Welcome to a very Kallen-centric chapter. I am glad to be regularly posting chapters again and thankful for the continued support. I hope you all enjoy this chapter.

- Ashford Academy main ballroom. May 15th. 2020 A.T.B.

People filled the vast rooms of Ashford. Everywhere you looked there were men and women in full formal attire. Extravagant décor lined every inch of the establishment in honor of wedding. Milly may have graduated but she still had the same mentality for throwing parties. Everything was over the top.

This was the scene that Kallen had missed about her friend. No matter what the case was, Milly could find a way to make it cheerful and bring a horde of people to participate.

The red head smiled at the thought of past parties with Milly. Even though she had been working most of them, they were great ways to relieve the stress of secretly being a Black Knight. Those were days that she missed fondly. The constant battles may have been dangerous and cost many lives, but they gave her a purpose. She had never felt so alive then when fighting in her Guren.

Kallen walked out of the grand halls and strolled over to old Student Council building. She noticed that several guards were posted around the entrance, some obviously placed while others hidden around the grounds. This must be where Suzaku and Nunnally are staying while they are here. She approached the main door. One of the guards moved toward her but the man beside her stopped her movement. He merely shook his head. Kallen overheard him tell the female guard that she was a V.I.P on the list. The two bowed and allowed her to enter the building.

She now stood alone in the main ballroom where so many things had happened. It was here that she was made a part of the student council, and that many council parties were held. It would also be here that the current party would take place. This is also where I kissed Lelouch. I promised myself that day that I would have followed him to hell and back if only he felt this way to me. I should have known that he would lie to protect me. After all, he was a liar to the end.

A soft tear rolled down her cheek as the memories flew past her. Before she could continue losing herself in thoughts, a soft voice called out through the empty space.

"Who is at the door Milly?" Even after a few months she couldn't help but recognize the sweet voice of Lelouch's little sister.

"I'm not sure Nunna-chan. It must be someone important to have been let in by the…" Milly's voice cut short as she entered from a side door and saw who was standing there. For a moment Kallen thought Milly was petrified. She understood though. It had been almost a year since they had seen each other and Kallen hadn't talked to her or even confirmed that she would be attending.

"It's really you isn't it?" Milly spoke softly. Kallen nodded and the blonde ran toward her and gave a full forced hug to the red head.

Nunnally's voice called out again this time with a hint of worry mingled with her usually peaceful tone. "Is everything all right Milly?"

The older girl hugging Kallen released her grip and called out at the top of lungs. "Nunnally Rivalz come over here! There is someone special here to greet us."

Kallen sighed loudly. Over the top as always Milly. "Milly that was hardly necessary."

"Of course it was silly." She grabbed on to Kallen again. This time she could feel moist tears on her neck. "We were all so worried about you Kallen. No one's heard anything from you in months. We thought… Something terrible might have happened. "

Kallen stood silently for a moment. She hadn't taken into consideration that her friends would miss her so much when she started going after Lelouch. It should have been obvious to her. After all she would feel exactly the same way if the situation was reversed.

She couldn't help but think of C.C. at that moment. The green haired immortal made a reference to that as well. She was right of course. Even just being an observer to so many things she was spot on how others felt. Kallen thought maybe it was because of her being an observer that she knew such things. Or maybe it was experience from her Geass. Though C.C. did not talk of it regularly, Kallen pieced together that her ability was to make others fall in love with her. The red head thought that the experience with false love might have given her a greater grasp on what true love really looked like. C.C. would never admit to any of it, but that made Kallen surer of her reasoning.

Geass. The power of the king is what she called it. It manifests itself differently for each user. C.C. wanted to be loved while Lelouch wanted to be an inspiring leader. And then… She noted a brief taste of sweetness within her. She was not yet completely familiar with the sensation. But she knew what it meant. It was a reminder to the promise she recently made.

It had only been about a week now since C.C. had asked her those words. They were the same ones that she had twice asked Lelouch.

- A five star hotel in Kyoto. May 12th A.T.B.

Kallen watched as C.C. lay on one of the two large beds they had rented for the week. Several large pizza boxes littered the room. No matter how many times she watched the immortal eat, she would not believe that she could eat so much food in one setting while still maintaining such a figure. Being a code bearer must have had some perks besides the inability to die. She always wondered what else such a power would grant.

"Do you want some Kallen?" C.C. asked gingerly.

"I'll pass."

