***Thanks to Demons Anarchy of Pride, Ulrich362, BlackTyrantValvatorez, Republic (nineteen times), mcdinh, MrtheratedG, XT3100, 1000 Cherry Blossoms, Jarjaxle, OBSERVER01, Aryan810101, and lifeswordpa, the twelve people who reviewed the last chapter!***

Guest Review Reply - Republic: Y-You're going to recommend my story to other people? Goodness… I don't know how to thank you enough. (If only you had a legitimate account…) I'm very honored that you think my story is good enough for that.

Author's Note Part 1: So… aside from one major flip out and another person threatening to stop reading this story, I didn't get nearly as many "I'M GOING TO KILL YOU NOW!" reactions as I expected. Eh, fair enough. (I'm sure I'll get enough of those when I get to a certain incident…)

I'm sure you're all dying to know what happened, so I'm gonna stop rambling for now. I don't own Code Geass, though!

Stage 10: Suspicions and Wishes

The hospital's waiting room was packed that night—something about a horrible wreck involving six cars and a few pedestrians—the fear, worry, and grief of the friends and family members of those involved in the crash filling the room. But there was one group of high schoolers from the prestigious Ashford Academy that no one wanted to go near.

In particular, they all steered clear from the black-haired, violet-eyed teenaged male. Unlike his friends—the orange-haired girl so distraught she couldn't speak, the blonde young woman silently trying to comfort her, and the purple-haired guy rubbing his hands together nervously as he fidgeted in the uncomfortable plastic chair—he paced back and forth with a look on his face that could only be described as terrifying. The cold, calculating look in his eyes combined with worry… It was as though he was plotting out how to kill whoever sent his loved one to the hospital.

And, in truth, that was exactly what Lelouch was doing. Nunnally had been the picture of health just that morning. Also, from what he was able to gather from Shirley's frantic speech—"Sh-She w-was showing m-me how to f-fold pa-paper cranes… th-then it w-was l-like what ha-happened to y-you except sh-she stopped b-breathing"—it was a heart attack.

A heart attack.

Meaning Z.Z. and S.S. had to be involved in this in some way.

He would kill them. He would find a way to get rid of their Codes, and he would kill them. He had made it very clear that they were to leave Nunnally alone. Z.Z. had lied when he said no harm would come to either of them as long as he stayed as Zero—he'd only just started, for heaven's sake. This… whatever they did to make her have a heart attack…

But she'll be okay. I was fine after my dream. There's no reason for this to be any different. Nunnally will be fine…!

A doctor had stepped into the waiting room, a clipboard in their hands. "Family of Nunnally Lamperouge?"

Acute heart failure as a result of a heart attack, the cause of which unknown. (Unknown to the doctors, at least.) That was the bad news. His sister would recover, given time to rest. That was the good news. Not that it mattered to Lelouch—he knew Nunnally was never going to die. He already knew she would be fine.

But seeing her in the hospital bed, pale as a ghost and unmoving, brought some of his worst memories back to the surface. ("Big Brother, why are the lights off? I can't see you…") A lump formed in the back of his throat as he picked up his sister's hand and held it tightly. Nunnally… I swear, this will not go unpunished.

He was alone with his sister; the doctors had restricted Nunnally's visitors only to immediate family members. He was secretly glad because his friends would not see the horrendous faces he was making. He did not need Milly snapping a photo of him in this state and using it against him.

A tiny sniffle echoed above the sound of the heart monitor, and Lelouch's eyes widened slightly. His sister's face was wet, two tear tracks running out of the corners of each eye. Her forehead was scrunched up in pain and fear, and a tiny moan escaped her lips.

"Nunnally!" He squeezed her hand tighter, lifting it up instead of having it rest on his lap. He hated seeing her in pain, and despised it when the pain was caused by the demon called a nightmare. "Nunnally, it's alright! Everything is alright…"

"B-Big Brother…?" the sandy-haired girl whimpered.

"I'm here, Nunnally." I'll always be here for you. Always.

She sniffed, and pushed herself up into a seated position… then pulled him closer with the arm he had in a death grip, and threw her arms around him. Lelouch blinked in surprise—the hug was tighter than the one Shirley had given him when he first woke up in the nurse's office—and quickly returned it. Though she held him so tightly, so firmly, he still felt her entire form tremble with every sob. He stroked the back of her head, whispering into her ear that everything would be fine.

Nunnally… just what sort of nightmare did you have…? I wonder… did you see the Zero Requiem, just as I did? Or did you see something just as horrifying…?

