Right, disclaimers! Disclaimers, eh? Disclaimers disclaimers disclaimers disclaimers disclaimers disclaimers. Disclaimers! Hope you're getting all this down!

Also, the philosophical views held by characters in Breath of Life do not necessarily correspond with those of the author's. Unless they sound pithy.

Li Xingke was many things. Warrior. Leader. Loyal son of China. But right now? Right now, Li Xingke was confused. Although, he thought, he had been confused for quite a while, ever since the day the Demon died. It just hadn't been at the forefront of his mind…until now, that is. All those half-formed thoughts, all the unanswered questions he'd tried to forget because the answers frightened him – they were all coming back to him now, triggered by two words from a traitor. If he really was a traitor. If he'd ever been a traitor.

Why had the execution parade been so lightly guarded? He'd thought it was because of the Demon's arrogance, but he wasn't so sure, any more. There were just too many coincidences for it not have been deliberate.

Enough guards to look impressive and dissuade Cornelia's forces from attacking, but not enough to stop one man?

A fearsome warrior, augmented beyond human capabilities and fiercely loyal to his liege, simply allowing that same man, the same former mask of his master, past him without even really attempting to stop him?

Those same forces simply retreating rather than trying to kill their master's murderer? That same knight not even trying to take revenge, not even once?

It made no sense.

Beyond this, he didn't accept the answer Todoh had provided for another one of his questions. Lelouch vi Britannia had made it clear he didn't care for anyone. His own sister, the sister he'd apparently fought for, had been cast away and displayed like a trophy. There hadn't even been a funeral for the Suzaku Kururugi, the Knight of Zero.

And yet, apparently he'd decided to show mercy to the people who'd betrayed him and execute them, rather than stripping them of their very will and strengthening his empire and his rule a hundredfold in one fell swoop. An act completely out of character with anything anyone would expect of the Demon Emperor.

It made no sense.

Then Kallen Kozuki-Stadtfeld, the Red Lotus of Japan, a woman utterly loyal to Zero and thus a woman utterly betrayed by Lelouch vi Britannia, a woman who had every reason to inflict seven types of hell on him… When he'd heard she was both at the prison and all the surveillance equipment had suddenly died on them, the last thing Xingke had expected to see when they turned back on was her standing arm in arm with him. Of course, now that he thought about it, she did seem unusually distraught about his death. But why would she be distraught? He'd heard from the others that she'd loved him, once, but after so many betrayals?

It made no sense.

And now Jeremiah Gottwald, the man who'd reminded him of all the questions surrounding the Emperor's death had started speaking again, in response to a series of frenzied questions. Xingke listened half-heartedly, his mind still deep in contemplation.

"Kallen wasn't going to die with the rest of you. Surely some of you must have wondered why there was so little security on the Emperor's float, am I correct? Surely some of you must have wondered why a band of rebel forces led by the Witch of Britannia, no matter how small, was allowed to come so close to the parade. Especially armed."

Xingke's mind latched on to his last statement. Now, that was another unresolved question. How come the Demon had allowed such a band, perfectly placed to take advantage of any hiccup in the parade should one ever occur, to come so close to him? It was mere seconds after his death that they'd rushed out – rushed out of a building that happened to be right in line with where the float was stopped for good. It was like the masked man had planned it – but there was no way this Zero could have known they were there. The only person, bar the rebels themselves, who could have known they were there… was Lelouch.

Gottwald had continued whilst the general's mind had been occupied with his ponderings, but he quickly brought himself up to speed and replayed the conversation in his head.

"It's almost as if the all the conditions for a successful rescue mission had been met – poor security, allies in close proximity, and of course the so-called Demon Emperor would never expect such a blatant challenge to his rule. After all, he's the man who ruled the world through fear, who could atomize anyone who opposed him… along with the nearest fifty million people.

Or, at least, that's what Emperor Lelouch said to me. It seems this fake Zero had much the same idea."