She took to pacing around their room to keep her mind occupied. She was nervous. But why wouldn't she be. There was a chance that she would see Lelouch soon. And yet, there was also the chance that he may not even appear. This was just like three years ago when he had his memories erased. Only now there was no telling where he was.

"Why can't the weekend come already!" She threw a pillow at the wall in frustration. So many things could happen at this wedding. He might not be there and then there would be no leads as to where the ex-emperor would be. Not that it would stop her though. She would keep to her vow and follow him even to the depths of hell.

C.C. sighed. "You need to relax Kallen. Lelouch won't be able to do anything fun if you completely tense the entire time."

Kallen could feel the heat rushing to her face upon hearing the girl's words. "Wha… No! It's nothing like that C.C. Why must you say things like that all the time."

C.C. laughed loudly. Her coy smile kept the heat in her face. Kallen didn't have the time to be worrying about things like that. Besides, there is no guarantee that he even feels that way about me. No what am I even thinking. I need to stop letting her mess with my head so much.

"C.C. in all seriousness are you sure that Lelouch will show up?"

In that instant the normally cheerful immortal gazed down and appeared downcast. "Truthfully no. I am not sure. But you know Lelouch as well as I do. He values his friends and sister above everything. I doubt he would miss such an event."

"Yes but… What if he chooses not to come. Knowing that his presence could endanger the very people you are talking about?"

C.C. stayed silent for a moment. Kallen could see that she had not taken that into consideration. Kallen did know Lelouch better in the end.

"I suppose he could be in disguise. He did this during the great war did he not? Although Sayoko was the one that utilized that in his favor."

"I already expected him to do that. Why wouldn't he do something of the sort. Even Suzaku uses that method when he wishes to go out not as Zero."

They were silent for several long minutes. Finally Kallen spoke up. Her worries getting the better for a moment.

"I just want to be able to help him again."

C.C. stared at her for a long moment. "Is that what you really want? Is it your deepest desire Kallen?"

The red head looked at her partner and gave her a confident stare that left no doubt that it was the only thing important to her.

"I understand. If I grant you power, could you go on searching for him? I propose a deal—in exchange for this power, you must agree to make my one wish come true. Accept this contract, and you accept its conditions. While living in the world of humans, you will live unlike any other: a different providence, a different time, a different life. The Power of the King will condemn you to a life of solitude. Are you prepared for this?"

Kallen was shocked. She did not truly understand what she was asking. But what she did know was that she wanted to give her a way to help Lelouch. In fact. This sounds like she is offering me the same power as Lelouch. Do I dare accept. She briefly thought over the consequences of obtaining a Geass, if that was what C.C. was in fact offering. She didn't want to take the wills of other people if that was the case. But she wanted to help Lelouch. Above anything. She knew that whatever became of this contract, she could handle the consequences if it meant being with him again.

She smiled and held out her hand to the witch. "Yes. I accept the terms of your contract."

C.C. smiled and took Kallen's hand.

Suddenly Kallen saw an array of images. Scenes of ancient wars, torture and… Lelouch. She saw him standing before C.C. and seemingly accepting a similar contract. She knew then that what she had done was right and would assist her.

As suddenly as the visions began they disappeared. The two now sat in silence. This time C.C. broke the silence. Her soft giggle perked Kallen's ears.

"You know Kallen. You sounded just like Lelouch. He was cautious at first just like you. But when he accepted, there was no doubt in his mind."

Her warm smile and the comparison to her love made Kallen feel great inside. She almost felt as if on ecstasy. However there was something that was bothering her.

"C.C., what exactly is the power that you have given to me? How do I use it?"

C.C. shrugged and looked apathetic. Kallen's jaw dropped. "Wait. You don't know?"

"Of course I don't. Geass manifests differently on each person. It's formed by your desires."

Kallen took in this new information and looked intently at C.C. She tried to imagine what her power could be. All she could think of was Lelouch though. Being by his side and aiding him.

She was slightly upset with the witch. Kallen thought that C.C. was again messing with her. How could she not know what power that she had given her. She wished that C.C. would just flat out tell her the truth.

The girl giggled as Kallen was thinking this. "I should warn you that Geass has no effect on me. You shouldn't attempt to use it on me."

Kallen was confused. It must have shown because of C.C.'s continued laughter. "What do you mean I'm trying to use it on you? I don't even know what it is, or how to control it."

"Oh. You weren't consciously using it. That is different. You really don't know what it is do you? Or maybe you just aren't aware of what it is you know. Typically Geass is something you will inherently know how to use. I saw you activate it so assumed you were trying it on me."

