From the Author: Hi. I have been hit by another Idea, this one while I was smack bang in a test (Weird thinking about math when Code Geass just pops into the head), and have thus come up with this next chapter. I thank the reviewers for their help in pointing out the part about the Special Region being like a tiny pinprick compared to the rest of Japan. I will do my best to work on that point.

Next... the Code Geass R2 has ended... DAMNIT! Oh well... nothing lasts forever...

Anyway, it won't affect this story, so I hope you enjoy this next chapter of, Discarding The Mask.

Talks and Actions

"Everyone in Area 11 and Japan are now happy. Japan, even if it is a small parcel of land, is a free land, and Peace has returned to the are-" The report was cut short as Lelouch switched the television off.

As much as Lelouch hated the idea of not entirely freeing Japan, he really had no choice in the matter, other than actually to have let Euphie go on a rampage, but he would never forgive himself if he did. So his only option was to take up his 'normal' life again, as a student in Ashford Academy.

With a small sigh of boredom, he reached over to grab a slice of C.C.'s batch of pizza, only to have C.C. snatch it and bite down upon the pepperoni cheese flavored pasta. C.C. only gave Lelouch a glance as he growled at her in an attempt to let his anger be known. He didn't succeed.

Grumbling darkly in his mind about moronic immortal witches Lelouch slouched slightly into his seat.

He had spent the best part of two hours after leaving the Black Knights searching for a good contact lens from a black market dealer that could help him contain his cursed eye. The man had given his word never to reveal his customer's identity, but Lelouch had Geassed him to forget all the same. Someone like Lelouch, a terrorist and an abandoned prince could never be too careful after all. He didn't want his identity to be found out by anyone.

Then, as he rushed back home in time to tuck Nunnaly into bed, C.C. had started to complain about going hungry and demanded that he order pizza. Since Lelouch hadn't taken his own dinner and he had to wait for Kallen, he ordered four large pizza's. One, probably enough for him and Kallen to share, and the other three, to feed the green haired witch's insatiable appetite for pizza.

Once Nunnaly was sleeping soundly, and the pizza delivery man had come and gone, Lelouch and C.C. had planted themselves down on the dining seats in his living room and waited...

and waited...

and waited...

"What could possibly be taking that stupid girl so long! It's almost midnight!" hissed Lelouch as he smashed his hand down upon the table, rattling the pizza boxes.

"She probably needs time to say goodbye to her friends. Quite unlike how you just made a short speech and walked off, boya." C.C. muttered around yet another pizza slice.

Lelouch almost opened his mouth to counter C.C., when he heard shuffling in his room. Standing cautiously, Lelouch motioned for C.C. to pass him his pistol. Sure it could have been Kallen sneaking in, but Lelouch was loathe at leaving things to chance. It could be some twit who found out about his secrets and was trying to kill him. To C.C., Lelouch just seemed over paranoid, but she passed the gun to him anyway deciding she could probably get some entertainment.

As sneakily as possible, Lelouch crept up to the door to his room and held a hand close to the door knob. Drawing in a breath quietly, Lelouch grabbed the knob when it turned abruptly and the door was flung wide open, jerking the abandoned prince forward, into the intruder. There was a tiny squeak of surprise as both bodies went tumbling to the ground, Lelouch losing his grip on the gun. The weapon soared into his room and landed with a thunk against his bed corner.

It took Lelouch a full second to realize that his intruder really was Kallen, and another second that he was in a rather compromising position with her. C.C. whistled teasingly as Lelouch's and Kallen's faces reddened in embarrassment. Leaping to his feet, Lelouch thanked his luck that only C.C. had witnessed such an scene. If it had been in public... oh the consequences would be devastating.

"Oi! I could use a hand here!" Kallen snapped.

Lelouch gathered his composure hastily and shot back at the red haired pilot, "And why should I do that? You supposed to be Zero's Ace. His best fighter. If you can't get up by yourself, it would be a wonder how you even became the Zero Squad Captain in the first place."

Kallen's face reddened further, this time with anger. "Well! As a Britannian gentleman you should be helping a lady like me!" She replied with some measure of anger, then after a second thought, she added, " And as a fellow comrade in the Black Knights, you should help."

Lelouch would have probably liked to continue his argument, but one glance at the clock told him it was best to wrap things fast so he could get some sleep for school the next day. He smiled and held out a hand to Kallen, who grabbed it and hauled herself up. Her stomach rumbled quietly, but still loud enough for Lelouch to hear.