He had no idea how long it took for her to stop crying, but at some point her shaking stopped, and he was able to dry off his dear sister's face. Lelouch gently laid his sister back down, grabbing her hand once again. "Nunnally… what's made you so upset?"

"I… I had a horrible dream," she replied. "You… You'd… become a demon… and took over the world… b-but it was all an act, and then you were killed by Zero, and I was left all alone!"

Zero Requiem, then. He squeezed her hand reassuringly. "It's just a nightmare, Nunnally. There's no need to be afraid of it."

A little of the worry left her face, but she was still frowning slightly. "Just… a nightmare… l-like yours, Big Brother?"

It was Lelouch's turn to frown as he narrowed his eyes. He had no idea how to answer that question without part of it being a lie, and he could not lie to Nunnally… but he could not get her involved in this mess any more than she already was. "It would seem so," he said. "But nightmares are simply dreams; they have no bearing on real life. I would never leave you all alone, Nunnally. You mean too much to me…"

"Then, can I change my wish from before?"

"Of course."

"I… I don't care if the world was more horrible than it is now, I just want to be with you, Lelouch." She smiled faintly, and squeezed his hand back.

He mimicked her smile, well aware of the fact that she would not see it. "I still plan to uphold that promise, to make the world a gentler place. To create a world where we can live happily, without fear."

"I'd… like that…"

Suzaku walked down the street, almost in a daze. He still couldn't wrap his head around what had happened just last night. That the courts had found him innocent in the murder of Prince Clovis—the lack of evidence coupled with Zero's proclamation. That he had actually agreed to help Zero achieve his goals—he still wasn't sure how he would be able to pull off being his spy. And that strange woman who collapsed in the street before running off to go find her brother—he still didn't know her name.

It was mostly the second one that really confused him. He didn't want to help Zero, but he couldn't approve of Britannia's actions, either. It was like choosing the lesser of two evils…

"Out of the way, please! Look out below!"

Suzaku looked around, trying to find out where that voice was coming from. He gasped when he looked up and saw a person falling from the sky. Really, all he could see was pink—their hair, he assumed—but still reached out to catch the falling woman. "Uh… are you alright?" he asked.

The pink-haired woman looked up at Suzaku with her lavender eyes. (Lavender? He felt like that was important…) "Sorry… I wasn't aware you were down here until I had leaped…" she replied.

"It's fine," Suzaku said. "I mean… if I hadn't been here to catch you, you could have been seriously hurt." He paused for a moment, cocking his head to the side. "Why did you jump out of that window?"

"Oh… uh…" The girl looked away from him for a moment, but then looked back with a far too cheerful look on her face as she said, "The truth is, bad guys are chasing me… So, could you help me, please?"

He would never turn down a request for help, even if he was certain there was no one after her.

Euphy, she said her name was. Euphy. He felt like he should know that name, and yet… the woman in front of him didn't look familiar at all. Then again, he wasn't even sure that "Euphy" was her real name. She had paused before telling him her name, much like she had when telling him why she'd jumped out a window.

Suzaku didn't need to introduce himself—Euphy already knew who he was, thanks to his very public arrest.

The more time he spent with Euphy, the more awkward Suzaku felt. He knew she was lying, but everytime he tried asking about it, she'd change the subject. He felt like he should know her from somewhere, but didn't.

It was when she stopped to help a cat with an injured paw that he was finally able to place his suspicions.

The way she cared for it—she meowed at the cat, of all things—when all the other Britannians paid no attention to the animal. The way she held the cat—Arthur, Euphy declared—like a mother would hold their newborn child. Euphy seemed so gentle… she reminded Suzaku of Nunnally. This, in turn, brought back a memory of when he, Lelouch, and Nunnally had stumbled across a fallen bird's nest while adventuring in the forest.

There had been a baby bird still in the nest, one of its wings broken. Its shrill cries had caught the attention of Nunnally, who instantly demanded that they helped the bird. Lelouch immediately gave in, not wanting to upset his little sister. Suzaku had been skeptical of the whole thing—why would anyone want to take care of an injured baby bird?

And one day, when Nunnally was caring for the animal, Lelouch was watching from afar. There had been a smile on his face, and Suzaku thought it was strange.

"What are you smiling about, Lelouch?"

"Happy memories," his friend had replied. "Nunnally… she just reminded me of one of my other sisters."

"Oh?" That was strange to Suzaku as well, because Lelouch talked about his family less than he smiled. "Which one?"