"Wait. You saw that I was using it? How is that possible?"

"Well this is not surprising that you wouldn't know. Not even Lelouch had a full grasp on the notion. When a person uses their geass, a sigil of geass appears on your eye that is only visible to code bearers and other geass users. It appeared on your eye a moment ago."

"So I was really using it? I did not know."

"Well it's possible that you just can't control it at the moment. It could also be possible that it is a passive ability toward certain thoughts. That would make your evolved form very interesting."

Kallen listened intently to C.C. She understood that over time geass would evolve and become more potent. It would even become permanent, which she knew that it occurred to Lelouch and caused his sister Euphemia's slaughter. However, she did not know that a first level geass could be permanent. She was concerned as to how she could control something that she would not be able to stop. Is this how Lelouch felt the entire time. It's no wonder he was worried about revealing the power or dropping his guard. But still, what is my power.

She stood up and walked to the door. "I need a moment of air. I will be back."

"You should be careful Kallen. Not knowing what your power is could lead to disastrous results."

Kallen nodded her head and left the room. She walked to the stairwell and descended to the first floor. On her way she approached a group of three men. One was in a corner and looked rather frightened. The other two had smug grins on their faces and were snickering.

Kallen looked at them in disgust. She couldn't believe that in this day and age people would still take advantage of the weak. "And what exactly are you gentlemen doing to this poor man?"

One of the grinning men gave her a snide smile. "Oh he just fell and we were trying to help him pick up his things. Isn't that right?"

The man who was in the corner shakily nodded his head.

Kallen felt a strange sensation in her body. If she had to describe it, then it would have been similar to tasting something very sour or receiving a small shock. She didn't really understand but one thing was clear. The two men before her were not helping the fearful one out.

"Let me make myself clear. Get away from him or I will make you regret it." She snarled at them. Seeing people prey on those weaker than them always made her extremely angry.

"Who do you think you a…" The man who first spoke began but never finished. Kallen delivered a quick punch to his stomach and let him hit the ground.

"Don't worry about who I am. Worry about what will happen if you continue to bully this guy."

The two accosters looked at one another and decided that it wasn't worth getting into a fight over. They stood and left the stairwell.

Once they had left, the man who was being attacked previously stepped toward her and bowed. "Thank you very much miss. I don't know what would have happened if you didn't show up. They threatened me not to ask for help. I was so scared. Thank you."

Kallen thought she heard small breaks in his voice. He must be crying slightly. "It's ok. You don't need to cry. They will not bother you again."

"Oh I'm not." She again felt the strange sensation of sour flooding over her. "Well maybe I am. But it's only because no one has ever been so kind to me before."

Now the feeling of sourness left her. It was replaced with something more akin to sweetness. She wondered what it all meant. Could it be that I can tell whether he is lying or not?

The man again bowed and thanked her before leaving the stairwell.

Kallen stood there alone and mulled over what had happened. She then ascended the stairs and re-entered her room. C.C. had not even left the bed. She was still laying down eating away at the several pizza boxes around her.

When the red head told her companion about the event, C.C. smiled. "Well," she said coyly. "It would seem that you have the ability of detecting lies and deceit. Who knows how powerful that could become?"

"What do you mean exactly?"

"Well if someone tries to trick you then your geass will alert you to anything short of the truth. That must be one of your greatest desires."

Kallen thought about this. She doubted the words that her friend spoke. But upon thinking about them further, they made sense. Deep down she not only wanted to help Lelouch. Besides that was a very broad desire. Anything could really be used in that fashion. No she knew why this was her power.

When first learning of his geass she had many times doubted whether her loyalty and affection to him were genuine or demanded via his power. Not only him, countless times she felt betrayed by others. Oughi had kept Villeta a secret from the group, as well as her mother keeping her real reasons for staying from her. Deep in her heart Kallen wanted to know what the truth was. Now she had the power to do that.

"So this is my power?"

C.C. stood up and walked over to Kallen. "Well if Lelouch had the power of ultimate submission, I think it would be fitting to name yours ultimate truth."

"Ultimate truth?" She repeated and let it ring in her head. "I like the sound of it. Wait for me Lelouch. We will be by your side again soon."

- Present day.

Kallen hugged Milly back. "It's good to see you too madame president. I'm sorry I made you all worry."

Milly looked up with moist eyes. She smiled and spoke gingerly. "Don't worry. Everything is better now."

"Who could it be Milly?" The sound of Rivalz voice came close to the hallway door.