"Well then, I suppose it was a good thing I bought the pizza then" Lelouch teased as Kallen's face reddened again.

No one spoke as Lelouch shared his pizza with Kallen, who easily finished half of it. C.C. looked on enviously at the pair as she had finished her three pizzas already. When they were done, it was already half past midnight.

Jumping straight to business, Lelouch spoke with a serious tone to Kallen, "Zero has informed me of your situation, but as you can see, I am already holding one person, C.C., who is Zero's close friend. So I don't think I'll have room to hide you in my home for tonight."

Kallen looked disappointed. She had no wish to sleep outdoors and was hoping to at least be able to sleep on a couch.

"But, I can most certainly convince Suzaku to let the fact that you're a Black Knight slip when he returns to Ashford Academy to take up his politics courses." Lelouch smiled kindly as Kallen's mouth dropped open.

"He's really coming back?" Kallen blurted out.

" Yes, that's what I said Kallen. Suzaku called me some time ago that he will be coming to Ashford Academy with Euphie." Lelouch's sleepy mind had caused a momentary slip of the tongue. Quickly realizing his mistake, Lelouch cursed in his head as Kallen frowned.

"Why do you refer that Doll Princess with such familiarity?" Kallen's eyes narrowed, "Are you some kind of double agent helping Britannia?"

The traces of sleepiness in Lelouch's head muddled his quick thinking as Kallen's hand lowered dangerously towards her pocket containing what he was certain to be her knife. Desperately trying to come up with a goo reason, Lelouchstarted talking, "I... I met Euphi- I mean Princess Euphemia during that Giant Pizza festival. I would prefer to call her by her proper term, but she ordered me to use her nickname and it kind of stuck. Suzaku does it too you know?"

Lelouch winced inwardly at his own words. It sounded so weird even to himself he was sure Kallen wouldn't believe him. His fears came to pass as Kallen leapt over the table and crushed him into his chair, whipping out her knife to his throat.

"Enough of the bullshit Lelouch, tell me the truth! Are you some kind of agent for Britannia or are you really helping Zero. Answer me or else..." Kallen's threat was left hanging, but Lelouch had no doubt that she would slit his throat without hesitation. C.C. could help by barging in, but she seemed content to watch him squirm.

The knife twitched in Kallen's hand, cutting the tiniest of lines on Lelouch's skin. Lelouch let panic get the better of him and spilled some beans without realizing that C.C. would never let him come to harm. He had yet to fulfill his contract with her after all.

"Fine! I'll tell you the truth... I am Lelouch vi Britannia an abandoned prince of the Empire, so I have close ties with Euphie. But I am a real supporter of Zero! I provided him with the information that let him find you in the first place... I even helped him to create the idea of using a rock slide to destroy Cornelia's army! Now let go of me Kouzuki Kallen!" He hissed through tightly clenched teeth, his neck bleeding slightly as Kallen's sharp blade cut into a thin layer of flesh, just millimeters from his jugular.

Kallen's eyes just widened further and further. She could hardly believe what he was saying. True, it would answer why he said the princess's name with familiarity by claiming to be a member of the Doll Princess's family, but she had never heard of an abandoned prince. She couldn't even confirm that he had even helped Zero plan all those acts that had helped the Black Knights defeat the Britannian army. Most importantly, why the hell would a prince of Britannia of all people be aiming to free Japan with Zero?

"Let him go Kallen, he speaks the truth. He is one of Zero trusted friends, even if he is a prince of Britannia, and he is also important to me. So let him go." C.C. spoke with the air of finality in her voice. She had gotten enough enjoyment watching Lelouch suffer, and it was getting a bit dangerous for her partner.

Kallen was stunned at the confirmation by Zero's friend, as she numbly withdrew her knife from Lelouch's neck. All this time, she had been standing next to royalty? Wait a sec. Doesn't this mean Nunnaly is an abandoned Princess? Kallen's brow furrowed slightly in thought.

Another door to the room suddenly slid open to reveal a disheveled Nunnaly, drawing everyone's attention to her. Nunnaly moved her wheelchair forwards into the room and took a small sniff, frowning slightly.

"Brother? Why are you making so much noise, and why are you having food so late with people? You should know it is bad for your health, and you have school tomorrow." The little princess chastened.

