Lulu's Bizarre Rebellion

by Ezit Meti

Lelouch Lamperouge was a boy with an ambition; To one day bring down the corrupt nation of Britannia and create a peaceful world for his sister. However, a single arrow gifted him a power that will help him reach his ambition. Stands... Ripple... A feud between two bloodlines that transcends time... And that's only the beginning of this bizarre rebellion!

26. Why Snow is White

Here he was once again. That same stifling suit. That same string quartet playing the same centuries old songs and melodies. The same people, showing off new hairstyles and new fashions that really, were first worn long before their grandparent's time. The same kind of room as any of the others with a tall ceiling, bright paintings adorning the vibrant and colourful walls. A room full of life and celebration, and yet for young Horace he felt absolutely nothing but boredom.

You could call it the routine of his young life. Education and functions, and while most would be glad to be free from the former to attend the latter, he was growing rather sick of it. He felt as though he had stepped back in time where everything was more formal; read, less interesting. For a person of his station and upbringing, for a person who thought only of the future and was excited by the rapidly evolving technology at his family's fingertips this was torturous beyond compare.

And that was when he saw her in the crowd, politely laughing and excusing herself from the conversation. A young girl about his age, because what else might draw a young man's attention so thoroughly? She stepped outside for a moment, and he followed automatically following a moment's consideration.

"Pardon me," he began. She turns towards him, and for a second he fancies there is some trace of familiarity in her eyes. As though she had seen in him a face that she knew quite well, which was impossible as tonight was the first time they had been in the same room together, spoken together. "I do hope you don't consider this rude, but -"

"Ah!" she said, placing a finger to her lips. "Next you were going to say… Something like, I would recognise that expression anywhere. You're every bit as bored as I am, and as you are a gentleman you could not stand allowing a pretty lady be as bored as this. Am I wrong?"

"Right on the money," Horace said, suddenly finding it quite difficult to remember where exactly he had been going with that. "How did you - Ah, never mind that! May I make a prediction now?"

"Please do."

"Well. It's rather an easy one I'm afraid. You see, it's not often you would see any Japanese in the homeland. Especially those invited to a celebration like this! Therefore, I can deduce that you must be related to the Japanese Ambassador in some way. From your age… His daughter."

"Hm, very good!" she replied. "Please, call me Mirai. Though I suspect you were already aware of that. Perhaps for the same reason I know that your first name is Horace."

"That does seem likely," Horace conceded. "So, your parents are also seeking a political advantage of their own sort - let's say in your case, a direct alliance with a large financial firm within a rapidly growing economy - and think that setting us up might be in their best interests. While we are attempting to gain a foothold in the political climate of a neutral country."

"Meaning that they, independently of one another, send out their children to seduce one another in the hopes of one family gaining an advantage over the other when a more open deal would have done much the same thing. It took us years to compare notes and figure that out the last time. Maybe this time they won't split us up when the invasion happens..."

"Years?" Horace asked. "What do you mean by -"

"Meaning that they, independently of one another, send out their children to seduce one another in the hopes of one family gaining an advantage over the other when a more open deal would have done much the same thing. How terrible of them, don't you think?"

"Yes, it rather is!" Horace said, quickly searching around just in case he'd been overheard. "By jove, it seems rather immoral to toy around with a fair maiden's heart. Please, do forgive my foolishness in even considering -"

"No, no. It's quite alright," Mirai said. "You know, it might well turn out that we enjoy spending time together anyway. Why not stay? Talk with me a while. That way, at least neither of us will be as bored as any of them in there. And please, try to be more natural. If less people tried to play it cool, maybe the world wouldn't be such a cold place."

Well now. All of a sudden tonight didn't seem quite so bad as it might have before. He could almost visualise the rest of the night already. Talking for hours with an attractive, intelligent young woman. Learning about her culture, enthusing about his own. Their hopes and aspirations, dreams and desires. Then, at night's end, they would part ways with a chaste kiss that would promise another meeting later on…

"Mirai…" he said at one point. "Now, forgive me, but from what I recall that name means… Future? Is that right? Well, I've never seen a more beautiful future."

"Maybe one day you will," Mirai replied. "But for now, please enjoy the night."

A man approached them, hovering above the two like a protective parent. Yet his clothes absolutely did not match up with the austere surroundings. His garb was rather less formal by numerous degrees, after all, when was the last time you saw someone wearing a brown jacket, jeans or a dark red headband to a celebration of this nature? This attire would surely have anyone expelled at the instant they were detected.

Yet neither couple seemed to take note of them. One ignoring him. The other oblivious to this stranger's very presence. This was not the strangest fact about this man. To understand that, one must peer upon his face and behold the fact that he did not have one.

No cheeks, no nose. No eyes. There was still hair atop his head, bordering the line between pink and red. But no features. A flat circular surface with a bright red glowing emblem in the middle that immediately captured the attention, certainly more distinct than the numbers around the circumference.

Then, like a flash of lightening the surroundings changed for the briefest of moments, no longer showing an expensive high class party but instead a research facility with an older Mirai strapped down to a bed. The stranger was there too, floating over her. A scientist staggers out of the room, seeming to mumble something under her breath. Then, just as quickly as it appeared this image was gone leaving Horace none the wiser all throughout.

"And then we can start," Mirai continued, leaning into his shoulder with tears in her eyes that left him completely baffled. "To make it better."

Chapter 26: Why Snow is White

====Bartley====

He had to give the Elevens this much. They were better organised than they'd been in years, perhaps even more than during the invasion. It was obvious from their movements that they had studied the building in advance. Perhaps acquired access to the layout from before he had it converted it to this use? From there an astute mind might have been able to determine likely uses for various rooms, and if that was the case then Bartley had to commend their imagination.

Too bad for them. It wouldn't avail them much in the end. True that there had been an ongoing skirmish these last several hours, but both sides had been playing it cautiously. It made sense if you think about it; This was a facility for examining Stand users. For the time being their test subjects were sedated and secure, but what might happen if they were attacked? What might happen if they were woken up and let loose?

Under that realisation the loss of their external Knightmare support was a loss, but not necessarily a crippling one. It turned the situation into a slow siege, which played to Bartley's advantage much more than it did the Black Knights. Time was on his side, not theirs. Their nerve would break. They would have to pull out before Cornelia created a complete encirclement of the settlement, because once that happened they would be the ones in his situation, but much worse off for it and no hope of reinforcements.

Which led him to where he was now. It wasn't really his style to personally lead his men into battle, but you could perhaps understand him being a trifle nervous. A sideways glance to Kewell's cell. A quick scan around him, just to make sure… After all, he would be the only one that could find that man if he were to escape. That made him a target to that man's power...

"Sir, all of our research findings have been transmitted to a secure location!"

"Then destroy the copies we have here. We cannot risk that falling into the Black Knight's hands."

"Understood!"

There. See? The worst they could do now was let the test subjects out. Which would be as much a disaster for them as it would be anyone else. They wouldn't do something so crazy as that. But just in case they were, Bartley was right there at the only entrance to the one area that contained the most interesting subjects. If they got desperate enough the Black Knights might -

The door opened behind him, and Bartley nearly jumped out of his skin when a soldier stumbled through it. He half expected to hear some sort of warning out of the man's mouth, but instead he was just laughing to himself about seemingly nothing at all.