All around him, he could hear slight gasps; see faces twisting into expressions of disbelief before being tightly controlled. His mind whirred, processing the information Gottwald had given him and comparing it to his own, unfinished conclusions. And he realized something very, very strange. They didn't contradict one another; in fact, they were almost identical. Too identical.

Taking the interpretation they'd been offered, it seemed Lelouch had designed it such that someone under his control could rescue Kallen, and use Cornelia's very own forces to his own advantage – the very thing the Demon would do. Of course, it didn't quite make sense that Lelouch would go to such lengths rather than just releasing her, but then Xingke metaphorically stopped dead in his tracks. If you took what Gottwald said to be true, then the Demon Emperor cared about Kallen, and if that truth was known, her life would have been ruined – not only could she have been used against him, but it would have been equally possible that someone could try and kill her as some form of revenge (unlikely, but not impossible).

However, if you took another interpretation, a ridiculous, impossible interpretation that had nonetheless occurred to him, what Gottwald was saying now would make the perfect cover story in the event that any of the Black Knights ever got around to asking the exact same questions Xingke had been. And it contained just enough truths and half-truths such that it would satisfy almost anyone.

Not only that, but who would look closely at the death of the Demon Emperor closely? He was dead, killed by the man of miracles, the man who had conjured something from nothing so often it was in his job description. Nobody bar the highest echelons of the Black Knights and the UFN knew that Zero had been Lelouch vi Britannia, and they had more important things to worry about than his death… like his survival. So between the story Gottwald had woven and vi Britannia's survival, who would be questioning all the little anomalies that surrounded the death of the Demon?

The picture was slowly becoming clear to him, the wraith that was Lelouch slowly becoming outlined in the fog, framed by the shroud of lies he wore like armour. Xingke realized he'd been right all along – the answers to those questions frightened him indeed. Because they meant that the very man they'd cursed as a demon was the very man who bore that curse willingly, for the sake of the world. The world that had betrayed him, and taken everything he'd ever loved away.

Li Xingke was many things. Soldier. General. Loyal servant of the Tianzi. But right now? Right now, Li Xingke knew that, once again, he'd been played for a fool. Although, he realized, he'd been played for a fool for quite a while now, ever since the day the Demon died. No, it was beyond that – it had been ever since Lelouch had donned yet another mask, one less blatant than that of Zero but equally effective. That of Lelouch vi Britannia, the Devil incarnate and supreme ruler of the world.

A normal man might not be so accepting, but Xingke was first and foremost a man forged in the crucible of war. He understood the need for sacrifice, knew how hard it was to send off men, knowing they would die for the greater good, for victory. All Lelouch had truly done was fight a war against war… and won. He'd turned all his strategic brilliance against the very arena it shined the brightest, using the greatest weapon of war in human history to end them once and for all. And what had he done for his coup de grâce? He'd taken the wounded creature that was the Britannia of his father and slain it with a single thrust to the heart.

He'd used the legacy of two faces to ensure the legacy of the faceless would live on forever. Xingke had never known Lelouch Lamperouge personally, but he suspected he'd been sacrificed so Lelouch vi Britannia could rise in his stead. And then Lelouch vi Britannia had died so Zero could live. It wasn't like the rebirth of the phoenix, for peace had already been forged in fire and blood; it was like… a game of chess. The king had been removed from the board by himself, and now there wasn't anyone else left to fight. No, it was beyond that – there wasn't any reason to fight.

And now, Xingke understood. But there was one more thing he needed to do, for beyond anything else, he would always serve the Tianzi. He turned back to the conversation, away from the twisted trains of thought that had led him to this course, and silenced the rest of the Black Knights as they scrambled to find a flaw, or lie, in Jeremiah's story.

"Zero."

The man turned to him, the Knight of Justice (in a subconscious corner of his mind, Xingke wondered exactly why he'd thought of him like that), and answered.

"Yes, General Xingke?"

