Well, here's Chapter 01. Don't expect too much to change from the first Code Geass chapter though, that's for later.

Thanks for reading, following, favoriting and/or reviewing.

To the reviewers:

Criticanon: And I thank you for the praise. Also, thanks for the warning, that's exactly the reason I chose Code Geass for this, it's an anime that doesn't entirely rely on how powerful your robot is since there's a lot going on that's not related to that. The SKAI computer was an idea that came to me because I was always a bit frustrated at having to constantly change weapons, so that was my solution. Another similar solutions are the holsters for the rifles, to avoid discarding usable weapons in exchange of swords, and the fact that the Sky Ruler has those swords already attached to the arms, leaving the auxiliary holsters free to store something, Lare handguns in this case

I have a good reason not to send him after Emperor Chuck from the get go, it simply wouldn't accomplish anything. It would only result in lots and lots of wars because of the many descendants the guy has, so I believe an ORCA Path Strayed wouldn't do it, not if he doesn't have a way to avoid the war part. He fought for humanity, doing that would condemm this world's humanity to God knows how much suffering, even worse than what they're already going through. That doesn't mean he won't want to do just that on more than a few occasions.

Matchstick800: Then here you have it, more for you. I know there's a serious lack of Armored Core Fanfiction, it surprised me when I first found out about that. Here's hoping this story will make it to the spot where those rare AC good fics are.


Warning: To anyone who hasn't played Armored Core For Answer, this story will contain a fair amount of spoilers, references and several other relations. As such, if you haven't played that one or its predecessor, Armored Core 4, I recommend having the Armored Core Wiki in hand for some visual/historical help just in case. Or play the game, it's actualy fairly fast to complete as long as you don't get too entangled on NEXT designing like I did on my first two runs. Over half of my playtime was spent on that.

Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass or any of its spin-offs, nor do I own anything related to the Armored Core franchise, unless you count my copy of the Armored Core For Answer game, that I do own. All I own that is shown in this story are Hawk Magnus, the design of his NEXT/s, the K-Filter and the SKAI computer installed in it.


Chapter 01: The Day the Devil is Born

Hawk stirred before waking up inside the Sky Ruler's cockpit. For a second he looked around, not really aware of his situation, and then the memories of the last few moments before the loss of consciousness came back to him. Taking down Ambient and her troops, Kasumi's death and the Batteries firing, fulfilling their purpose not a second before the Answerer went critical and he was engulfed in the combined blast of the core's explosion and the Assault Armor being unleashed. How in the world was he still alive?

"Unless NEXTs follow their Lynx to the afterlife, I have no idea what to think of this." He chuckled dryly, going for his bottle of water and drinking until he was sated. "SKAI, are you functional?"

"Yes, Strayed." The screen read in reply, and Hawk smiled for about a second.

"Any ideas about where we are and how we got here?" The ORCA Lynx asked as he tried to get the cameras back online.

"Wireless network detected, unlike any found to date. Accessing." SKAI replied as several dots decorated its screen, followed by the data flow.

"It's been easier than usual." Hawk muttered to himself with a raised eyebrow as the computer did its job. "So, where are we?"

The computer did not reply, instead it opened a folder in itself, the one related to Kojima Energy theories, indicating wherever they were had something to do with that. The one problem for Hawk was that the one theory that was highlighted by the computer was the one related to the existence of alternate earths, and the possibility of reaching said places by causing a massive concentration of Kojima energy, which according to the reports tended to end up in a massive explosion. The fact that the situation he had been through recently was so similar to the one explained in the theory was not helping the pilot's sanity in the least.

"Please, tell me Raven programmed you to be able to joke around." Hawk muttered weakly as his eyes widened.

"Error 05, Joke not found." The computer replied simply to the Lynx's dismay, Raven had a weird sense of humor if he had programmed that particular error. "This place we're in is on the surface. As is the rest of civilization, no registries of Cradles found."

"I can't believe that of all the stupid theories around, that particular one was true." The last member of ORCA sighed as he palmed his face. "Let me access the data about the place we're in, I need to know as much as I can before I go out there."

"Understood. Access granted." The computer read in reply to the his request.

"Only one more thing to know then." Hawk muttered as he finally managed to activate the NEXT's cameras while he brought up the first archive in the folder for reading. "Where did we land?"

The Sky Ruler had landed on its feet for some highly improbable divine blessing, meaning that there was no damage to the back-mounted weapons due to landing on them, thankfully. The NEXT was now standing inside a ruined building, apparently with no electricity around. There were several holes in the building's walls and ceiling, along with the rather huge one that the machine's arrival had caused.