Nunnaly started rolling forward towards the trio now, and Lelouch's eyes snapped back to Kallen, catching her own eyes as he rapidly tried to convey a message that meant, get off me! I don't need Nunnaly to have misunderstandings with me!

Kallen withdrew hastily, hiding her blade back in her purse as she slid as quietly as possible into her seat. C.C. let out a minute mental sigh of relief as Nunnaly reached Lelouch's side to touch his hand. Lelouch will his own tense hand to relax as he felt his sister's touch, not wanting to scare her.

"I'm sorry about causing so much trouble Nunna-chan, but I kind of got into a fight with my mother and ran out of the house. I didn't want to sleep out in the open, so I came over to Lelouch's place instead, and sort of called C.C.-san over to help with the pizza that Lelouch ordered for me." Kallen forced herself to sound as abashed and honest as possible, hoping that Nunnaly would accept her story.

Nunnaly was a bit startled upon hearing Kallen's voice, but smiled politely and replied, "Oh, it's you Kallen-san... It's fine coming to brother for help, but you should mend your relationship with your mother quickly. Family is a very important thing... Anyway, would you like to share my bed with me for the moment? I know nii-san can't share his bed with you, and he'll probably let C.C. stay because its so late... and also because he and C.C. are... well..."

"I told you Nunnaly! C.C. and I are just friends we're not lo-" Lelouch didn't finish as C.C. cut in.

"Don't worry Nunnaly even if I and Lelouch are not engaged, I can sleep in his bed. I am not afraid of sleeping with a man." The witch proclaimed fearlessly.

Kallen and Lelouch blushed crimson at C.C.'s suggestive statement as Nunnaly let out a small gasp and started mumbling incoherently about becoming an aunt and helping in weddings.

Lelouch sighed outwardly, but heaved a sigh of relief in his head. The situation had been diffused somewhat, so he could do something about getting Nunnaly to stop thinking that he was in love with C.C. later. For now, he and his sister were safe.

There was not one thing he could do to get his sister to not share her bed. She seemed to want to have some company and trusted Kallen, so Lelouch let Kallen share Nunnaly's bed.

Lelouch got out of his seat, and Kallen and C.C. followed suit. Directing C.C. to bring Nunnaly to her bedroom, he brought Kallen to the showers to clean up before letting her into his sister's room.

No incidents occured in the bath this time.

Once Lelouch had tucked Nunnaly in, he let Kallen onto the bed. Giving a look to Kallen that promised death if she harmed Nunnaly, the prince bade the girls a good night before retiring to his own bedroom getting into bed, followed by C.C.

He was almost into dreamland when C.C. mercilessly chucked him out of bed and dumped him onto the couch with surprising strength. Without pause, C.C., then wrapped the blanket around herself and went to sleep on the bed, proclaiming that men should let women sleep on beds while they went for couches. Grumbling about moronic immortal witches, he fell into a fitful slumber...

Meanwhile, Cornelia was having a late night conversation with Euphemia and Suzaku in one of the Special Region's new government conference rooms... or to be more precise, she had been arguing with the couple from the early evening till two in the morning. Schenizel had been held up with dealing with some stuff that had happened in the EU, something about peace deals, so he wasn't around to help Euphemia or Suzaku.

Suzaku was just about ready to die from frustration, and partly from very slight hunger, having been unable to find time to have dinner with Euphie. Her highness, Cornelia had been forcing Euphie to argue over the same series of the same points, from about Euphie losing her title as a princess of the Royal Family, to Suzaku being a former Number, to even the wedding when it was to happen years down the road. Cornelia was basically trying to get Euphie out of her engagement with Suzaku and was a hell load desperate.

It was fortunate that Schenizel had arrived just in time to resolve the situation. With his superior negotiating skills that had led to his rise to position as Prime Minister of Britannia, he swiftly crushed all of Cornelia's points whilst strengthening Suzaku's and Euphie's positions. In ten minutes, Cornelia had progressed from being beet red with anger to white faced and almost foaming at the corners of her mouth. She was no match for Schenizel.

Euphie and Suzaku shared a small sigh of relief, as Cornelia finally agreed to the arrangements, all the while threatening Suzaku that if he dared do anything funny to Euphie, she would make certain he lost his limbs, five of them.