"Her name was Euphy… Well, Euphemia." He chuckled a little. "I think you'd like her, Suzaku. She's a lot like Nunnally, only closer to our age and has light-pink hair. Yes… she was definitely my favorite half-sibling, no matter how much trouble she caused me…"

Suzaku gasped as he stared at the pink-haired girl. How had he been so stupid? Lelouch and Nunnally had talked so much about Euphy… how could he not have placed her name already?

"Is something wrong, Suzaku?"

"Euphy… you… you're…" He swallowed. "You're… a Britannian princess, aren't you?"

"Oh my…" Euphemia looked away, shocked and sad. She hadn't been expecting anyone to recognize her, not before her first public appearance. Especially not someone who wasn't Britannian. And especially not the son of the man who had killed her brother and sister. "Yes… I don't know how you know, but you're right. I'm… Euphemia li Britannia, the Third Princess of Britannia…"

Suzaku knelt down in front of her, bowing—something she hated; she wanted someone who would treat her like a normal person and not a princess, and had thought that Suzaku would be able to do that. But then he looked up, a slight smile on his face. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Euphy."

…He isn't going to call me "Princess" or "Your Majesty"? Not even "Euphemia" instead of my nickname? Maybe… Maybe I was wrong to think he'd automatically turn into a royalty-worshipper. She smiled back at him, if only for a moment. "Yes… it's a pleasure to meet you as well, Suzaku. Um… if you don't mind…" How would she word this…? "How did you know I was a princess? I haven't made a public appearance yet… and you're not… You're Japanese…"

The brown-haired teen in front of her chewed on his lower lip as his hands twitched. It was like he was debating on whether or not to answer her question. "Well… the truth is… Lelouch and Nunnally told me a lot about you. B-Before the Second Pacific War, of course."

He knew her precious siblings? Wait, of course he would—they had stayed with his family when they were sent to Japan. It… was only reasonable that they would have talked with Suzaku. Still… "They… talked about me?"

Suzaku nodded slowly. "They always said you were their favorite half-sibling."

She realized that her throat was throbbing, and that her eyes had started to water. Even though it had been seven years, her grief hadn't fully subsided. Lelouch and Nunnally… they had been her favorite half-siblings as well. "I… see. Ah… Suzaku, could you tell me more about them? The Lelouch and Nunnally that you knew?" She pursed her lips before deciding to add, "In exchange, I'll do something for you—anything that's within my power!"

They spent hours, just walking around the Settlement and sharing stories about the vi Britannia siblings. Suzaku spoke of hating the two at first, but slowly growing to be friends. Of adventuring through the woods around the Kururugi Shrine, of how overprotective Lelouch could be of his little sister, and of how kind Nunnally always was, despite her disabilities. Euphy spoke of the adventures they went on throughout the palace and the gardens. Of how silly Lelouch looked when he tried to remain serious after being forced to play dress-up with his two sisters, and of all the other embarrassing stories she could come up with.

(Suzaku had to admit that the one about Nunnally and Lelouch arguing over a plate, of all things, was probably one of the most hilarious. Mostly because Nunnally had managed to pull it away from her older brother.)

He was… carefree, for once. He hadn't been able to be so relaxed since… his father's death, really. There was something about the way Euphy talked that made him forget about anything that would cause him to worry. He didn't want this to end…

…but he knew it had when he caught a flash of yellow in the edge of his vision dart behind a building. Suzaku didn't immediately stare at the spot, but when he did, he saw half of someone's face—that someone being the mysterious woman who "wasn't a stalker"… He locked gazes with her, seeing her blue eye light up with astonishment before defeat, and she had to step out from the shadows.

"You again… I thought you said you weren't my stalker," Suzaku said once the blonde-haired woman walked over, her head sagging.

She immediately looked up in alarm, shaking her head fervently. "Th-That's right! I'm not! I just… remembered that I never gave you my name… and I had a question for Euphy as well…"

"Huh? Me?" Euphy asked. "But I've never seen you before… Suzaku, who is she?"

Suzaku opened his mouth to respond, but he really couldn't. It was a vivid reminder that he should not be at Euphy's side, since he was a double agent serving for Zero and against Britannia. Against her.

"I'm S.S.," the blonde responded, sticking out a hand for the princess to shake. "I… I'm sorry, I can't say how I know you—my big brother said not to, so I won't."