"Back to your post," Bartley yelled, but then a thought occurred to him. It couldn't be him could it? Bartley activated his Geass and stared at the soldier, long and hard. A simple, mundane Stand hardly even worth categorising. That let him calm down a little -

At least, until he saw something he hadn't seen before. This soldier's potential Stand was changing before his very eyes. An entirely different power and form. The man rose his head -

"Oh no…" Bartley whispered, peering over his shoulder at a mostly empty corridor as though every ghost throughout history had gathered there in a single spot for the singular purpose of tormenting him and him alone. His posture found a way to straighten even further. "Y-Yes!" Bartley saluted. "Of course your highness! Right away!"

Bartley backed off down the corridor. Filled with trepidation. It would be easy to mistake the expression on his face for fear, but no! This was not the main emotion he was feeling at this moment in time. While it was true that Bartley was terrified, perhaps more than he could remember feeling in his entire lifetime the main emotion his face was expressing was "hesitation". An internal struggle. A moral dilemma that was tearing his very soul apart at the seams. Two burdens lay upon his back, two possible failures he had to chose between. A failure yet to come, and the other...

Yet what could it be? Around him alarms blared, but the corridor itself was filled only with his own soldiers. There was no immediate danger and yet he behaved as if there was. For seemingly no reason at all he let out a deep, deep breath of relief and screwed his eyes tightly closed.

"This… This is bad! Unthinkable" he announced, blindly feeling his way back through the corridor. "I have to warn them! If this isn't stopped quickly this could be the end of us all!"

====Ohgi====

The last several hours had been a little bit unusual in several distinct ways. Even though they had access to Knightmares, the nature of this battlefield made it ill advised to use them. At the same time the enemy didn't have access to them either, which was always a benefit.

It made for a slower battle than he was used to. They had to stalk through the halls, lock any staff they encountered in a room, check them for weapons and then move on. Plan A's stealthy infiltration had failed, now it was time for Plan B.

"It might be in your best interests to check the basement," Diethard instructed. "The reports I have received indicate they are placing highest priority to that section. That may be where the most delicate test subjects are being kept."

"They're not test subjects," Ohgi coldly replied. "They are people."

"People being locked away and treated as test subjects," Diethard said with equal coolness. "Do not mistake my precision of language for lack of empathy. I intend to see this mission succeed just as surely as you do. The witch should be finished by now. Rendezvous with her and move towards the basement."

Ohgi hated to admit it, but the man was good at what he did. Resource gathering, application of data, organisation. It was easy to see him advancing quite far in an organisation like theirs where these things were valued commodities. Only one issue mattered at the end of the day. Trust.

Speaking of which… This might give him a good opportunity to speak to that witch in private. He had several questions for her, and it was his intention to get some answers to them. It didn't take too long to find her. She was standing in a ward for a Refrain "test subject", staring at them in almost casual fascination. Ohgi coughed into his hand. She didn't so much as turn to see who it was. Like she didn't particularly care one way or the other.

"Care to explain why they recognised you?" he asked.

"Not especially," was the expected reply. Didn't even raise her head, still leaning over one of the patients. Staring up at the ceiling. Bleary eyed, strapped down, muttering the usual sort of thing you heard from a victim of that insidious drug. "The past is the past, and we have a job to do."

"How can I trust you to have my back when none of us even know anything about your past? You survived that bullet without a scratch, you made this 'contract' with me - "

"Do you regret our contract?" she interrupted. "Do you wish you had taken a Stand instead? If you are to have a power, then you must tread on one path over another. Attempt to walk down the middle of those two roads, and your life will come to an early end. Is that what you'd like?"

"No. But maybe I should have taken the arrow instead of making that contract. If I'd known what sort of burden it would be having this ability to influence the minds and actions of other people -"

"Do you know why snow is white?" C.C. interrupted. She waited for an answer, but Ohgi wasn't quite sure how to deal with that non sequitur. "Then here's an easier question. Why do people become addicted to Refrain?"

"Chemical dependency," he answered. "It releases some combination of -"

"Half right, but not the half I meant." She stroked the forehead of the patient, who was smiling vacantly at sights, sounds, experiences that only existed in their own mind. "It is because they have a 'regret' that they wish to correct. A mistake made in the past that they would do anything to rectify. They cast aside the present and try to dismiss the pain. Just like the reason that snow is white: They've forgotten what colour they're supposed to be."

"I give it a B+," Ohgi said. "Points deducted for not answering my question. Who are you?"

"A product of my past," C.C. answered, or rather didn't. Oh yes, this was reminding him of a few particularly smartass students from back in the day. "My turn for a question. What is your biggest regret, mister former teacher?"

"My biggest regret?" Ohgi considered. He shouldn't be letting her control the conversation like this, but somehow it seemed as though he was wandering a labyrinth with only one way out. It was like he was conversing with someone that was allergic to conversational straight lines, and quite frankly he didn't have the backbone needed to force her to walk one. "It happened four years ago. One of my former students was beaten to death by a bunch of Britannians, right in front of me. There was nothing I could do but watch. If I'd stepped in to interfere, they would've killed me and started attacking any other Elevens around as well."

"And afterwards…?"

Ohgi clenched his fist in defiance. How long had it been since he thought about it like this? How many deaths had he seen since then that made his resolve to fight back stronger? Look at him. Trembling with impotent anger and sadness at a memory. Didn't it seem somehow pathetic? "I joined a terrorist cell to fight back against Britannian cruelty!"

"Which led you to here and now, a product of your past. Just as I am a product of mine."

C.C. produced a key from the pockets of her uniform and used it to open a cupboard in the corner of the room. It had syringes wrapped in plastic, little vials full of a milky white liquid and small boxes with various measurements on the side. It didn't take anyone especially observant to work out what that "medicine cabinet" was supposed to contain. He very nearly shot the damned thing to pieces on sight.

"We are defined by our past," C.C. said. "Who we are today, the mistakes that we made leave regrets lingering in our soul. Decisions or events we would have altered if we'd only known then what we knew today. A regret is a desire. A wish to change the past, and in the process obliterate who you are today. When you reach a point where you can't accept the bad moments of your own past, that's when it takes you.

"Regret is the ultimate self destructive power."

"I see," Ohgi said aloud, because it was amazing how effective she was at just keeping you talking, if only so you could pretend you understood her. "You mean, your past with those people is something you regret? Is that what you're trying to tell me?"

"That depends," C.C. said, reaching into the drawer to withdraw one of the boxes. "Is it what you actually heard? Or is it what you wanted to - Ngh!"

He wasn't entirely sure what had happened exactly. One moment C.C. was picking up one of the boxes, and then… It was like her fingers had touched a hot stove! For a fleeting moment they turned bright red with the slightest trail of wispy dark smoke. Her hand recoiled, and the injury was gone almost as quickly as it happened. By the time Ohgi was examining her hand, it was as if nothing had happened at all.

"Are you alright?"

"Those idiots," she said, staring at the cabinet with an expression of absolute fury. "Those complete fools! What were they thinking? What are they trying to accomplish?! That imbecile Bartley! I have to speak at him! Where is he?"

"Die- I mean, Devil's Advocate thinks he's in the basement. Hey, C.C. wait for me! Dammit. We're not finished with this yet, I want some answers! Why did you really give me this power?"

Except it seemed to her the conversation was concluded. She rushed towards the door and there was a real nurse standing in their way. Holding a syringe. Her back was to them, and it sounded like she was muttering to herself.

