Of all the plans to pull from the history books, it just had to be Vercingetorix's defeat at the hands of Caesar during the Siege of Alesia that the royals decided to pull off. The Narita mountains were encircled within three days with mobile shield walls and manned with anti-armor cannons. Nothing was getting in or out of the mountains, not without either General Cornelia or Prince William's say-so.

Interview with Ser Walter Lodge, On the Asian Front

Free Britannia Press, 2027

"What do you mean we can't attack the terrorist stronghold? We already have it surrounded!" Cornelia roared, hands slamming down onto the table as she faced her half-brother Schneizel in the conference room. "We've lost too much to their terror campaigns to give up now." She snarled.

Juniper stood beside her sister in their meeting while the prime minister stood before them on the projector. "Cornelia is right. We can't show weakness to the dissident elements, we'd be giving the terrorists the recruiting call they need." Juniper looked between them as Cornelia was maintaining the encirclement of the Narita fortress with William as Juniper and Euphemia managed the day-to-day affairs of the area.

"For the most part, you would be correct." Schneizel said, looking at them each in turn. "However, the terrorists have nearly thirty members of peerage captive after the debacle at the palace. While the former Lord Grant has been punished for his failure with his own death during the incident, we are left with thirty individuals, as well as nearly sixty others who have been captured."

William gave a grunt at this point. "I am aware of the missing persons list and we will definitely need to do some negotiating with these terrorists, even if I do despise them and even if it means condoning terrorism."

"If we do that, we legitimize terrorism. Send in a special operations team or let us launch our attack." Cornelia pointed out. "They'll be more likely to give us favorable terms once we're knocking at their door." She snarled, casting an eye to the diagram of the base before her.

"We cannot do that." William and Schneizel said at the same time. "The fact remains that they have VIPs that we must rescue before anything else. All other points are moot until then. They've offered terms, and they're quite generous all things considered."

"Such as?" Juniper ventured, frowning at the idea of letting terrorists get their way, they'd hurt Euphemia, killed so many civilians, and they spoke as if justice was on their side. If history was correct, then they were no better than the invading armies of Britannia, not that she'd ever mention a word of that particular point of her beliefs to anyone but her husband who knew himself.

Schneizel went over the list once more. "Knightmare frames and ammunition mostly, they know we'd never willingly send them energy fillers so I assume the black market will have that covered. We can requisition the older models from the scrapyards and the knight police without too much detriment to ourselves and in terms of tactical strength."

William gave a feral grin at this, all knew that the Hyperion corporation's R&D teams were savants when it came to knightmares. "I believe I can mitigate the effect they will have in terms of military strength. A simple issue, one they won't detect until they actually face us in battle."

The second prince of the empire raised an eyebrow and nodded for the man to continue. "As it stands, all knightmares piggyback off the same operating system since the Glasgow frames were introduced. It won't be hard to rewire their IFF and make our own Knightmares invisible to theirs and make it unable for them to target our own. It's an easy bypass, but they should be disorganized for about fifteen minutes while they recalibrate. Enough time for our forces to wipe them out."

Looking astounded, the three royals looked at the man in their presence. Schneizel with newfound respect, Juniper with admiration and Cornelia with horror. The weapon that had subjugated resistances and invaded countless nations with minimal losses could be so easily undone. The weapon that allowed every man to fight like gods on the battlefield had such a great Achilles Heel that it might render the weapon obsolete if a solution wasn't found. This was one man who the empire couldn't afford to be an enemy, she thought. The emperor knew that, that's why he was now married to Cornelia's half-sister, to keep tabs on him.

"That's an interesting proposal, will they be able to detect these countermeasures?" Schneizel asked, putting a hand to his chin. "If they find out the ruse then they'll kill the hostages."

Looking suitably mollified, Juniper looked to her husband who was muttering to himself. "I know you want what's best for the people, but we can't afford to put any more people in danger."

