Audacity chapter 21.

*You might want to consider reading my responses to the questions asked in the review section; primarily because it has relevant information pertaining to this story… Typically. Also I'm thinking about making the length of this chapter my standard from now on, despite the fact that it takes longer to produce. If you have thoughts comments and/or concerns about that drop me a line, I honestly need a third-party consideration on this.*

Response to review by: XT3. I agree, I have a bit of a belief that the memories make your personality and help define who you are, and by removing them you're essentially emptying yourself. For better or for worse.

Response to review by: EVA-Saiyajin. Dude, I got so tired of typing your pen name that I ended up formatting it into Dragon's vocabulary so I wouldn't have to type it every time I responded to your reviews. (This is a good thing I assure you.)

That aside, if you notice Shirley's room has a full body mirror, to this point you can imagine how you would accidentally Geass multiple persons, himself included, especially considering the fact that he's over used his Geass as it stands and is gone into stage II evolution and won't turn off. Then again if you'll read this chapter you get a slightly better explanation.

Response to review by: Anon… Also known as 'He who is very anonymous' lol. Sometimes the first person perspective feels like it's going in circles, this is due to the fact that people constantly have that feeling themselves. If this is story was from the third person perspective ( over the shoulder) a lot more would've happened in a shorter span of time (or in this case text) however it would've been nowhere near as detailed when it comes to the matter of an individual's thoughts and feelings. So as far as plot development for the previous chapter… It was less so than I would've liked.

Aside from that, I have special plans for Shirley; to answer questions preemptively no I do not plan on pairing her with someone else. Other than that I can say very little.

"{For the billionth time Kallen, I'm fine I don't need anything you can go home now.}" I said this in exasperation as I leaned my head back into the pillows of the bed I'd been forced into by Kallen. If it would have been up to me I probably would have been doing basic research on the computer or something that I considered to be lightweight… However the redhead had significantly different ideas.

"I get that you're fine right now, but what if you need something?" I rolled my eyes despite the fact she couldn't see it.

"{Then I'll get up and get it. Obviously.}" Kallen adjusted herself on the desks chair.

"The more you move around the longer this is going to take to heal up, and we need you on your feet as soon as possible." I knew it wasn't going to win any argument with her, assuming it involved my immediate health. I didn't really put up a fight, sure I complained a lot however this was only because it distracted me from the feeling of emptiness I'd recently acquired.

Why do I feel like I just lost something important… Logically speaking everything is going great aside from the bullet wounds.

"{Just how long did the medic say I had until I'm back at 100%?}" although I had a fairly good idea of how long it should take, I figured it would be a better idea for me to get multiple opinions.

"Assuming you don't screw something up, he said you should be able to be back on your feet in about two weeks. But he did say you will probably experience pain and discomfort for well over a month." She paused and fiddled with her phone briefly. "Next time you decide to shoot through yourself try not to use a 9 mm because-" I cut her off.

"{They tend to hit ribs and bounce all over the place, yes yes I know. How many times do I have to tell you that it was a snap decision and I panicked.}" She let it drop that.

I sat there doing nothing for the better part of an hour until I became restless once more. Ever since Kallen came back with a painkiller, Vicodin I determined, I felt significantly more mobile. I knew this was just a feeling and that I shouldn't abuse it, however I couldn't stop myself from feeling the need to do something.

Aside from the fact that I was slowly losing my mind due to boredom, there was an issue I couldn't ignore and that I wanted keep Kallen away from. My Geass, more specifically my inability to turn my Geass off. I noticed it once I went into the bathroom and struggled into a shower. I knew for a fact of I wasn't careful, Kallen might see the birdlike symbol radiating from my left eye

But if I get anywhere near someone I haven't already used my Geass on it could spell trouble, I need to speak to CC as soon as possible.

I had already asked Kallen to go and check with Sayoko and find out whether or not the other 'tenant' to my rather exclusive dorm was in. As it turned out she was not, apparently she had left for parts unknown had not announced her return time… Or the fact that she was going anywhere to begin with.

This left me with very few options… However, one of my few remaining options was rather intriguing.

I guess all I can do now is fuck with Kallen.

"{Kallen?}" She looked up at me from her phone obviously prepared for another one of my arguments. "{Do you carry a gun?}" I asked this, genuinely interested. It appeared as if she found the question rather odd for she furled her eyebrows together slightly in response.

"No. I do have one though." I was a little bit surprised at her answer, considering she had been a terrorist.