"Before I make my decision, I need to talk to my Empress. I promise to you that I will reveal nothing which has transpired here, nor share with her any of my personal conclusions or deductions as to the former Emperor's survival. I simply require advice on a personal matter, one which directly relates to our current situation. It is advice I believe only she can give me. By your leave?"

Zero nodded, and Xingke turned, leaving both the room and the now-confused Black Knights. He returned to his own office, a few floors down, and after setting up the communication line, pressed the button that would begin the link; he couldn't shake the slight sense of nervousness that struck him every time he talked to her, the unconscious need for her approval. And in this, the need for her approval was the only reason he was contacting her. The screen flashed to life, the Tianzi's smiling face the first thing that greeted him.

"Xingke!"

"Empress," he said, bowing his head as he spoke, "I have something I need you to help me with."

He could see the slight furrowing of her brows as she tried to figure out what it could be - he wished her luck with that, because even he didn't quite understand it and he'd seen Lelouch's living, breathing body with his own eyes. He continued, adopting a serious tone to convey his intentions.

"I met a man, once, who in the same day stole and saved something very dear to me. Then he gave it back to me, when he could have easily given it to someone else. So for this, among other reasons, I followed him to war. But this man was a liar, and when I found out the depths of his lies, I cast him out. I would have killed him, but he was saved by another.

When I next saw him, he stole it once more, and I fought him for it. But he won, and so he stole me as well. I thought I had lost myself, and all that was dear to me... only for one of his greatest lies to turn against him, and strike him down at the height of his triumph."

He paused before continuing, giving her time to take in his words.

"But this man was a liar. And it turned out everything I thought I knew about him was a lie, even what I thought were lies. Even when he was telling the truth."

Her voice interjected, soft and quiet.

"What do you mean, Xingke?"

He smiled a rueful smile before answering.

"I thought this man was utterly ruthless. I thought he didn't care what he sacrificed to achieve his goals. I thought he viewed me as merely a piece, to be moved according to his whims. These things were all true, but at the same time they were merely lies, hiding a deeper truth.

He was ruthless because he had to be, because the more ruthless he was the less people had to die. He had to keep sacrificing everyone and everything because otherwise every sacrifice would have been made in vain. And it's true, to him I was just a piece... a piece to be played so that one day I'd never have to play again."

Xingke paused, unsure how to go on. He didn't quite know what to say, or how to say it; a man who still doesn't quite understand what's going on. The moment stretched out, and somewhere deep inside nodded with approval at how regal his Empress looked, waiting patiently for him to continue.

"And now I hold his life in my hand... and I'm not sure what to do. My heart tells me that, despite what he has done, he must face judgement. No, perhaps because of what he has done, justice cannot be denied. Not even for him.

And yet, equally it tells me to let him live. It tells me that there is no punishment I can give him that he has not given himself. It tells me that he is a man thrice-broken, bent and bowed under the weight of all he has lost, a man in desperate need of the peace he blessed me, blessed the world, with.

I thought I knew once, but now… now I do not.

Justice, or mercy? Which side of the blade do I give him?"

He bowed his head, and waited.

Zero waited in silence for the Chinese general to return, mostly to disguise the uncertainty he was sure would be in his voice if he spoke. How had Jeremiah come up with that excuse so quickly? It was more than something he'd made up on the spot; his answers had a polished feel, as if he'd been rehearsing them for hours on end. But how could he have practiced answers to a question he shouldn't have expected to have been asked? The only person who could have given him instructions was Lelouch, and they hadn't spoken since Jeremiah was first removed from the cell. Just what was going on here?

The sound of a door opening quieted the sounds of feverish discussion coming across the communications link; ever since Xingke left, the other Black Knights had taken to wondering what his answer was going to be, what decision he would reach, as well as what they thought should be really done with Lelouch. From what he'd heard, Kaguya seemed to be in favour of Lelouch's idea, as he'd predicted, whilst most of the others seemed against it on general principles, even though by now they could all see how it was truly the only way.