A few hours later, the Lynx had finished reading through all the data he had stored in the computer and was quite disgusted at this Holy Empire of Britannia. The Numbers and Areas reminded him way too much of the things he had witnessed, and even unwillingly encouraged, while in the League's payroll combined with some of Old King's nasty habits, he was so glad to have killed that guy before he destroyed a thousand million lives when he and his drones attacked the Cradles without permission.

According to the data, he was in the town of Tokyo, which was under Britannia's control since seven years prior due to Britannia's invasion, and divided in two halves. The Ghetto and the Settlement, where Elevens and Britannians lived respectively. There was no need to say that the division favored the victors while the Elevens lived in poverty and in mostly ruined buildings.

"Is the Sky Ruler really immune to their detection systems?" Hawk asked the computer as he changed into civilian clothes. Ever since that date with May Greenfield he had made sure to always carry some clothing inside the NEXT just in case. Taking a girl out in a pilot suit was not exactly the best idea and he did not need a repeat of that experience anytime soon.

"So long as the K-Filter remains undamaged, detection through long range radars is impossible." SKAI replied, making Hawk thank the late Thermidor for his actions when he and the rest of Line Ark's remains joined his ORCA Brigade.

The K-Filter was something all ORCA NEXTs had been equipped with, making it so the Kojima Particles would not be as contaminating as the League's. The good thing was that it also upped the performance of the engine itself, as less contamination meant more particle release and more energy for the ACs to work with. It had also been one of Raven's latest designs, although the League had ignored it due to how costly it was, but Thermidor had not been so reluctant to use it in his crusade, to show that what they were doing had a meaning.

"I'm going out to see this place with my own eyes. Run a full system check in the meantime. Weapons, hardware, software, everything. Make whatever repairs and energy redirections you can to make sure everything's as good as it can be by the time I'm back." Hawk commanded as he opened the cockpit after moving the Sky Ruler to a less visible hiding spot within the building and making the NEXT kneel so as to be less conspicuous, eager to explore a world in which humans actually lived on the non-polluted surface.

"Understood." The computer replied before going about its duty.

Dressed in black pants and shirt with a brown leather jacket over it that had his Lynx emblem engraved over the heart and ORCA's on the back, Hawk got out of the building and started to walk towards the Settlement. He had hacked the Britannian database to add himself as the sole remaining member of the Magnus noble family, it hadn't been too difficult since Rosenthal's security was tenths of times harder to crack than this and he had already done that on a regular basis without leaving any trace. He had also transferred said noble family's capital to his name and made an arrangement to meet with a man named Lord Ashford at Ashford Academy. The man in question had several houses on sale and one of them had a special feature the Lynx thought very useful for him and his ten meter tall roommate.

He had also considered enrolling in Ashford while he gathered information and started a new life. Even if he was technically out of College, having graduated early and gotten into his job in both Collared and Rosenthal, he could still pass for a student there, and it would be a lot less suspicious than starting to teach people around his age or older about NEXT mechanics and circuitry, right?

His decision to look for ways of living in the Tokyo Settlement had been motivated by SKAI's estimation that repeating the accident that brought Hawk and the Sky Ruler to this place was impossible regardless of scenario. So the young Lynx could only hope he had done his job well and that everything would run smoothly back in his Earth while he tried to make the most of living in this one, no matter how much he would like to go back and help in the rebuilding operations and whatever followed, even if everyone he knew and cared about was dead.

The ORCA survivor reached his destination and spent some time looking around before a loud explosion was heard. He turned in its direction, one hand in his hidden knife and ready to make a run for the Sky Ruler if it was a threat he could not fight without his NEXT, but he soon relaxed. The explosion had come from one of the large TV screens on the glass skyscrapers. Some of them reminded him of Malzel's precious Big Box, although they weren't as massive as the former GA Headquarters the Brigade had used as base of operations for some time.

"Those filthy Elevens again." One man muttered under his breath as he walked past the teen.

"That trash does not understand that they were meant to be ruled by us Britannians." Another muttered before hitting a nearby hot dog seller in the face. "Isn't that right you filthy Eleven?!"

"But sir, I…" The man started in a pleading tone as his face hit the ground, due to the Britannian man holding him down with his foot. "I'm just a hot dog seller, I have nothing to do with that."

"All of you Elevens are the same, I'm sure the money you get from your job goes straight to those terrorists!" Another man added, kicking the Eleven in the stomach. By that time, Hawk had had enough of it. "How dare an Honorary Britannian like you do such a thing?"

"Are you really as low as to blame the innocent? How much further can you people fall?" Hawk stated, surprising the small crowd as he walked forward, fists clenched and glaring at the two Britannians. "Or maybe it's a bottomless pit."

"What's this, an Eleven lover?" The one holding the seller down mused, looking at him. "Look kid, things are this way, we won, and they lost. It's really simple. The defeated obey the victors, and the strong feed on the weak."