"{Why would you own one but not carry it? Especially considering your situation.}"

"I just don't like the added weight. Besides, whenever I'm fighting I keep it with me although I never need it due to the fact I'm always in a knightmare." Her answer made sense, but I wasn't pleased with it.

"{You need to start carrying it, unless of course it's too large to keep concealed. What model and caliber is it?}" she looked upwards, pondering the question briefly.

"I know it's a 9 mm, but I don't know the model." Now that answer truly upset me.

"{That is absolutely unacceptable; you should always be explicitly familiar with your weapons.}" I stated.

"Coming from the guy who doesn't know how to pilot a knightmare." She had a point there.

"{Speaking of which, how am I going to learn? We don't have enough knightmares on hand to train with, not without fear of damaging them at least.}"

"I suppose we could always use a simulator." I hadn't considered that, then again I didn't know anything about said simulators either. Another annoying gap in my knowledge and memories.

"{Where could we get our hands on one?}" Kallen spun in the revolving chair once before replying.

"I know you can find them at most community centers; however I don't know the level of realism they provide, not to mention they wouldn't let us buy it from them. It's obvious the Britannian military would have them, but it would be almost impossible to get to them. I also doubt we could buy them from a third-party without raising suspicions."

"{I agree, it seems nomatter which way we look at it getting our hands on one will be tricky."

I decided it was time to get off this topic and begin my pestering questions once more.

"{What's your favorite color?}" once again Kallen expressed her confusion due to the strangeness of the question.

"Red I guess."

"{How old are you?}"

"17." She answered, obviously expecting me to build up to something as was my usual method.

"{What's your favorite subject?}"

"Physics, or maybe literature…" I continued questioning, however decided to begin steering the questions towards more personal matters.

"{Ever dream of getting married?}" she almost blanched at this.

"N-no, not really. Why are you asking me all this?" I ignored her question and continued my own.

"{Ever kissed a guy?}" she began to panic.

"T-that's not of your business!" I smiled; teasing her was just so much fun.

"{What's your bra size?}" I asked deciding to be more audacious. This elicited a heavy blush from the redhead. She covered her chest with her arms and turned away.

"Dammit, quit asking me things!"

"{Is that how you talk to the leader of your organization?}" I asked sarcastically.

"You're not Cypher 01 right now… You just Lelouch… and the pain in the ass." I nodded in agreement.

"{And this pain in the ass does not need to be puppy guarded, I'm not in any danger here. This means you should go home and get some rest.}"

"And what if something happens?" I leveled my gaze with her despite my glowing eye.

"{Then I'll call you, besides I have people here capable of taking care of me.}"

And as if I had just asked her to enter, CC walked in like she owned the place.

"{Speak of the devil.}" I recited the old saying. "{Kallen this is CC… She is my… Accomplice.}" I settled for the final word.

"Hello." Kallen said meekly. She never let her eyes off CC, almost as if she was scrutinizing her.

"{I'm assuming you know what my most recent problem is?}" I asked CC vaguely.

"Yes, it happened much sooner than I expected… I've already developed a solution for it." Kallen looked at me expectantly.

"What are you guys talking about?" that was not a question I was looking forward to answering.

"{Kallen, you need to go home now.}" I said this, allowing my voice fill with authority. She was about to protest but I cut her off. "{There's sensitive information I need to discuss with CC, it's not that I don't trust you… It's just that there are some things that are not ready to find out about yet. I need you to trust me on this one.}" I added that last part in hopes that she would drop her arguments.

"Fine, but if I catch wind of you moving around it'll be your ass!" she said threateningly. "I guess I'll be back tomorrow…" She said as she left. CC took up her position in the chair as the door closed.

"You let all your subordinates talk to you like that?" she asked teasingly. I sighed lightly.

"{She's different than the others, I feel like I can trust her more. And from that, a bit of informality has developed between us… Not that I don't enjoy it, I hope to have that with all my allies eventually.}"

CC reached into the Ashford school uniform she had on in place of her usual straitjacket. Fumbling around briefly she tossed a rectangular box at me. Reaching out to intercept it a twinge of pain caught me. Regardless I intercepted it and began to inspect the package.

The box was light purple and made of plastic, had a single clasp at the front end of it. I clicked the clasp open. Inside was an individual contact lens the same color as my eyes.

"Use that to block your Geass, but just remember if it gets any stronger you will need more than that." I nodded appreciating the foresight. CC spun on the chair playfully.

