~Chapter Four: Have no Regrets~

"Suzaku, I'm on my way back to the Lancelot. Get it prepared to take off."

"So, is it actually over?"

"No… Not quite yet. The emperor may be dead, but we still have Britannia to deal with. I'll see you soon."

Lelouch put his phone away in his pocket as he left his father's room.

"You, halt! Why was there gunfire!" Several guards blocked the hall Lelouch was walking down.

"I'm sorry, I didn't hear anything. Why don't you… Why don't you all go for a swim?" Lelouch asked.

The guards' eyes lit up and they walked away. Lelouch smiled and continued down the hall. He thought to himself, No for the next part of the plan: to make a deal with the new emperor.

Lelouch walked out on the flight-deck. Suzaku was waiting for him in the Lancelot; Lelouch climbed in.

"Um… Lelouch, did you just make a group of guards jump overboard?"

"That's not important… I'm going to call Schneizel now…"

Lelouch pulled his phone back out and dialed a number.

Somebody answered, "Yea, what is it?"

Lelouch frowned, "Tamaki, this is Zero."

"Z…ZERO! Hey pal! Sorry, I didn't recognize your number! I thought you usually contacted Ohgi or something like that! Hey buddy, my friend Zero, I didn't mean that! You'll forgive me, right?"

"I need you to get me in contact with Britannia."

"Oh… You don't want to talk to me? I mean, it's all cool, Man! Uh… Yea so, Britannia? I can do that! Hang on a sec... I mean, hang on a sec, Sir!"

"Tamaki… Just hurry up."

"Yea, sorry, Zero!"

Lelouch shook his head, I swear, something just isn't right with that guy… And why does he always think I'm his friend?"

The line clicked, and a voice answered, "This is Zero?"

"It is, now let me speak to Prince Schneizel."

"I'm sorry… Zero… I don't… Never mind, he'll speak with you."

There was a pause, and then Schneizel answered, "Zero… Who would have known I would have gotten a call from you today. What is it you want? Are you going to tell me you're giving up and disbanding the Black Knights?"

"Prince Schneizel, how about we have a little talk… Just you and me. No guards, no guns, no microphones or video… How about… A friendly game of chess?"

"Oh? Normally I don't accept meetings with terrorists, especially without any guards… But I do enjoy a nice game of chess, so I will accept."

Lelouch could hear murmuring in the background. The others with Schneizel were telling him it was a horrible idea to do so. "Sorry, Zero, did you hear all of that? Don't worry, I'll gladly accept your invitation, but I expect there is more you want to discuss… And where should we meet?"

"You'll be given coordinates by a member of the Black Knights. Goodbye, Prince Schneizel."

Lelouch hung up and put his phone away.

"Hey, Lelouch, are you sure it's a good idea to meet with him? I mean, he is Britannian, and you are Zero. He's going to have a trick up his sleeve to capture you, no doubt."

"I think I might have an offer he won't be able to refuse…"

"Ah, Zero, so we meet again! What a discreet location." Schneizel looked around. He was in a deserted warehouse. Zero sat at a table in the middle of it.

"Please, Prince, have a seat," Zero said. Schneizel walked over to the table and sat down in the seat opposite of Zero. A chessboard lay in front of them.

"Zero, it's your move first."

"Yes, Prince."

Zero moved a piece across the board.

"So, Zero, what is it that you really called me here for."

"I'd like to thank you for coming according to my rules."

"I'm a prince, and it wouldn't be very princely to not obey rules, would it? Now, tell me why you called me."

It was Zero's turn again. He moved the King a space. "I want to ask you: how badly do you want to become Emperor?"

"Moving the King? I believe you used this same tactic last time we played this game. You know, you remind me of somebody…" Schneizel moved a piece. "I would love to become emperor. I mean, who wouldn't? Of course my father is already the emperor, and being that I'm only Second Prince of Britannia, I won't have a chance. As you know, my older brother Odysseus is next in line for the throne."

"I can change that. I can make you emperor. I can kill the emperor and make it look like you sent people to do the job. That'll rightly make you emperor, no?"

"I suppose that could work, but how do you know I'd actually want to be emperor that badly?"

"Don't tell me you've never thought about killing the emperor. You hate how he does his job, don't you? You think you'd be a much better ruler, and I believe you could be."

"Why would you want me to be emperor? That would just mean you'd send out for my death, and that mean I'd be dead and so would my father. Then, after you kill me, that'd rightly make you the ruler, am I correct? Is that your plan, Zero? By the way, Check."

Zero studied the board and moved his King out of the way for danger. "You thought that out quickly. I think you know what I want in exchange."

"Hah! What, Area 11? You already own that cute little island. Is that not enough? Check."

Lelouch moved his king again. "No, my "cute" island isn't enough. Don't play dumb, you know I'm out to liberate Japan. Do you want you father dead or not? If you don't, I have better things to do than play chess with you."

