Nunnally sat in the Aries Villa that day, on a chair seated near a Victorian, round glass table, with that same, empty chessboard in front of her. She wore her favorite, now oversized green dress, with the sleeves coming all the way down to her knuckles, while the hem dragged itself across the floors. To the side of her head was a pink phone, one that allowed itself to glisten along the beauty of the sunlight's rays. The cool, autumn day blew along the rims of the silky golden grass. The trees were blowing away their colorful leaves, gradually surrounding her vision with life and the like. From a distance, she could see the entirety of the now rebuilt city of Pendragon, with their residents pointing their enthusiastic fingers at the glorious Britannian Palace. She might as well have just waved to them, considering how this place was a gathering for tourists.

Her thumb fingered the Queen's space, while her index finger kept tracing over to the Knight's direction, as she consciously pondered on what techniques Kaguya and Tianzi are going to play. The white spaces were moving simultaneously, with the leader of the terrorist sacrificing pawn after pawn, trying to achieve some unknown goal she had no hope of knowing. She cast her eyes at the shadow of her fingers, cautiously taking the opening to which they've laid themselves barren. Was there an enemy waiting there? No, that couldn't be; he's already spent much of his forces attacking Babel Tower, and the entire world was on guard.

Humanitarian aid has sped up to meet most ends meet, all the while situating the most underdeveloped areas underneath the wings of their former oppressors, as the leaders try and work with the locals, helpless as they were. Even with her own word, much of the UFN and the Chinese Federation, as well as the EU, were building up their armies in the event of an attack. Just yesterday, she found that most of the nations were already planning on sending Britannia the necessary funding to combat these forces, though Nunnally promptly scolded them afterwards.

She sighed and leaned back. Suzaku knows something, but for some reason, she couldn't drag it out of him. Ella was out of the loop, though she's rallying the soldiers as is, and more than likely Kallen had no idea what was going on. She couldn't go to Milly for help, because that would make the incident look more suspicious. The entire army was there at her disposal, but wouldn't that just be overkill? Jeremiah Gottwald, Sayako, Schniezel, even her own maids; anyone she's ever known was here in this world simply to keep the peace. Unless she was okay with turning Britannia against the world and remaking it into the world's only ruler once more, she felt cornered, trying to preserve the fragile era her brother had created, all the while dominating his peace with a somewhat delicate hand.

Her eyes turned to the king space before her. The her tiny palm stretched out, trying to encompass the area surrounding the imaginary piece. She'd seen her brother play against Schniezel before, and though he always lost, she knew his strategies, memorized his plays. Even when she was running around in that cute way of hers, she was always imagining Lelouch's tactics, how he applied those strategies in the real world. She knew his charisma, and the smooth lies his various personalities radiated from one another; if only she could come up with that kind of deception…

The thumb was still on the king's square, yet for some reason, the remaining four fingers kept hovering onwards. She sighed then, and leaned over, asking herself if Lelouch would've forgiven her if she decided to cheat at the game. Queens were the most powerful piece on the board, right? It'd be nice if she had four of them.

Four Queens. Four very influential people, in their own ways.

She rubbed her eyes, her brain automatically going down the list. She cast it away then, knowing how absurd it was. She's already got one Queen on the board, but at this point, she didn't even know if Kallen was Nunnally's Queen any longer (captured by society's allure, probably). Even if she somehow dragged some pawns off to the side and sent them across the board to become Queens, that alone was already suicide; when they emerge from the enemy's territory, victorious in their efforts, there'd be so many traps lying there, just waiting to ambush them. And the enemy would have to be pretty stupid to allow such an overwhelming advantage to play out; at the most, two would be all Nunnally would get.

Would Suzaku be willing to lend her some?

She heard a static from the phone. Nunnally slid her cool, amethyst eyes near it, and sighed. "Ella, what is it? What's wrong?"

Nunnally narrowed her eyes when her beloved sister didn't respond. She tore her eyes away from the chessboard. "Ella?"

No answer.

"Ella!"

"Lady Britannia."

She blinked, and slowly straightened herself. She carefully removed the phone from her ear and checked the caller ID: unknown.

She'd forgotten; it seems that Cornelia had gone to check on the military's progression with the new Knightmare frames, though she was in no condition to go. She even left her phone behind, for heaven's sakes.

The tone was threatening enough for Nunnally to decipher who it was from the other line. Once again, her eyes came back to the chessboard, and whispered, "Am I speaking with Alfheimr?"

The man chuckled. "What gave me away?"

"For one thing, your incompetence to stay hidden."

"Come now, milady," he spewed softly. "Surely you don't find the attack so troublesome. After all, it's just a few wayward soldiers letting out some steam."

Nunnally bit her lip. "It's not an ideal way to relax. Ever heard of chess?"

The man's forceful laughter barked from her ear, causing her to wince. "You're jovial today, aren't you Britannia?"

