Yes, I am in a hurry :p! But you guys don't mind frequent updates, do you?

Enjoy!

-~C~-

The witch sighed, looking at the pair before her with more sadness then she had felt in a lifetime. More sadness then C.C. had though an old witch like her capable off. Travelling back to Tokyo had taken little over an hour, as C.C. had no longer had to scout around and feel for Lelouch's presence. And now, they had found themselves an office space that would do for an interrogation room. The boy-agent that had accompanied Lelouch had been dropped off in a cell, still unconscious. And, at first glance, one would think everything was working out fine.

Kallen had recaptured that angry determination she relied on to make it through her day, glowering at the man they had 'rescued' across the table. She was probably still upset over the attempt on her life. But it was an active, we-are-finally-getting-somewhere kind of anger. There seemed a good chance though, a very good chance, that Kallen's hopes would be dashed before the day was though. As much as everything looked to be working out, they were not. Not working out at all.

C.C. crossed her arms and leaned back against the wall, and remembered again her failed attempt:

Her warlock was coming straight for her, the knife he had taken from Kallen extended. But C.C. had unworriedly spread her arms: "Welcome back." She intoned as the knife was plunged into her chest. And then, she closed her lips on his. And all his memories that had been locked away surfaced: everything his father had locked away and overwritten with false memories brought back to the surface, brought back to life.

But not quite: it was like someone had put up a wall of clouded glass between them and the memories. C.C. could see them, as she was sure Lelouch could. She could see blurry outlines, she could hear muffled voices. And yet, all of it was useless like this. Not even she, who actually remembered some of these occurrences could do more than half-recognize the moments. These memories; these clouds of images would mean nothing to Lelouch.

But when C.C opened her eyes, she suddenly realized it did mean something to him. Something cold and ugly and completely different then she had meant to show. But it meant something nonetheless: He was backing up; stumbling with abject horror in his eyes. – He, who usually hid even a soft emotion like worry with fake smiles and jeers: "You're like him."

Again, she looked over the man she had chosen little over a year ago; chosen to eventually take her place as an immortal. He'd changed: a little broader, a little more muscular, somewhat worse for wear. But the biggest change was in the eyes. Well, one eye, as they had thought it prudent to bandage up the Geass eye again. No matter how quiet Lelouch had become on their way back, the fact remained he had attacked them. And it would have been rather burdensome if every person they had ran into from their walk to the Knightmare hanger to this room had attacked them on his orders. He had needed bandaging anyway; his arm was still bleeding through even with all wrappings. Calm; wait...

Not that he seemed to notice. He was too busy glowering at everything in his way, at C.C. in particular: like he wished he would make everything and everyone just die with a look. That was the change that worried the witch: Lelouch had always hated a lot about the world, for sure. But he had loved things about it too. That was one of the reasons she had thought he could take her place: for all the destruction he had wrought, she had believed not even several centuries of life would drive him mad enough to want to destroy the world. To want to kill everything in sight.

As it turned out, under the right circumstances, only a year was enough. When the NotGod was gone.

C.C. sighed again; she had failed. Worse; she had only given Lelouch more reason to distrust her. And he obviously did: Kallen's threatening posture was all but ignored, his one-eyed gaze returning to the witch time and time again. The look he gave her she had seen so, so many times before. A look she had never expected to see on his face; the look she had found on the faces of peasants and farmers, just before they organized a witch hunt. Because he knew she was dangerous. Too dangerous to tackle alone. But the other one…

Well, it could be worse, she supposed. At least she could sense something from Lelouch now. And at least he was being cooperative. Cooperative and meek and quiet. Just wait; patience. Because however that red-head had staved off his Geass, she was obviously not a …NOTGOD, for she still had the scratches and bruises from their fight and the NOTGOD never bruised. So, the redhead girl could die. And the chain on the cuffs they put on him was the perfect size for reaching around and strangling the life out of her. So there was no reason to panic. He could use her as a hostage, if this female NOTGOD cared enough about her for that to work. They seemed close. But why would a NOTGOD care about a human? Don't panic; it has to work.

Oh boy; C.C. lurched off her perch from the wall at that, leaning over the small table and deliberately putting her between Kallen and her warlock. "Okay, let's calm down. We're not here to hurt you, Lelouch."

The boy she thought she knew smoothed his face out further; perhaps his expression had given him away. Hurt? Who was she kidding? If anyone going to get hurt, it would be them….

Smile.

Kallen looked to and from them both: "Am I missing something here?" then she jumped on to the point that really bothered her. "You Geassed me to kill myself!"

That rather fake smile was replaced by cool calculation: "I'm more interested to hear how you could ignore such an order."

C.C. would have snorted: "that's easy enough to answer. As you've already figured out she is not immortal, there can be only one answer: you have already used your one command on her."

So how did they know he only got one command? For that matter, how did these …people know about his Geass at all? As for already using it: "I think I would have remembered."

"hmm." C.C. commented. "It is as you've deduced; your memories have been altered. It happened about a year ago."