"I see." Hawk replied coldly before running forward an backhanding the man to the ground with a sickening crack before holding his face to the floor the same way he had been holding the Eleven a second ago. "So if I beat you, you obey me, right?"

"You bastard!" The other shouted, trying to punch Hawk from behind, only for the Lynx to duck under the blow and elbow him in the gut, causing the other Britannian to fall, holding his stomach in pain and trying not to hurl.

"Are you alright?" The teen asked the Eleven, who was looking at him with a mixture of awe and fear in his eyes. "Good, get out of here." The Honorary Britannian nodded and stood, going back to behind his counter after a nod of thanks. "Now then, what to do with you?" He mused, putting more pressure on his foot.

"Stop! Please!" The Britannian cried out in pain as the giant TVs attached to the buildings started projecting images of the damaged building right before they were interrupted by Britannia's flag. The crowd soon switched their attention to the message coming from some Prince Clovis, and Hawk decided to let go of the guy he was stomping, who ran away almost in tears followed by the other one.

"Thank you very much." The seller told him, offering him a hot dog. "It's on the house."

"You're welcome." Hawk replied, taking the free meal just as his stomach growled. "Will you be alright?"

"I'll be fine, Sir, thank you for your help." The man replied with a small smile. "Although I fear your actions may have put you in the Purists' line of sight."

"The Purists?" The Lynx asked after taking a bite.

"Oh my, you must not be Britannian then. European, perhaps?" The seller asked as he started closing shop. "On a vacation?"

"Yeah, something like that." Hawk replied simply, not wanting to go into details now. "What are this Purists then?"

"A Britannian organization, so to speak. They believe that only Britannians should be around in the Settlement and work here, among other things. Your actions today showed that you are contrary to their beliefs and I'm sure the men you beat today are two of their members." The man explained as he started dismantling his shop until it was ready for movement. "I'll be leaving now, thanks again." He offered Hawk a bottle of water before leaving and the teen took it gladly and walked down the street as the blond Royal on the screen continued his passionate speech. Still, Thermidor was thousands of light years ahead of the guy, so Hawk wasn't really paying any attention to it, it was way too lacking.

"Now, please, join me in a moment of silence for the brave Britannians that died in the line of duty!" The Third Prince pleaded from the screen and the street became silent, except for two male students, dressed in a black uniform lined in golden color. They were getting back to their parked bike while claiming that they were not going to join in on the silence.

"Besides, spilling tears over those people won't bring them back anyway." The raven haired, purple eyed one stated, and Hawk couldn't help but feel attracted to the conversation. After all, he thought the same way.

"That's pretty dark, buddy." The other student, a bluenette with dark grey eyes, told him as he put on the helmet and driving glasses.

"It's a matter of self-satisfaction." The other replied, and then his tone changed to a darker one as he added. "It doesn't matter how hard you try, you can't do it. There's no way to change the world."

"Alone? No, there is not." Hawk said out of reflex, causing the two boys to turn to look at him in surprise. "Oh, sorry, I did not mean to listen in."

"No need to apologize." The black haired one replied with a small smile, and the bluenette nodded. "My name's Lelouch Lamperouge, and this is my friend, Rivalz Cardemonde."

"Hawk Magnus." The Lynx replied, smiling as well, before turning around to leave. "Sorry to interrupt you two, please don't mind me."

"That's a pretty weird name." Rivalz muttered as he noticed the logo on the back of the jacket and thought about how cool it looked.

"I get that a lot." Hawk replied without looking back, having heard him. "Well, have a nice day."

"Wait a moment, please. I'm rather curious about what you said." Lelouch stated before Hawk managed to get too far. "What did you mean when you said it was impossible alone?"

"One person alone cannot make a difference, it's through a group of individuals sharing similar values and ideals that the world can be changed." Hawk stated, looking back at both teens and noticing how Lelouch was truly thinking about his words, which made the ORCA Lynx smile.

"That's pretty deep, man." Rivalz whistled in approval. "Well, Hawk, it was nice meeting you but we'll be late for class if we stay here for much longer. Come on, Lelouch, get your feet back on the ground."

"Oh, right." The other student snapped out of his deep thoughts and got into the sidecar before a thought crossed his mind. "Can we take you somewhere?"

"Actually, is this school you're going to Ashford Academy?" The brown haired Lynx smiled when both teens nodded at his question. "I need to go there as well, you'd do me a great favor if you could take me."

"Sure, new guy, hop on!" Rivalz grinned, pointing to the spot behind him and assuming the guy in front of them was going to apply, he looked their age after all. "Hope you don't mind travelling in a tight spot."

"No complaint whatsoever." Hawk replied with a smile as he caught the helmet Rivalz threw at him.

