Yo, humble internet Review whore Kyugan here, with another little ficlet that's been swimming around in my head.

enjoy!


Chapter 1: Reawakening.

"Don't kill him!"

Lelouch's eyes snapped open, gazing forwards in alarm, even as the sound of a gunshot pierced through the air. He blinked, gaping in confusion as a lock of green hair fell past his face, eyes wide as he gaped open the group of Britannian soldiers lined up before him, weapons at the ready. 'Where?' the former Emperor wondered, looking around in confusion, only to blink in shock as he recognized the green-haired figure at his feet "C.C?!"

"Well now what a shame." The leader of the soldiers drawled, smirking up at the teen, his gun aimed right at Lelouch's face, unaware that he was drawing on the 17th heir to the throne of Britannia "We burst into the terrorist hideout, only to find that the female hostage had already been tortured to death…what do you think, Schoolboy?"

"This…this can't be…" Lelouch muttered, looking about in confusion, gaping at his hands, noting with surprise that, rather than his bloody, white imperial clothes, he was in his old school uniform from Ashford academy "What…how…?"

A hand on his ankle caused him to look down, eyes wide as he saw C.C's hand clutching at his leg, despite her fatal head wound.

'What are you waiting for?' the familiar, almost mocking voice chided, the world around Lelouch whiting out as he felt that alien touch of the Geass master's mind brush against his own 'You don't want it to end here…not after coming all the way…?'

'Cera…' the former emperor breathed, whispering her true name, his gaze hardening, left eye twinging at the familiar feeling of his Geass activating, 'You better have a damned good explanation for all this!'

'Perhaps…' came the cryptic reply, even as C.C's hand relaxed, dropping to the floor next to her as Lelouch rose to his feet.

"What's the matter?" the commanding officer demanded, his tone as condescending as it had ever been as he watched his supposed victim rise to meet his doom "Something to say, Schoolboy?"

"All of you," Lelouch muttered, unveiling his active Geass for all to see, the crimson wings freezing the men in their tracks as he smirked at them all "Die."

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It had taken but a moment for Villetta to turn up, even less time for Lelouch to use his Geass to trick the dark skinned woman into surrendering her Sutherland and firearm. It had been tempting, oh-so very tempting, to simply blow the woman's brains out then and there, and thus save himself future grief, but the former emperor dimly recalled Ohgi having some relation with her or other, and so couldn't bring himself to do it. If push came to shove however…well that was for another day.

'It would appear that time has reset…' he muttered, narrowing his eyes as he gazed out upon the battle-torn remains of the Shinjuku slums 'Is this the power of Geass? Or is it something else…?'

Pushing such thoughts aside, he instead focused on the still form of C.C, resting against his torso as he piloted the Sutherland away from the tunnel and towards the battlefield to avoid suspicion. He'd bandaged her head to stem off the bleeding, though there really wasn't any need, seeing as she could hardly bleed to death.

'I don't know what's going on here…' he muttered, squatting the Sutherland down in a remote area, calling up the identification screen to determine the situation 'But I can get answers soon enough…right now I have a battle to win.'

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Kallen Stadtfeld cursed as she tried to outrun the Britannian forces in her outdated, one armed clunker of a Glasgow. The new Military Sutherlands were proving far more agile and powerful than her own Frame, and it was hard going simply to keep from getting shot in the back as she went around trying to draw their attention away from Ohgi and the rest, a fact made no less difficult by the Frame's dwindling battery.

"Dammit! Only thirty minutes left?!" she cursed, looking up at the power reading on her faltering Knightmare with desperate trepidation, even as the comm-link went off, her head snapping up in confusion.

"The west entrance." An unfamiliar voice ordered, Kallen blinking, wondering who the hell this joker was that had hacked their signal, and HOW he'd managed it in the first place "Use the tracks to move to the west entrance."

"Who is this?!" the redhead demanded, her voice laced with anger and suspicion, even as she weaved between the buildings, wondering of their security, such that it was, had been breached "How do you know this code?!"

"You haven't changed…" the voice noted, sounding oddly amused as he chuckled over the radio "Still as fiery tempered as ever…Regardless, if you want to win, you're going to have to trust me."

"To Win?" Kallen repeated, as if questioning the mystery man's sanity, as the very idea of turning the odds against the Britannian forces seemed staggering. Also, from the way he spoke, it was as if he knew her from somewhere, but she didn't recall hearing anyone like that before.