C.C. didn't even stop or slow down. Instead, she walked right up to the nurse, took her hand, and sent her down like a light while taking the syringe right out of her hand. Now, there went a woman without the mood to deal with any sort of bullshit right now. He hurried out of the room after her, only for the nurse to somehow stand right back up, and then -

====Euphemia====

This was warfare? All it felt like she was doing was looking at flashing lights and listen to older men with no regard for human life trying to tell her what she should be doing. However. She could tell by their tone that they weren't even sure they were giving her good advice. It was so difficult to see why Cornelia was so enthusiastic about this at all. Their condescending attitude really wasn't helping either.

"Hm? This alert…" she wondered aloud at a flashing sign on the monitor. "Where is this message originating from? This isn't from any units, is it?"

"It appears to be an emergency call from the Narita based research facility."

"Research facility?"

"Yes. Quite probably General Bartley. I recommend ignoring him for the time being, you have far more important duties than dealing with him at the moment."

"No," she said. "Put him on." Because at least this way she might be able to do something useful. The bridge staff reluctantly complied, and the monitor in front of her was suddenly filled with the image of General Bartley. With what appeared to be a curved lens strapped across one eye, and an eyepatch over the other. Oh dear. This rather reminded her of the time Cornelia caught her finger painting on one of Clovis' statues.

"General, I do hope this is a serious matter," she responded in absolute deadpan. "I would hate to have to tell my sister that you used an emergency contact line for something rather less than a real emergency. If I didn't know any better I would assume you had been imbibing."

Except that the way he adjusted his collar and the tone of voice he used when he spoke dispelled any notion that he wasn't taking this seriously. In fact, he couldn't possibly be taking the matter more seriously if he tried. Suddenly Euphemia felt terribly alert. This message might well be more important than it first appeared after all.

"Please forgive the - ahem - ad hoc safety equipment," he began. "However, I must alert you to a rather serious problem. I believe the Black Knights have infiltrated the facility, and - "

"We are aware of their presence, General!" one of her advisors interrupted. "We cannot spare the reinforcements at the moment. You'll have to deal with the Black Knights yourself."

"They're not the problem!" Bartley yelled. "You see, it's not them I'm worried about. It's what's been let out. I'm not sure if they did it, or if it happened because a staff member was performing maintenance or a basic medical check in a nearby room without knowing the danger but it's out all the same! It's out and we're all as good as finished!"

"General, please calm down," Euphemia insisted. This rather seemed to have the opposite effect than she intended, oh dear, this man must have a serious blood pressure problem. He seemed so terribly stressed out. "Relax and breathe, then calmly tell me everything in order."

"... We discovered an incredible Stand," Bartley began. "It was unlike any we'd seen before. It belonged to an Eleven woman. We kept her in isolation so that we could safely study its effects so that we might be better able to understand how Stands work in a scientific sense."

Did you ever get the feeling you were about to ask a question you'd regret knowing the answer to? An unsettling sensation was crawling all along Euphemia's spine. But she had to know, because this feeling was the sort that got worse the longer the question went unanswered.

"What exactly did this Stand do?"

====Ohgi====

"-And then the Eleven had the cheek to ask me what time it was! The nerve, thinking he could take up my valuable time with such a mundane foolish question."

The facility had vanished. No corridor. No nurse. He was standing outside, in the central Tokyo district. What? But how did he get - The sun was already setting, it couldn't be that late already. What was going on? How did he get here? What happened to the hospital?

Part of him already knew the answer, but he was loath to admit to it. This was, without question, the work of an 'enemy Stand'. But what was the effect? Who was the user? How did it work? He needed to know. He had to figure it out, before -

Before…

He knew this place. Well, of course he did, but things looked different to what he should have expected. A few buildings weren't where they should have been, and others had yet to be demolished. More damning still was the sight of a familiar face. A face with a bright future ahead of it. A future that was about to be cut cruelly short. A person that he hadn't seen in four years, drinking from a water bottle. In a moment he would turn around and spill it all over a Britannian.

"Excuse me!" he called, moving quickly through the crowd. No. Not this time. This time he wasn't going to stand back and let this happen. Not again! "Wait a minute!"

====Euphemia====

"It would allow its user to mentally project into their own past. Control their own body using present knowledge. If they were careful, they can even alter the past using this Stand."

"I see," Euphemia said. Yes, she'd read enough books and seen enough movies to follow this particular train of thought to its natural conclusion. "And if they caused a paradox, for example preventing something from happening when they know that it did - Married a different person, turned down a job offer in favour of another -"

"Then the Stand effect makes those events into an alternative timeline, and the changes don't affect us at all. The only things the user can change about our timeline are things they don't know about."

"Oh!" Euphemia gasped. "I thought you were leading to - Never mind." How silly of her. Then there must be some other reason it's a threat. "Um… Pardon me for asking but wouldn't this leave the Stand user unprotected in the present? I mean, if they're mentally projecting into their own past wouldn't that mean they might hurt themselves?"

"The Stand protects them automatically," Bartley explained. "That's part of what makes it so dangerous. You see, what it does is…"

====C.C.====

She couldn't believe it. Of all the things they could be doing, all the topics they could be researching, here they were repeating the same old tired mistake again and again and again. Had they not learned? Only 'that person' had ever ever been able to maintain both a Stand and a Geass at once without dying. Only one exception to the rule, and it was an exception they understood under the circumstances. What did they expect the results to be this time?

"Don't ask me, I'm as surprised as you. I wouldn't be surprised if he went behind our backs again… Oh, Charles will be so disappointed."

Charles would be disappointed. Right.

She had very nearly let the nurse fall on the syringe after knocking her out. The only reason she hadn't is that she was technically an innocent person in all of this, and letting her land on it would have been breaking her promise to Tonpetti. Oh, but her patience was tried enough to make her seriously consider breaking that particular promise. Refrain was bad enough. But mixing it in with that? Were they on drugs when they came up with this idea?!

And then on top of everything else, she was tackled to the ground by her supposed accomplice. That sort of thing makes it a little bit difficult to maintain some good old righteous indignation.

"Oh dear, he seemed like such a doormat. How forward of him. If only my son would be like that with his girlfriend, he wouldn't be so stressed all the time."

"First, you're not my type. Second, a gentleman at least asks first before tackling a lady to the ground. Third -"

"Are you alright?" Ohgi asked. C.C. was about to answer him, but stopped cold as soon as she saw something deeply, deeply concerning. Something that made even her feel a twinge of worry. "Be more careful next time, if you'd spilled that on him I doubt he'd be too happy about it."

"Your Geass…" she mumbled, but that couldn't be right. He'd barely even gotten it. How could he have lost control of it already? What was more… There was a red ring around his iris, a clear sign of a Geass victim. Yes, she could feel it, without question. But who could have used it on him? The nurse was -

"What's wrong, dear? Did you think you could simply beat me and get away with it?"

The nurse was awake, which was also impossible. That burst of ripple should have left her unconscious for at least half an hou r- And on top of that, why was she holding that syringe again?! C.C. had it right here - Gone! What? What was happening?

"In the years since you left me, I've learned to fight back!" the nurse continued, wielding her syringe as though it was some kind of deadly weapon. Which, in all honesty, it rather was right now. "My only regret is that I never got to show you!"

"How's your mother been?" Ohgi asked, miming the act of clasping a friend reassuringly around the shoulder. "You know how overprotective she can be."