The bike carrying the three of them was all on its own on the highway leading to Ashford, Lelouch had taken out a book and was reading through it with a bored expression on his face while Hawk was taking in the scenery of the Settlement and comparing to what he had seen in the Ghetto, finding the situation more outrageous by the second. He was not surprised there were terrorists around, oppression in this scale always caused those things.

"By the way, Lelouch." Rivalz started, catching both teen's attention. "Why did you start with the King in that chess match?"

"Chess match?" Hawk wondered aloud.

"I usually gamble with nobles in order to get some extra money home, nothing too big." Lelouch explained in a dismissive tone. "As for my reasons, answer me this Rivalz. If the King does not lead, how are his subordinates to follow?"

"What's up with that?" Rivalz asked, not understanding the meaning behind Lelouch's words as Hawk started thinking that, if Lelouch ever got into military, he'd be an excellent commander wherever beliefs were concerned. "Are you planning to run a company or something when you graduate?"

Before Lelouch could reply to that question, loud honks were heard behind them as a massive green truck came up to them. Rivalz accelerated out of fear as Hawk got a good look at the front of the vehicle. There were two in the cabin of the truck, a woman with light red hair and the driver, a man with long black hair. The man seemed anxious and turned the wheel to avoid them, only to run into a dead end and crash against a building in construction.

"Was that our fault?" Rivalz asked nervously as they came to a stop.

"I don't think so." Lelouch replied as Hawk got off the bike and ran towards the truck without a word, leaving the helmet on the bike.

"What's gotten up his butt?" Rivalz wondered as a loud bang came from the bike. "And now the battery dies on us!" He whined as Lelouch tracked Hawk's movements while the Lynx approached the car, noticing they were not a civilian's at all, but those of a trained soldier.

"Whoa, nasty crash!" One bystander said as he took a picture of the scene.

"It's always some moron, isn't it?" A woman laughed as she eyed the scene curiously.

"Maybe someone should help, you know, besides that guy in black down there." A third one suggested while nodding towards Hawk, not that anyone around him made the move or was willing to.

"Such a bunch of idiots." Lelouch muttered under his breath before running after the guy they had decided to take to the Academy.

"Is everyone alright in there?!" Hawk shouted as he banged the windows, the airbag had activated but both man and woman seemed unconscious.

"How is it?" Lelouch asked as the crowd cheered for the student rescue team, getting on both teenager's nerves and causing them to glare upwards at the bunch of fools.

"They're out cold and the doors are locked." The Lynx replied before looking at an iron structure on the side of the truck that resembled a ladder. "We'll have to get in through that opening in the ceiling."

"Let's go then." The black haired student nodded and started climbing up, followed by the Lynx. "Can any of you hear me?!"

"It's you, I finally found my…" An ethereal voice surprised them both just as the truck started moving backwards, causing them to fall inside through the opening. Hawk landed on his feet while Lelouch managed to roll with the fall so it wouldn't hurt.

"Does that count as a hit and run?" Rivalz asked himself as he pushed the bike forward, deciding that those two could take care of themselves, he had other things to do, namely repairing his beloved bike.

"And we're stuck." Hawk growled as he scanned the inside of the truck, noticing the big, red round mechanism stored along with them, probably a bomb of some sort. He decided not to say anything so as not to freak out the student with him even more than he already was.

"You'd think they'd put a ladder on the inside as well." Lelouch grunted, looking over the walls for any sign of a way out. "What now?"

"Well, we can…" Hawk started, but was cut off by a voice from the outside.

"Stop the vehicle!" A soldier ordered over the megaphone. "Surrender now and you'll have a chance to defend yourself in court!"

"Oh, great." Lelouch cursed as the helicopters following the truck opened fire. "Of all the things to happen now."

"If we try to jump out of the truck we won't come out of it unscathed." Hawk muttered, analyzing their options as the door to the cabin started to open. Both teenagers hid in the shadows behind the red device, as they looked at the red headed girl, close to Lelouch's age if Hawk's eyes were not deceiving him.

"Can you enter the subway via the Azabu route?" The girl asked as she walked towards another red bulk, and Hawk nearly face-palmed at not noticing the robot stored there, right behind where they had landed.

"Kallen, let's use it here, why not?" A man, probably the driver, asked through a communication device that the red head had in her coat, the one she was taking out just now.

"Because that would mean a bloodbath!" She shouted in reply as Lelouch's eyes widened slightly in recognition, feeling he had seen the girl before.

'At least she has standards for a terrorist.' Hawk thought to himself as the back of the truck opened slightly and the mech fired some sort of anchor at one of the helicopters, destroying it. Hawk recognized it as the Slash Harken he had read about in SKAI's files, meaning that robot was a Knightmare Frame, although a pretty old one if the sounds the joints were making were anything to go by.

"You bastards know full well what this badass mother can do!" Kallen roared as she jumped out of the truck, the doors closing behind her as she engaged the enemy, only for a Sutherland to land in front of her.

