A/N: Since the consensus seems to be for a harem, I'll go ahead and add a few girls, but probably no more than like 3. I will go ahead and confirm that Kallen will be added since I had multiple requests for her. Other than that, keep letting me know who you want to see and I'll keep them under consideration.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 3: The Demon Emerges

"Welcome to Tahiti, your highness," a well-built man who appeared to be in his late forties bowed as Lelouch entered the forward command center.

"There's no need for that, General Winters, you're the commanding officer here; I'm just here to help out and show that not all royals are snobbish prudes who don't know how to fight," Lelouch waved off the general who snorted in amusement.

"Well, it's good to have you here, Lieutenant Colonel. According to our Intel, while their main forces are remaining in Fiji, the enemy has started to consolidate resources here," the general spoke as he pinpointed a spot on the map near the center of the Cook Islands. "We've also received word that they have been receiving support from resistance fighters in area 14." Lelouch nodded as he looked over the map.

"Tell me, general, how many VTOLs do we have on the carriers?" Lelouch asked as he started to formulate a plan.

"I believe we have about 40 in total; have you thought of something, Lieutentant Colonel?" Lelouch smirked as he went over his plan with the general.

"I still think this idea is too dangerous, your highness; why do you need to lead this operation personally?" Jeremiah frowned as he followed Lelouch to the hangar where the troops were mobilizing for the plan that he and the general had come up with.

"Relax, Jeremiah; I know what I'm doing. Besides, if the king doesn't lead, how can he expect his subordinates to follow?" Lelouch asked rhetorically as he ascended the guidewire to his cockpit. Once the Ganymede was powered up, Lelouch began relaying orders to the troops that would be aiding him in this operation.

Mahana Vaea was having a good day. First, he was promoted to Commander. Then, he was told he would be receiving an entire platoon from the reinforcements that had arrived from New Guinea and, to top it off, they had even given him another 20 Gun-Rus to bolster his forces!

'Things are definitely looking up,' Commander Vaea thought to himself as he finished inspecting their new equipment. However, if he had actually looked up, he would have seen the group of knightmares being airlifted by the Britannian VTOLs.

"36th airborne, I want you to maintain altitude and stay on watch for reinforcements. B-group, you're on left flank, N-group, you take the right. R-group, you're with me; commence operation!" Lelouch directed as his forces were dropped by the VTOLs and they made their way to their positions with a resounding "Yes sir!"

As his group's Sutherlands started raining bullets on the enemy forces, Lelouch left the ground troops to them as he made his way through to the enemy Gun-Rus. Spotting a group of them, he quickly maneuvered between a group of enemy tanks before dispatching of them with slash harkens before they even realized what was happening.

Using the Ganymede's left hand as a pivot point, Lelouch performed a spin kick that disarmed a nearby Gun-Ru before quickly drawing a sword in his right hand and driving it into the enemy cockpit. Pushing off of his left hand, Lelouch threw his sword into another Gun-Ru while unleashing his slash harkens in midair and taking down another 2 Gun-Rus simultaneously; all of this happening in a matter of a few seconds.

Righting himself in the air, Lelouch sped toward the next group who had finally noticed him and were unleashing a hail of gunfire in his direction. Weaving between the hails of lead, Lelouch picked up his sword from the remains of the Gun-Ru he had speared and quickly sheathed it before drawing his Zweihander and using it to block bullets as he continued to dodge what he could.

Making his way to the enemy, Lelouch flipped to the side while swinging his Zweihander and tearing through 2 more knightmares in a single stroke as if they were made of butter. Ignoring the resulting explosion and kicking off of the wall of a nearby warehouse, Lelouch drove his Zweihander into the ground before swinging around it and driving his landspinners into the face of another unit. Righting himself, Lelouch drove the claws of his right hand through the cockpit of the off-balance knightmare while swinging back his left hand to reclaim his Zweihander and hefting it over his shoulder.

Marveling at the destruction surrounding him, Lelouch confirmed that the area was cleared before radioing in to check on the other groups.

"I-it's a demon!" Commander Vaea worriedly exclaimed as he had witnessed the entire spectacle. "A single unit took out 7 knightmares in less than 12 seconds!" Running for cover, he managed to slip between the flanking B-group and making his escape; he would be the only survivor in what would soon come to be known as one of the most brutal campaigns in Britannian history.