"C.C., is it my imagination or are they -"

"Yes," she said, carefully rising to her feet without letting her eyes waver from them. "They're both being affected by some sort of Geass. But it's not like one I've ever seen before, there's something different about it that I can't quite put my finger on."

If this effect was being caused by a Geass, then she could probably cure it with a "memory shock". All she had to do was reach out her hand, grab hold of his arm and concentrate, which she did without so much as a trace of resistance. The sacred symbol of Geass lit up on her forehead, leaving Ohgi suddenly screaming as an onslaught of memories assailed him. He collapsed to the ground at her feet and then…

====Euphemia====

"If anything hurts the user, the Stand will rewind time immediately around the user by up to half a minute. This will undo any damage caused in the rewound time, and let the Stand move to defend the user from harm with foreknowledge. If it's a person, then the Stand will automatically attack that person until they are judged no longer a threat."

"... I suppose that seems pretty powerful," Euphemia carefully said. "Except, if I understand you correctly the user can only have that defense if they're mentally in the past. In which case it's difficult to see why this is such a terrible threat if that's all the Stand can do."

"But it's not all the Stand can do! Not anymore!" Bartley was starting to panic again. What? There was more to it than this? "What I just described to you was a Stand called 'Yesterday'. We saw an opportunity to experiment with this Stand, we saw a chance to - To perform a technique that normally doesn't work on Stand users! Usually it's fatal, but in this case -"

"Fatal? General Bartley that is appalling! I cannot condone the treatment of human beings as if they were lab rats. In fact, I don't particularly care for the way lab rats are treated either."

"I'm sorry, your Highness but this is hardly the time for a debate on scientific ethics. You see, that Stand has mutated into a new form. I've heard that the naming for a mutated Stand should mean it is called 'Yesterday's Requiem!'

"Though this power deserves its own name. 'Hey Jude'!"

====C.C.====

If this effect was being caused by a Geass, then she could probably cure it with a "memory shock". All she had to do was -

Something grabbed her wrist. Something invisible. Something powerful. Something very much like a Stand. And just like that, C.C. felt a terror grip her body like she hadn't felt in the better part of a hundred years.

What felt suspiciously similar to a right hook caught her under the nose and she whirled back. There was a spot of blood from the injury, but the cut healed immediately. Had it been her imagination just now? Had that been merely "deja vu", or was it possible -

"Time to die!" the nurse yelled, and before C.C. could do anything at all about it, the needle from the syringe plunged into Ohgi's eye, and he collapsed to the ground with an inane smile on his face - "Time to die!" the nurse yelled, and before C.C. could do anything at all about it the two of them were being gently pulled away from each other, and the syringe hit nothing but air.

"A temporal type Stand?!" C.C. gasped, and while it had been said that fear is born from ignorance, it is when fear is born from comprehension that is power is at its most absolute. "I- I have to - Against an opponent with a Stand and a Geass? Marianne, what should I do?"

No answer. Had she severed the connection herself, or had it been severed by someone else? Either way. C.C. was on her own against an extremely dangerous ability she was only now starting to understand.

"Get back here!" another voice called. A soldier off to her left! Rushing at her, in pursuit of a target only he could see. "Thought you'd get away with it this time as well, did you?! I'll show you! This time, you won't escape!"

They were coming out of the rooms now. Down the corridor, moving in all manner of directions and reacting to things only they could see. Conversing with people that weren't there. Putting down items they weren't holding. Living in their own little worlds, stuck in the past, trapped in their memories. And then C.C. felt the real attack begin.

====Euphemia===

"... Idiot!" one of her advisors yelled. "Then why did you waste our time telling us about its previous form if its power has changed that much?"

"Because the new power is based on the original in some way," Euphemia observed. "Is that correct? I mean, that sort of made sense to me, it seemed pretty obvious."

"Yes, your highness! Very astute. You see, anyone that makes direct eye contact with Hey Jude, or looks the Stand in the face - regardless of whether they see it or not - they will be subjected to the effects of Yesterday. Their minds will be sent back in time! Specifically to the moment they regret the most in their entire lifetime!"

"Forcing a person to relive a moment that was probably very traumatic," Euphemia sadly noted. "How terrible."

"Yes, awful! Though hardly any kind of threat," an advisor scoffed. "The General is clearly being melodramatic, we should contend with this after the battle is concluded."

"It's worse than that, though!" Bartley very nearly yelled. "Anyone caught in the past… The only way to free themselves is to not change their deepest regret. Because the second they cause a 'paradox', their minds will remain trapped within the past, in an alternative timeline!"

The implications crept up on Euphemia like a prowler in the night. Ever since she'd heard of Refrain she had felt it a terrible unnecessary cruelty, and she had resolved to do her best to solve that problem as soon as she understood her position well enough to do so. Now here was a Stand that could, in a strange way, replicate that same response from people. Trapping them in a happier version of their own past. The mind detached from the body. Not living. You couldn't call it living, not really. A mockery of life and nothing more.

The only way to free yourself from that fate was to - Wait a moment. Why would Bartley be so terribly afraid of a power like that? Unless of course... Considering what she'd heard about the power so far… Considering the ridiculous appearance the General was wearing right now… There was one explanation! Only one! The realisation sent a chill down into the pit of her stomach. The implications dreadful and immediate. Almost tangible in front of her.

"No," she whispered, stepping back from the monitor in horror and disbelief. Goosebumps were beginning to settle onto her skin. The advisors seemed puzzled by her reaction, but she barely took note. "Don't tell me. That can't be correct! 'Yesterday' protected its user while they were in the past. The only way 'Hey Jude' could offer similar protection to its victims is if -"

"Correct," Bartley said, his voice cracking from stress that she could now fully comprehend."As soon as any person affected by 'Hey Jude' causes a paradox in their own past, they become an additional user of Hey Jude!"

====C.C.====

It was like trying to fight an army of poltergeists. She could not see them. She could not touch them. But they could touch her. They could see her. They could pick her up. They could throw her out of a window onto the street below, through the glass in a way that would have absolutely killed anyone else. For her? It was nothing. The cuts were already healing, though that didn't stop it hurting like hell. She needed some breathing room. Time to think. Time to come up with a plan.

Time was usually on the side of the immortal. In this instance there seemed to be an exception. All around her were people wandering around in a daze. Oblivious to their surroundings. Their eyes shining with a familiar symbol that she was far, far too familiar with.

"Mother, I'm sorry! I didn't mean it! I swear!"

"Listen, if I don't do this now I know I'll regret it. I love you! Please go out with me!"

"No," she said. "This isn't possible! Out here as well?" Yes, all of them. Wandering the streets. Britannian citizens with Geass symbols in both their eyes. Her worst nightmares had never been anything like this! She pulled out her phone, and began to dial - If anyone could handle a crisis like this, it had to be the son of Marianne. He was clever. He was sneaky, ruthless, and since he was also a Stand user they might be able to work together to -

A car engine came to life next to her, and for a second C.C. believed that she might have found someone yet to succumb to the effect. Those hopes were cruelly dashed upon the realisation that there was nobody in the driver's seat and yet the steering wheel was still moving. She made to dive out of harm's way but her arms and legs were being held in place by an invisible force. One Stand… It would be a difficult fight, but she felt she could win! But fighting an entire settlement all at once by herself -

"D-Dammit!" she cried out as the car slammed into her body and didn't stop until it had careened into a wall. A blow like this would have left anyone else completely dead, but she was alive again within moments. C.C. tried to move. Couldn't. The car had her trapped in place, and was too heavy for her to push out of the way. She gripped the car, attempted to do something to its steering, anything at all that might make it move. Maybe explode its engine, anything! But her ripple wasn't strong enough. Her breathing was left too ragged because of the way her torso had been pinned in place. Under these conditions, she was lucky to be able to move one hand. Her other was completely pinned to the wall by the car!