Still, it wasn't like she had a lot of options left, and at the very least she could drive the enemy away from the others.

So following the advice of the mysterious caller, she climbed onto the abandoned rail-tracks, racing along the subway lines, cursing as two enemy Sutherlands, one piloted by Jeremiah Gottwald himself, followed hot on her tail.

"Eyes front, Kallen." The mysterious voice instructed, the redhead looking up just in time to see a train moving towards her, leaping over it even as Jeremiah's Sutherland stopped the vehicle in it's tracks, his back-up leaping into the air after her.

A Blaze Harken lashed out from the side, knocking the enemy Sutherland for six, Kallen's eyes widening as she followed the rappelling anchor back to one of the destroyed buildings, where another Sutherland lurked.

"Shot by friendly fire?!" Jeremiah gaped, his outraged voice sounding over the intercom as he turned to regard the threat "You there! What's your name and unit?! We're after the one armed Glasgow-!?"

The Commander's answer came in the form of a hail of bullets, as the treacherous Sutherland opened fire on the commander, holding him in place long enough for Kallen, in her one-armed Glasgow, to punch the mech's face in, Jeremiah ejecting the cockpit before the finishing blow could land.

"Whoever you are, thanks!" Kallen offered, smirking up at the building her unknown assistant had been lurking in "How'd you get your hands on a Suther…land?"

The building was abandoned, her secret benefactor having long since made his escape. The fact he'd managed to do so without a sound only hinted at how good he was at reading a situation.

"Kallen!" Ohgi's voice called out, the rebel leader racing up to her along the tracks, flanked by the rest of her buddies, those that had managed to survive the attack anyways "What the hell was that radio message earlier?!"

"He contacted you too?" the redhead exclaimed, looking down at her buddies in confusion, even as the radio crackled again.

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"Good to see you're alive, Ohgi." Lelouch applauded, smiling as he the groups' gasps at their leader's identity being known carried over the airwaves, wishing he could see their expressions "As a reward, I present to the cargo in that train over there." He paused as the group turned to regard the train that had distracted Gottwald, Kallen using her Glasgow to open the side "They're tools for your victory, if you want to use them to win, then follow my orders."

"Who in the hell're are you?" Tamaki snapped, the irate rebel's voice practically screaming into the former emperor's ear, Lelouch holding the radio away, grimacing at the sheer volume "How'd you-HOLY SHIT?!"

"I see you approve of my gifts." Lelouch chuckled, ear smarting, but it was worth it to imagine the look on the mouthy rebels face as he gaped at the Sutherlands inside the cargo "Kallen," he called out, earning a startled gasp from the redhead "refit your Glasgow with a new battery pack but remain in it, your unit is going to run decoy."

"Y-Yes!" the fiery rebel stammered, sounding oddly flustered over the radio, even as her fellow rebels let out whoops of joy as they clambered into the sutherlands "But, how on earth do you know-?!"

"Who you are?" Lelouch interrupted, his smile sad as he recalled a distant kiss in a long forgotten hallway "I probably know you better than anyone…" his tone hardened "Enough about that, you should have less than fifteen minutes left, recharge and wait for my instructions."

Breaking contact, the former Demon Emperor leant back in the Sutherland's chair with a sigh, a hand over his face as he tried to get himself under control 'Calm down.' He muttered, grimacing as the memory of Kallen's betrayed face looking up at him, his eyes hardening with determination 'It won't be the same…not this time…there are more important things to think about now…'

Like the Lancelot. The infamous white Knightmare that had proved a thorn in the Black Knight's side since their first, unofficial battle, here in Shinjuku. A part of him considered letting the scene play out exactly the same, as there as no way the rebels could fight in Military Issue Sutherlands.

But another part, the part that held a grudge, wanted to make it clear that THIS time, the White Knight wouldn't be as domineering a foe as before.

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Clovis Vi Britannia, third prince of the empire and third line for the throne, lounged in his command center, watching with a hint of bored annoyance as his tacticians tried to flush the filthy Eleven terrorists out of their holes like the rats they were.

It really shouldn't have been taking this long, how hard was it to flush out a bunch of vermin with only one, outdated Glasgow on their side? Especially considering he'd given the soldiers free reign to execute anyone on the scene.

"Enemy sighted!" one of the soldiers reported, the prince's eyebrow quirking as he noticed the red Glasgow's signature appear on the map.