"I don't know what grave you dug that relic from. But an outdated Glasgow, piloted by a filthy Eleven, is no match for me and my Sutherland." A confident voice boomed outside, probably engaging the terrorist girl as Hawk let go of Lelouch, who had been about to try to get out of the truck when the doors opened.

"Why did you stop me?!" He shouted angrily. "These guys are real terrorists, we have to get out of here!"

"Jumping into a battlefield head on like that would have killed you." Hawk stated coldly. "If you want to keep on living, trust me on that one."

"Who are you exactly?" The black haired student asked, looking at the Lynx in the eye. "The way you moved when coming to these people's rescue was like that of a trained soldier, as is the way you're acting now."

"I'm a mercenary." Hawk replied before smiling slightly. "A former one anyway. A lot of things happened and I have no job now, I got here today and I wanted to check the place out since I was going to stay for a long time, we met while I was on the way to prepare my new life. Nothing much."

"Informing, yet not providing details on whatever you were involved in." Lelouch muttered in a hushed tone as the sounds of gunfire impacting against the truck were heard before everything went black, indicating they had entered some sort of tunnel. The black haired teen brought out his phone as he spoke. "Regardless, we're in a pretty bad situation. And we're out of range, so cellphones won't work."

"Where exactly do you think we are? I just moved in today so I wouldn't know." Hawk asked, he could get an idea by looking at the exterior, but that was simply impossible at this point.

"Judging from the darkness and road surface we must be travelling through the old subway lines." Lelouch replied, his brain calculating all possibilities before reaching a conclusion. "No choice then."

"In what?" Hawk looked on as this boy he had met today took the communication device from the coat the terrorist girl had discarded a few minutes before.

"I'm not too big on the military, but their protection is all we can count on." The black haired teen explained, showing Hawk the item in question. "If we give them this terrorist communicator… Oh, right… I forgot."

"I won't pry, but I'll guess that's out of the question as well." The Lynx stated, getting a grateful nod in reply from the teen. "Well then, let's think of another way out."

A long while passed as both of them sat inside the truck, not really managing to think about anything that would get them out of the pinch they were in.

"Aren't you going to tell stories of your great battles?" Lelouch asked in a slightly mocking tone, no offence intended of course. "I sure could use a good tale to keep me from a nervous breakdown."

"Unfortunately, you wouldn't believe any of what I told you." The Lynx replied with a chuckle as the truck came to a rather abrupt stop.

"An accident?" Lelouch wondered, standing up at the same time as Hawk.

"No, it sounded more like the tires getting stuck." The other teenager replied just as the door by their side opened.

Inside that same tunnel, Suzaku Kururugi, an Eleven part of the Honorary Britannian Military program, was searching through the tunnels as ordered by his superiors. He immediately noticed the truck and the target he had been sent to recover inside it and sent the signal to his commander right before his mechanical goggles detected the presence of two people inside. Assuming they were terrorists, the son of the late Japanese Prime Minister dashed forward and spin kicked the brown haired one, who barely managed to block the strike with his arm and was pushed to the ground by Suzaku's weight while the soldier pointed his gun at the black haired terrorist whose face was shadowed by the walls of the truck.

"That's enough mindless murder, you terrorists!" He shouted, holding the one he had kicked by the neck to prevent any attempt to strike back.

"Wait, we're not…" The one still standing started, but the Honorary Britannian did not let him continue.

"Planning to use poison gas, don't play dumb with me!" Suzaku interrupted, astonished at the nerve of these two.

"Get off me!" The brown haired one shouted, throwing a fast punch and hitting Suzaku hard enough for him to let go of the terrorist and jump back.

"Besides, if this is really poison gas it was made by Britannia, wasn't it?" Suzaku's eyes widened in recognition as the black haired one came into view while speaking and he got a good look at his face. "Mindless murder? Wipe Britannia off the map and that's when such a thing will stop for good!"

"Lelouch?!" Suzaku asked, taking off his goggles and helmet, revealing a seventeen year old teenager with brown hair and green eyes. "It's me."

"Suzaku?!" The student asked in surprise.

"Wait, you two know each other?" The other teenager in the truck asked, and they nodded. "Name's Hawk. By the way, nice kick." He added, rubbing his sore arm, the one he had used to block it. This guy could give Johnny Kamisori a run for his money in a fight if he moved like that all the time, and he was only a rookie soldier from the looks of it, not to mention the spitting image of the guy as well.

"Thanks… I guess." Suzaku sweated before focusing on Lelouch again. "Lelouch, I thought…"

"Are you in the Military?" Lelouch interrupted with slight anger in his tone. "You became a Britannian soldier."

"Yeah, please don't tell me you…" Suzaku started again but was promptly cut off.