"Lelouch," she gasped, barely able to retrieve her phone. "Your enemy is now Narita settlement and everyone inside it! If anyone can defeat it… It has to be you!"

====Euphemia====

"In other words," an advisor said. You could hear in his tone of voice. He was starting to catch on. He was starting to understand, but he wasn't quite there yet. "You could almost call this a 'Stand plague'. But all you have to do is not change the past, yes? Then there's still no problem! Since we know how to free ourselves -"

"Yes, that would work," Euphemia said. "The first time. But what about the second? Or the third? How many times do you think a person could take reliving the worst moment of their life before they try to change it? This is… Insidious!"

"She's right," Bartley said. "Forgive me your highness. I was sent back to the final time I saw your brother Prince Clovis alive, just as he ordered me from the room. I knew you had to be warned. That was the only reason I could resist the temptation to change what happened. It still took everything I had to walk away, knowing what would happen next! If I was sent back again -"

"It's alright," Euphemia said, sounding much more calm than she felt. This situation completely explained the General's panic. A disease that spread by eye contact. A disease which actively kept its victims alive and safe from harm, attacking anyone that attempted to harm them in any way. A disease that could completely undo any form of attack put upon it. There was no doubt about it. She had to warn her sister. No, better yet. She should broadcast on an open channel, warning everyone about what was about to happen! That way at least someone may be able to work out what to do to resolve this mess. "You have done the right thing. Let us deal with this."

"Alright," the General said, seeming genuinely relieved. "My analysis indicates that the only way to stop this Stand from spreading further is to kill the original user, or at the very least get them to control their Stand. Nothing else will work. Thank you, your Highness."

Although one thing did seem obvious to her. The General should be deliberately restricted from any further experimentation. Who knows what he might make next!

"This is Sub-Viceroy Euphemia li Britannia, broadcasting on all known frequencies!"

She considered her words carefully, only then continuing.

"We have just received intelligence warning us of a highly dangerous Stand appearing within Narita settlement! Its user has lost all control, and - Please, I beg you! A ceasefire must commence immediately! If this rampaging Stand is not stopped then all life in Area 11 is in danger! Please listen to me!" Euphemia begged. "We are all in terrible danger. This Stand can-"

Then out of nowhere, the call was cut off. The face of her sister filled the screen, and by all appearances she wasn't in any kind of good mood.

"An explanation," Cornelia demanded. "And make it concise."

Lloyd Asplund, of all people, chimed in on her behalf. "It appears we have a serious outbreak of Standitis. Symptoms include behaving like a Refrain addict, sending other people into the past via eye contact and turning them into additional Stand users when they cause a paradox."

"Don't forget that they can rewind time when they're attacked," his assistant helpfully chimed in. "I think General Bartley said it was up to half a minute, and the only way to solve the problem is to kill Patient Zero, who is in the Narita research facility."

"Oh, is that all?" Cornelia chuckled. "For a moment there I thought there might be a real crisis. If all we need to do is kill the original user. If there's a limit to how much time can be rewound, then we should take advantage of that with an attack that doesn't seem like an attack until it's too late for them to undo it."

"That does fit what Bartley claimed," Euphemia conceded. "But sister, I mean Viceroy what kind of attack could possibly -"

Then the realisation hit her. Gradually. Slowly. Dawning horror of what her own sister was about to say. She stumbled back, short of breath shaking her head in abject disbelief. It was almost like she could hear the conversation about to unfold around her, and there was nothing she could do to stop it. And no, the dramatic irony of that was not remotely lost on her.

"Poison gas," Cornelia said. "All we would need is an aerial bombardment on Narita settlement, perhaps alongside a series of explosives to mask the real attack."

"Sister," Euphemia trembled. "What you're saying is - That would be a massacre! I will have no part in it! There must be another way."

"Forgive me for saying so your highness," Lloyd said with an unfeeling shrug. "It seems to me that you would have a massacre on a far grander scale if you didn't."

"If I fail to stop the rogue Stand myself, it falls to you to defeat it on my behalf," Cornelia said. "Sub-viceroy, you wished to behold the horrors of war. Now hold the weight of responsibility in your hand. The lives hanging in the balance based on your words and deed. From a trial of fire you will be forged as a leader. For a leader's first duty, is to live with what they have wrought."

====Tohdoh====

He could barely believe it. Katase. Dead! After all he'd done for Japan, to have his life taken now meant the end of the Japan Liberation Front. Yet Tohdoh knew at least one truth from his military experience. Though the body may die, the spirit is eternal! Katase's will to see a free Japan could not be so easily slain as his body, and if need be he would take it on himself!

Beginning with the strange Knightmare dashing across the mud to meet him. It was gliding across the mud as if it were solid ground, tracking it up on the path behind. The Knightmare was wielding swords, one in each hand, prompting Tohdoh to move to defend himself with his own glowing red blade. This would be a difficult fight. Even aside from the loss of his superior, the enemy could move freely in these conditions while his own movements would be slowed by the mud beneath them. In addition those landspinners on its arms were a concern, and who knew what else it might be capable of?

Either way, all he could do was parry the initial attack. The enemy Knightmare swung in from the right, forcing him into a defensive position he didn't much care for. While that arm was pushed back, the other began to swing down from above, prompting the two Knightmares into test of strength, pushing blade against blade.

"You're fast," the enemy conceded, from his voice that would be Gottwald. "Tell me, by any chance is my opponent the legendary Eleven commander?"

"What would it matter if it was?" Tohdoh replied, pushing back with his Knightmare as much as he could. Neither blade moved an inch. "Would you fight me any differently? Be more cautious? Show me more mercy? Show me less? Tell me what difference it would make, and I'll answer!"

"Then I'll take that confidence as your answer," Gottwald replied. The landspinners on his Knightmare's arms began to whirl into life in a distinctly menacing fashion, generating sparks around the back that made it look like a devil sprouting its wings.

Tohdoh tried to withdraw as best he could, but the mud made his movements sluggish. As he feared! He had to depart the mud flooded battlefield as quickly as he could, regain solid ground beneath his feet so he could fight effectively. He fired off his Burai's chest mounted slash harkens and twinged in irritation as the enemy easily danced around them. Flaunting its ability to fight on any battlefield.

However, he did not stay idly still. Instead, Tohdoh willed his Burai Kai forward the instant the second harken missed. Gottwald saw him coming easily, and how could he not when Tohdoh was moving at half his Knightmare's normal speed?

"Too slow!" Gottwald mocked, blades ready to intercept and rushing forwards to cross swords with him once again.

"Then let's speed things up a little!"

Which was when he pulled in both harkens at once. True enough, the mud had little give for him to grapple with. The limited resistance was still more than sufficient to give him a drastic speed boost, propelling his Burai Kai at a suddenly much greater pace towards the enemy.

"That's right," Gottwald said. "Speed up your defeat."

Which was when the enemy Knightmare made a slight deviation to its travel path. It wasn't much. But for a moment the sparks tracking the mud flared up even more than before, then all of a sudden Tohdoh's Burai's momentum levelled off far below expectations.