"{I'm surprised you managed to get this so quickly}" I stated trying not to sound suspicious. Despite this she looked at me with an annoyed expression.

Note to self, replace revolving chair with uncomfortable, metal foldout chair. I thought this offhandedly.

"Would you have preferred I didn't help at all?" she asked in a nonthreatening manner.

"{No I suppose not… Hey wait a minute! Do you still have my Highpoint?" she smiled coyly and reached into her chest pocket.

"You mean this?" she asked elongating her syllables. I grit my teeth and attempted to sit up and retrieve my property.

"{Gah! Fuck!}" I immediately wished I hadn't, just as Kallen had stated, I was in no condition to be moving around… In fact it completely escaped me as to why I came here after waking up in Saitama… Better yet, it confused me as to why I felt such a sense of urgency while returning. This triggered the feeling of emptiness once more, ignoring it I begin thinking about my future plans.

If are going to keep on working together were going to need a name… I want it to be awesome as hell. But what could I use? I suppose I should also make it symbolic… should it have anything to do with my alias?

All these thoughts and more zipped through me in a matter of seconds. I briefly considered consulting CC. Realizing what I had just considered I shot that idea down immediately afterwards.

My thoughts eventually turned to a base of operations for my allies.

It would be best if we could have it underground, at least partially… It's also going to need another use to cover up the level of activity were going to have around it. I have to do some research into buildings being constructed and whatnot, I'm sure with my Geass I can convince a few people to tweak their designs.

Throwing the blankets off myself I gently lifted my legs over the edge of the bed and stood. Grunting heavily in pain I hauled myself upwards.

"What's your problem?" CC asked. I'd entirely forgotten that she had no idea about my injuries.

"{Got shot twice…}" I waited for the inevitable backlash; after all I had specifically told her I wouldn't get into any dangerous situations any time soon.

"Why did you let them shoot you more than once?" her question stunned me as I leaned onto the frame of the bed for support.

"{Because I did it to myself…}" She popped a quizzical look. I explained the situation in detail. Once she fully understood the situation she began her questions anew.

"Why didn't you just reach around your shoulder or som-" I cut her off angrily.

"{It was a snap decision dammit. I did the first thing that came to mind that I thought would work.}" Still aggravated I shifted the subject. "{So how long until my Geass goes back to normal?}" she looked up at me with what I perceived to be a nostalgic expression.

"From what I've seen in other people, it can't, it can only get worse. I'm not saying it's not a possibility… But that would imply your Geass got weaker and stepped down a level."

So the stronger my Geass becomes harder it will be to control… Is it possible I can gain other abilities when it evolves? I voiced my last thought to which CC replied.

"Once again as far as I'm concerned that won't happen."

Damn, I guess this is as good as it gets. Oh well it's more than I need. I wonder if she has ever given Geass to oth- my phone vibrating interrupted my thoughts, reaching over to its position on my nightstand I picked it up and answered.

"{Hello?}" I asked trying not to sound strained.

"Lelouch! What did you do to Shirley? She won't even talk about you guys." I honestly didn't know how to respond to that.

"{What….?}" Was the simple question I decided to reply with.

"Don't give me that, she won't even tell me if you guys are still dating or not." My eyes widened as I began to put bits and pieces together.

"{I'm sorry did you say I was dating Shirley?}" I questioned in a serious tone.

"Oh, not you too… So you guys are gonna play the 'ignore each other' game? I see, I guess some peoples coping methods are just different than others. So did you just like, decide never to talk about it again?"

This was a serious mind fuck moment for me as a realized one of two things happened.

Either Gray Jack had extracted some of my memories again… or I had Geassed myself to forget a relationship with Shirley.

Going for broke I hung up on Milly and removed the phone's battery… the next step would require a bit of finesse if I wanted straight answers.

"{GRAY JACK! We need to talk!}" I yelled causing CC to look at me as if I've just lost my mind. A large flash of light followed by the disturbing smell of burnt meat filled the room. Once my vision cleared the source of my amnesia became visible in full.

CC screamed and fell out of the chair, landing on her ass indignantly. Her eyes widening all but bugging out of her head as she pointed at Jack and sputtered out a few panicked words.

"W-w-what the hell is t-that!" I couldn't help but break a sadistic grin as the usually stoic immortal lost her composure and began panicking like a little schoolgirl.