"What are you-?"

"And quite impatient too! Well, let's say this. Perhaps you're wondering why an enemy of Britannia is calling at this present moment. Perhaps you're trying to decipher as to what are our motives are, correct?"

Nunnally balled her fists and stood. She started pacing, her emotions clouding her head ever so violently. "What are you implying?"

"It seems that our beloved king has been in your country before. Frankly, I was a bit surprised myself, but well, he's always had an odd taste in the strangest of things." The man giggled then, seemingly making fun of his own stupidity. "I'm sorry; I'm rambling, aren't I?"

"Quite. Now then-"

"Yes well. It so happens that he's taken a very fine look at the galleries. There are a lot of pictures there, that look just like a certain someone who's decided to run away."

The realization dawned on her so easily. "And you want me to find this someone?"

The man's jubilant tone suddenly changed drastically, the amiable manner the Empress found disgusting shattering within seconds. "That's right. I take it he was a part of the Royal Family. No other reason why his portrait would be up there."

Nunnally scoffed. "I've no idea what you're talking about."

"Well, you should. He was an offspring of Charles zi Britannia, and-"

"You would have me then," Nunnally snapped, "along with the majority of my siblings, many of which, I remind you, are dead."

"Which narrows the search down my dear," the man hissed gracelessly. "By the time your little squabbles ended, our very special person was still very much alive and well."

"Are you suggesting that I-?"

"Not at all, Lady Britannia." Nunnally could practically feel the sinister tendrils from his voice slowly suffocating her, subduing her with every last word spoken from his lips. "I'm merely suggesting that you do a bit of a search, that's all."

"What makes you think I'll cooperate, after the stunt you've pulled?"

"For one thing," he chuckled happily, his smooth, friendly tone returning, much to her frustrations, "when my knife slices your cute, little throat to bits."

Nunnally's eyes widened, her hands clenching the now overwhelming chessboard. Where were her pieces? Were they all enslaved by the new order, in just that blink of an eye? "You're mad-"

"On the contrary. We're all here, and waiting."

Nunnally moved away from the table now, hastily turning, trying to see where the enemy Knightmares were, what they were plotting. There was no one, yet already she couldn't handle the suspension. Her grip tightened on the phone as she moved out into the fields, her hands desperately moving the tall grasses aside.

"Now that I have your attention, we can proceed with this civil conversation." She heard him smiling from the corners of his lips, his sickly saccharine behavior making her grimace with every sound made. "I want you to understand that we mean no harm. We simply just want our court jester, and we'll be out of your hair."

"You're doing all this…just for-?"

"Unbelievable, right? But frankly, our kingdom has a need of entertainers these days."

"What a ludicrous-!"

"Now, now. Calm yourself Lady Britannia." She heard him smirk when she quieted, her already wounded pride suffering more of a beating. "His Majesty would be very happy if you could take the time to go to the royal galleries. I would like for you to find the name Mordred li Britannia, if you will."

His Majesty?

Nunnally clenched her teeth, remembering the snake that managed to sneak her way into Pendragon. Lady Vivien, she recalled, who was so very anxious to place Arthur back on the throne. She promised the same thing, to stay out of Nunnally's way, who did everything necessary, trampled on anyone she had to, if that meant bringing some insignificant tyrant down.

She took a deep breath and glared at the nonexistent person standing in front of her. "There's no such person that existed."

"Guinevere-"

"Doesn't exist here," she finished firmly. "The only ones with that surname are my beloved older sisters, one of whom is already dead. I refuse to comply with the grounds which you have laid these negotiations. Clearly, you are all rabid animals that-"

"Lady-

"-need to be put down."

"Purple eyes."

Nunnally raised her eyes. "Pardon?"

The air became neutral again. Immediately, the hostility radiating from Nunnally's body left, while the man snickered amusingly. "Mordred li Britannia. He has purple eyes and brown hair. If you would like to declare war on us, then fine, but otherwise, I would like you to give it a good look first. Alright? Your Majesty?"

And with that, the phone line cut off, leaving Nunnally to deal with her already pathetic assumptions.

Kallen confidently stepped through the corridors, the bright sun now shining down at her in all its scorching liveliness. Her Black Knight uniform reflected haughtily against the metallic shimmers, ready to be out of the fading sunlight. Her heels echoed throughout the hallway, while the windows reflected everyone there, now standing gathered at the window's first floors. Even from here, she could see the reporters' meticulous, painstaking attention to detail, as well as the photographers' brilliant flashes; all of them were shouting anxiously, trying to get a picture, at least, of the Black Knights who will represent Zero.

Alongside her was Todoh, who scolded her for paying any attention to the masses at all. His steel-like eyes regarded her presence cooly, as they made their way toward the Prime Minister's office. She held her breath, and followed him until they came to the front doors.