"You cut my wires!" Tohdoh yelled, and suddenly Gottwald was upon him.

"And now I'll cut you!"

Once again their blades met, and Tohdoh was barely able to bring his single blade into position to block both of Gottwald's. The two Knightmares were now again engaged in a test of strength, maser vibration versus revolving blade!

"I'm disappointed," Gottwald said. "Is this all that Tohdoh of Miracles is capable of? The man that won against Knightmares without having one himself has become obsolete after all!"

"There comes a time when all men become obsolete," Tohdoh conceded, pushing his Burai Kai to its limits, pushing back against the sword to the best of his ability and still finding it lacking. "But I am not convinced that today is my day."

"It's a funny thing," Gottwald laughed. "I heard that you were the one that taught Suzaku Kururugi! Do you know, even though he doesn't have a Stand he was able to defeat one by himself?"

"A teacher's greatest joy is to be surpassed by their student."

"Then rejoice, Tohdoh! Let that joy be the last emotion you ever feel before I finish you off. Though, to think that you would attempt such an old strategy in this day and age! Using your slash harkens to accelerate at the last moment, I saw through it in a second."

"I have to admit," Tohdoh replied. "That your response was equally as predictable. Take a look around you!"

"...What?!"

Yes, Tohdoh's goal had not been to use the slash harkens to attack. He knew that attempting to use them to escape around such a formidable enemy, one capable of such rapid maneuvering would only lead to his cables being cut or his own defenses being left wide open. In that respect he sought a different unconventional means to accomplish his goal, taking advantage of the fact he was piloting a machine instead of fighting on foot.

Because you see… the very instant that their swords had crossed that second time, Tohdoh had set his own landspinners into reverse. The momentum of Gottwald's own Knightmare had pushed him out of the mud covered battlefield, setting him close enough to solid ground that all he had to do was step backwards. It had cost him his harkens, but in the process he had learned of the operational capacity of the enemy and reached land that was not advantageous only to him, where they could fight on equal footing!

"Shall we try this again on solid ground?" Tohdoh asked. "I think you will find me a more nimble opponent under these conditions."

"...Tsk! You've only won yourself a reprieve," Gottwald growled. "Next time, my landspinners will shred your Knightmare and no tricks, no miracles will save you. For example, that friend of yours attempting to sneak up on me with his Stand!"

His Stand? Anyone else might have frozen in place by that comment. Indeed, he had seen Senba's Burai Kai approaching on Gottwald's flank, but he had been too preoccupied keeping Gottwald preoccupied to give any orders, instead deciding to rely on the old man's judgement.

"Senba, attack formation beta!" he called, moving into position near his old friend and mentor. "Watch out for his landspinners… And where are the others? Why did you separate?"

"We should not underestimate the Britannians," Senba said. "Listen to me. Please don't ask me how I know this, but they're planning an invasion! If we're going to fight them, we need some kind of advantage."

"Senba?" Tohdoh yelled. "Senba, respond! What's going on?"

"I see your Stand," Gottwald yelled. leaping at an apparently invisible target instead of at either one of them. "You didn't think we'd upgrade our factspheres like this, did you? Hah! Take this!"

His Knightmare's arms swing around, and blinding sparks filled the air. Tohdoh could almost see the outline of a figure in the middle of it all, in sort of the same manner that you could see a footprint in the dirt - it is seen only by the absence of what should be in that place to begin with.

And then, to his disgust, he watched that figure being torn in half by the energy sparks seeming to scream in pain as it happened. All of this happened in the time it took Tohdoh's Burai Kai to take a single step to intercept.

"Stands share their damage with their user," Gottwald said, turning his attention fully towards Tohdoh. "Meaning that now your friend is also cut in - What?!"

Behind Gottwald, something strange was happening. Inexplicable! The sparks had started up again even though his landspinners were no longer in the same location. Tohdoh watched in part horror, part fascination as the figure amongst the sparks - the two halves of its body somehow rejoined once again! Two halves becoming the same being once again!

"It healed itself," he said aloud. "Senba! When did you acquire a Stand - No, that's not important for the moment! Attack that Knightmare with your full strength!"

"Get away from me!" Gottwald screamed. His Knightmare began to flail around at something invisible, prompting Tohdoh to stay back for the moment. "Ugh! It- It's entered my cockpit! Get back, you monster, I'll - What? How did I get here? This place - Why this place?!"

Within his cockpit, Tohdoh frowned. Several things did not make any sense about what had just happened before his very eyes. Senba's erratic behaviour, and now Gottwald as well? What was this? What was happening here? Why did it give him such a terrible chill, as though he had just witnessed something straight from a bizarre, fever induced nightmare?

Alas, he had no time to concern himself with these matters. He could see a Britannian officer wandering out of the nearby forest. A General at that! Light brown hair and a scar across his face. He was staggering around. Injured prior to ejection? Maybe he knew something, and even if he didn't he might still make a worthwhile prisoner…

"Stop!" Tohdoh yelled, firing a few rounds around the man. "I want some answers! What's going on around here!"

"Listen carefully," the Britannian General said. "I've always been the kind of man to put career before anything else. But this time… I'd like to leave the choice up to you. Do you think we can make it work? Do you think you could live knowing that I could be gone at a moment's notice?"

Him as well? What was happening to these men? He backed away from all three, trying to create some distance so he could try to figure out what was happening to them -

"The enemy's advance is too swift!" insisted a voice he hadn't heard in seven years. "Kyoshiro Tohdoh, you might be the only one that can stop this."

He stopped and looked around in growing shock and surprise. Impossible! This room had been destroyed and the location built over as a museum to their defeat! The people around him, faces he had fought alongside at one point or another. Most of them fallen to the ruthless tyranny of Britannia. Yet it was all real. Just as he remembered. As solid as they had ever been. But how...?

"In just a month they've done this much damage to our people, our infrastructure and our pride!" said Genbu Kururugi. "But so long as I draw breath Japan shall never surrender!"

====Kallen====

You could pretty safely say on the whole that Kallen Kozuki was just slightly pissed off. And why shouldn't she be? In another world, she might have been impressed by the strategy to cause a landslide to cause chaos among the Britannian forces. In another world this kind of strategy might have bolstered her resolve and made her push onwards in certainty that they would succeed in their goals.

This was not another world. This was, and would always remain, the world that she was living in. It was a world where she knew for a fact that her own mother was being experimented on in the nearby settlement. A world where she had almost been crushed to death by a landslide caused by those supposedly on her own side. That's the kind of thought that makes a person wonder; How many people did that actually hurt? Though it had not reached the settlement itself, who is to say that a stray boulder didn't strike someone that had never done anything wrong, never raised a fist against someone just because they were a Number in the wrong place and the wrong time.

Yet here she was still fighting the good fight. Why was that? When she had those doubts, why did she continue fighting? Because Britannia had to be overthrown. Because if she didn't fight with all of her strength then it would make Naoto's death - the deaths of every member of their cell that had died to date - utterly meaningless. Because it would mean that great cruelty would go rewarded. Because evil triumphs when good people do nothing.

"Oh, so it's two on one?" she said aloud, scanning the horizon for signs of the enemy while keeping her Stand watching over that damnable white Knightmare. It backed away instead of attempting to attack while her back was turned. She was almost disappointed. "You know… A teacher once told me that bullying stems from a sort of cowardice. I suppose he must have been right! Keeping yourself hidden and attacking from behind!"

