Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass. I do own the plot. All songs used belong to their respective artists.

Revolutionaries wait
For my head on a silver plate.
Just a puppet on a lonely string.
Oh who would ever want to be king?
Viva la Vida by Coldplay

Chapter Nine

Lelouch let out a long, drawn out sigh as he relaxed against the tree. Kallen and Suzaku had been sparring for almost four hours (thirty minutes of which were spent trying to get the red-haired pilot to stop petting Lelouch's fluffy ears and matching tail and the next hour spent trying to stop a game of tug-of-war that began between the two Japanese individuals with Lelouch substituting as the rope while Cici just laughed at the sight) with varying results. Currently, the two were at a stalemate with equal victories on either side. "Finish this spar and then let's head back; there's going to be some rain coming in soon and I'm rather not get caught in it," He said calmly.

"Why? Does kitten not like the water?" Cici jeered lightly from her perch a few feet away. She was seated on a rock across from Lelouch, legs hugged to her chest under her knees, her hair drooping over her shoulders and arms in a lazy fashion. Lelouch flashed a haughty smirk her way in response.

"Actually, I was more worried the water would cause you to melt, like that poor woman from the Wizard of Oz," He explained in an equally teasing tone. She smirked at him slightly and made released a small chuckle, stretching herself out and slowly rising back to her feet.

"I'll give you that point, so I'll be heading back to get myself some pizza. Would you like me to bring another one with me for you and Suzaku?" She asked calmly, glancing over just in time to watch Kallen throw the young brunette over her shoulder and onto his back with a satisfied smirk in place. "Something tells me he'll need a little R and R after sparring with her."

"Well, personally, I'd prefer it if you'd bring him and I something other than pizza to eat," He said with a sigh, rising to his feet again and preparing to place his mask back on. He ignored the look of sheer horror that crossed the other's face at his words. 'Though, just for that comment, something tells me you're going to being us a pizza anyway. Oh well; it was worth a try.' Lelouch thought with a sigh as he walked over, offering his hand to the other male.

"Thanks," Suzaku mumbled, taking the appendage. He had to use mostly his own strength to get up, since Lelouch was so weak, and scowled at the red haired female angrily. She merely smiled and hummed lightly, turning on her heels and following after the green haired witch a few paces ahead of her. "You should have warned me that Kallen was a demon outside of a knightmare cockpit too, you know."

"I claim no fault in this, simply because you knew before you two started your sparring that she was trained in the ways of terrorism; physical prowess is a key element for a good terrorist to keep from getting caught," Lelouch said calmly, smooth smirk in place. Suzaku huffed lightly, biting the inside of his cheek to keep from making a smart remark back at the other in response. He knew that, with what was brewing in his head, it would end in a terrible fight and he didn't want them to have another one of those. "Well, anyway, let's head back. I need to complete some more plans." The inky haired male said calmly as he slipped back on his mask.

Suzaku walked behind him silently, a little curious as to why Lelouch felt the need to hide his identity now. 'The Black Knights… Well, actually, the most important powers of the Black Knights have been informed that Lelouch was to take the throne and aid in the creation of a peaceful world, and have even agreed to help in accomplishing said goal now. So why not just tell them that the fallen Britannian prince is actually their leader? Wouldn't that help them remain strict to the plan?' He thought curiously, watching Lelouch's long cape as it shifted with every step. He rolled his eyes at the dramatic style of the entire outfit, though he did have to admit it hugged the other's body rather snugly. 'Then again, he may be afraid of what Toh-Doh might do… He was a colleague of my father's who helped my mother to situate Lelouch and Nunnally being placed in our care. Even if his main reason was to appease my mother, he may think to use Lelouch as leverage. And something tells me that if the Black Knights knew the truth of their self-proclaimed savior they'd turn their loyalties back to their own interests and agree to using him as bait; if the way Kallen abandoned him like a coward on Kamina Island after I said a few harsh words is anything to go by, that is. Especially considering she is their ace pilot and, technically, the Black Knight's equivalent to their leader's knight. Kind of makes me glad that I decided to come here and help; the thought of Kallen being the last defender of Japan's only hope for liberation is somewhat frightening.' He thought with a small scowl, closing his eyes tightly as he tried not to think about the idea he had previously suggested.