She's really devoted to her brother, Suzaku thought. She had instantly wanted to go to him after receiving that headache… and needing his permission to say certain things… Though, I could have sworn that she was the older of the two. Her loyalty was admirable, but he wondered if it had limits—like if her brother did something despicable.

S.S.—what a strange name—clapped her hands together suddenly, a bright smile on her face. "Anyways, enough about that! Euphy… Princess Euphemia, I have to know: if you had one wish that could come true no matter what, what would it be?"

"Huh…? I… I don't…" the lavender-eyed woman looked down as she trailed off. She remained silent as she contemplated her answer. "I… I have two, and I really don't know which one I want more."

"That's fine! Share both of them!"

"I wish… that I could have my siblings back. Lelouch and Nunnally… and Clovis, too! I miss them all dearly…"

It took every fiber of his being for Suzaku to not reveal that Lelouch and Nunnally were alive… and to not start beating himself up again over failing to save Clovis.

"But also… I wish that people didn't have to keep dying for what they believed in. I guess… I wish that we didn't have to keep fighting wars. That… that everyone could just get along peacefully."

Lelouch was right. Euphy really was just like Nunnally, albeit older and not disabled. She doesn't want people to fight…

"But… those are silly wishes. The dead can't come back to life, and as long as my country remains the way it is now, wars will keep happening," Euphy finished. "Why do you ask?"

"I… can't say!" S.S. replied, cheery as ever. "What about you, Suzaku? What's your greatest wish?"

He blinked, caught off-guard. My greatest wish…? I-I don't… "I… maybe… for all the bloodshed and violence in the world to stop. I… wish that people didn't have to keep losing their loved ones for stupid and selfish reasons." (I will not think about my father…!)

"I thought so!" S.S. exclaimed. "Thanks for answering my questions! I have to go now, so… See you around!" She paused for a moment, her gaze lingering on Euphy for a moment, her face unreadable. She shook her head a little, and took off before either of them could try to stop her.

Well… I know her name now, but that doesn't help me at all. It's probably not her real name, anyways. And not only that, just why was she asking us those questions? Our greatest wishes… just why does she care so much about them? She's one of Zero's allies, too. Was she trying to test my loyalty…? No, that can't be it—she asked Euphy the question first…

"That was… strange…" Euphy muttered.

"Tell me about it," he replied. "That woman is… I really don't know."

"Crazy?"

"Yeah… that's one word for it."

"Mhmm. Oh yeah… I promised you something in return for all the stories, didn't I?" Euphy asked. "I just remembered that…"

Same here, but he wouldn't say that. "Would… it be within your power to send me to Ashford Academy?"

"Of course!" she replied with a smile. "It'll take a little, but I can definitely pull some strings. I am set to become the new Sub-Viceroy of Area 11, after all!"

It was a week after Zero's debut, and Lelouch was getting slightly antsy. He had yet to find Z.Z. or S.S., and C.C. had offered no assistance in the matter (not even after he bought her two dozen pizzas). Nunnally had to remain in the hospital due to the severity of her heart attack, and he hadn't been allowed to continue skipping school until she was out of it. That in itself had another reason to worry him—the longer she was in the hospital and not under his supervision, the more likely it was that someone would realize she was the supposedly dead princess. And now another troublesome thing happened: Suzaku was here at school.

Yes, he had been expecting his friend to come here. Something about Euphy pulling strings, if he remembered correctly from his nightmares. But he still had no intention of telling Suzaku that he was Zero, and now he had one more issue to juggle—not dropping hints about his alter ego.

It was despicable, the way his fellow classmates treated Suzaku. They all hated his lineage—and some of them still believed that Suzaku was Prince Clovis' real murderer. Even Shirley and Rivalz participated in the discrimination, though the former at least wanted to talk to Suzaku…

I never cared about my reputation, anyways. Lelouch stood up, and walked right over to his friend's side. He had to treat him like a stranger, though… "Lelouch Lamperouge," he said, offering a hand. "It's a pleasure to have you here at Ashford, Suzaku."

"Uh… thank you. It's… an honor to be here," Suzaku replied.

Still keeping eye contact with his friend, Lelouch pinched and tugged at his collar. Noting Suzaku's slight gasp, he knew that he remembered what it meant. Good… I need to have a proper conversation with you…

After class, he asked one of his classmates—he thought her name was Shirley—how to get to the roof. She'd gladly given him the answer, and hadn't asked why he needed it. For that, Suzaku was grateful.

Lelouch was already there, leaning over the railing. To think that the last time they'd met, he had tried to kick his head in… "Ah, Suzaku. It's been seven years since I've used that signal… I'm glad you remembered it," Lelouch said.