Out of the corner of her eye she caught sight of the air seem to shimmer, and then things sort of began to happen in slow motion. A burst of light streaked directly towards her position with a metal projectile smack in the middle of it. Funny thing. Kallen wasn't even aware of turning the controls. It felt more like turning her own hand. Not the hand of a Knightmare. By the time the projectile reached her, the Guren's radiant wave generator had already been activated. Disintegrating it harmlessly.

Ahead of her the air shifted again, revealing the enemy Knightmare. It seemed strangely compact compared to other models she'd seen, even considering that it was in a kneeling position. The design gave off the impression this was a machine built for stealthy movement instead of close range combat. It was holding onto a scaled up sniper rifle with a factsphere where the scope would normally be, and so far as she could tell the Knightmare had just a shoulder mounted slash harken and no other obviously visible weaponry.

"That's big talk," the pilot of this new Knightmare called. "Coming from someone that uses an invisible power to fight. Why don't we see what's better? Your Stand and that new Knightmare frame, or perhaps Lancelot and Lamorak!"

It was almost funny. A month ago this was the kind of fight that would make her tense up even if they were ordinary Knightmares. Today her only concern was for matters beyond her control. Since they were beyond her control, the only thing she could do was concentrate on one matter! Winning this fight! Bringing them one step closer to Japan's freedom!

"Sounds like an unfair fight to me," Kallen yelled. "Though I'll take having the advantage for once any day it's offered to me!"

Lamorak shimmered and vanished before the Guren could reach it, and all her claw could hit was empty ground. It had moved already? So quietly - No time to think about that. Suddenly Lancelot was leaping forward, but not towards the Guren's position. Instead it was heading directly for Jumpin' Jack Flash!

Kallen pulled her Stand away just in time, before the Blaze Luminous could catch her out. She'd seen what had happened when Zero's Stand hit that forcefield, and clearly the pilot intended some kind of recreation of that. So this was the strategy these two were intending to use? Keep her at a distance, let one of them hide while the other faced her directly with its amazing speed and raw hitting power.

The parallel to those two was, on the whole, more irritating than amusing.

"Is the advantage all that matters to you?" the Lancelot pilot demanded. "Is that why you brought down a mountain to try facing us on equal terms? Putting the lives of those in the settlement in danger through reckless action with your so-called superior power!"

"Shut up!" Kallen retorted, drawing the Guren out of the way of another shot from the invisible Lamorak instead of simply disintegrating the shot. The explosion behind her was all the warning she needed; Don't let those shots connect, no matter what! "You dare say something like that after everything Britannia has done?" She charged at the position the shot originated from, firing her Guren's sole slash harken at the target area to accelerate her approach. Moved again?

"What exactly have we done?" the Lamorak pilot asked. "Dragged you out of complacency kicking and screaming. Tell me. Would you ever be as strong as you are now without us pushing you to this point?"

"Typical Britannian thinking. The only thing that matters to you is power over others -" and she stopped herself going any further. This wasn't helping her. They were trying to keep her distracted. Even now, Lancelot was firing down on her position, compelling her to move quickly away. They were probably coordinating their attacks on internal communication. Though on reflection, something seemed strange about his aiming patterns. It was as though he wasn't trying to actually hit her. More like trying to force her to move -

Which is when Kallen noticed something else that was obvious. One might even say blindingly blatant to the point she was annoyed at herself for failing to spot it before.

"You're just trying to provoke me," she announced, turning her attention fully on the Lancelot. She charged it with her full speed, forcing the gleaming white Knightmare onto the defensive in an instant. "Not only that, but you didn't want me in melee range. Because of this"

She lunged forward with the Guren's silver claw with such force that when Lancelot - barely - moved out of its reach she had to use that same claw to push back against the ground to steady her Guren. Just in time to avoid an attempted counterattack by Lancelot, which attempted to deliver a crushing spinkick, forcing her to block with the Guren's other arm.

"That claw of yours is a terrifying weapon," Lancelot's pilot admitted. "Letting you get close with that is a death sentence, especially considering your Stand."

"But that's not the only reason," Kallen smirked. "Because you see, the Guren's longe range abilities aren't a patch on its melee capabilities. On the other hand -"

Then all of a sudden, the silver claw firmly gripped the earth beneath it and sharply pulled the Guren's entire body into a position directly behind Lancelot. The instant before this, a streak of light had manifested almost directly behind Kallen's position. A few seconds after this, an explosion struck the front of Lancelot's Blaze Luminous with enough force to send the mighty Knightmare stumbling backwards one whole step!

"Lamorak has the opposite problem," Kallen said. "Its long range abilities are excellent, but I doubt its melee capabilities are up to much. And you should never, ever fire into melee combat."

You could almost hear the Lamorak pilot seething in their seat even as the Knightmare became visible again. "Stupid Eleven!" she yelled. "You really think something like this is going to win you this battle?!" The sniper rifle was pulled into position, being braced against the Knightmare's shoulders, and Lamorak once again vanished.

"That's the problem," Lancelot's pilot said in sudden realisation. "You're not trying to beat us. You're just trying to stall us while your friends capture the Viceroy."

"Hm? Did you only just notice that? Well, it's probably too late for you to do anything about it now. The second either of you turns tail to flee, I'll be on you before you even know what's happening! Though if you stay it will be the same outcome regardless. And according to common sense I'll have to start with the Knightmare I can see, because I'll be able to know where I should be attacking."

It rose from the ground like an eagle taking flight. No, more like a rocket blasting off from underground. Jumpin' Jack Flash rose through the air with fists extended, hovering over a seemingly innocuous point on the battlefield, sending its springlike arms uncoiling backwards above itself, sending its fists to the upper limit of their abilities!

"Or I could just attack the place where Lamorak's footprint trail ends!" Kallen yelled triumphantly. JJF's fists flew downwards towards them, the final set of footprints in the slightly muddy terrain. Not enough to noticably influence Knightmare movement, at least not in this part, but wet enough that something as heavy as a Knightmare could hardly move without leaving some sort of track. She'd been too angry before to think of something so obvious, but now -

Now JJF's fists flew right through where Lamorak should have been, but for some reason wasn't. She was barely able to keep her Stand's blinding fists from hitting the dirt by a margin of exactly two inches!

"Stupid Eleven," Lamorak's pilot laughed menacingly. "Did you really think you could provoke me into making such an obvious mistake? Now your position is the one that is known to me!"

"No!" Kallen gasped. "Such an obvious trick -"

"Which makes it all the more satisfying that you fell for it!" Lamorak appeared, standing carefully in the third last set of footprints and aiming its sniper rifle directly at JJF's airborne position.

JJF whirled out of the way of the incoming shot, barely managing to dodge at this close a range. Though Kallen was quite confident that she could phase her Stand through it, better not to take the chance! Though as she almost immediately learned, dodging it wasn't even remotely the issue. Merely being in this position and letting the shot be taken was the enemy's intention.

"I- I can't see! Some sort of flash shot?"

"How the tables have turned. Now instead of your Stand causing blindness in others, now you are the one that is left blind instead! Except this will last a little bit longer than just five seconds.

"I don't like the idea of attacking someone while they're helpless," Lancelot's pilot said. "But you're far too dangerous to let run free. Don't be afraid, I'm going for a disabling blow rather than a killing one."