"It will work." William said carefully. "It won't change any of the subroutines for targeting or during the boot-up sequence. It was included as a safety feature during the testing of the original Glasgows and was never removed from the OS, it just can't be accessed manually, like it doesn't exist." He said, making the three royals more conscious regarding this man. "I had access to the original Glasgow operating system some years back while I was trying to find a workaround for our newer prototype system. I've removed that particular barrier from the units produced by Hyperion for the army."

"Can you be certain that it won't backfire on us?" Cornelia asked, weighing the risks of having a new operating system, even by a loyal subject of the empire it was too much of a risk having access to all the military hardware in the Area. "We can't move forward with that, even with the prisoner transfer."

"Prisoner transfer?" William and Juniper inquired at the same time. "I was not informed we'd be releasing criminals and prisoners of war to our enemy." Juniper said hotly. "When was the decision made?"

Schneizel put up a hand. "That was my doing, sister. They wouldn't part with their prisoners, as they no doubt know of their value, until an exchange was met. We release our prisoners and they do the same with theirs." He said, raising his hands in a calming gesture to placate his sister's anger. Never let it be said that she isn't of Britannian blood, Schneizel thought, she could be fiery when she wished.

Juniper shook her head. "It's still too risky, if we let their prisoners go then they'll recoup the numbers they lost at both the lake and the palace."

"What do you propose then?" Cornelia scoffed.

"Divide them." Juniper said, looking to her husband who raised an eyebrow and nodded her to continue. "They're asking us to free our prisoners, then release the criminals as well back into the ghetto. Murderers and rapists running around the ghetto will quickly change the people's tune." She said coldly.

Inwardly, Cornelia wanted to cry. So much had happened in such a short time that had turned her sister from the cheerful and bubbly girl that fostered at Demeter Villa with the Li Britannia family to the woman who knew the cold and brutal calculus of ruling. She wanted nothing more than to shoot her husband, no doubt part of the cause of her sister's transformation. "While I don't agree with releasing our tried criminals, it might just be what we need to tip the scales in our favor." Schneizel said. "Thank you, sister. I believe we are done for today." Schneizel said with a nod as he terminated his end of the conference.

Erika steadied her breathing, the harsh throb of her head lessening as she cleared her thoughts from her mind. A week and already she felt disgusted at any sympathy she had for the Japanese rebels in the past. To her, there was nothing noble and nothing honorable about keeping helpless men, women and children hostage for crimes they didn't commit.

Thinking back on things, Lelouch had wanted a peaceful world, he had never said anything about the reality of war but that was the dreaming of a ten-year-old that had just lost his mother in a war of succession as old as the empire itself. The empire wasn't wrong about the truths of the world, in truth, Erika was sure that her brother had meant well when she was sent away from that controlling man who used his own children as bargaining tools and means of getting what he wanted.

That meeting with the woman with green hair had revealed yet another piece of information about her brother. The gift that her brother had given her, a power she feared to use because of what it would make her. To take the free will of someone and twist it, the thing that she long viewed the empire as cruel for doing, was truly the only way to achieve peace. With a gulp, she blinked the red contact lenses from her eyes and stared at the men who were watching her. "I, Nunnally vi Britannia, command you both. Aid my escape from the base." She stated as both men looked her in the eyes, freezing at the violet eyes that stared back with a determined expression.

"Yes, princess." Both men saluted, one saluting as the other unlocked her cuffs. They stood at attention as she directed them open the door.

The man outside asked for all of a minute as a single gun report fired and the thud of something hitting the ground came from outside as Erika stepped free from the cell she'd been locked in. Looking down, she frowned, remembering the man from the lake but hardened her expression. A group of six came down the corridor as Erika swept an arm to the side with a dramatic wave. "Obey my commands!" she shouted as the six stumbled as one, shaking their heads before focusing on her.

"Yes, princess." The said in unison as Erika secretly reveled in her newfound ability. It was intoxicating, such control and such power. She shook the thoughts from her mind, feeling instantly sick to her stomach and for once was glad that nobody could see her as she retched up her lunch in disgust.

