"Speech"

'Thoughts'

"Geass"

"Telecommunication"


Genbu Kururugi was greeting a visitor. Normally, not everyone who knocked Kururugi Shrine's front doors was granted an audience with the prime minister himself. However, the information that this visitor brought to him was too critical for him to pass up.

"Miss Lamperouge, is it? How do you fare your stay?"

"It is fine, except there is a huge number of stairs to climb and as many numbers of eyes that watching me."

Genbu ignored her rude comment. It was true that he did put her under the heavy surveillance. She had rights to complain about her treatment during her stay in the shrine. He didn't want to treat his potential ally this way either, but when the national security is at stake, one can never have enough precautions. "We have managed to verify the information you gave us."

Miss Lamperouge just sipped her tea, waiting for him to continue.

"May I ask how did you come across those documents?"

She took another sip.

"Then perhaps who is this Zero character is?"

Then another.

The prime minister raised his voice with frustration. "Miss Lamperouge, please understand your situation here. You just came out of nowhere saying that Britannia will declare war on us less than a week. But we know nothing about you or the person who sent you. Who knows who you are working with? It can be one of our enemies, or perhaps the Empire itself."

"Does it discredit the accuracy of my information?" Her stoic voice didn't even falter at his accusations.

"It doesn't. However, the truth can be as deceptive as the lie itself, if used properly."

"Zero 'persuaded' some high ranking officials in the Britannian military to obtain such information. And that is all I can tell you. I can't tell you about his identity nor his contacts."

"Then what do you want from all this?"

"As a proxy of Zero, I want to stay here and observe for a while to deliver whatever further message and information he sends to you."

The prime minister pondered over her request. He still couldn't figure out the woman in front of him, and a person pulling her strings can be trusted. However, if they were his enemies, they would have approached him more tactfully. Furthermore, he needed every leverage he could get for the upcoming war.

"Very well. You may stay. You will have to be searched thoroughly, for weapons, of course."

"I already gave you my pistol at the gates, but if you insist."

Miss Lamperouge let his men search through her belongings. She carried a small briefcase and a big wheeled suitcase, probably the main reason why she complained about the number of the stairs in the shrine. Contents of the suitcase were nothing of interest, just things that any other travelers might carry around. The only odd object was a giant yellow plushy doll, but it came clean. (It was good for bodyguards that they had a metal detector at their disposal. if they had tried to cut the doll open to see if anything dangerous was inside, she might have strangled them to the death.)

However, there was something of interest in her briefcase.

"OSI agent? What is the meaning of this?" The prime minister asked inquisitively, looking at her OSI ID card. What kind of game are these Britannians playing?

"It is a useful mask when doing this kind of work, providing military secrets to a presumed invasion target. The real 'black' agents do not carry those. Do you really think I am foolish enough to carry it around if I am a real spy?"

She said stoically and continued. "And, to save your troubles, trying to verify my identity will be a futile attempt. There is no agent with a name of Cera Lamperouge on any of the records. It is fake." It was one of the fake identities she obtained when she was the leader of the Geass Directorate. It was quite useful, especially when walking into the would-be warzone. Although, using Marianne's surname was maybe a mistake.

Genbu was not satisfied with the answer, but he grudgingly accepted the fact that at least it was a reasonable explanation.

After everything was searched through, the proxy of Zero spoke. "Good. There is one more message from Zero. You may consider the option of hampering the invasion force with your own army while waiting for international intervention, but it will only delay the inevitable. The foreign powers will not be much of help. The best course of action will be surrender early and to save and hide away your troops for the underground resistance."

"There is no way I will abandon my duties." He replied firmly. "Is that all he wanted to say?"

"For now, yes, and don't tell me I didn't warn you." She said with a sigh. She and Zero both knew that the prime minister, or any other national leader with a sense of responsibility in that matter, won't accept their suggestion, but they had to try, at least.


At August 10, 2010 a.t.b., the Holy Britannian Empire declared war on Japan. Japanese were aware of the invasion beforehand and prepared for it with their best abilities during a little time they had. However, superior firepower and their new war machine, 'Knightmare frame' Glasgow stomped the entire nation in a heartbeat. They were losing, badly.

There was hope yet, though. The other two superpowers, EU and Chinese Federation quickly intervened against the Empire's aggression. They immediately embargoed the Empire and demanded a withdrawal of all forces. The Empire reluctantly invited the other two superpowers into negotiation. Japan was excluded from the meetings.

The European delegate proudly exited the meeting place. He just completed the negotiation of the centuries. While both the Republic and the Federation sent their best diplomats, the delegation of the Empire was led by none other than the Emperor himself. Yes, he may possess some diplomatic skills as a ruler of a nation, but unlike them, he is no professional. The delegate smirked. He entirely dominated the negotiation towards the benefit of the United Republic. The Empire agreed to fallback from Japan, and pay substantial reparations for the aggression, and for the economic loss, the other superpowers suffered because of the embargo. It couldn't have gone better.

Yes, he can remember the whole process, the most shining point of his career, clearly.