Right now, Zero was talking with the UFN and the Chinese Federation, determining what exactly was the best course of action for dealing with the terrorists, all the while cooperating with international militias to see what they would do next. He's already scheduled an audience with Nunnally, and had gone on to secure the cooperation of thousands of nations, who were just itching for war. Well, he's made himself look good while answering questions, that's for sure; seems like everyone's concentrating on this new attack now, with the the Vermillion assault completely forgotten.

Carefully, Todoh opened the doors, revealing a grand, modernized room that grabbed her eyes before she realized it. The windows were elongated, their large frame looming over Oghi's tiny body in all their gloom. To either side of her, there were staircases that trailed upwards toward the balcony on top. The Japanese flag reigned supreme, and it was situated next to the Britannian flag, as well as many others. As she walked forward, her eyes darting here and there, she caught sight of a miniature picture frame sitting on his desk, and immediately, her hardened exterior softened.

She looked up at Oghi and gave him a warm smile. "The family looks good as always."

"Yeah," he answered. He signed his signature on the paper and looked up, the dark shadows beneath his eyes causing her concern. However, satisfaction permeated from his pupil's gleam, so Kallen brushed her worry aside. He nodded at Todoh, who, in return, gave him the same greeting. "We've a message from Zero."

Oghi blinked. "What's that?"

"Tighten security around the Kyushu area and Tokyo," he stated. "He also wanted to get your permission to send additional troops to Sendai's ports, to make sure no unwanted influences interfere with international trade."

Oghi sat back in his seat and considered the thought, before looking up at Todoh. "Tell him we say thank you, but we can provide our own protection. Besides, the Black Knights are needed elsewhere; the Chinese Federation are preparing for another attack I hear."

"They are," Kallen answered obediently. "Zero has already sent them aid, and we're expecting to hear back from them soon."

"Great, I'll-" He finally caught Kallen's eyes, and chuckled a little. "I'll send the proper provisions to them soon. Tell Zero and Tianzi I said hi."

"Right." Todoh left without any other word, but Kallen stayed behind, wanting to take in a bit more of the view here. It was simply amazing, how her brother's timid, compromising friend, had managed to get all the way here. If Naoto saw this, he would completely flip. She laughed at the thought and regarded him playfully. "Where's Villetta?"

"Advocating women's rights," he said contently. "Or chasing Arthur. Or doing both. I'm not sure at the moment."

"How are the kids?"

"Rambunctious as ever."

There it was, the same, vulnerable smile she knew would appear the moment he let down his guard. Kallen took a deep breath. "Have the celebrations died out yet?"

Oghi's smile faded. Suddenly, that vibrant leader she'd come to admire disappeared, and a trace of that mourning subordinate was still there, left in the wake of Lelouch's death. "No, they haven't. We've had to put down a few burnings."

"Trying to find his grave?"

"Yeah." He laughed emptily. "It's gonna be hard moving on. They haven't felt like justice has been dealt yet."

"Even with the survivors from Narita and the SAZ?"

"It's actually made them a lot more bitter." Oghi slid an awkward look toward the windows outside. By now, Todoh might as well have been fighting his way to get to the Knightmare, all the while being hounded by useless questions, without the slightest hints of reluctance. Kallen felt a little bad, abandoning him like that, but in actuality, she's gotten tired of his soldierlike disposition; he needs to learn to loosen up a bit.

"There are a lot of people wondering why their loved ones haven't returned, when others have." he went on. "They keep questioning the government, convinced that we're hiding some sort of dangerous scandal from them. Just yesterday, the security guards caught a few reporters snooping around, trying to dig up information about what happened during those events."

"Aren't you curious too?"

"Well, of course I am." He swirled his chair around, folding his hands neatly on his lap. "But no one knows, I'm telling you that right now Kallen. Britannian soldiers confirmed the bodies themselves, and let's not forget that we were the ones who witnessed Princess Massacre's rampage." He closed his eyes. "Frankly, this all feels like a dream; no explanations, no answers, nothing at all."

Kallen narrowed her eyes. "So…so who are those spoiled brats anyways?"

Oghi shrugged. "People who just want something to take out their frustrations on."

"What if…what if there was a person that looked similar to Lelouch?"

Oghi looked up at her with curious eyes. "What?"

"I'm just saying there's a lot of people who look like him out there," she clarified, remembering the boy who was stuck in that golden cage. "What happens to them? I mean, they know better then to-"

To her dismay, he shook his head. "I've got no idea. There've been a lot of episodes where someone was physically assaulted for praising his name. The society here is still anti-Lelouch really." He sighed then. "It's practically the only thing that was holding us together. Can you blame them for clinging so tightly to that hatred?"

"But relations between nations have improved, haven't they?" she pressed.

"And that's why everyone refuses to let it go," Oghi countered finally. "Without the resentment, we'd probably go back to fighting each other again. It's ironic, I know it is. But what else can we do?"