"Of course not!" The black haired teen replied before the question was finished. "Neither is he, by the way. We just got caught up in all this for trying to help the people in this truck after an accident in the Settlement, we had no idea who they were."

"Regardless, now that you're here…" A loud hiss interrupted whatever Hawk was about to say and both him and Suzaku tackled Lelouch to the ground, expecting the poison gas to come out of the device as they held their breath.

Gas did come out, alright, but none of them was expecting a green haired, amber eyed woman bound in a white straightjacket to be inside the device, surrounded by an orb of bright golden light.

"That's not poison gas." Suzaku muttered to himself as the girl fell to the ground and Lelouch, showing unusual agility for him, moved to catch her before she hit the ground.

"To think that with two trained soldiers around, I'd be the one to help her out." Lelouch chuckled to himself.

"You're a soldier?" Suzaku asked Hawk as they brought the girl out of the truck and laid her on the ground.

"Former mercenary." The Lynx replied, knowing he wasn't hiding that from the other boy anyway. "I seriously suck at this. I just got here today and two people already know."

"Now tell me, Suzaku. Poison gas, this girl?" Lelouch asked diverting the attention to the unconscious woman. "I find that rather hard to believe."

"It's what we were told in the briefing, I know nothing more." Lelouch's old friend replied as he and Hawk helped in unbinding the girl.

"Briefings can be quite deceitful at times." Hawk muttered, remembering his own experiences in the matter as he remembered how many of his own briefings had lacked relevant information, like the one about the Cabracan Arms Fort and its autonomous drones. When they were almost done with the binds, a bright light came from behind them, making them look towards its source.

"Stinking monkey!" A scarred, blue haired man dressed in military commanding uniform spat, he was standing in front of eight soldiers clad in the same grey uniform Suzaku wore and armed with assault rifles, there were also two vehicles carrying searchlights. "Even if you're an Honorary Britannian, this is inexcusable!"

"But, Sir, I was told this was poison gas!" The Eleven said as he run up to his superior officer, wanting an explanation.

"Still, in light of your findings, I'll be lenient." The commander continued, ignoring Suzaku's words. "Take your gun and execute the terrorists."

"But they're not terrorists." Suzaku replied, he had believed Hawk's statement of being a former mercenary so he didn't want to jeopardize him if he intended to lead a new life, had he and Lelouch not done the same thing anyway? "They just got caught up in all this when the truck crashed in the Settlement."

"You insolent little primate." The commander glared. "Did you not swear loyalty to Britannia?"

"I won't kill civilians, Sir." Suzaku stated firmly, turning to look at Lelouch's scared face and Hawk's widening eyes. "It's my decision."

"Suzaku, move!" Hawk shouted just as the boy felt a gun being pointed to his gut from behind.

"Then die." The commander fired and Suzaku fell flat on the ground, unmoving, with the look of shock engraved in his features.

"Suzaku!" Lelouch cried his friend's name as the commander shouted in pain, having his right shoulder pierced by Hawk's combat knife.

"You insolent pests!" The commander roared as the Lynx retrieved the knife thanks to the cord he had attached to it. "Kill them and secure the girl!"

"What I would give for my gun in this situation." The Lynx muttered in rage just before the truck behind them went up in an explosion with a cry of "Long live Japan!". Releasing a great amount of dust and smoke that they could use as cover and distracting the soldiers. "Move, Lelouch!"

"Right!" The student snapped out of it and ran into the tunnels with the girl close behind, following Hawk's voice.

Outside the Ghetto, Prince Clovis was distressed as he sat inside the command center. He knew that if his Father found out about the investigations he had been conducting he'd be in deep trouble. They needed to get that girl back fast, and nothing they were doing was producing the necessary result, which left him one choice.

"If Father hears about this I'll be disinherited." The Third Prince muttered to himself. "Inform the Mainland that we'll be carrying out the urban renewal of Shinjuku." Once one of his advisors had gone to comply with the order, the Prince stood and commanded authoritatively. "I, Clovis La Britannia, Third Prince of the Empire and Viceroy of Area 11 command you… Destroy Shinjuku Ghetto, leave no one alive!"

"Yes, My Lord!" All soldiers replied with enthusiasm and the knights manned their machines, ready to bring hell to the Ghetto.

Explosions, death and carnage covered the Ghetto in barely any time at all. The Britannian forces moved swiftly, killing everything that moved in cold blood and moving to the next target with almost machine like efficiency. Inside the underground tunnels, Hawk, Lelouch and the girl moved as fast as they could, but constantly hearing the explosions and shots was really getting to the black haired teen.

"You, what the hell are you?" He asked the green haired woman just before she tripped and fell to the ground. Hawk also came to a stop at his words, or more specifically, the traumatized tone in which they were being said. "All this chaos… is because of you isn't it. Because of you… Britannia… Killed Suzaku."