He exited a building, and there was a large number of reporters waiting outside. (Although the media was not allowed to enter the meeting room, the whole process was recorded, and the entire world was watching from the outside.) Something was strange though, he was able to tell from their faces that they were full of confusion and puzzlement.
Soon, the reporters swarmed into his direction.

"Is it true that the Empire will continue the war?"

"Does that mean EU acknowledges Britannia's aggression?"

''Why did you accepted such unequal terms?"

Baffled by their questions, he desperately looking for clues for what they meant. He found them in the treaty.

'This was not what we agreed upon!' He gasped.

But it was there, signed by delegates from the three superpowers of the world, and the process recorded by the world media. From the look of the Chinese delegations' faces, they must be as much as surprised like them. The terms of the treaty were indeed unequal. Britannia will continue to invade Japan, and EU and the Federation can't do anything against it. There were several disadvantages against Britannian sides as well, but it is nothing compared to what the Empire will eventually gain.

As soon as the context of this 'negotiation of the centuries' was opened to the public, they were outraged. It struck a severe blow to the public approval. The delegation was blamed for their incompetence and impeached with disgrace. Chinese delegation faced the same fate. Later, all those delegates were found dead, killed by an unknown assailant.


The war was now ongoing for six weeks, but it was clear that Japan was doomed to fall. Genbu gathered his families and friends who were staying in the shrine into the courtyard. The shrine was one of the primary targets of the enemy air strike, but thanks to the intelligence from Zero, they barely managed to defend the place, along with some of the other targets. However, it didn't come out completely unscathed. Everyone saw there was a large crater right next to the courtyard and several buildings were collapsed.

He started to speak when everyone gathered around.

"First, I must thank you for your support so far. Probably this is my last farewell to you all."

He turned to a man wearing a military uniform.

"General, thank you for your service so far. Please lead the army well and achieve the victory that we failed to achieve today. Rest of officers and I will try to buy you some time while you lead rest of the army into the underground."

The general saluted.

"Suzaku, now you are the head of the family. Make me proud."

A young boy nodded, while quietly sobbing, with his face covered with his tears.

"Atsushi, Chinese embassy agreed to accept the asylum of the cabinet, or rather, what is left of it. You will be representing the Japanese government from now on."

"Are you sure you are not coming with us? Or your boy, at least."

"No, if I flee, the people of this nation will lose the spirit of resistance. Every man of house Kururugi do their duty or die trying. My son will do the same when the time comes." He shook his head.

The prime minister walked through the rest and delivered a word of encouragement to them one by one. He stopped in front of the foreign guest.

"Miss Lamperouge, while I still don't like your secretive attitude, your alert of the invasion and the enemy plans you provide us later helped us tremendously. It saved us some valuable time. You and Zero have my gratitude. Is there any way I can repay, now is the time for you to ask."

"If you don't mind, I can use a vehicle."

He nodded and ordered a man to lead her to the garage. Before she leaves the yard, he said. "Be safe, Miss Lamperouge."

She turned to see the man one last time. "You too, prime minister."

The man nodded grimly, with a determination in his eyes.


Zero's proxy drove as fast as she can. She already took too much time on her first task, keeping an eye on Suzaku. While she was focusing on the task, she hired several private individuals to keep an eye on her next target. But war made the matter complicated. The last report she received was two days ago, and she never received any report since.

When she arrived at the target's residence, the place was abandoned. Trying not to lose her cool, she asked around to find any clue where they might have gone.

Fortunately, one of the neighbors had an idea. The old man was hostile towards her at first because of her clear western appearance. But she managed to convince him with a lie that the children's father sent her to take them to safety. He told her that the family she was looking for left the place in half a day ago, long before she arrived. She bit her lips and rode in the supposed direction.

It was like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Fortunately, due to the ongoing war, they couldn't have gone much far. It was a pretty perilous journey, but she continued to pursue their trails. She did care about Kallen, after all. She would rather see the redhead alive than dead. Also, it was not like those gun fires and bombings could harm the immortal anyway.

After another half a day, she was finally able to catch up. The car they were driving was identical to the one that the old man explained to her. They were caught by a couple of Britannian soldiers at the checkpoint.

As she drew closer, she could see three people are arguing, and Kallen and her family was watching them nervously.

"Please, let us through! They are family of the 'Britannian' nobleman! These are his children, and he sent me to take them to safety! I can prove it!"

'Huh, the man did send someone to take care of them, didn't he?'

"I said, back off! This is a restricted area, and you are interfering with military operation." One of the soldiers said menacingly.

"Then what are we going to do? Go back through the way we came? The place is literally no man's land!"

"I am not telling you again! Go away!"

Before things became ugly, she quickly parked the car right next to them. The two soldiers visibly tensed as another civilian wandered into their operating area. She took out her fake ID with a fake name on it.

"Agent Cera Lamperouge of OSI. These people are in my custody."

Soldiers became wide-eyed at this sudden revelation. They looked each other, not knowing what to do with this self-proclaimed agent. They called their superior, the sergeant, who also had no idea how to identify the credibility of the ID. This confusion was ended when he called his commanding officer, the captain.

