but did not hold the same priority here as it did in other military schools.

This, quite conveniently, brought Lelouch back to the present, cutting his reminiscence short, as the green haired witch behind him tightened her firm grip on him, as if sensing his disquiet. He lay his head back down on the pillow, as C.C. snuggled closer into him, but he couldn't find any peace. His mind was whirring; he had noticed something, subconsciously of course, something important enough to rouse him from his sleep with a violent nightmare and prevent him from getting his well-deserved rest.

'It couldn't possibly be anything important.' He decided finally. 'It's my first night.'

His eyes slowly began to close, as he relaxed and sleep threatened to engulf him once more. His now-bleary vision was drawn across the room, coming to rest on the rich oak door that marked the entrance to his room, with his name and his room-mates name inscribed on thin lacquer panels.

He closed his eyes, burrowing his head in the cushy softness that was his pillow, letting out a soft sigh of contentment, before his eyes flashed open, his pupils focusing the door with a panicked stare.

The panel read:

Lelouch vi Britannia & Gino Weinberg.

Gino Weinberg?

'Ah.' Lelouch thought bleakly. 'Shit.'

(AN) To explain, if I wasn't clear; the code C.C. has that gives her immortality, that she wants Lelouch to take and kill her was in a transition state between the two of them when he is killed, releasing the sizeable amount of energy that it stored and catapulting the two linked individuals back in time, in the process returning the immortal code to C.C.

This is my first story, so any constructive criticism would be helpful. That said, I'm only 17, so for me to write more, my delicate ego needs to be built up rather than be crushed, so please don't be too honest. Read, Review and Favourite if you can, it definitely helps with my motivation.

Thanks,

Penhaligon