"{CC, meet Gray Jack. Gray Jack… Well fuck it, I'm sure you've been in her head often enough to know who she is.}" Gray Jack leaned against the wall and looked at me.

"Actually, every time I try to look at her thoughts are always obscure and blurred… As if she was dead, but alive at the same time… Frozen would be the best equivalent for her state of mind." I nodded and looked back at CC, she had pushed herself against the wall in a defensive posture and was clearly reaching for her firearm… Scratch that, my firearm. Doing my best to keep laughter out of my voice I explained some of the situation.

"{This ugly thingamajig you see here has made off with a good portion of my memories and what have you. Apparently so he can keep himself entertained… It would seem he's strange like that, regardless I find him a valuable asset towards our cause… If the price is right.}"

"A nice way to put it." Jack said sarcastically. I waved his snide remarks aside and got to the meat of the matter.

"{You can pester him later, if he lets you. But right now I need to know, Jack, did you remove more of my memories?}" Jack snorted and looked toward CC.

"Nope, sorry that was your dumbass fault. By the way I know you can't remember it but that was quite an epic fail, I wish I had my camera." Not quite knowing whether or not he was serious I nodded and accepted the information. If he was lying to me I'd have no way of telling so I would have to assume that he was telling the truth simply because he gained nothing by lying to me… For now.

"{Did I do it on purpose?}" I continued my questions.

"What part of an 'epic fail' means it was deliberate?" he sighed outwards. "But in all seriousness no you did not, there was a mirror when you were speaking to your play thing and you caught both yourself and her in a Geass command." He locked eyes with CC.

"Speaking of Geass, later on I would like to go over the specifics of this… I'd like to call it a weapon, but it's more of a pain in the ass superpower. But we will talk about it later; of course you can name your price." CC stood shakily and attempted to regain some of her composure, it was obvious her mind was still in shambles but she did a good job of hiding it.

Getting back on topic I questioned further.

"{Can you undo it for me}?" Gray Jack turned his view back to me and crossed his arms. Which was impressive considering their length.

"Not without risking some serious brain damage, the only reason I was able to do it so easily last time was because I caught it while it was in the process of re-aligning your mind. If I tried an actual rewire from scratch I could seriously fuck you up by accident… Or on purpose."

I grit my teeth and considered my options.

Is it worth it? Would I risk my mind as a whole to regain a couple weeks' worth of memories? If not less? Even if I did succeed I would still have to do it to Shirley if I want to return to the original status quo… It's an unnecessary risk, this relationship is not, or at least is no longer crucial to my being… I don't need it to carry on.

"A wise decision, to be honest with you I was waiting for you to fuck it up and get her killed. But it looks like you've avoided that outcome, albeit inelegantly." I had made my decision, and I was going to stick by it regardless of whether or not it bit me in the ass.

A stray thought occurred to me as I smiled playfully.

"{Hey Jack, you wouldn't happen to be able to build me a secret base in a space between dimensions or something like that would you?}" I asked genuinely interested in the answer. Gray Jack chuckled a deep guttural sound.

"You couldn't afford it!" I knew he meant that I had not enough to offer; material funding was easy enough to acquire, especially with my Geass. I began to notice my side had begun to ache from standing upright for a prolonged period of time, I had the information I wanted, it was time to move on.

I snapped open the case once more and struggled to place a contact on my left eye. After several tries I succeeded.

That's going to take some getting used to… I thought, honestly I didn't like how impractical the whole thing was.

"Well if you'll excuse me, I need to go find a base of operations for my allies and I. If you have any suggestions for locations give me a shout." It would have been interesting to stay and watch the exchange between the two the immortals… If you could even call one of them that, but I had more pressing matters at hand. Hobbling towards the door I exited my room.

I had to give it to Kallen, the Vicodin dulled the pain considerably especially while I wasn't aggravating my wounds bymoving around. Once I sat down I looked to be completely uninjured… Until I had to move. I suppose it was slightly foolish to put up my invincible bravado and stay active despite needing to heal, but what could I say I was a guy, more importantly a guy who liked to be seen as badass.

However, the soft smile I gave Nunnally as I happened across her in the hallway made me feel far from it.

"Hey Nunnally." I greeted trying to stand up as straight as possible. "What are you up to?"

"I just got through talking with Suzaku, I'm so happy that he's here." I nodded in agreement. "He brought a cat with him and they were going to have a party for it, but they ended up canceling it so they could move up their trip to Lake Kawaguchi on account of the fact Shirley will be moving back to the homeland soon."