How did she…? Suddenly, the creature she had mistaken for Lelouch was on his feet, towering over her. Hands pressed down on the table he leaned towards her, bringing his face close. But, very deliberately, not touching: "Get. Out. Of. My. Head." Get. Out.

GETOUTOFMYHEAD. GETOUTOFMYHEAD. GETOUTOFMYHEAD. GETOUTOFMYHEAD. GETOUTOFMYHEAD. GETOUTOFMYHEAD. GETOUTOFMYHEAD.

Burn the witch. C.C. almost laughed out loud. Or cried; neither seemed appropriate though: "Calm down will you? It's not that simple."

Kallen cleared her throat: "Am I missing something?"

C.C. ignored her: "You must have noticed, Lelouch. That you were different from the other agents? Less trusted? That is not just because they feared you regaining your memories. It is because you were the only one there that did not get his power from V.V.; Lelouch, you got your Geass from me, and thus we are connected."

C.C. could feel his mind going into overdrive; weighing every word for lies, truth and the implications. Confusion and distrust seemed to rule supreme, and the witch could not help but Charles and V.V. had in part done this to get back at her; get back at her from abandoning their dream. if they had, there vengeance must have tasted sweet right now: through the centuries, the witch had thought herself hardened by life. She thought she had gone numb to the pain of deceit and mistrust. Perhaps she had been wrong, for having the one person she had thought she could trust look at her like this rang a dissonant cord within her very soul.

"V.V.?" he finally asked.

"Yes, V.V.. Charles vi Britannia's elder brother. A little boy, about this tall? Blonde long hair, immortal. Annoying personality. Likes to go by Lord and Master of the Order these days."

"He is not a God!" then, he added almost as an afterthought: "And neither are you."

Kallen fidgeted, and C.C. would have liked to do the same. "I never said I was. Look, we can just argue about this until the end of time, or you can allow me to enter your mind and return your memories to you. It might be a little painful, but…"

Zero had always had a dangerous laugh. Some had said it sounded mad. Those that did had been wrong; this was what a mad laugh sounded like. "Let me get this straight: you want to invade my mind and tear open some cesspit of buried memories? But you need my permission to do it? That is awesome. Amazing! Let me think on this for a moment." Her ex-accomplice actually blinked and looked away in mock-contemplation. "Uhm. No. No fucking way in a million years."

"You're being irrational."

He just shrugged. "I want to talk to my brother."

"You don't have a brother."Kallen pointed out, helpfully. It was a good thing too. C.C. was beginning to see anything she said would be cast aside as lies and manipulations. "You have a little sister: Nunnally. She was crippled eight years ago. Don't you remember?"

"It gets better!" Lelouch intoned with a tone that suggested the opposite. "My own true memories - for which's return I only have to consent in having my mind raped - will show me that indeed, I do not even have a brother. But he, as strong an individual as I know, will be replaced by some crippled girl. A crippled little sister who – let me spell it out for you – Britannian etiquette would have me quietly do away with before she becomes a burden to the Empire."

This time C.C. did let out an exasperated chuckle. "I'm sorry, Kallen, I was wrong. It seems Zero really is dead."

Had she been anyone else, C.C. would have flinched from the way he openly measured her words.

Kallen sputtered in confusion. "But he's right here!"

"I mean."C.C. allowed her voice to rise in exasperation. "I mean, your Black King is dead. I mean they took the piece and recast it as this unruly and useless white peon." She hesitated. "I mean no offence Lelouch."

"No offence taken." He assured her, smiling like some one-eyed shark. "I've made it my mission in life to be as unruly and useless as humanly possible."

It was a lost cause. As such, C.C. felt she might as well try one last, desperate gamble: "You know, I am really not like V.V.; and I'll prove it to you." She got little more than a doubtful stare for that claim; still she plowed on. "I'll make you a deal. I'm going to go outside. All you have to do is talk to Kallen here. After that, if you still want to you can go pick up your fake brother and leave."

This is where Kallen disagreed: "Now just a moment…"

"Does it matter, Kallen? He is not Zero anymore, and as they are enemies of Britannia, Japan could at least offer a pair of boys a safe hiding place."

"But you can find me anytime you want. You just said so." His tone was only challenging, but Lelouch's mind was screaming double-cross scenarios at her.

C.C. opted for blunt honesty: "I could, but I have no reason to. You are no good to me like this. So I'll just pretend I don't feel where you are and what you are thinking, and we can both continue on with our lives without a care."

He blinked once. "But, the – V.V. -, he will track Rolo like you tracked me. The Order will just send out more men to recover us."

"True." C.C. admitted with a small shake of her green mane. "But as long as your are hiding in Japan they can only send small groups, and I doubt V.V. himself would be willing to make the journey, so you might be able to cope. Then again, if the Order is willing to step out in the open over this and truly help Britannia, I expect the country to be overrun within weeks. But as of right now, this is no longer my problem."

With that, C.C. threw one last look within her warlock – just to make sure Kallen would survive the discussion, and left the room in a hurry. She doubted anyone had noticed, but for her it was the equivalent of storming out.