Over the course of the next week, under Lelouch's command, his platoon made their way through the Cook Islands eliminating all resistance forces and salvaging what supplies they could; it could only be considered a slaughter as they left a sea of blood in their wake.

"This is P-group; point C-17 has been cleared, Lieutenant Colonel; moving to the rendezvous point," the squad leader radioed in as they started loading what they salvaged onto the VTOLs.

"Acknowledged; points C-21 through C-34 have been cleared as well. All troops make your way to the rendezvous point and we'll meet up with the rest of the garrison. Good job men; the operation has been a success and I'll personally ensure that your efforts are properly rewarded," Lelouch announced to all of his forces earning a chorus of "thank you, your highness!" Smirking as he thought over his idea of forming his own military force, Lelouch made his way to the rendezvous point while mentally going over the remaining forces the enemy should have unless they receive reinforcements from the Chinese Federation.

"Are you sure about this, your highness? This seems like a pretty risky operation," General Winters voiced his concerns as he and Lelouch looked over a map of Fiji in the war room.

"I understand your hesitance General, but this would be the quickest way to end this conflict and complete our conquest," Lelouch defended as the 2 of them went over the finer points of Lelouch's plan for the assault on the enemy stronghold.

"Very well; we'll proceed according to your plan, Colonel. However, if things start getting dicey, I'm pulling my men out."

"Understood, General," Lelouch agreed as they prepared to inform the troops of what would come to be the final battle of the shortest conquest in Britannian history.

It was 0200 hours as Lelouch approached the western wall of the enemy encampment.

"Are the charges in place, P-group?" Lelouch radioed to the squad leader.

"Yes, Colonel, all charges are in place and the primer is set."

"Excellent; retreat to a safe distance and prepare for the next phase," Lelouch commanded from his cockpit. "General, Major are your groups in position?" Lelouch radioed in to the General and Major Timmons who were taking the east and north respectively. Receiving an affirmative response from both, he gave the signal to begin the operation and the night sky was suddenly illuminated by a series of explosions.

Taking advantage of the enemy's confusion, Lelouch and his troops stormed through the opening their explosives created and began their assault. The General's group was to assault the weapons depot and lead the majority of their knightmare force while Major Timmons was in charge of the ground forces in taking out the enemy communications centers and barracks.

"N-group, take out those sniper nests. P-group, B-group, R-group, you know what to do," Lelouch commanded as he made his way towards the command center receiving a chorus of "yes, sir"s. While P-group was picking off ground forces with sniper rifles from their various vantage points, B-group took down enemy artillery and R-group took out any knightmare forces on their way to joining up with the General's forces.

Bisecting a Gun-Ru with the sword in his right hand, Lelouch drew his other sword in a reverse-grip in his left hand using it to block an attack from the enemy that tried to sneak up behind him before launching his left wrist-mounted slash harken directly through the cockpit at point blank. Moving through knightmares guarding the command center, Lelouch was a veritable tornado of whirling blades as he tore through them one after another leaving a trail of devastation, blood and scraps of metal that would be unrecognizable as belonging to a knightmare frame.

Casually strolling through the command center, Lelouch quickly dispatched any guards with 2 quick bullets to the chest and 1 in the head as he made his way to the president's office. Approaching his final objective, Lelouch came upon a single man standing guard with a sword drawn. Recognizing the challenge for what it was, Lelouch holstered his sidearm and draw his knife in a reverse-grip.

"I presume you're the one in charge of the armed forces here?" Lelouch prodded earning a nod from the man before he wordlessly charged in with an overhead slash that was easily parried before Lelouch delivered a quick palm strike to the man's solar plexus. Before the man could recover, Lelouch swept his legs out from under him before driving his knife into the side of the man's neck. Raising an eyebrow as he watched the blood spew from the severed carotid artery, Lelouch felt a sense of…disappointment.

"Well that was anti-climactic," he mused as he made his way to the door leading to his quarry.

After quickly dispatching of the president, Lelouch made his way back to the Ganymede and announced on an open channel so that all forces heard the announcement that the enemy commander as well as the president had been eliminated. Shortly thereafter, the remaining survivors, few as they were, quickly surrendered. However, once they had all been securely bound, Lelouch commanded that they all be lined up.