The two ladies turned to see Rivalz, Nunnally, Zero, and Lodovico enter through the hall.

"It can't be? Kallen!?" Nunnally yelled excitedly.

The group approached her and exchanged a jovial greeting.

"Of course it's me Nunnally. Who else could it be?"

"I haven't seen you in so long. I was worried that you had forgotten about me." The young empress said with slight hints of dejection in her voice.

Kallen placed a hand on her head and slightly ruffled her long hair. "How could I ever forget about one of my best friends."

Nunnally's face shot up and she beamed a smile that could illuminate a cave.

"Well it's good to see you again Miss Kouzuki." Kallen recognized the synthetic voice of Zero. It sounded exactly the same as when Lelouch was the man behind the mask. However she no longer felt the same burning attraction to the caped hero.

She knew that beneath the mask was Suzaku Kururugi. In fact she had talked to him face to face on several occasions. She never asked him to explain himself. Nor would she allow him to apologize for what had happened. She knew what their plan was. She was fully aware that everything was not only necessary, but as painful to him as it was to her.

As she recalled a conversation about the fateful day with him, she remembered the look of sorrow on his face. Suzaku also believed that he had killed Lelouch. She knew him very well. And the deep emotion that he had shown to her was complete truth. I can't ask him. He would not believe me anyway.

While all this played on Kallen's mind she turned to face the masked face of her friend. "Of course Zero. It is a pleasure to see you as well. I must apologize for my recent disappearance. There were… family issues that needed to take precedence."

She saw him nod but remain silent. Suzaku knew of her family and that if she deemed something important than it was.

"I hope everything is better for you Kallen." Nunnally said gently.

The red head looked into Nunnally's brilliant blue eyes and smiled to her. "It will be soon Nunna. Don't worry about a thing."

The group proceeded to catch Kallen up on recent events and introduced her to Lodovico. She had only seen the man on few occasions but had never truly talked to him.

Something was odd about her conversation with him. Maybe it was her newly found geass which was seemingly activating and deactivating periodically without her will. Or maybe it was the way he looked at her. It was almost as if he were looking at a lost relative, but would turn his face and return to a more jovial look. She also noted that sometimes when he spoke, particularly of his childhood in Italy, she would feel a hint a sourness. This was strange as it would imply that he was lying to her. But the feeling would not last and would vanish while she still had her geass in effect. Maybe I am just not used to it yet. Besides, Suzaku would have done a full background check on anyone with such a connection to Nunnallly. He can't be lying.

She wasn't entirely satisfied though. Something about the man seemed off. Once she thought a glimmer of shock crossed his face. When she tried to identify it and question him though, he immediately brushed it off and claimed that he was remembering a time during the war. His voice bothered her as well. After having spent some time in Italy searching for C.C. she couldn't help but noticed that some of his words sounded forced for someone that was a native speaker of the language. She tried to dismiss these thought as mere speculation and slight paranoia. But they remained steadfast. There was something off about Lodovico Ludwig. She only wished her geass would behave properly so she could find out what it was.

Before too long had passed, Milly excused herself to change into her wedding dress. The others, minus Rivalz who too left to change, departed from the council building and made their way to the academy's main ballroom. After so much time of getting to see her friends, Kallen was ready to begin looking for Lelouch again.

I originally planned on writing the wedding in this part too, but found that I could add so much into Kallen getting her geass from C.C. I wanted her to have one and develop into it now so that it may progress through the story and the things that will happen later. For everyone waiting for the wedding and Lelouch to finally reappear, I ask you only to wait until next week. I will try to have it up around Wed. Please continue to read, review, and offer any suggestions. Thank you all.

List of known geasses.

Lelouch Vi Britannia (Unknown) - Ultimate Submission (Command anyone once)

Charles Zi Britannia (Deceased) - Ultimate History (Rewrite the memories of anyone)

Mariane Vi Britannia (Deceased) - Ultimate Conscious (Ability to transfer conscious self into anyone)

Kallen Kouzuki/Stadtfeld - Ultimate Truth (Can tell if anything is truthful or deceiving, including messages and situations later on)

C.C. (No longer posses) - Ultimate Affection (Can make anyone fall in love with user)

Mao (Deceased) - Ultimate Mind (Ability to read the minds of anyone within 500 meters)

Bismark Waldstein (Deceased) - Ultimate Eye (Ability to see the future in a limited time frame)

List of Code Bearers thus named

C.C.

V.V. (Deceased)

M.M.

B.B.

K.K.