While Cornelia terrorized her sister's fiancée, Euphie had started wondering about Lelouch and Nunnaly. She knew that her younger siblings were not keen on returning to the Imperial Family, but wondered if, perhaps they would like to meet Cornelia and Schenizel at least. Lelouch had viewed Schenizel as a real brother, and held great trust in Cornelia. The same could be said for Nunnaly, except she called anyone in the family brother or sister and could trust easily.

The small group was exchanging goodbyes, when Euphie made a decision. I will tell Cornelia-ne-san and Schenizel-nii-san about Lelouch and Nunnaly, and I'll try to get them to meet up with with them at Ashford Academy discreetly. I'm sure they'll respect Lelouch and Nunnaly's wish to stay hidden. Euphie let out a wistful smile that caught her elder siblings' attentions.

"Is something the matter Euphie?" Schenizel inquired, ever so politely and gently.

"You aren't getting regrets about being engaged to Suzaku are you?" Cornelia drawled, hoping to get another chance at ending her sister's relationship with the Japanese man.

"I happen to like Suzaku a lot ne-sama, so stop trying to get between us!" Euphemia exclaimed in a rare display of frustration, before turning more somber, whispering, "I was just thinking about Lelouch and Nunnaly."

Euphie instantly felt the atmosphere of the room tense and sober. Tense for Suzaku, because he realised what Euphie might try to do, and sober as Schenizel and Cornelia were treated to reminders of the two lovable children of the past.

"Hm... indeed it would be right to think about Lelouch and Nunnaly. I think with the deaths of three of our family in this land and after so much turmoil, this peace in the area may possibly let them rest in peace with Clovis." mused Schenizel.

"Ah..." Cornelia agreed, a tear almost making it out of her eye before she forced it back.

Suzaku gave his beloved a look that asked, 'you aren't going to tell them the truth are you?' The returning smile was all the answer he needed. Placing a hand to his head to calm himself, he thought to himself, Is this the best possible course of action... revealing Lelouch and Nunnaly could place them in danger from their Britannian enemies... but it is not very safe here either, with Zero and his weird power that almost drove Euphie mad- oh damn... I still need to talk to Euphie about what happened with Zero.

Euphia did give a report of her meeting with Zero, but Suzaku, who had been present for part of it knew it wasn't the whole story and could feel it in his bones that more details were missing even if his fiancée's siblings hadn't noticed.

Suzaku cast a glance around. The room's occupants were all staring. With Zero as such an unknown enemy, I think I'd risk getting on Lelouch's bad side and help him face his more well known Britannian opponents. He'll probably have his siblings help... so this should be the best solution. Coming to a decision of his own, his hand returned to his side as he let out a huge sigh and addressed his girlfriend, "Okay, tell them Euphie. But he definitely won't like it."

Cornelia was angry and curious. What could her sister and Suzaku know that was of such magnitude that they had kept it from some of the most powerful figures in Britannia? Schenizel had a better idea, and had his suspicions. Zero was Suzaku's idea? Not likely, but possible. Something to do with Lelouch and Nunnaly? Probably meaning they had left something valuable behind or perhaps...

"Lelouch and Nunnaly-chan are alive and they're living in Ashford Academy at Tokyo Settlement!". The words came out in a rush as Euphie gave her brother and sister a huge grin.

Silence...

"Ding Dong... Ding Dong" went the P.A. system of Tokyo Settlement's Ashford Academy, signaling the start of a new day for learning, or trouble.

Kallen was for once, nervously fingering a new school uniform that Lelouch had attained for her. Kallen had every right to be jumpy, after all, she would almost certainly be walking right into the hands of her Britannian foes, relying on an abandoned Prince of the same nation to help her. Right now, they were headed for their first lesson of the day, political history.

The Prince in question was walking a pace ahead of her looking to the whole world that it was perfectly normal to walk closely with a girl that was rumored to have a close relationship with him. As the pair crossed the courtyard to the classes, the students still hanging around stared at them with obvious surprise. Some female students in the classrooms spotted them through the windows and started glaring jealously at Kallen, who tried to shrink into Lelouch's shadow.

Fangirls are scary. I'd rather take on the whole Britannian Army than face these crazies... How does Lelouch deal with this kind of stress? Kallen's thought, struggling to avoid the harsh stares...

In the Student Council room, Milly Ashford had called for a meeting with all Student Council members, except for Lelouch and Kallen, at the request of Suzaku. Rivalz slouched in his seat, looking bored, while the ladies maintained their postures. Suzaku had said he was bringing someone important over, so they needed to be on their best behavior.