"No prisoners; open fire." Looking at eachother, the men hesitantly raised their rifles before doing as commanded.

"Was that absolutely necessary, your highness?" General Winters questioned with a slight frown.

"Tell me, General; during this entire campaign, did your troops encounter a single civilian?" Lelouch countered with a blank expression. The General blinked as he thought about it for a moment before realizing that, no, he had not.

"Now that you mention it…we never saw any despite all the settlements we traveled through," the General frowned not understanding where they could all have gone.

"The reason for that is what my troops and I found in Tonga; a large hole in the center of the island…filled with thousands of bodies littered with bullet holes," Lelouch recounted with a grim look. "That's where most of them were at least; the rest were women that we found in their homes nearby, shackled to their beds; I'm sure you can figure out what happened to them," Lelouch said with a sneer of disgust as the General stared at him with wide-eyes.

"While I will not repudiate battle on a fair and level field, neither will I tolerate a one-sided massacre of the weak by the strong! The only ones who should kill are those who are prepared to be killed; they slaughtered countless innocent civilians so they deserved to be put down like the monsters they are," Lelouch growled out as he turned to make his way towards the Ganymede.

"I'll meet you back at the garrison, General." General Winters could only nod silently in response as he tried to process the prince's words.

"Presenting Brigadier General Lelouch Vi Britannia; prince of the realm and 8th in line to the throne," the Herald announced drawing a raised brow from Lelouch at the significant rise in the line of succession.

"Hail, your majesty; I have returned from my conquest of Area 15 as you requested," Lelouch said as he took a knee and brought his fist to his chest in an imperial salute.

"Yes congratulations on your decisive victory. Less than 2 weeks, that's the shortest campaign in Britannian history; well done, my son," Charles commended before rising from the throne. "Come with me," he commanded as he placed a hand on Lelouch's shoulder. Doing as commanded, Lelouch rose to his feet and followed his father to the garden that he had been visiting rather frequently as of late. Stopping at a gazebo amidst a sea of various flowers of differing colors, Charles motioned for a retainer who dropped off an ornate decanter before hurrying off.

"I believe it's appropriate to celebrate such a decisive victory, don't you?" Charles asked rhetorically as he poured 2 glasses of brandy that Lelouch would imagine probably cost as much as a villa. Raising their glasses in a wordless toast, the duo of father and son each took a sip while staring out at the garden.

"You know," the emperor began as he swirled his liquor lazily. "This was your mother's favorite spot on the palace grounds. In fact, the garden at the Aries villa was modeled after this very spot," Lelouch was baffled at how…normal this conversation was. Charles Zi Britannia had always been a man who exhumed power and never showed any sign of emotion; so to hear him talking about his mother with a certain fondness in his voice was completely unexpected.

"Forgive me, your majesty, but have you learned anything of my mother's murder?" Lelouch asked with a bowed head, but there was a simmering rage just beneath the surface that was reflected in his eyes.

"I have my suspicions, but nothing concrete at this point," holding up his hand to stop Lelouch before he could interject, he elaborated. "Do not mistake my calmness for complacency; the perpetrator will be dealt with. However, your mother had many enemies and as I'm sure you're aware, there were many in the court that were not exactly fond of her or the rather blatant favoritism that I showed her."

Lelouch grit his teeth as he was all too aware of how his family was seen by the nobles. His mother was seen as a commoner that was undeserving of her station as a knight of honor; much less her position as empress. Meanwhile, he was viewed as the "black sheep" of the imperial family and his sister (his beloved baby sister who he would set the world on fire for if necessary to keep her safe) was viewed as a helpless cripple whose only value would be as some bargaining chip; he would take away everything they cared about before watching them die slowly before he let that happen!

"I understand, father," Lelouch begrudgingly conceded as he finished off his brandy. Charles stopped mid-step as he turned to leave for his office.

"Ah, I almost forgot; Cornelia is waiting for you at the Aries villa." Lelouch visibly paled as he barely maintained his grip on the empty glass he was holding. Turning to see that his father had already resumed his stride towards his office, Lelouch realized he had no way out of this.