For a moment, she felt like she was her father, her biological father. The control he must feel with hundreds of thousands of lives as his playthings, it was hard not to become lost in such corruptive power. "I will become nothing like him." She swore to herself as she directed the men take her to the other prisoners. "Refrain from referring to me as a princess." She ordered as the men bobbed their heads.

The doors of the cells were opened, and prisoners freed without much fanfare. "All of you, hurry. We're escaping." Erika said as she led them out as the eight soldiers stood guard. "Take us to the nearest exit aboveground."

"Of course." the men responded, leading them and gunning down any they met. The remaining people were in shock to answer as Erika stepped among the bodies that to them looked like a spirit, a chooser of the slain as she didn't seem affected by the death that surrounded her. "Through here, you will come to the base of the mountain within three minutes walking."

"Distract the terrorists so we can get away." Erika ordered as the hostages stepped through.

"Of course." They said once more in unison as gunfire erupted once more while the last sealed the door by smashing the console behind them.

Lelouch stood across the bulky man called Colonel Madd, where behind him stood three girls, the youngest of which was no older than Nunnally would be right now. "Colonel Madd, these are your . . . super soldiers?" Lelouch asked, not that he was skeptical about their abilities, the Irregulars and Colonel Madd's names had turned up numerous times in Legion's reports on various locations across the globe. "They aren't how the other reports mentioned, half-men and half-machines. They look like ordinary young women to me."

"On the contrary, they're here under orders from the emperor to watch after you and the princesses." Madd grinned widely. "His majesty has requested that the new generation be assigned to your protection detail, less conspicuous I believe."

"I appreciate the emperor's concern for me, though I believe I'm more concerned regarding the news that your division is conducting tests in Area Eleven. I'd like to remind you of the current situation, if such technology fell into the hands of the rebels, who knows what the emperor would do to the one who leaked such important secrets." Lelouch said as he eyed the three girls who even now still stood at parade rest. "I suppose if it's a command from the emperor, I can't very well refuse it. Who will be assigned to me and my wife?"

Two of the three, the taller one with a fair complexion and the unusually timid looking girl stepped forward and saluted, something Lelouch deigned to return and elected to nod instead. "Staff-Sergeant Sancia Edgefield, Irregular Company." The taller one stated. "Prince William, I am assigned to be your guard, and to pose as your secretary for the duration of my appointment here."

The shorter of the two, a rather pale looking girl responded softly yet clearly. "Sir, PFC Lucretia Evans, Irregular Company. I am charged to pose as the princess Juniper's lady-in-waiting." She answered and Lelouch nodded to them both. This was going to be complicated, the emperor's dogs had now found their way into his home. Then again, he was sure that this was to protect him and not spy on him. He'd given them no reason to suspect him, perhaps he really was just being paranoid.

Lelouch observed the sakuradite-enhanced warhead's detonation theory as he'd taken from Nina, the mousy girl had about thrown the notes at him in her eagerness to help the man who had helped her family recover. She seemed a lot happier and less introverted than the previous timeline, perhaps the two years she'd not been in Japan had been good to her.

"The reaction reaches nearly ninety-five percent consumption rate of the Uranium and Sakuradite. The spherical detonation is powerful enough to destroy any defenses we currently have. Project Shiva will be shelved until further notice." Lelouch declared as the scientists clapped at the success of the project. He had to grimace, and remembered the one target he needed to destroy. He owed it to Rolo to see this one thing through to the end. "Detonate remaining Shiva warhead in the Gobi Desert at these coordinates." Lelouch said.

Lelouch smirked as the notice of launch was heeded and he walked away to be with his half-sister and wife. Much easier now, there was nothing that could go wrong at this point. The phone rang and Lelouch had to curse the Collective Unconscious at this juncture. "Of all times." He grumbled. "Gottwald here, what do you need?"

"It's Naoto, there's movement at the perimeter of the wall. Looks to be civilians." Naoto said. "Erika's with them."

Groaning inwardly, Lelouch had indeed seen her name in the list, but had to move carefully to ensure that no connection other than their fathers' mutual partnership seemed to be their only connection. "That's surprising. I thought the prisoner transfer was scheduled later this week." Lelouch answered evenly as he fought with himself on the inside.