~~-L-~~

The door closed, leaving Lelouch alone with the glowering red-head. And the boy Agent had to admit it was a pleasant thought that he was no longer in the presence of a supernatural being. It was calming; made thinking easier. Or at least less threatening as he felt less need to second-guess any thought he had on getting overhead.

He couldn't trust a word the NotGod said. Lelouch knew that. But some things just added up so perfectly… like how the Order still had been able to track them, even thought he had been sure he had removed all GPS from their persons. If there was a connection between Lelouch and this… female NotGod, then that meant there was just such a connection between Rolo and the NotGod brat.

All other truths or lies had to take a shelve spot as Lelouch examined the repercussions of this. Escaping the Order; successfully falling off of their radar –at least, together with Rolo – had with that become an unattainable pipe-dream. Oh, Lelouch supposed the female NotGod would have had a point that the brother's could have fought off any attempts the Order made together. But, of course, Lelouch knew he could hardly count on his little brother in that regard.

So, that was it, wasn't it? Promising to release them was just a little trick; an illusion, or maybe a hint to show that, no matter if he and Rolo managed to escape this place, they would only to trading one jailor for another. Ah, this was just this green-haired NotGod's way to show him the way to despair.

Heh. For someone that supposedly could read his mind, she obviously didn't know him that well. Just because the situation looked hopeless didn't mean it was. It was all a question of eliminating threats in the right order. And though right now he was unsure how to rate a lot of the threats, the first order or business remained Rolo: "I really need to see my brother before he wakes up." Lelouch tried again. It was an honest truth: there was no telling what his little brother would do if he woke up, alone, and captured by the enemy. Oddly, standard protocol upon capture eluded Lelouch, but he suspected he might well be without a brother if Rolo felt he had to act on such protocols.

The girl was giving him an angry scowl, but Lelouch suspected it was just to cover up another emotion. Fear, if she actually had half a brain cell in that pretty head. "Lelouch, your brother is a fake."

"No, I am, apparently. But as I said, I don't care. Now, just tell me what you want." So I can make sure you won't be getting it. But he still had the prudency not to voice that part.

The girl sighed. "I guess I only want two things. Firstly, I'd like to know what the Geass order was you originally placed on me. Secondly…" And she fished something out of her jacket. A black disk a little bigger then her hand; she banged it on the table between them. "Secondly, I want Zero back."

He eyed that weird mask for a moment, but didn't bother to reach out for it. "The first is a question I have no answer to. As for your second... demand. Was he not executed? Unless he is also a…" IndistructableBratNotGod but definitely NOT ME. "An immortal, I doubt that's possible."

The girl continued her glower, suggesting with a look, things he did not even want to contemplate. "Alright." She said at long last. "Fine. Then I want you to help us win the war."

His snort was actually a disguised laugh: "well, that's giving me an awful lot of credit. But what makes you believe I would be willing to help? As far as I'm concerned, you Japanese and the Britannias can tear each other to pieces until there isn't anyone left. Not to mention I'm smart enough to know there isn't much to win in a war between g-… immortals."

The girl called Kallen blinked at him, confused. "What do you mean…?"

"Your leader, that green-haired witch." His subconscious supplied the word. "-is immortal. And so is the leader of the Order, which is obviously affiliated with Britannia. Thus, this is a war between immortals, and the rest of us will simply be used as convenient meat-shields or handy playing pieces to throw at each other."

This time Kallen snorted: "Oh, please. C.C. is hardly our leader. She is… an ally."

If this girl was lying, she was more proficient at it then Lelouch, which was a little hard to believe. Still, this was the umpteenth time today Lelouch had his view of the world demolished before his very eyes. "Then who is in charge?"

Kallen shrugged. "In Zero's absence… Oghi and Tohdoh I suppose. But us other original Black Knights get a strong say as well."

Those two names were famous enough for even Lelouch to know them. Of course, the second rang alarm bells Lelouch had not even known to think about before. "Tohdoh has escaped his imprisonment and is once again leading the Black Knights." It was not a question; it was a statement. Just perfect; of course, Lelouch already knew that the two NotGods of the world had it in for him personally, so why should he be surprised? "Does Tohdoh know I am here?"

Thankfully, Kallen seemed to think nothing of why their leader would care about a few prisoners. "Probably not yet, but he knows we left to look for someone so he's bound to find out soon."

It was like trying to navigate across a busy interstate freeway during rush-hour, blindfolded: Lelouch had thought he had made it to the other side. Apparently, he had only made it to a strip of grass in between lanes. But he knew it was there: that open field of freedom just beyond his senses. Lelouch put his elbows to the table and grabbed the hair on his temples with both hands. He tried to see the way towards that freedom in his mind's eye; to simply calculate a way out with raw brainpower.

Finally, he let out a long-drawn sigh: "Fine, I'll help. But you have to get that witch to do something for me. Also, I'll throw in a spy for you; to sweeten the deal, so to speak."

"A spy? We have a security leak?" the girl seemed appalled; like it was beyond the realm of possibilities anyone would betray them. "Who?"

Lelouch chuckled a dry laugh: "Let's keep that a surprise for now."