"A Feint?" he scoffed, sounding appropriately bored with the situation "How very pedestrian of them…"

His lackadaisical attitude quickly changed when an entire squad of Sutherlands was suddenly wiped out. From that moment, things deteriorated in a hectic scramble for information, as unit after unit dropped like flies to the enemy's tactics.

"How can this…" the prince stammered, watching as his general's strategies were read and countered, almost as if the enemy were reading off a script "Terrorists have our military weaponry?!"

He stood up, a scowl on his regal visage even as Bartley tried to change the codes for the fifth time, in a bid to cut off enemy sabotage "This failure is unacceptable!" the blonde monarch snapped, striding towards the balding, portly commander in a rage, only to pull up short as an annoying, bespectacled figure appeared on the main screen.

"Good Afternoon-!" Lloyd greeted, the smug, ambiguous master of pudding smiling at the frazzled command crew, ignoring Bartley's orders to get off the monitor "I'd say it's time to deploy the A6 special weapon."

"We've no time for this right now!" Clovis stated regally, glaring at his elder brother's annoying subordinate as he advanced on the map, just as yet another one of their squads went down "Bring up Quincy's squad!" he held up a hand to silence Bartley's protests "Reinforce the breach in the encirclement with some of the forces guarding me, all we know for certain is that enemy forces are HERE."

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"Just like last time," Lelouch scoffed, watching as Clovis' retarded attempt at cornering the rebels went into action "Honestly, it's almost pitiful how easy he made this the first time around."

Snorting, rearranging the slumbering C.C to that she was resting against his chest, Lelouch brought up his communicator and hailed his Red Queen "Kallen, You should have an area map, right?"

"Y-Yes." The redhead agreed, startled at his sudden hailing, having been focusing on avoiding the enemies attempts to drive her out into the open "I have a map, but it doesn't have any current landmarks."

"Not a problem, it'll do." Lelouch assured her, his tone reassuring as he watched Clovis' half baked attempt at encircling his forces with the same air of a professional critic watching a sub-standard production "Mission no.3, is everything prepared?"

"Y-yes." Kallen admitted, the tone echoing slightly due to her moving her Glasgow underground, her Id-signal no doubt confusing the living hell out of the encircling Britannian forces milling around up top.

"Very well." Lelouch chuckled, wishing he had a chess piece in hand as the redhead used her Blaze Harken to destroy the support wall holding up the Shinjuku main street "With this, I call check…" He smiled, watching as the plume of smoke brought on by their last move rose above the fractured Shinjuku skyline, the Rebels joyous cries audible over the airwaves. "Don't let your guard down." He ordered, tone cutting through their jubilation like a lance "The battle isn't over just yet, the enemy have yet to deploy their ace…"

"Ace?" Ohgi queried, the confusion evident in the rebel leader's tone as the rest of the rebels muttered amongst themselves in understandable confiusion "Exactly what do you mean by 'ace'?"

"The enemy has a new, experimental Knightmare frame at their disposal," Lelouch revealed, wondering what kind of expression the rebels were sporting now "it outstrips the Sutherlands by a tremendous margin."

"What the hell?!" Tamaki snapped, the irate Rebel practically spitting over the airwaves in his ire, Lelouch patting himself on the back for his decision to tape the radio to the wall "You mean you sent us out in these clunkers for nothing?!"

"Not at all," Lelouch countered, smirking at the brazen Japanese's attitude "We already have the enemy in check, now we just have to move in for the kill…"

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Kururugi Suzaku, son of the late Prime Minister Kururugi Genbu, frowned as he slipped into the cockpit of the experimental, 7th generation Knightmare Frame, Codename Lancelot. He had to admit, it was kind of exciting, being the one to take the frame out on it's maiden mission, but on the other hand, the fact that Lelouch could still be out there, and that he'd be facing off against his own countrymen.

'No.' he muttered, shaking his head as he entered the man-machine interface, the identity code registering with the mech's onboard computer 'They made their choice, nothing can come from terrorism.'

Seizing the controls, the honorary Britannian's features set into a determined scowl as he commanded the mech to crouch in a runner's start, waiting for the launch permission from Lloyd and Cecile.

"Lancelot: LAUNCH!" the blue haired assistant called out, Suzaku flipping the throttle to full, racing off the transporter and into the ruins of Shinjuku at top speed, ignoring Lloyd's jubilant laughter about his 'Running full throttle out of the gate'.