With the slightest of hisses, the door opened, admitting Suzaku and four more guests. The Council members stared at the new group, and their jaws fell wide open. The Knight of Euphemia smiled in greeting to his friends. "We need to talk to you guys for a bit. It's a surprise for Lelouch."

Meanwhile, Lelouch swiftly headed to his classroom, closely followed by Kallen, in an attempt to find Suzaku to convince him to let Kallen have a normal life. He entered the building and caught sight of Suzaku, who stared at him right in the eye and tugged his shirt collar. Nodding imperceptibly, Lelouch followed Suzaku, with a confused Kallen trailing, a strange sense of foreboding forming in his chest. Something was wrong.

As Lelouch cleared the door to the roof, where he had seen Suzaku disappear through, he was grabbed none too gently by the collar and tossed to the floor. Kallen reacted fast, pulling out her knife to attack Suzaku who for some reason, had turned on his best friend. She was flung to the ground too, when two men attacked her just past the door.

Lelouch groaned, and hauled himself up to a sitting position to glare at his friend, only to have it fade into a look of absolute horror when he spotted Suzaku's companions. Cornelia and her Generals, Darlton and Guilford were glaring at him with little mercy. Milly and Rivalz, had a look of pure disappointment on their faces. Nina was indifferent. Euphemia looked confused, apologetic and regretful. Shirley's expression almost tore Lelouch's heart apart.

It was the same look she wore when he wiped her memories at Narita. A look of being wounded by betrayal. A look of pained grief.

But the real thing that did the castaway Prince in, was the saddened look on his very own sister's face, Nunnaly vi Britannia. Even after trying so hard to keep his beloved sister away from the harsh realities of life, he had failed. Failed miserably, and now knew that he was caught. There was no escape for him.

"Lelouch vi Britannia. You shall answer my questions truthfully, and I shall ensure you shall receive a fair trial, depending on how you answer." Cornelia spoke, with a monotonous tone that barely hid the rage that broiled beneath the surface.

Lelouch nodded. Kallen chose to stay quiet, coming to the conclusion that she would not be able to contribute anything to help Lelouch.

"Are you Zero, the leader of the Black Knights, and the murderer of Clovis la Britannia, our sibling? And is the red haired companion of yours the pilot of the red machine and your ace pilot." Cornelia began her questioning.

Shirley and Rivalz tried to butt in, but Milly stopped them. It was mostly a family matter now. They had no right to interfere.

Lelouch was thinking faster than lightning, searching for a way out of the predicament. He could not say he was Zero, nor could he admit Kallen's loyalty towards the Black Knights. I must spin half truths... The dangers that my precious people might face if I told only the truth would be great. I will not let them come to harm for my actions!

Lelouch drew in a shaky breath, and answered the question, "I was Zero once, sister, and I will admit that Kallen is a pilot of the Black Knights..."

The Britannians in the group tensed. Kallen was growing whiter in horror, Lelouch is Zero? This cannot be! He is nothing like Zero! He's cowardly, arrogant, lazy, chauvinistic... but... he is also very very smart... just like- dare I admit it? Zero?

"But I only took the mantle of Zero for a time just after the Battle of Narita. Also, Kallen is not really in Zero's employ. She's my subordinate." Lelouch finished, his voice getting stronger as he glared dourly into his elder sister's eyes.

"Took Zero's persona temporarily?" muttered Guilford.

"What rubbish is that?" Suzaku hissed.

"Zero is a masked symbol. Who it is under the mask changes constantly, every few days. Each so called Zero having their own preferred pilot as their aide. I was one of those 'Zeros'." Lelouch grumbled.

Cornelia's eye furrowed, "Suppose we believed that nonsensical sounding story of yours, how are you going to explain about Kallen Stadfeld, or you involvement with the Black Knights... or why and how you some how brainwashed Shirley Fennete to forget about you?" Lelouch's eyebrows shot up past his hairline as Cornelia finished off by saying, "Most importantly... what exactly did you do to Euphie?"

Lelouch felt cornered. He could not reveal his curse, he couldn't!

"Please Brother... don't lie to me." Nunnaly whispered pleadingly.