This information caused me to blink, the raw knowledge came back to me, the information itself at least. I couldn't remember who told me beforehand or even when.

It must've been Shirley, which was probably before I mind fucked myself. Ignoring my disturbing thoughts I continued the Smalltalk.

"Really? How long are they going to stay?" I had no idea where this 'Lake Kawaguchi' was but if the entire student Council was for some reason required to go I would have to weasel my way out of it for obvious reasons.

"Just a few days, they need to get back soon for school." I nodded in understanding.

"I need to go look up some stuff on the computer so I'll talk to you later at dinner okay?"

"All right, umm… Are you feeling all right brother? You look a little pale."

No I'm perfectly fine I just have serious internal damage as well as two cracked ribs. I wanted to say this, but I consider that too harsh for my sister.

"No I'm fine, just a little tired." Nunnally to the answer with little suspicion.

"Okay, just don't work yourself too hard."

"Naturally, I work hard at avoiding hard work." I said playfully as I walked away while trying to maintain a straight posture.

As it turns out standing perfectly straight was almost beyond my ability for it cast several bouts of pain in both of the damaged ribs. Clenching my fists and gritting my teeth I maintained the posture until I was out of Nunnally's sight. Once I turned the corner I wanted to cry from the simple agonizing strain of ignoring my bodies protests. Knowing that wasn't an option I moved on to the student Council room.

I really hope nobody is in here. I thought dully as I made it to the door and entered. I was disappointed once I saw Milly, but I perked right back up as I noticed no one else was there. Greeting her with a wave I set gently on the chair in front of the computer and turned the monitor on.

"Lelouch we really need to talk about you and-" I cut her off with a command.

"This is further notice, leave this room and don't come back for the rest of the day… And if you have anything scheduled that requires use of this room, cancel it. Once you have done all this continue acting as your normal self." I turned to the monitor as she set about leaving.

It didn't take long for me to access the information I needed.

The Britannians had yet to say anything about the Saitama engagement, to be expected but I wondered how they would handle the death of their newest Viceroy especially considering she had just arrived had spent less than a week in office.

I'm sure the sub Viceroy will take up the position and I'll be in the same mess as I was before I pulled the trigger. I suppose this time I should Geass the Viceroy… Then again that might arouse suspicion from the rest of the command structure, I guess I'll just have to use and abuse it in a nondescript manner.

But I would need to find out who I needed to Geass before I could set about that task and unless I wanted to do extensive recon; which I was physically incapable of, I'll have to wait into the official announcement.

I decided to hunt for a suitable location for my group to take refuge in. I begin the search with buildings that were still in construction, information on such was scarce, most of the sites I noticed weren't usable due to the fact that said building was either highly anticipated or would be built in a high-traffic area. I then turned my search to older buildings, ones that were going to be demolished or simply closed and ignored.

Because of the settlements relatively new construction these were far and few in between, at least within the center of theTokyo settlement. Throughout my searching I made sure to view via satellite imaging the warehouses that we were currently using. The area appeared nondescript enough, but I knew that wouldn't last if we used it too much for too longer.

Uhhhh… This is hopeless. I thought grimly. But this needs to be done sooner rather than later.

I compartmentalized my search by sectioning out the settlement into the most desirable areas. Those most desirable being closer to the edge of the water. According to these images, which I assumed were somewhat recent implied that the northeastern edge of the settlement along the coastline had many of the original buildings that were there before the Britannians began construction.

One building in particular caught my eye due to the fact that it was ostracized at least 100 yards in every direction from all other structures. Upon further investigation I discovered it used to be a fuel depot. Considering the fact that Sakuradite was a far more widely accepted power source it didn't surprise me that this facility had been shut down for many years.

There was a stray article attached to the name of the old building. The article detailed as to how the facility stored fuel above ground for easy access and transportation, however what really piqued my interest was the fact that they had three levels of refinery that of which included two levels underground.

I made damn sure to double check the square footage of the facility, it was significantly more than what I needed now.

Perfect, it will allow for growth… Assuming I can get my hands on it. And that was the ultimate kicker, the man who had previously owned it was Japanese… Therefore he no longer owned it. But I knew for a fact that no one in their right mind would purchase the actual structure due to the fact it was essentially useless.

This led me to determine that either the building was either up for sale, or someone owned the land that the building was on but didn't have the rights to the building.