Though it went unnoticed to Suzaku, and Lelouch said nothing of it, Kallen sneezed when Suzaku remembered the incident with the red-head. "I must be catching a cold," She mumbled while sniffling lightly.

"But I thought that in Japan idiots couldn't catch colds?" Cici mused with a small grin, hurrying her steps slightly. She was quickly chased by the now furious Japanese woman.

"Oh, how wonderful; now those two are going to be bickering non-stop just because Cici has a little crush on Kallen," Lelouch sighed heavily, shaking his head a little bit. Suzaku jolted up and darted over, catching up to the other and staring at him strangely. He was answered by the small square above Lelouch's Geassed eye going up and the quirking of one black brow. "What? That's how Cici shows that she cares; by making a mockery of people. She only harasses the ones she loves."

"Then what does she do to those that she hates?" Suzaku asked slowly. The masked figure shifted a bit, the eyebrow remaining lifted.

"Do you really want to know?" He asked curiously. When he received silence, the mask returned to shielding his eye and he resumed walking. "That's what I thought. Now no more silly questions, okay? I'm starting to worry that your little brain might just break if I don't take better care of you. Everything needs to be censored and filtered for your safety, after all." He mused worriedly, the other blushing tremendously and following him with a bright blush on his cheeks.

"So while I was away you made contact with a rebellion group from where?" Lelouch asked calmly as he sipped from his water bottle calmly. Due to his need to begin planning some strategies and such, Lelouch had sent Suzaku to get him something to eat instead of trusting Cici with the task; Suzaku knew his taste buds much better than Cici did, considering the witch only ever thought of what she herself would enjoy.

"Hokkaido. They sent there young leader, this scrappy little think, named Takashi to talk with me. They wanted to hear back from you as soon as possible, but that was almost six months ago now. Contacting them may also be difficult due to the recent crack-down on Japanese rebellion forces; Cornelia's on a quest for blood and she isn't letting anyway be free from her fury," She said blandly, seeming more interested in the cheese dipping into her mouth from her pizza than the concerns of the world. In honesty, Cici was more interested and involved than any could know; she feigned disinterest because a part of her was afraid to put faith in Lelouch when there was always a chance of failure. In all her years, Cici had learned that setting herself up for disappointment was most certainly never worth it. "So I didn't know what exactly you were planning for this whole situation. After all, you've just recently come back to the Black Knights and I didn't know what means you'd want to take in regards to this."

"Well, you certainly make an excellent point," Lelouch sighed deeply, resting his head on the heel of his hand, "in regards to Cornelia. Despite my capture and apparent execution, she certainly wants to crush the Japanese for following or admiring me. So, considering this is all a chain reaction caused by me, I assume that makes this my task to repair this. Our first task is to go to Hokkaido and see about locating this rebellion force and offer our assistance. How is Rakshata doing in upgrading the other knightmare frames with the air glade system?"

"Well," Kallen said calmly, "so far she'd about half-way through, since her most recent task has been designing some for the Guren. She finished that but it took a lot more time than she originally estimated. We still have the ships, though, that we used to get them all here in the first place. So, if need be, we can just put the ground units on the ships with their respective pilots. Those of us that have been upgraded could also take to the air."