However, Zero knew Xingke's would be the deciding vote – if he supported Zero, his backing, plus that of Todoh's and Kaguya's would be impossible to stand against, since not only would they have the weight of logic on their side, but also the influence of four of the five highest-ranking members of the Black Knights, if one could count Kallen, and the Chairwoman of the UFN. How could they? There wouldn't be many nations in the world that would go against that bloc, even Britannia, not any more.

Of course, if Xingke decided against it…

Before Zero could finish his thought, Xingke, the man he'd just been thinking about, began to speak the words that might just change the world forever, in response to a question from Ohgi.

"What is my answer, Kaname Ohgi?"

Zero heard the slithering rasp of steel matched by the gasps of the Black Knights, and guessed Xingke must have drawn his sword. Before he could so much as speak, he heard the thunk of a blade biting into wood. Had Zero been there, he would have seen the general's blade impaled a foot into the table, testament to the physical power he possessed.

"That is my answer."

Stunned silence was the only thing the masked man could hear; it seemed he wasn't the only one who had no idea what the Chinese warrior meant. It stretched out longer and longer, and it seemed Xingke didn't care to explain, but slowly, Zero came to understand, and he smiled, just as the general started speaking once more.

"A sword is a weapon of war; a weapon designed to slay your enemy. You can defend with one, but in the end you will have to fight back, for a sword is not a weapon to protect life, not truly. In the end, a man with a sword has the potential to kill, to take a life, even to protect another. To take a life in order to save one, what some would call the divine equilibrium. No matter who he is, eventually, a man with a sword will fight, and he will kill.

The Black Knights were swords, once. You, and later I as well, fought as the blades of those who could never fight, as knights for justice, and what is a knight if not a man with a sword? We took lives in order to save them - we were the chosen ones, chosen by Zero to sacrifice our blood for the honour of those who could not.

But that war is over. We slayed the beast, and brought an end. Peace has replaced war, and so I ask you... what use are swords anymore? To fight to protect the peace, perhaps, but does that not defeat the purpose of peace? We cannot be swords any longer, for swords have no place in peace.

But a knight is not only a man with a sword. A knight always has a shield, to defend himself and those who cannot defend themselves. Much like a sword, but a shield cannot be used to take a life, only to protect it. And that it what we must become; the watchers on the wall, the shields that guard the realms of men. The shields that can do everything a sword cannot.

For a shield protects all life, not only that of the defender... but that of the attacker, as well.

And that, Kaname Ohgi, is my answer."

Zero could tell some of the other Black Knights were confused, simply from the silence, and he wasn't surprised; for those born in strife and struggle, for those who'd fought for so many years and for too many battles, the reality of peace would take time to accept. He himself would have been in their same position, had it not been for Lelouch - he had taught him the truth that is inherent in the heart of peace: that true peace comes not from the absence of war, but when those who once waged war with all their might turn that same ferocity onto the defence of peace.

He knew that truth might not make sense to all, but the man who had become the new Zero was at heart a soldier, and try as he might, all he knew was how to fight. The only difference was now he knew what to fight for. Oh, he might have claimed before he knew why he was fighting, but even he could see he'd lost his way. But now? Now he had found it, and so he understood. But it seemed others did not.

"Huh? What does he mean?" Tamaki asked in tones of vague confusion.

Zero could hear Todoh sigh, but before either of them could respond, Kaguya answered him.

"He means that we're not here to fight any more. The war is truly, finally over, and that is what we must understand. And because it is a time of peace, we must act in peace, for peace, rather than act as we would in war. Which means that regardless of what we think he deserves, or what he would have done in our position, or anything like that, we must deal with Lelouch vi Britannia peacefully."

"Peacefully? You mean let him go or something?" Ohgi spluttered, his previously calm facade dropping as what he thought Kaguya was saying sunk in.

"After all he's done?"