It took very little searching to find the name the man who owned the land. David Spacer was the man's name, I made sure to enter what contact information he had left onto my phone for future use I considered calling right there and then for a basic sit rep of the availability, however after looking at the clock on my phone I quickly decided otherwise.

It was 6:58

About the time Sayoko usually made dinner. Double checking sources I had already used I made sure that there were no other potential hideouts that I had missed. After being somewhat satisfied with the results I closed the computer and shuffled towards the kitchen.

As I had suspected dinner was just about ready, I sat down with Nunnally and ate with her shortly after. It was uneventful nothing of great importance was said, although much conversation was exchanged. It was peaceful, and I wouldn't of had it any other way. Nunnally had really taken to her ability to see again, but strangely enough she did not discard any of her braille books or other such reading material.

"After reading like that for such a long time I find it hard to learn how to read with my eyes." She explained. It made perfect sense; I could only imagine how difficult it might be to have to memorize the shapes of all the letters and symbols in order to associate them with the sounds they made.

The rest of dinner went on a similar fashion until it came to an end. To that point I insisted upon tucking Nunnally into bed before leaving, it hurt like hell to bend over and hug her before I left… But it was worth it.

Entering my room without caution I noticed both CC and gray Jack had left, which was a good thing because I was very tired and was looking forward to getting as much sleep as possible.

The more time I spend asleep the more time my body has to heal uninterrupted. This was my final thoughts as I let the oppression of sleep take me.

The next day: 10 o'clock.

I woke up and nobody was around, I noticed that the painkillers had worn off so I made sure to take another dose. Changing clothes proved to be interesting… And by interesting I mean agonizing due to the fact that the painkillers had yet to take effect while I was exchanging clothing. Slow acting medicine aside I had no plans for the day, other than sit there and do nothing. And that's exactly what I ended up doing for almost 2 hours until Kallen walked in during the lunch break.

"Ever heard of knocking?" I asked calmly.

"I figured you would be asleep." She countered with clearly not wanting to be on the receiving end of my teasing today.

"So what's new?" I asked genuinely. Kallen shrugged in response.

"Nothing really, Tamaki left one of the knightmares on and it drained the energy filler, but other than that nothing has happened." I face palmed, I knew Tamaki was an idiot but I didn't think he'd end up doing something like that.

"Someone needs to beat some common sense into that guy." Kallen rolled her eyes and nodded.

"So what was it you needed to talk about with that CC girl yesterday? I know you made it clear you didn't want tell me, but we are allies… If it's a secret you don't need to hold back, you've already proven you're in this to win it." I sighed audibly.

I suppose I'll need to tell at least some of them about my Geass or it might turn into a problem later on… It's not like I can keep it a secret forever, eventually someone's going to notice and say "Hey, why are all those guys doing that weird shit for no good reason?" and I would be found out… To a certain extent.

I made my decision, I was going to give up my secret amongst my allies, I might as well start with Kallen.

"I have a feeling you'll hate me for it." I stated grimly. Her eyebrows knit together as she sat down on the chair in the same fashion that she had yesterday.

Why does everyone sit there, there's a perfectly good couch right over there! I couldn't help but think this in disbelief. But it was rather relevant at that exact point time.

"unless you're planning to sell us out, I'm pretty sure any secret you have can be tolerated if not embraced." I grit my teeth slightly as I figured out how to word my next sentence, I would need to do so carefully.

"What if I told you, that I had the ability to make anyone do anything under certain circumstances?" She thought about it for a moment then replied sarcastically.

"Anyone can make someone do something under the right circumstances." I rolled my eyes.

"Not what I mean, this will be hard to believe but I will prove it to you. I have a power that can manipulate someone's will and force them to do anything I want… They will have no recollection of the events shortly before and shortly after, nor will they remember preforming the action unless I specifically tell them to." Kallen crossed her arms and looked directly at me.

"I find this a bit hard to believe." She stated plainly. I quickly came up with a method of proving my Geass. Reaching for my phone I opened it and searched for the camera function, clicking on the record button I turned the phone to my own face and said.

"I am going to perform a test now, Kallen as you can see you were in the room when I said this." I turned the camera over to where she was sitting. "Kallen wave at me." I ordered. She waved at me stoically clearly humoring me and believing I was messing with her. I turned the phone back around to my face.