"No, no. We'll all go on the ships together. For now, however, I do need to get to the ships so I can try to send a signal to Hokkaido and get us direction on where to dock and meet up," Lelouch said with a small sigh, picking up the cape and mask of his outfit. Suzaku scowled slightly, still bothered by Lelouch using the mask to hide his identity to his troops, but kept the feeling inside. "Cici, Suzaku, you two can stay here if you want. Kallen, you will come with me. We need to go get Ohgi as well; he's much better at figuring out the proper frequencies for communication than most of the Black Knights." He said while clipping the cape back in place and then slipping on the mask. Suzaku stood up and followed after he and Kallen, growling when the spiky haired woman cut him off from leaving, bringing up his boyfriend's heels instead.

"Ah, that boy of mine is such a spazz," A voice hummed lightly after the door shut. Cici turned and smirked at the ghost only halfway visible through the wall. From her waist down was invisible until she finally stepped closer and strode to the bed. She flopped down on the edge, though the mattress and sheets did not yield under her. "But that girl is sort of a spazz too. That's probably why you lik her s much; she's a lot like Marianne, only her figure is a little more shapely. Plus you have a terrible weakness for blue eyes."

"Since when have I had a weakness for blue eyes?" Cici asked with a small smirk on her lips, nibbling on one edge of the crust left from her slice of pizza. The other laughed loudly, falling back so that she and Cici were face to face. Giddy green eyes met with skeptical gold.

"Do you not remember that little love affair you had with Mimi, the half-American in our yanki crew? She had blue eyes and you always said that you just loved the hue. That girl –isn't her name Kallen or something?- her eyes are almost the exact same hue; her eyes, I must admit, are a lighter and somewhat more elegant shade but the main point still stands. You're a sucker for a girl with blue eyes."

"Whatever," Cici huffed lightly, glaring off to the side slightly while grabbing another piece of pizza for herself. Rin giggled lightly, a mix of both her amusement of being right and getting the green-haired woman's feather's ruffled, with that somewhat redeeming grin both she and Suzaku could manage. It was, admittedly, one of the main reasons Suzaku was not one of Cici's favorite people; she knew his mother and his resemblance to her made her miss the days before his existence, when things seemed so much more possible. Rin was an incurable optimist back then, and she had rubbed off on the other two girls. "Anyway, what did Marianne have to say when she saw you?"

"Well, first she yelled at me for raising my son to be an impulsive idiot like me," She trailed, holding up a finger as she continued on and listed more things, "and then she yelled at me for coming after him like an impulsive idiot, then she started crying because she was so distraught that I had died, then she was crying because I hadn't come to see her sooner, and then she was back to being angry for all of the above." Cici snorted lightly, trying to hold back her giggles at the story. She could honestly see exactly what she'd been told playing out quite well; Marianne wasn't normally very emotional but when she was it was always quite the spectacle. She briefly wished that she had gotten to be there. "I have a feeling that if I hadn't already been a ghost she would have used her rage to turn me into one. Anyway, we discussed plans and for now she says to just do whatever Lelouch thinks will be best. She said that, since he's the only one of us who isn't dead or having to pose as loyal to the other side or a cynical deathless witch with no Geass, he'll be calling the shots until she can find a chance to get herself down here to help us."

The other nodded wordlessly, letting out a small sigh. Though she was loathe to admit it, she and her comrades really couldn't do anything about the current plans. Lelouch would let her share her thoughts and feelings in regards to planning, but he would always make his own decisions and they would always be successful ones. Rin was now a ghost, meaning she could only voice her opinion through Cici. Marianne was in a host body in Britannia, playing the role of loyal knight to Charles, so she could not share her opinion either. "I guess that really is all we can do… When did we get to be so useless, do you think, Rin?"

"I think that, for Marianne and I, it was after we had kids. For all the trouble that little sonofaprick has put me through, though, I would still rather it be who feels pain than him. And I know that Marianne's desire to take down Charles is partially driven by her rage over what happened to Nunnally because of what V2 was allowed to do," The ghost answered calmly, stretching a little bit as she stood up. There was no feeling as a ghost, but she still liked to pretend she could feel; it made everything seem less real and easier to swallow. "But you still do have the chance to help see this through to the end. Unlike Marianne and I, you are deathless; it is a curse and a blessing, really. You can do what we were unable to, though; you can actually continue fighting without fear of what may happen to you in battle. You will never scar over and you can never experience true death."