Lelouch's will was destroyed faster than bullets tore up people. He bent his head down and sighed. He could never lie too much in the presence of Nunnaly and now that she had asked him for the truth, he could only give it to her. Reaching up to his left eye, he touched it

The Generals trained their guns on him warily. Lelouch's finger came away with the contact, and the group was bathed in a hellish red light. Lelouch raised his head again, and everyone recoiled, even Kallen.

In his left eye, the Geass shone through, brightly, menacingly.

"What the hell is that?" breathed Cornelia.

Lelouch closed his cursed eye and gave the answer, "It is Geass, the power of Kings. It is a power that separates me from normal people, and the reason why Shirley lost her memories and for Euphie's strange behavior that Suzaku witnessed."

"Don't tell me that power has something to do with..." Suzaku didn't dare finish his own sentence.

"What you're thinking is probably right Suzaku. My Geass has the power of Absolute Obedience, the power to make anyone obey only one order from me if I can establish eye contact. Like how I ordered you to live when I took part in the disastrous Kaminejima mission. It is also another reason why I am keeping my eye closed right now, to prevent any of you from falling to its effect." Lelouch sighed.

Shirley was distraught. "So you... used it on me... why?"

"Because I didn't want to let anyone precious to me get involved with my troubles any more."

Lelouch's broken voice was hard to listen to, as he continued. "I could not let you suffer with the knowledge of me being Zero. What if you had been caught by agents? You would have been tortured, or worse!"

Suzaku shook his gun in fury at Lelouch, shouting a retort, "Then what about Euphie! Why did you order her to shoot the Japanese!"

The group was stock still.

"I lost." Lelouch whispered.

"What?" Euphemia looked really confused, but was slowly piecing together the events and was starting to understand what had happened when she blanked out during her meeting with Lelouch. Finally, the memories of yesterday poured into her head, and she recalled everything. Her eyes widened in understanding.

"Geass will grow stronger with time and use." Was the last clue the group needed to piece the puzzle together.

"Boya lost control of his Geass while he was explaining its function to Euphemia. The example of an order he used is rather obvious." came the emotionless voice of C.C. as she sauntered onto the roof, paying no heed to Guilford and Suzaku, who had pointed their guns at her.

"Lost control?" Milly echoed, puzzled.

"Lelouch's Geass went rogue at the most unfortunate time. It's as simple as that." C.C. smirked.

Kallen's mind was forming the most horrible theories in her mind, "Then... what about me?"

Everyone's heads swiveled to her as she stared into Lelouch's normal eye. "Did you cast a Geass on me to-"

Lelouch discovered he never did like to see a woman look so down, especially if he was the reason, so he answered. "The use of Geass causes a short space in one's memory, since they cannot remember anything they did while under its influence."

Everyone else racked their heads to see if they had the same symptom as what Lelouch said. Suzaku, Shirley and Euphie certainly knew Lelouch had used Geass on them. Milly, Rivalz Cornelia and her Knights sighed in relief. They had no such experience. Kallen's eyes however, were as wide as saucers. "You did use it on me."

"Only to find out whether you were a terrorist and to see if you were a threat." Lelouch admitted. "The rest of your actions were your own choices."

Cornelia could stand it no longer. "Whatever the case, I am placing you two under arrest, Lelouch vi Britannia and Kallen Stadfeld, on the charges of treason!" and as an after thought, she asked Suzaku to apprehend C.C. as well.

Darlton and Guilford moved in on the castaway Prince and the Black Kight Ace. Suzaku looked grimly at C.C., who was unperturbed. However, everyone's movements were suddenly halted. All except C.C. who saw a faint wave of red flash by briefly to encompass the roof before fading from sight.

For the shortest of moments, C.C. was surprised. Then she understood what was happening. Geass! She spun, bringing out her own pistol hidden in her sleeves to bear on the roof access door. There was a small, innocent looking boy. One who was carrying a gun and bearing a Geass in his right eye.

C.C. fired a second too late, as the boy sent three quick and devastating shots into her partner's side. The witch's own bullet sped out of the gun barrel and smashed into the boy's left shoulder, sending him sprawling to the floor, breaking his concentration and the Geass influence.

Lelouch collapsed into a fast growing pool of his own blood, surprise written all over his face. It took everyone else a moment to actually realize what had occurred, and then. Nina fainted at the sight of the blood. Nunnaly screamed and wheeled forward to her brother. Suzaku sprinted ahead of his classmates and the Royal siblings to crouch by Lelouch, where he desperately struggled to stem the flow of blood.