The door slid open as the hostages stumbled into the base, looking not too worse for the wear save a few bruises and scratches among the noble prisoners. "Erika, your father will be relieved to hear of your safe return." Lelouch caught Naoto saying, grinning as he placed his coat around her slim shoulders. Large eye bags shone through limp blonde hair and her red eyes were rimmed further in red.

"My lords and ladies, you're safe now. We will have soldiers escort you to temporary lodging within the city until we can notify the proper authorities regarding your escape." Lelouch announced as the people sat down inside the wall's checkpoint. Lelouch had to admit that he was proud of his sister's resourcefulness at using her geass so soon. Not to mention he was worried, that move was reckless.

He wondered briefly if that was what CC felt whenever he used his powers before, the tingling sensation and the brief pain behind the eye. "My lord, could I speak to you in private please." Erika asked, voice sounding quite fragile as if she would break. She was trembling, but then again it had been over a week since her incarceration in unknown conditions, Lelouch was once more certain he should have just buried them again under a mountain of debris and mud then rescued them after the terrorists offered terms for their rescue.

The attending knights looked nervous. "Stand down, she's the daughter of one of my father's allies. There's no cause for alarm." Lelouch said as the two knights blocked her path. "Have the quartermaster bring something for her to eat to my quarters." Lelouch said as he offered his hand, one she graciously took as he led her up to the commander's quarters.

The moment the door slid closed, Erika ran into her brother's embrace, tears flowing freely as Lelouch murmured sweet nothings as he held his sister. "I was so scared." She sobbed, all the pent-up emotions hidden from the decade they'd been apart burst forth like water from a dam.

Lelouch held her as she cried. "It's alright. You're safe and you rescued everyone there." He said, stroking her hair as she continued to cry. "You've grown up a lot. That sweet little girl back at Aires Villa would never have been able to do any of the things you did."

She sniffled, trying and failing to rein in her emotions. "It felt so wrong." She confessed. "Taking away somebody's freedom like that."

"I would have been worried if you weren't or didn't bring it up." Lelouch answered truthfully. "Erika, I'm just glad you're safe. My knights, well, your parents aren't going to be happy that you put yourself in danger like that though." Lelouch noted.

Snorting, she looked up at her brother, a word that should have come easy to her thoughts yet now seemed so foreign to her. "Erika, yeah, I suppose neither of us has gone by our names since that day." She muttered to herself, hugging her brother, acquaintance, she didn't know what to call him anymore. "I was scared, for a moment there I enjoyed what I did to them . . . the power was so . . . intoxicating." She breathed.

Lelouch looked down, frowning at the description she gave. It was possible that she received the power he had. After all, their growth was somewhat similar and their needs aligned, he was grateful that her power had helped her escape the terrorists. This way, there were no casualties, and nothing to stop him and Cornelia from bringing vengeance onto the terrorists.

Erika tugged at Lelouch and shivered. "I feel cold. Could you . . . please stay with me for tonight?" she murmured as she rested her head against his chest. "I don't want to be alone . . . not right now."

Nodding, Lelouch watched his sister drift off as he put an arm around her shoulder as she snuggled closer to his warmth. For one moment, Lelouch let his façade drop and kissed her forehead with a kind smile. "Sweet dreams . . . Nunnally." He whispered.

A/N:

This took a bit longer than I'd have liked for the chapter, not to mention I've had to slog through some portions of this chapter. We're almost done with R0, maybe six or seven more chapters to the conclusion and then things will begin to pick up. Timewise, this story would have taken place from the prologue to about three-fourths of the way through R1 if I recall correctly. In any event, hope to hear what you think about this chapter. The little scene at the end between Lelouch and Erika (Nunnally) kind of wrote itself as well but it seemed like a good little filler to add for the Lelouch-Nunnally fans out there.

Well, I've got time on my hands before my coursework picks up, so hopefully I can get a chapter or two down before I really have to really start focusing on my papers. Wish me luck. R&R is always appreciated.

Arilia