"I'll tell you what, Zero, if you make me emperor, I'll think about giving you Area 11."

Think about it? That's not good enough… I've come this far though… I might as well. At least I won't be emperor again, Lelouch thought to himself. "Okay, Prince, you have a deal." Lelouch threw a picture on the table. Schneizel picked it up.

"Oh… It appears my father is already dead? What great news. Now I believe that makes me emperor. Are you stupid, Zero? You went as far to murder the emperor, but you didn't bother to make yourself ruler? You truly are stupid. Now I'm emperor, and I still own Area 11."

"I was trying to be civil, being that you are my brother. It looks like I'll have to kill yet another one of my beloved siblings." Lelouch took of his mask and set it on the table.

"Oh my, what a surprise. Well, not really. I figured you might have been. I haven't seen you for a long while, but I remembered that you always used the same tactic in chess. Zero used the same one, too. It looks like I win again, though, Brother." Schneizel moved a piece on the chessboard. "Check Mate. You actually think you're going to kill me? I was related to the emperor, so of course I won't play by the rules. Now, kill Lelouch."

Suddenly the door of the warehouse broke open and several Britannian guards ran in.

Lelouch's eyes lit up. "All of you: die!"

"My dear Lelouch, don't play such games. You do know that you're the dead one here, right?" Schneizel said.

The guards brought their weapons to their own heads and fired.

"No, Schneizel, I believe you're the dead one." Lelouch turned to his brother. "You know, I don't think I can kill another sibling, but I can't believe you would go as far as killing your own father and all of these guards… Your sanity is gone, dear brother. You've literally become a murdering psychopath!"

Schneizel's eyes lit up. "Goodbye, Brother." Lelouch walked out of the warehouse. Schneizel grabbed one of the guard's guns and ran after him. He exited the warehouse, but Lelouch was gone.

"We mourn the loss of the 98th emperor of Britannia, Charles zi Britannia: murdered by his very own son and Second Prince to the throne, Schneizel el Britannia. I declare myself the new emperor, Odysseus eu Britannia!"

Lelouch watched the live coverage of the emperor's funeral with the rest of his school. Rivalz leaned over to Lelouch, saying, "Hey, can you believe this? The emperor's actually dead… I know I can't."

"I believe it, but now his son is going to rule… All of his children are just as corrupt as he is… Every last one of them…" Lelouch told Rivalz. Even me… Especially me, but I will change. I'll be better than him, and I will take his empire down…

The next day, Lelouch sat with a crowd of people, all morning the loss of Rolo Lamperouge. Two funerals in a week… Lelouch thought to himself, and both two people I hate… who just so happen to be family.

After the funeral, Lelouch stood at the freshly packed dirt, eying Rolo's grave. People kept coming up to him and telling him they were sorry for his loss; he wasn't sorry, though. Even with finding out Rolo was his true brother, he still hated him. He wished Rolo could have been different, but was glad he killed him. He was glad he saved Shirley, and he was glad he killed Nunnally's imposter: the imposter his father switched all of his memories of Nunnally with.

"Hey, Lelouch, I know this has to be hard on you, and I really don't know what to say… I just hope you're going to be okay," Rivalz said to Lelouch. Everybody in the student counsel surrounded him.

"Guys, I'll be fine, really. I promise: I don't hate anybody for this. I do wish things could have been different, but he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time… Really, guys, I'm fine," Lelouch explained.

After a while, the student counsel left, all but Lelouch and Shirley.

"Hey, Shirley, now that you've regained your memory and have joined my fight, I think I should tell you the truth about everything."

"Um… What do you mean, Lulu?" Shirley asked.

"I'm the emperor's son: Lelouch vi Britannia…"

"Well that explains why Nunnally is the viceroy now…"

"Right, but about Rolo: he was my real brother, too."

"Lulu… I didn't know… I'm sorry…"

"It's okay. He deserved it. I couldn't live knowing you were murdered by my own brother. My father told me he was taken from my mother when he was a baby. He told me this right before I murdered him."

"You… Killed him, too? It wasn't Schneizel?"

"No, I killed him. I hated him, just as I hate all of my siblings; all but Nunnally. I hate Britannia… I hate it because it's my father's… I hate him because he disowned my sister and me… I hate him because he ruined Nunnally's life with his Geass. You know, Nunnally can actually see and walk, but my father used Geass to make her crippled and blind."

"Lulu…" Lelouch looked up at Shirley when she said this. She wrapped her arms around him and hugged tightly; he did the same.

"…I promise I will do whatever it takes for you to accomplish your goal and defeat Britannia, and to free Japan," she finished. "I promise, Lulu…"

-OKAY… The next chapter I will get on with the story more… You have my word xP Schneizel's kind of a bastard, so I wanted him to get out of the way.