The Lancelot handled even better than in the simulations, responding to his slightest touch, turning on a dime without losing any forward momentum. Unlike in the simulations however, Suzaku had to contend with the bullet wound he'd received for refusing to kill Lelouch.

'Lelouch…' he muttered, recalling his childhood friend, the disowned prince of Britannia that had been sent to stay with his family as a child, along with his blind, invalid sister Nunnally 'Did you make it out? Or did they…?'

Cecile had assured him that there had been no reports of a Britannian schoolboy being uncovered, which was a mixed blessing. On the one hand, it meant Suzaku had no idea if his friend was still alive, but on the other, it meant Lelouch's identity was safe.

Britannia believed fully that the 17th Prince and Princess had been killed during the initial occupation of Japan, a fact that Suzaku fully intended to keep that way.

He knew that Lelouch had no love for his homeland, had even vowed revenge for their casting him and Nunnally aside. It was one of the reasons he'd joined up as a Britannian soldier, to ensure that no harm came to them ever again.

His thoughts were interrupted as a hail of gunfire caused him to veer off course, whipping round only to find that the enemy had retreated from view.

"Using the ghetto's to their advantage…" he muttered, charging in the direction of the gunfire, only to yell as several rounds slammed into his back, knocking him out of his charge "From behind?!"

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'Sorry, Suzaku…' Lelouch muttered, watching with a detached expression as he directed the rebels in a dangerous game of keep-away with the white Knight 'But I can't have you interfering.'

"It's just like you said!" Ohgi reported over the radio, the sound of gunfire in the background as his cell kept Suzaku distracted, firing at him from amidst the rubble "Shit! He's deployed some sort of energy shield!"

"Fall back for now," Lelouch ordered, mind calculating as he pulled up everything he recalled about Suzaku's fighting style and the Lancelot's capabilities "Tamaki, the second he makes to advance, aim at the back of his legs. Kallen, are you in position."

"You sure this'll work?" the redhead asked, her voice laced with uncertainty, and a hint of fear, as she watched the faster, more agile mech lunge after her friends, deflecting their bullets and swiping at them with Blaze Harkens.

"Positive." Lelouch offered, features grim as he severed the connection "C'mon Suzaku…"

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"This is crazy!" Suzaku cursed, whipping his shields around in a bid to ward off the continuous assault from the hidden enemy, even as the attacks from the rear kept up "It's like they were expecting me!"

"Suzaku? What's the problem?" Lloyd called in, the scientists voice sounding oddly concerned, no doubt worried about his precious Lancelot's debut being spoiled, though losing a pilot like Suzaku would a close second.

"The enemy has me pinned down in the slums!" Suzaku reported, using his grapples to leap onto a small building in a bid to get to higher ground "They're moving between the buildings, so I can't get a lock on them!"

"My, resourceful chaps aren't they?" Lloyd noted, sounding of all things amused by this interesting little wrinkle "Still, no one ever said war was clean…true victories require on the spot thinking and strategy."

"You certainly sound like you're enjoying yourself!" Cecile snapped, concern for Suzaku in her tone, even as Lloyd's pained wails echoed over the radio, the scientist begging his assistant to release his ear "Suzaku-kun, fall back for-!"

"Whoa!" Suzaku yelled, his eyes widening in horror as a hand punched through the roof he was standing on, grabbing the Lancelot's leg and holding the mech in place "They've got me-!"

Gunfire rained down on the mech from all sides, Suzaku cursing as he was knocked around the inside of the cockpit, looking up through the monitor to see the enemy surrounding him on all sides, perched on top of the taller buildings as they unloaded round after round into Lancelot.

"Dammit!" he swore, activating his shield to deflect the worst of the barrage, whilst leveling one of his Blaze Harkens at the hand holding him in place "Let go of me you-!"

A crimson fist came out of nowhere, the red Glasgow that had been reported on the battlefield punching Lancelot right in the face, sending the slimmer mech crashing into the roof, which crumbled beneath the force of the blow.

The last thing Suzaku heard as he blacked out was Cecil screaming his name over the radio as Lloyd had a panic attack in the background.

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"We did it!" Kallen cheered, pumping her fist as she watched the white Knightmare sink into the depths of the abandoned building, buried under several tons of collapsed steel and concrete.

"Whoever this guy is he knows his stuff!" Tamaki whooped, firing his rifle wildly in a victory salute, amidst cheers of approval from the others, several rounds of ammunition emptying into the clear, suddenly very sunny skies.