"I guess you are right," Cici said with a small, sad little smile. It was the first time she had ever been grateful that she was unable to die.

The next morning, after having a chat with young Takashi about coming to aid he and his group and agreeing on a meeting spot in Hokkaido, Lelouch finally addressed all of his remaining followers in person since his return. He hadn't been expecting the loud roar of applause and cheers, nor how he was attacked by a Tamaki in a death hug. "Oh Zero, buddy, I'm so glad you're alive!" The older male wailed into his shoulder while Lelouch tried to calm the man and pry him done.

"I forgot to mention; he missed you more than everyone else here," Cici sneered lightly as she breezed past, knowing that she was receiving a devious behind that pure black mask. Suzaku's eye was twitching as he resisted the urge to launch at the other male and teach him better than to touch wasn't his.

"So I can see. Thank you for your concern, Tamaki, and I am glad that you are alive and well, too," Lelouch said gently, patting the other's head with one gloved hand. The other looked up with tearful surprise. "You are more important to the liberation of Japan than you suspect." 'And also, if I didn't have a court jester any longer how would I keep from going batty with all the battle plans I have to come up with all the time?' He thought flatly to himself. He then calmly side-stepped the other man and looked to hushing crowd. "You are all more important than I could ever dream of putting into words and I am grateful that you are all here with me today, ready to stand beside me and continue to fight the tyrannical beast known as Britannia.

I am also heartbroken for those we have lost in this war, and fear the death toll rising as we continue to fight. But it is a risk, and a sacrifice, that many brave soldiers have been though! Some of you have seen the gates of Death and lived; other have been taken from us before their time. It is our duty to assure their deaths do not go in vain; a free Japan is what our sights have been set upon and that is what we will achieve!" The crowd cheered again, Tamaki grinning brightly and whistling and whooping it up. "As I'm sure some of you have noticed, we have two new additions to our group in the form of Suzaku Kururugi and Gino Weinberg. Suzaku has been a loyal follower of me since the beginning, fighting only to earn trust and aid in our progress. Gino Weinberg is of a similar story; Gino is a Britannian, yes, but he is a Britannian who does not feel that what his countrymen have been forced to do to foreign lands is something to be proud of. They shall fight beside us and please, if only because you have faith in me, trust them as your fellow warriors of justice."

There was silence among the crowd for a beat, making Lelouch slightly nervous. Finally he heard a deep voice speak out. "Race should not matter; if they want to fight with us, let them," It was Toh-Doh, and the young Britannian boy had never been so happy to hear the older general speak before. All eyes shifted to him. "We have evidence of what Zero says in regards to Suzaku simply in the fact that all who have fought him are alive to tell the tale. And this Weinberg boy, though I know nothing of him, seems like a good child who can see the true evil in the world. Zero has yet to lead us wrong; we should not be anxious of his words now."

'Thank you, Toh-Doh,' Lelouch thought while releasing a slow breath through his nose. He then waited until the new agreeable crowd shifted attention back to him. "We are currently going to begin preparing to head to Hokkaido to assist our fellow resistance group there. Please be sure to gather all your personal belongs and to help others with packing all the things we'll need on to the ships. We have a much larger plan in store but I cannot say more than that until after we arrive in Hokkaido. Have faith in me and we will achieve a bright future soon!" He declared sternly. He exited to the sound of shuffling as people darted off to do as he asked.

End

So… Shortest chapter in this story ever (as well as latest update on the correct day I've done since May). This is because of a combination of work and trying to help prepare for dinner today. I promise that the next chapter will be more than long enough to make-up for this one and will have a bonus story (maybe two, if I can get the time to do so). So… Yeah! Sorry about the length and I hope you don't think this chapter was filler~!