'I am not looking forward to this.'

"Congratulations, Brigadier General; I heard of your overwhelming victory in Area 15," Cornelia stated with a completely blank expression from his desk the moment he entered his room.

"Thank you, sister," Lelouch responded; thankful that he managed to keep the quiver out of his voice. Before he could continue, Cornelia interrupted him and decided to get right down to it.

"So tell me, brother; what exactly is going on between you and Euphemia?" Lelouch began to sweat nervously at the intense stare he was receiving since Cornelia was just as protective of her sister as he was; maybe even more so. That's not even accounting for the fact that they were engaged which he still had no idea how she felt about that. Taking a deep breath before releasing it slowly, Lelouch decided to just be direct.

"I'm in love with, Euphie," he answered with more resolve in his tone than he expected. There was an uncomfortable silence for several moments as she continued to stare at him before she decided to break it; with a fit of hysterical laughter.

Lelouch could only blink in confusion as he watched his sister fall out of his chair and quite literally roll on the floor laughing. After taking a moment to calm down and catch her breath, Cornelia wiped a tear from her eye as she smirked at him.

"I'm perfectly aware of how you 2 feel for eachother; did you 2 really think you could hide it from me?" Cornelia asked with the smirk never leaving her face. Lelouch seemed to be unable to comprehend what was happening as he continued to wear a blank expression and blink owlishly.

"How?" he finally asked once he came to his senses. Cornelia rolled her eyes as she sat on the edge of his bed and motioned for him to take the seat she had previously occupied. Doing so, Lelouch tried to determine when they may have been caught; he knew it couldn't have been Jeremiah.

"Did you forget about your own villa's security systems?" Cornelia asked rhetorically. "There's a camera not too far from the spot where you 2 had your little confession." Lelouch mentally berated himself; he had, in fact, forgotten about the security cameras.

"While I wasn't exactly thrilled about how quickly you 2 progressed at such a young age," Cornelia stated with a slight glare making Lelouch avoid her gaze. "I'm not against you being in a relationship, especially since it's obvious how much you both care for eachother and I know you'll treat her well and will make sure she keeps her innocence until she's ready; won't you?" Lelouch nodded emphatically from the clear threat before he walked over and pulled Cornelia into a hug with a soft smile on his face.

"Thank you, Nelly," Lelouch whispered to a surprised Cornelia before she smiled and returned the hug. "So if you knew this whole time, why didn't you say anything sooner?" Lelouch asked as the 2 separated slightly, but didn't release their embrace entirely.

"To be honest I wasn't sure how I felt about it at first. After that, I just thought it would be fun to mess with you," Cornelia stuck her tongue out playfully earning a roll of the eyes from Lelouch before they both started laughing.

"So…what now? I mean, what do we do about the arranged marriage and everything?" Lelouch asked honestly having no idea what to do in this situation.

"Well," Cornelia lightly chewed on her lower lip with a light dusting of pink on her cheeks. "I'm okay with it if you are," Lelouch didn't think his eyes could get any wider as he stared at Cornelia like she had 2 heads.

"But what about Euphie?"

"Oh, her and I talked about this while you were in Area 15; we already agreed that we had no problem sharing," Cornelia waved him off as if that was perfectly normal. Apparently, Lelouch had been wrong; his eyes could get wider.

"On a more serious note, you and I are going to be leaving for the EU in the morning, so you should get some rest," before Lelouch could respond, Cornelia gave him a chaste kiss before quickly making her way out the door and slamming the door shut behind her.

Once in the hallway, Cornelia lowered her head to hide the furious blush that colored her face. Bringing her hand to her lips, she smiled softly. 'Hopefully Euphie never finds out she had her first kiss before me; she'd never let me live it down' Cornelia mused as she shivered at the thought.

Falling back onto his bed, Lelouch brought a hand to his lips as he stared at the ceiling; the fact he would be going to the EU being the furthest thing from his mind as it was dominated by thoughts of pink and purple.

A/N: That's it for this chapter. Thanks for reading and reviews are always appreciated; still determining whether or not there will be geass so let me know what you think.

Next chapter will likely have some major developments so look forward to it. Also, would you guys rather have longer chapters with slower updates or continue as is? Let me know.