"Get back to reality." Hawk slapped the boy hard. "Look, I know what you're feeling, more than you'll ever believe. But if you snap here and now, your friend will have died for nothing."

Lelouch glared at the Lynx but soon nodded, knowing he was right. He just needed to take revenge for Suzaku as well when he obliterated that damn country, it was one more thing his father had to pay for. The black haired teen stood up and helped the green haired girl up as well.

"Let's move." Hawk said, walking forward, and both nodded. The group advanced, trying to ignore screams and explosions as they did.

A few minutes later, they reached the end of the long passage they were using and came out close to some stairs. The three of them pressed their bodies against the ground and moved on all fours up the stairs with Hawk in the lead. The Lynx looked out of their little hideout just as a shot was heard and a man cried out in pain before falling on the floor, dead.

"Are you sure those tunnels lead here?" The same commander that Hawk had injured asked, he had his right arm in a cast and bandaged up due to the knife wound. "We don't want to lose them."

"According to our map of the old city, this is the only exit available." One of the soldiers replied while Lelouch came up to Hawk and looked out as well. Both teens and military were surprised by the cries of a baby among all the dead bodies, it was soon silenced via rapid fire from a machinegun.

"Mindless murder indeed." Hawk muttered silently before his eyes widened, recognizing the place they were in. He could only hope no one had seen the Sky Ruler, although it was well hidden so he shouldn't worry too much about that, he should worry about the two other people with him.

"Those bastards…" Lelouch glared before his eyes widened at the sound of his phone. Of all the times to be back in call range it just had to happen now!

In a matter of seconds, the three escapees had nine guns trained upon them. The girl was separated from them by two of the soldiers while Hawk was being held by another two of the men and beaten up by a third. All this while Lelouch was back handed against the wall by the commander himself.

"You two did quite well, but that's to be expected of Britannians after all." The scarred man started as he trained his gun on Lelouch's head. "A pity it ends this way, boys. But your future is over and done."

Just as the man fired, the girl freed herself from her captor and jumped in front of Lelouch, literally taking the bullet for the boy under the astonished gaze of everyone around her. After a cry of "He mustn't die!" The bullet pierced her front and she fell on the floor, unmoving and not breathing any longer as a small puddle of blood formed below her.

"We were supposed to bring her back alive, but well." The commander stated, shrugging as Lelouch kneeled by the girl's body, eyes widened and revealing great fear as he looked at the deceased's face. "We'll tell our superiors that by the time we got to her she was tortured and killed by the terrorists. Of course, we disposed of every single one of them. What do you two think?"

"Personally, I think you people don't deserve a spot in this world." Hawk seethed, glaring at the commander before he was punched in the gut by one of the soldiers and then promptly knocked out.

"What about you, school boy?" The commander asked with a malicious grin as Lelouch's brain went into overdrive.

'Why is this happening? Suzaku… This girl… Hawk will follow soon too.' He thought as fear engulfed his soul and he despaired. 'Is this the end for me? Without being able to do anything with my life? It was all gone in a heartbeat! Nunnally!'

Unnoticed by anyone else, the girl's hand moved and grabbed Lelouch's wrist, sending the boy into his own mindscape as she spoke to him there. Having decided it was time to make a contract again.

"You don't want it to end here, do you? You appear to have a reason for living." She said as Lelouch looked around inside the mindscape, wondering whose voice it was that he was hearing. "If I grant you power, would you go on? I propose a deal."

"A deal?" Lelouch muttered.

"In exchange for granting my wish, I'll grant you a power you have never dreamed of." The girl's voice continued, amusement laced in her tone. "Accept this contract and you accept its conditions. While living in the world of humans, you will live unlike any other. A different providence, a different time, a different fate…" Lelouch's mind was bombarded with various images as the voice continued to speak. "The Power of the King will condemn you to a life of solitude, are you prepared for that?"

"A reaction from the Ragnarok Connection?!" A male voice Lelouch recognized all too well boomed as he was shown the broad back of a tall man with white hair inside what looked like an ancient temple. "So the myth is beginning once again?!"

"Yes! I accept the terms of your contract!" Lelouch replied to the woman's question, being sent back to the real world a second later, with a new power in his hands.

"Come on, schoolboy. Tell me what you think." The commander ordered as Lelouch stood, hiding his left eye from view with his hand.

"Tell me, how should a Britannian who detests his country live his life?" Lelouch's tone would have surprised Hawk hd the Lynx been conscious, it was not the one people in his situation would usually voice, but a calm, calculating one that sent chills down people's spines. Ignoring the questions about him being a radical, Lelouch continued as the soldiers backed in fear, walking away from the unconscious mercenary in the process. "Come on, why not shoot? The one standing before you is just a student, isn't he?"