She didn't worry a single bit about revealing her identity. Even though she was not a real agent, the ID itself was genuine, and any officer who could identify genuineness of the ID would know better than to question the agent of OSI. However, things proceeded even better than she expected.

The captain arrived and saluted immediately as soon as he saw her, even without looking at her ID.

"It is an honor to meet you, my lady. I apologize for my subordinates' behavior. You two, escort her and her guests to the safe area."

'How lucky, this man must be one of the officers under the effect of Lelouch's Geass.' She mused.

Despite 'absolute obedience' ability of Lelouch's Geass, his conscience prevented him from making someone into a complete thrall. He preferred to use temporary commands or make one into a sleeper agent. She thought it was kind of self-contradictory, (He is taking away others' will anyway.) but it was his own choice to make.

The sleeper agents act normally as usual, but when the situation demands, they will work on Lelouch's and her demands. And what can be more demanding situation than her request in the middle of the war zone?

Since they were free to move on, she offered Kozukis a place in her vehicle. The mother and two siblings could not refuse her hospitality, especially after she just bailed them out from the trouble. As the employee of Mister Stadtfeld starting their original vehicle, Kozukis got inside the car she was driving, wondering what possible business that an OSI agent has with them.

A giant Cheese-Kun was already occupying the passenger seat, so they had to take back seats. She looked their faces through a rearview mirror. They seemed okay, given the circumstances.

"Thank you, Miss…but why did you intervene on our behalf? Did children's father sent you?" Mrs. Kozuki asked, cautiously.

She chuckled as she started the engine. "It is nothing like that. Prince Lelouch sends his regards."

The two siblings understood the situation. "Did the prince send you? For us?" After the first meeting at Lelouch's birthday celebration, Lelouch did contact them occasionally. But they didn't expect 'this'.

"Yes, he cares about his friends." Of course, this answer didn't make them any less puzzled. She continued. "He is sorry for he didn't do anything to stop the invasion."

"It's…okay. I know it is not his call to declare war or not. What can 10-years-old boy can do? Even if he is an imperial prince." Naoto grimly replied.

'You will be surprised.' Yes. He could have stopped the war with Geass. But the consequence of the action would be far worse than the invasion itself.

"But why did Britannia invade here? Some of my friends lost their home...and even...*sniff*" Kallen sobbed.

'It's all because of the false ambition of the three people, filled with pride.'

The driver lost in thought. She always envied those who can die. Death was a blessing that wasn't granted upon her. However, it wasn't the reason she envied them. People always sought happiness within their short life. Even if they are going to die, they tried and struggled for their happiness, and that is what makes life beautiful. The life she thought she couldn't have until she met a certain someone at the Shinjuku.

Everyone deserves happiness. But the war snatched away their chances from them.

"It is okay, Kallen. They are in a better place. We have to live up to their hopes. For them, for us." Her brother consoled her.

They drove in silence since then, until the soldiers accompanying them stopped and knocked her window.

"Yes?"

"Sorry, ma'am. You have to walk from here. Rules are rules."

"What about our luggage?" She only needed Cheese-Kun, but the others had lots of loads to carry.

"It will be safe if they are parked here. You can come back here when the operation ends."

Trusting their judgment, she only took her briefcase and precious Cheese-Kun and left the car. The people were slightly baffled by giant plushy, but they soon followed her examples, carrying only necessities.

While walking through, she was able to overhear a message coming from a walkie-talkie that one of the soldiers carrying.

"-assaulted enemy headquarters. Bzz…Enemy leadership resisted till death...Bzz...Eliminate remaining-"

She resumed walking.


When they finally arrived safely, she said farewells to the rest of the group.

"Now that I can see you are in good hands," She eyed the man who Mister Stadtfeld sent. "I shall return to Pendragon." In her mind, she is already in Aries villa, swimming in the sea of pizzas. The war limited the late prime minister of Japan's ability to serve her any pizzas. And of course, the boy may need her help, too. What would he do without her? "Don't worry. I will tell the captain to take good care of you."

"Thank you for your help, Miss Lamperouge. Please tell prince Lelouch we really appreciated it." The family thanked her profusely.

"You're welcome. By the way, it's not my name, it is an alias."

"Then what is your name?" Kallen innocently asked.

"Call me C.C.."

"That sounds exactly like an alias." Naoto commented.

C.C. grinned mischievously.


Author's Note : About the negotiation scene; Charles used one of Geass user from the Directorate to command delegates to agree they wouldn't never agree under any normal circumstances. Then used his own Geass to rewrite their memories to erase the memories of the supernatural powers. Then they got Roloed.

The plot will be evolved mostly around 'Lelouch of the Rebellion' characters for the time being. For Leila, she most likely had been adopted by Markal family even before C.C. regained her memories and Europe is out of Lelouch's reach, for now.

And a quick question. What do you think of the idea adding KaLulu into this fic?

I am considering that, but I want to know your opinions before I make the decision. The plot will be resolved either way, but will it broaden the reader base or will it just lose support from the LelouchXC.C. loyalists?