Guilford and Darlton reacted, turning around to see C.C. standing over a boy, gun pointed right in between the child's eyes. "One more try to use that Geass of your's boy, and I'll kill you." C.C. hissed, anger slipping into her voice. Rivalz spoke up for the first time.

"What the hell hap-"

"There's no time for that! Call an ambulance! I cannot allow Lelouch to die!" C.C. shouted, her control evaporating. Rivalz flipped out his cell and hastily dialed the emergency number, his fingers shaking uncontrollably.

The boy tried to roll away, only to scream out as C.C. 'decommissioned' his arms and legs. Crouching next to the boy, C.C. growled, "Are you from the Geass Directorate?"

The boy didn't answer. He was too busy screaming over his wounds. C.C. cursed under her breath. She would get no answers from the boy. C.C. tightened on the trigger of her gun pointed at the assassin's temples.

Pained coughs from Lelouch took C.C.'s mind off the assassin and her thoughts of murdering the boy vanished as she chose to run to her partner's side instead. She hadn't done that in a long time... getting so agitated for the sake of a man.

Cornelia threw the rule of conduct out the window and ran to Lelouch, desperate to see if her brother was fine. She may have despised Lelouch after finding out what he had done when she had talked to the Student Council, but her was still family.

Guilford, coughed softly to catch Cornelia's attention. She looked up, and he pointed at the gasping assassin. Cornelia mouthed, "Arrest him." and Guilford bowed slightly, walking up to the boy and cuffing the assassin's legs and feet.

With Lelouch, he was losing his battle for consciousness. I got shot... Assassin with a Geass... father must be involved. Lelouch's fading mind focused on one topic, Nunnaly's safety. I must entrust her to someone who can take care of her while I'm out... or if I die... someone I can trust...

I know...

"Don't you dare die on me!" Hissed C.C. "You haven't fulfilled your side of the contract yet!"

Lelouch could not take it. The witch's voice was full to the brim with worry, but still she tried to hide behind a cold facade. He chuckled softly, instantly regretting it when the pain finally hit. Gasping, he clutched at his side and his companions grew even more frantic. Lelouch grit his teeth.

Euphemia could hear the faint whine of the emergency helicopter approaching from the distance. But it sounded pretty far away and needed time to arrive... Lelouch didn't have time.

"C-cornelia..." Lelouch whispered.

"What is it." Cornelia swallowed thickly.

Lelouch took Nunnaly's hand and brought it up to Cornelia's. "Take care of Nunnaly if something happens to me. Keep her safe... keep her free from father." His rant set off a fit of coughs.

Nunnaly was horrified "What are you saying brother! You're going to be fine!" Nunnaly had tears streaming endlessly down her face. She had survived because of her brother... if he could not be with her, or worse, died... she couldn't cope.

Lelouch stroked his sister's fingers gently, "There will always come a time when you will have to stand on your own Nunnaly." Lelouch coughed violently, blood spattering his front. Looking weakly at Cornelia, he stared into her eyes, pleading silently. The Second Princess gave in fast, "You have my word."

Lelouch tried to thank Cornelia, but found that he no longer had energy to speak. His sight was dimming. He felt his heart slowing. Still, he felt assured; his siter would be safe in Cornelia's hands. He hoped.

The whir of the Air Ambulance was loud and clear now. Euphemia glanced up and saw it, just a little ways away. Shirley was hopeful, "Just hold on a while longer Lulu! The ambulance is almost here!"

Nunnaly's grip on the castaway Prince's hand tightened. She begged him to stay awake. Lelouch smiled weakly. I feel tire...d... he thought, his eyes drifting closed, only to snap open when C.C. harshly told him to keep them open. Silly witch...

His eyes closed. His breath left. His heart stopped.

"LELOUCH!"

"NII-SAMA!"

TBC

From the Author: Well its likely now that I may have this fic as trilogy (Since Idea #3 whacked me on the head a week after Idea #2). I'll leave the conversation in the Student Council room to the reader's imagination.

However, with life in the real world growing ever so hectic, I am afraid this will be the last update up till December... duty calls. All my other stories will be put on hold too, but I can be certain I will start up again in late November to December... before duty calls... again.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I would welcome your reviews. Criticisms are always accepted, as long as they don't include cussing.

P.S. Polls comin up! The question... Who the heck should Lelouch end up with?