"Now I will demonstrate my power by forcing you to forget the time that has elapsed during this recording." I looked directly at Kallen put the camera on her. "This is further notice, you are to forget me ever making this recording, you are however to remember me explaining to you the basis of my power. Continue acting as your normal self until further notice." I finished the command and she resumed her normal mannerisms.

"Well, aren't you going to show me your supposed 'power'?" she teased. I tossed my phone to her from my seated position.

"Click play, I've made you forget the recording using my power. Hopefully this will be enough to prove to you the effects of my ability… However I want you to know that under no circumstances have I ever used it to change your opinion of me, or to force you to join me or anything like that. All of your decisions have been your own." Kallen looked at me with a bit of fear, clearly she was starting to think my behavior strange.

This became doubly present as she watched the video. Her expression changed from one of skepticism to disbelief, and shortly afterwards fear and uncertainty. Out of slight worry that she might attack me or something of the like I couldn't help but reach towards the model 36 on the small of my back. Once a video had finished playing I made sure to confirm with her.

"So now do you believe me?" her eyes remained glued to the phone her expression same as when she finished.

"This… This is unreal. How do I know you're not lying to me about my decisions being my own." I wanted to face palm, the answer should've been obvious.

"If I really didn't want you to discover my power my 'Geass' I would've used it to prevent you from finding out… But that's not what I want, I want you to accept and acknowledge it. To be able to trust me enough to the point where you can still work with me without fear of me using it on you unjustly." She kept quiet for a at least a full minute, clearly waging a mental battle with both sides of her mind. Eventually she came forth with a question.

"What do you mean unjustly?" I had already thought about the numerous applications my Geass could have without controlling someone for my benefit.

"Take my sister Nunnally for example, she was blind. Luckily the condition was not because of a physical damage or complication… It was all mental, psychological if you will. Because of that I was able to use my Geass and reverse the psychological damage, thereby allowing her to see once more." A look of understanding smoothed Kallen's face, this gave me the courage to continue my explanation further.

"And because of that, I Ken use my Geass to bring back or to remove memories at a person's discretion...or my own. I could even make them infinitely patient or strong-willed; it's also possible I can make someone smarter… However I'm not so sure about that one, there are obvious limitations to the theory."

"Is that how you managed to get kururugi away from all the Britannians without firing a shot?" I shook my head.

"No, although I was fully prepared to use it, as well as my firearms. It turned out that my ordinary preparations were all that was necessary. This is also how I managed to sneak in to the G1 mobile bases both times." She said nothing for a while longer; looking down on the floor it was obvious she was thinking deeply.

"Why bother telling me this? With this power you could keep it secret essentially forever." She was right about that… For the most part at least.

"True, but I can't help but feel like it's a burden at times, I always feel better when I have a confident to talk about things with." She seemed surprised at my answer.

"How do I know you won't use it on me for… For ummm…"

"For sex?" I finished her sentence for her.

"Umm, yeah… That." She shook the blush from her face. "that still doesn't mean I'm not under its effects right now being forced to believe what you want me to!" she appeared determined to explore every facet.

"That's like asking if we actually exist, that life might be just one giant dream or the equivalent thereof and that we are simply figments of some all-powerful being's imagination. Think about it, although I could do that to everyone I meet it would just be a lie… I wouldn't be living, I'd be playing house with a whole bunch of life-size dolls." I thought about my words for a moment realizing that they didn't make a whole lot of sense.

"What I'm trying to say is, I need real human interaction. Otherwise I'd become empty and lose my mind slowly, if I already haven't. I have no way of confirming for you that you're not currently under my Geass and being forced to believe me… All I can do is ask for your trust, and hope that I can earn it as well." She still seemed heavily disturbed with these revelations.

"Let me tell you my biggest secret, before Shinjuku… When you were in the truck transporting what you thought was the poison gas I was in it as well." This elicited a look of disbelief from Kallen. "But inside that capsule was not poison gas… Instead it was a human experiment, CC to be exact. She gave me this power." I let my words sink in for a moment before continuing. There came the part where I was forced to lie. "Shortly afterwards I accidentally erased most of my memories with my power, and because I can only use my power once on any person I couldn't return them…"

Kallen's eyes brightened briefly.

"does that mean that I'm immune to future uses?" I looked away slightly ashamed but mostly embarrassed.

"Ahh… No, about that. When I met you I carelessly cast the command 'obey me' on you and shortly afterwards ordered you to act as your ordinary self. Which by the way you still are." at first a look of absolute terror and betrayal was displayed on her features, however shortly afterwards the expression reversed itself.