"All of you," their mysterious benefactor ordered, snapping them out of their revelry "fall back immediately and evacuate the civilians, use the Sutherlands as cover but avoid the remaining Britannian forces if at all possible."

"What about you?" Kallen asked, looking around in concern, trying to spot the red-masked Sutherland amidst the rubble, even as Ohgi set about ordering the rebels to disperse "Who are you?"

"I am Zero." The mysterious voice intoned, several resistance members blinking in confusion, muttering to themselves at the man's choice of alias "The man that will destroy the corrupt Britannia."

"Destroy-?! Wait!" Kallen exclaimed, only to blink as the line cut off without further ado, leaving her staring at her radio in awe "Zero…who is this guy?"

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'That should give them something to think about…' Lelouch chuckled, parking Villetta's Sutherland behind an easily accessible ruin, out of sight of the half-assed patrols that remained to guard Clovis' transporter.

Disembarking from the frame, leaving the slumbering C.C after checking on her one last time, the former emperor slipped into a uniform he'd swiped from one of the guards on the train, buckling the helmet in place before advancing on the trailer, smirking at the paltry resistance he met on the way.

'You'd think with the enemy wandering around Clovis would have his men shoot any suspicious persons on sight.' Lelouch noted, smirking even as he used his Geass to override the mind of the lone guard, slipping into the transport before making his way up to the command center, pausing only to cut off the lights to the upper floors as he did so.

"Who the hell are you?!" Bartley demanded, the portly general seeing only a worthless soldier that had dared break into the command center during a black out "Don't just stand there you idiot! Get the lights back-!"

"All of you, leave the transport." Lelouch ordered, smirking even as Bartley's rotund face went slack, the loud mouthed general and his subordinates filing out, leaving only a confused Clovis in the room.

"Bartley!" the prince yelled, looking after the general in confusion as the man, along with the rest of the bodyguards, sauntered out of the room in a trance "Where are you going! Get back here this instant you-!"

"So petulant, Prince Clovis." Lelouch chuckled, smirking as his elder brother directed his angry glare towards him, the look quickly turning to one of shock as the elder prince espied the drawn gun in the Lelouch's hand "Calm yourself, it wouldn't do for you to seem out of place when you order a retreat."

"Are…Are you with the terrorists?" Clovis demanded, flinching as the shadowy figure advanced on him, gun in hand, before his brow settled into the trademark Britannian Noble look of scorn "Do you intend to kill me?"

"Not just yet…" Lelouch muttered, smirking at his elder brother, stepping into the light, his Geass active in his left eye, even as Clovis' own eyes widened in shocked recognition "First, I need you to call off the attack, have your men pull out of the slums, the Eleven's are not to be harmed any further."

"Yes…" Clovis intoned, his voice laced with the hypnotic suggestion of the Geass, even as he reached for the microphone to broadcast his final orders to the doubtless confused troops stillmeandering around the ghetto.

"It's too bad." Lelouch muttered, leveling his handgun at his elder brother's face, waiting for the order to wear off before he pulled the trigger "Seeing as I've been given a second chance, I'd have preferred to do things differently…" his eyes narrowed in resolve "But you've committed too many atrocities to be allowed to live."

Clovis' final speech ended the exact second that Lelouch pulled the trigger, the third Prince, eyes widening in disbelief, only having time to mouth the words 'Lelouch-?' before his brains decorated the wall behind him.

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And that'll leave off.

As you can see, I've jumped on the 'second chance' bandwagon, taking the Code Geass world for a spin.

What will Lelouch do, armed with his knowledge of the future? Will he set himself up as emperor again?

Not in my book, Lelouch probably feels jaded about the position in my opinion.

Also several plot twists:

1; Lelouch's Geass (left eye) is always active from the start, meaning he has to wear a medical eyepatch (Think Ryoumou from Ikki Tousen).

2; C.C, ever loveable enigma, is 'awake' as well, so she knows everything Lelouch does.

3; Lelouch's a lot bolder this time round, especially with the ladies. (This WILL be a harem fic if it gets off the ground)

4; Expect SERIOUS Britannian Pwnage (I blame my irish blood).

other than that, it basically sticks to cannon...save Lelouch actually FLIRTS with people.

Anyone interested in seeingthis get off the ground, lemme know!

C.C: There will be Pizza.