(It's because I saw Zero use the same hand motion…) "And I'm glad to see you in one piece, Lelouch. Getting kidnapped by terrorists isn't something people usually walk away from unscathed."

"They don't usually walk away from taking a bullet, either," Lelouch returned. "You're the same idiot as always."

"Hey, I couldn't let the royal guard hurt you or that green-haired woman… Speaking of, do you know where she is?"

"No," Lelouch replied, "we were separated when the terrorists captured me. I think she got away…"

He didn't want to ask too many questions, but he was too curious. "Could you tell me anything about Zero?"

His friend shook his head. "Sadly, I never met him face to face, only his Japanese allies. All they did was keep me in a room until they just let me run free. They didn't even talk to me at all. The whole event was strange… You'd think those terrorists would have no qualms with torturing or killing a Britannian."

Then how did Zero and his allies know that you're a prince? Suzaku narrowed his eyes. The facts just weren't lining up.

"In any case, why don't you tell me a little more about what happened to you? Like… what happened after Zero freed you from your military escort? I know you haven't been telling anyone about it, but…"

"Sorry… top-secret information," Suzaku replied.

"Ah… it was worth a shot. What about how you ended up coming to Ashford Academy? This place is hard enough for pure blooded Britannians to get into, and you're… well… not."

Suzaku smiled as he thought of Euphy. "I met your sister Euphy last week, and she ended up owing me a favor."

He could have sworn he saw Lelouch shoot him a death glare while muttering his sister's nickname, but if his friend was angry, he couldn't tell. At least, not until Lelouch's face suddenly paled, eyes flaring up in anger as he looked at something past Suzaku. "Z.Z…" The hatred was obvious in Lelouch's voice.

Suzaku turned around, and he gasped. It was… S.S.'s brother, with that same arrogant smirk on his face as he had the other time they'd met. Lelouch knows him, though…? "H-Hey, you're… S.S.'s brother, aren't you?"

"Quite so," the man replied. "And on that note…" The smirk vanished from his face as he shot Suzaku a death glare. "Stay away from my sister or you'll regret ever existing."

"O-Okay…" A shiver ran up Suzaku's spine. This man did not look like one to mess with… even if he looked remarkably like the late Prince Clovis.

"Goodie! Now that we have that out of the way, I need to speak to Lelouch alone. So, Suzaku, please leave at once!"

He opened his mouth to protest, but decided against it, told Lelouch goodbye, and headed to the stairs. He could have sworn he heard S.S.'s brother shout, "Toodles!" after him.

That man… does not seem mentally stable. Leaving Lelouch alone with him doesn't feel right… Actually, why did he want to speak with Lelouch in the first place…? Was Lelouch really—no, that's not true. Lelouch wouldn't be Zero.

Elsewhere, three men occupied an expansive yet darkened room. The first stood atop a short flight of stairs, condescending towards the second man. The second was sprawled out over his stomach, having been tossed out of his wheelchair by the third man, a guard who was supposed to take the crippled man where he was needed.

The crippled man, propped up by his own arms, looked frantically at the man atop the stairs. "P-Please, Father! Don't do this!"

"You're dead, boy. Dead to me, and dead to the world. You're also crippled—making you as useless as garbage. Therefore, you will live out the rest of your life the way you deserve: as a crippled and impoverished Eleven…"

"Please! Haven't I suffered enough already?!"

"…and you will live like that, alone, until your death."

The cripple let out one last shout of, "Have mercy—" before his eyes rolled to the back of his head and he collapsed.

"Hmph. Why should I show mercy to you? My son… the liar."

Author's Note Part 2: Ominous ending is ominous, of course. …Though I suppose it could be pretty obvious who the two people with speaking roles in it are. Either way, that'll be fun to mess around with in the future.

Also, for changing a lot of the Euphy and Suzaku interaction from canon despite Suzaku not knowing anything about the "other worlds"… Well, Z.Z. said SOME things are inherently different between the worlds, not to mention the fact that Suzaku had a lot more on his mind here than in canon. I'm calling creative liberties on this. (Actually this whole part was really weird since I'm used to spelling her nickname as "Euphie", but apparently "Euphy" is the official spelling… …I think I like it better with a "y", actually. Don't mind me.)

S.S. and Z.Z. are so fun to write, though. S.S. because awkward spontaneousness, and Z.Z. because insanity. Seriously.

In any case, please review!