Zero nearly laughed at that. If only you knew, Kaguya. If only you knew.

"Peace is not merely the absence of violence - it is the absence of the fear of violence. The absence of hostility. This is what Master Zero has granted us, and we do not deserve to be part of the Black Knights, or the UFN, if we cannot accept it. We cannot treat the former Emperor any different to any other man.

Master Zero has tried executing him for his crimes, and it has failed. Clearly it would be pointless to try again. General Todoh has already explained to us the futility of trying to keep him locked up forever, and considering what Lelouch did to the world without having been tortured for years on end...

We must follow the only course of action we have left, no matter our personal feelings on the subject. The world must come before anything else. Either we redeem the irredeemable, or we have failed in our duty, and we cannot allow that to happen.

If we cannot defend one man from himself, how can we defend the world?"

The rest of the Black Knights muttered amongst themselves, but they were quiet, sullen discussions – the kind of discussions men and women have when they're being forced into something they don't like. Zero did not hear Xingke speak after he told Kaguya her words were "Well said.", and Kaguya equally remained silent. It seemed they, like he and Todoh, were waiting patiently for everyone else to finally come around to their point of view. It took a while, but they did.

"I guess we don't really have any other choice, do we?" Ohgi asked quietly.

"No, we don't." responded Todoh.

"We can't let him go unpunished! No way!" shouted Tamaki.

"In a way, we are punishing him. Lelouch always liked to be in control, didn't he? That's what his Geass gives him – control. That's what Zero gave him – control. That's what Lelouch vi Britannia gave him – control. And now, from ruling the entire world, controlling everything and everyone, he controls nothing. He's still a prisoner, regardless of how easy or hard we make it for him. And he knows full well that, if we wanted to, we could take Kallen away and never let him see her ever again."

"We couldn't do that, General Todoh! True love must be allowed to blossom!" Kaguya cried. Zero smiled as she spoke – it seemed some things never changed. He flicked a switch on the outside of his mask, dampening the sound inside so he could 'speak to the Black Knights without Jeremiah hearing' - although Zero knew very well that Jeremiah could hear him anyway, and it didn't matter, the other Black Knights did not, and so the illusion must be maintained.

"We know that, Lady Kaguya. Not only would it go against the principles of peace, as you so accurately described to us earlier, but I suspect if we tried we'd find out what it's really like to fight Kallen Kozuki in battle."

"No way! Kallen wouldn't do that, would she?" Tamaki almost shouted; luckily, the privacy measures Zero had previously engaged extended to keeping both ends of the communication secret, not just Zero's.

"I really don't think we want to find out. But Lelouch doesn't know that – a man like him would think we're holding that threat above his head, just like what he did to the world with the Damocles. And that gives us another measure of control, the very same control he's so used to having. Therein lies his punishment, Tamaki." Zero responded with an air of finality, before switching back to a more open channel.

Then the door burst open, this time in the Black Knight's headquarters.

She watches them, watches them as their expressions morph into one of collective shock. Even the Japanese general and the imposter knight, although she cannot truly see his face. It amuses her – for all their talk of control, even if she knows it was just a continuation of the act, it seems they do not possess control over themselves. To the rest, it must seem like some form of revenge, something her warlock would do. To those two, it must seem entirely more sinister, for they know that was not what he had planned.

She's not surprised, of course. She expected someone to take advantage of his legacy; and of course, not everyone would have simply laid down their arms once war was ended. The witch wonders if any of them know who's behind it – she does, but it's not information she'd reveal, not to them. She'd tell him, if he ever asked, but she doubts they'll get a chance to meet, not for a long time. She wonders what his reaction would be, if he ever found out. The thought brings an unconscious smile to her face – it's not often anyone truly surprised her warlock, but she suspected that this truth would.

The witch watches them, watching and waiting with the patience of centuries. She wonders if who they're up against will simply destroy them on the spot, or whether they'll simply be toyed with this time, shown how weak they truly are. For some reason, she suspects it'll be the latter. Their opponent is the sort of person who'd do that. They reminded her of Lelouch.