The Britannian soldiers did not know what to do, neither did they know what exactly it was that made them so afraid of this schoolboy. But before any of them reacted, Lelouch continued speaking.

"Or have you finally realized…" The black haired teen concluded, smiling confidently. "That the only ones who should kill… are those who are prepared to be killed!" Lelouch uncovered his eye, revealing a crimson, bird like pattern in it before he followed up with his little speech. "Lelouch Vi Britannia commands you… Die!"

From the soldiers' point of view, the crimson bird flew out of the kid's eye and entered their own. The men stopped at the same time as the exiled Prince's command was engraved into their brains and a second later they all grinned like crazy as they began pointing their weapons to their own necks.

"Happily, Your Highness!" The commander cooed before he and all of the soldiers committed suicide in front of Hawk's astonished eyes, the Lynx had just been out for a few seconds and did not need a moment to know something was really wrong with these people. Some blood splattered on Lelouch's face, making the boy look confused.

"Ever since that day, I lived a lie." He muttered, mostly to himself, but Hawk was listening intently. "The lie of living. My name… a lie. My personal history… a lie. Nothing but lies." The raven haired student looked up towards the big hole in the ceiling. "I was sick to death of a world that couldn't be changed. But even in my lies, I refused to give up in despair. And now this incredible power… It's mine." Lelouch turned to look at Hawk, who was eyeing him carefully but showed no sign of hostility. "You said you had no job, right?"

"I did, yes." The Lynx replied, having a faint idea of where this was going.

"Consider yourself hired, Hawk Magnus." Lelouch told him with a grin that could only be classified as evil. "You said yourself that changing the world was impossible alone, would you join me in the effort of bringing Britannia to its knees and bring about that change?"

On any normal circumstance, Hawk would have told the guy to just shut up and follow him, they were getting out of there. But not this time, the look in Lelouch's eyes got him by surprise, the same look Thermidor had. That glint of ambition, of betterment, a passion hidden deep within that could bring about the change of the whole world if used properly to lead. It was only for a moment, but the image of ORCA's leader overlapped Lelouch's own, it did not help that the black haired student looked like a much younger version of the man himself.

"I'd like to discuss terms once we're out of this place, but consider your offer accepted for now." The Lynx replied, following his instinct like so many other times as he eyed the spot where his NEXT was hidden and wondered if it would be functional enough to get both of them out of there. "By the way, while on the job, I'm codename Strayed." He had ultimately decided to file Lelouch's little monologue and the soldiers' behavior away for later. Kicking the Britannians out of the Ghetto was now high in his list of priorities but he wouldn't be able to do that with Lelouch on board, and he still wasn't sure about Sky Ruler's state either.

"Well then…" Lelouch grinned as Hawk kept on thinking, looking towards the door out of the place. "Let's get it started."


Not much changed from how things happen in canon... yet. R1 is going to remain mostly the same, with only slight changes, until we get halfway through it and the Black Knights and Cornelia start landing blows against each other. I'm also going to skip filler chapters, like the one that consists solely on Lelouch chasing Arthur, the cat, all over Ashford. That can be easily referenced to and be done with it. So no Lynx VS cat for you guys, sorry. I'm also not sure about what to do with Mao, but that will come in due time. And if worst comes to worst, Hawk can simply be away on a mission when it happens and it all goes the same way it did in canon.

Next chapter we're getting to what I like to call Zero's secret debut, and we'll get to see how Strayed and the Sky Ruler fare against a horde of Japanese killing Knightmare Frames, plus the first of many fights against the Lancelot series of Frames. Yes, series, due to my need of competitive people and machines in the Area 11 Britannian Army, Lloyd Asplund won the Lottery the other day. So the A.S.E.E.C. has not only funds for both the Lancelot and Lancelot Club, but the Lancelot Grail and a few spare parts as well. Although the guy, being the way he is, still didn't put an ejection system on the poor Knightmares... *sigh*

To anyone worried about this story just being about Britannia getting its ass kicked by someone else while Lelouch watches and does nothing but laugh evilly, I assure you that's not going to happen. One of the reasons was already listed above, my second reason is that Britannia can always fall back on their true and tried tactic of overwhelming everything with numbers until it cracks, and the other is this: Remember that the Sky Ruler was not the only thing caught in that explosion, where do you think the Answerer's remains fell? There are computers in that thing, and those computers hold a ton of data. No people in there though, it was automated.

And with that, I'll be going. Expect the next chapter in a week or so, I want the fighting to be worth it. It will also depict the interactions between Strayed and his soon-to-be battlefield partners, namely Kallen.

I await your reviews and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Also, on a totally unrelated note, to anyone reading this that follows my FoZ/Kamen Rider story: I'm almost finished with proofreading this week's chapter, all that's left are review replies and it will be posted.