"Wait, if you use that command to order me to never follow your commands again that would make me essentially immune… Despite the fact I would be carrying out your command at all times." I thought about it briefly and decided to point out the multiple holes in that inventive yet half-baked theory.

"True, but if I gave that exact command you would never follow my orders ever again, which as you can imagine would prove to be a problem if we are going to work together. So I'm going to have to word it differently at least." I thought about it briefly and decided upon a pathway.

"Make sure to record it for your own proof." I had it on motioning towards my phone which she still held. She pressed buttons on the phone for a moment or two and signal that she was ready.

"It's recording." I quickly recited my thoughts once more being sure that there was nothing I was missing. Sure of myself I began what I hoped would be the final command.

"This is further notice, under no circumstances are you to accept a command from me unless you want to, or unless you feel duty compels you to." I finished my command, holding my breath anxiously I looked up at Kallen for a sign. Shortly after her features returned to normal. Blinking a few times she asked.

"Did you do it?"

"Check the recording." so far so good… she viewed the recording once more.

"What was with that last part? The 'unless duty compels you' thing."

"That way in case you don't want to accept the command you will still be able to, assuming you recognize the fact that it needs to be done for whatever reason." She nodded meekly in agreement.

"Final test… This is further notice. Throw my phone at me." I put my arms in front of my face protectively… After I realized there was nothing flying in the air towards me I looked back at Kallen who had a look that said 'really?'.

"That's how you planned to test it? What if it would have worked?" I looked left and right and answered seriously.

"Then I would probably would've got the phone chucked at me." I couldn't help but break a smile. "Now you more confident around me?" she looked at me seriously.

"I suppose… Well… I have to say yeah. There is no reason you have gone through all of this is if it weren't to tell the truth, and even if I wouldn't have taken it in a positive way you could've just erased my memory of the event." I felt better at her declaration.

"It's nice to have that weight off my shoulders, I at least feel like I did the right thing… And that's what I'm going for recently."

"Who else have you used your Geass power on?" she asked genuinely interested. I looked up towards the ceiling and thought about it for a moment.

"A whole bunch of random soldiers, a menagerie of students on this campus… the students were merely to test the specifications of its ability, Milly so I can avoid work and whatnot, uhhhh… I already told you about Nunnally. I also used on Shirley I believe, I ended the relationship like that from what I can tell… But then again I can't remember entirely, due to my own accidental amnesia."

She looked somewhat apologetic, either she didn't want to pry, or she felt sorry for me, I couldn't quite tell.

Kallen looked at her phone briefly as it began to vibrate, she didn't answer it which implied it was a text. Should look slightly perplexed what she read.

"Ohgi just texted me and told me to look at the news… I have no idea why though." I thought about this for a moment and determined two things.

"Well if it's Ohgi, then is either important or directly relevant to us."

"If not both." She added on.

"There's a TV in the lobby we can have a look at." I said as I moved to get out of bed. Kallen looked at me disapprovingly but said nothing for once. Putting on my shoes with a grimace I moved to the door and motioned for her to exit.

"After you." I said politely. We both made our way to the lobby and turned on the television. It took a moment to change the channel to the news but once we did it became abundantly clear what was wrong.

My eyes widened in pure shock, in pure terror, in outrage, of the events taking place on screen. The screen depicted a hostage situation, and impressive looking hotel surrounded by water was garrisoned by what was described as the remnants of the Japanese army. They declared themselves to be the JLF… the Japan liberation front.

In front of the only exit above ground where dozens of knightmares, infantry, sandbags, defensive positions made of solid steel. Britannia was clearly trying to defuse the situation.

They clearly weren't doing a good job.

"The student Council…" Kallen said distantly. I became frustrated, angry, maybe even furious.

Click.

"We need to fix this, Kallen, call the others and tell them to suit up. We have a shit-storm to navigate." Kallen turned me slightly irate.

"You can't honestly be considering going there yourself?"

"I'm not going to argue with you here! Either you help me, or you can stay here and watch! But I refuse to sit by and wait while my friends and innocent civilians are killed simply because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time." Kallen backed down understanding my point, shortly after she reached for her phone and began dialing. I turned and headed back to my room to gather my supplies.

Once there I made sure to pop a double dose of the painkiller, hoping that it wouldn't impair my ability to act as I desired.

As I swallowed the pills I thought.

This is going to hurt…

To be continued…