In the skies of Tokyo, hovering like a long-forgotten giant finally awoken from its slumber, the Knightmare waited. It was perfectly silent, like the calm before the storm. It had no wings; angels and demons might require them to fly, but a god did not, and that was what it was – a god amongst men. Just like its pilot, or more importantly, its master, for they were not one and the same.

But now, its pilot decided it was time for the show to begin, to usher in the next act; after all, all the world's a stage. And so a voice reverberated outwards, harsh and mechanical.

"Hear me, Black Knights. Hear me, false Zero. You, all of you, are nothing more than traitorous betrayers, scum fit for nothing more than to be crushed under the foot of the rightful ruler of all humanity, Lelouch vi Britannia. And you dared to murder him? Murder your true and lawful Emperor? The only ones who should kill are those prepared to be killed, your oh so mighty leader once said. So tell me...

Are you? Are you prepared to face the punishment for your sins?"

With that, two of the Knightmare's arms whipped blades from the sheaths on its back, drawing blades that burned crimson in the fading sunlight, crimson like the eyes of a demon. The reflected light rippled across the Knightmare's gunmetal grey body, pooling on it like the blood of a defeated enemy. The third arm drew a menacing rifle, one that matched the colour of the floating god's body, while the fourth merely flexed the viciously sharp claws on its hand - it seemed to be already crushing those foolish enough to challenge it, before the battle had even begun. As the razors closed and snapped open again, the hand began to pulse with a ruddy light; it was as if the power that glowed within was fighting to escape, begging for the destructive release that would herald oblivion.

Its eyes sucked in the light, pitch-black wells of darkness that stared ever-outwards like the abyss as it spoke once more.

"For I am here, and I am judgement!"

Author's Note:

Many, many thanks to theAsh0 for beta-reading this chapter on such short notice, and an equal round of thanks to dw77 for his invaluable services as the Continuity Cop.

Fifty favourites in five chapters make for a happy Magery. Wonder if that number will increase after this one. I hope so. Oh, and nearly a hundred follows. Here's hoping for more =D

The song for this chapter is obviously Hero by Skillet - I suggest you all go and listen to it, and I think you'll easily see why it matches this chapter.

Anyway, I apologize for such a long, long wait, right after I posted the last chapter I had to start doing quite a lot of schoolwork, culminating with my end-of-year/end-of-schooling exams. However, now they're all finished and I'm only a few days off graduating from Year 12 and entering the, well, real world. Obviously the biggest plus side of that is that I now have three months off in which I can write and so on, so I'll attempt to make up for the two or three chapters that would have come out had I not been doing so much work. Plus a whole lot more, of course.

Now on to the chapter itself! Firstly, yes, I am aware you can kill people with a shield. But nobody said I had to let reality get in the way of philosophy, did they?

Secondly, while I do detest using Author's Notes to explain myself (since you can't do that in actual novels and so on), as this is my first fanfiction, nobody knows me or my writing/plotting style well enough for me to just ignore it without turning people away from reading on.

So thus, I think I'll make a few things clear about the 'sudden' appearance of this new Knightmare: it could have been built in canon, whoever built it exists in canon, it is piloted by a canon character, and they were still alive at the end of R2 (people have asked me if it was Bismarck, or Marianne, so I thought I'd make that much clear now to avoid confusion). It is also not the main antagonist, and is the only non-canon Knightmare you will be seeing.

Oh, and one last thing for next chapter… in my opinion, Kallen is the best KMF devicer in Code Geass, followed by Suzaku then Marianne. It'll become clear why I'm saying in time, don't worry =P

Anyway, feel free to review (I like reviews, I'll admit that now, which reminds me, thanks to all the people who reviewed last chapter =D), and I'm looking forward to seeing if anyone will figure out anything that hasn't been revealed yet =D

Until next time,

Magery