"You're not being as soft as you think you are," Lamorak's pilot crowed. "Now instead of a fast death, she'll be dragged through the legal system and given all the courtesy of a lab rat. Though frankly even that's too much for a nuisance like her! Sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind."

"Thinking a little too far ahead, aren't we?"

She wished she could have seen their faces at that moment. Lancelot swung a blade clear for her Knightmare's feet, and at the very moment where impact should have occurred instead the incoming hand was caught at the wrists, prompting Lancelot to quickly pull away and attempt a spin kick along the left side, which Kallen was able to duck underneath with a hearty chuckle.

"What?" Lamorak's pilot exclaimed. "But how- You shouldn't be able to see!"

"She can't," Lancelot replied. "Or more like, she doesn't need to. From the start you were already preparing for the possibility I might attack while you were blinded, weren't you? That's the real reason why you made such a reckless attack before!"

"That's right," Kallen said, withdrawing her active radiant wave surger from the no longer muddy ground. "I was evaporating the water in the ground, turning it from mud into something more like clay. Something as heavy as a Knightmare moving on this surface, it's easy to tell what direction they're attacking from and in what manner! Especially if you've already practised fighting blind to start with! Now, why might I do that do you think?"

"You're still blind!" Lamorak's pilot sneered. "Let's see you block this time!"

"Wait, stop! That's practically telling her where to -"

"Too late!" Kallen yelled, and then JJF was right there in front of her, lightly tapping the front of the Guren. "Second rule of long range combat! Never fire blind!"

This was it. This was the reason she was fighting. Not for power, not exactly. Unless you counted liberation as a kind of power! It was something neither of them could ever understand. As soon as the fighting was over she would return to a normal life, free to pursue other careers, other interests, other possible futures than the one set out for her. Because Kallen understood that all too well. You can't change the past. But with the power of freedom comes the power to change the future! While piloting the Guren Mark Two she felt a taste of that freedom.

To them power was its own means and end. To her, power was a means to a specific end. At the end of five seconds her sight returned to her, and she was ready for the next round of combat! She moved to grapple with Lancelot immediately, and once again thrust her radiant wave burst against his blaze luminous, forcing her to back off before Lamorak attempted another cheap shot from behind -

"Huh? Reinforcements?" Lamorak's pilot suddenly declared. Kallen looked back and saw - Hold on, was that Inoue? Who were those people around her? Shouldn't she be down in Narita? "Take this!" she yelled, using Lamorak's concealed chest mounted machine guns to cut them down where they stood.

"No!" Kallen yelled, firing her slash harken right at Lamorak's position before she became visible. "You'll pay for that, Britannian! That was a… Friend…?"

At the same instant Kallen's blood ran cold, she noticed an alert coming through on an open frequency. She stared in confusion at the sight before her. Inoue rose from the ground, bullet wounds in her body closing up as she returned to where she had been standing. Surrounded by a man, a woman and two children. And then she saw their faces. They looked like -

"Stands?" she gasped. "Those are Stands? When did she acquire - Ugh, this alert is going to just annoy me. What do you want?!"

"This is Sub-Viceroy Euphemia li Britannia, broadcasting on all known frequencies! We have just received intelligence warning us of a highly dangerous Stand appearing within Narita settlement! Its user has lost all control, and - Please, I beg you! A ceasefire must commence immediately! If this rampaging Stand is not stopped then all life in Area 11 is in danger!"

She never thought she'd hear the day when a member of the Britannian Royal family would be begging for a ceasefire. Probably some sort of ploy to make them surrender. While she listened, the 'Stand family' turned as one towards the Lamorak and began to float around her like vultures. Lamorak aimed its gun up at them and attempted to become invisible but then -

Then it became invisible again. The family descended inside the machine while the pilot swore and yelled. "Damned Stand! Leave me alone! Lancelot, I need assistance! I need - I -"

By this time Kallen had been able to reach the enemy Knightmare, with Lancelot trailing close behind. "Thanks," she said to Inoue, "I've got this from here!"

"I'm so happy," Inoue cried. "I never thought we'd get the chance - I'm so sorry! I take it all back! I didn't mean any of it, I swear!"

The Guren turned towards the fellow Black Knight. A woman that Kallen had known, had to put her life into the hands of several times since joining the cell. A tough woman that never shed any tears. Crying for no apparent reason and babbling nonsense.

"Get away from her!" Lancelot demanded, leaping over the Guren and landing directly in front of Inoue. "I'm sorry about this, but if you both don't cease your attacks immediately, I shall have to open fire! This is your only warning, please don't make me kill you!"

The 'family' emerged from Lamorak, turning their attention fully towards Lancelot now. Kallen's breath caught in their throat. It was a chilling sight that would haunt her nightmares! Those faceless heads staring out without eyes or expression, yet you could feel the menacing aura they were emanating as though it was its own presence.

"Sir!" Lamorak's pilot inexplicably announced. "I would like to volunteer for this mission!"

And then Kallen felt a whole new level of fear begin to swell when a new figure emerged from the Lamorak's frame. Like the others, it had no face. Only… That thing in the middle of it all. But this was not the form of any Japanese. It was wearing a uniform. A Britannian officer, floating at ease.

"It's not working!" Lancelot's pilot suddenly yelled. The Stand family was drifting around him, while he was attempting to repel them with his forcefield to absolutely no success. "It's as though they're - Is this what the Princess meant?"

"Well, let's find out!" Kallen cried, pulling out her own Stand and sending it in to attack the one looking like a Britannian officer. "I'll make you keep your distance, then work out a way to… stop… you?"

"Hrm?" said a voice she didn't expect to hear again. "Stop me from what?" He tousled her hair affectionately, something only one person ever dared to do. "Come on, stop messing about."

This room… Those faces! Ohgi was there, and so was Tamaki, Minami, Sugiyama, Yoshida, Inoue, Nagata and -

"Alright everyone, listen up!" her brother Naoto said, rising to his feet in his usual easy confident manner. "We've got a mission to do, and this time we'll really give Prince Clovis a headache he won't soon forget! We're gonna be stealing some experimental poison gas."

====Lelouch====

"Please listen to me!" Euphemia begged. "We are all in terrible danger. This Stand can-"

But alas, the signal was cut off before she could continue any further. If the circumstances were different, if the warning had come from another enemy commander, if he had not received a simultaneous warning from C.C. among similar lines then maybe Lelouch wouldn't have taken it so seriously. As it was, he knew Euphemia as a child and from all appearances it seemed as though she hadn't changed terribly much. A trick of this kind was absolutely not something she was likely to attempt.

"Don't look them in the eyes," C.C. cryptically warned between deep sucking gasps of air. "Don't attack them, even if you're certain of a killshot. F-Find original user. It's the only way."

"Them?" Lelouch asked. "Who is 'them'? What are you talking about? I need more details!"

The phone only let him hear a choked rasp, and from the sounds of it the phone must have fallen from her grasp. Passed out? To inflict meaningful harm on the immortal witch, this must be a powerful enemy indeed.

Which left him with a problem. He knew Euphemia of old. But he also knew Cornelia. She was not the sort to give her enemy any leeway. Had she been present during the Stand Out crisis, she would have absolutely waged war on all other factions involved, and on consideration she might even have been able to find a way to win that fight. She would not give up. Not here. Not now. Not because of a new enemy. Not until victory was a literal impossibility.

"I can't lose here," Lelouch seethed, knowing he was falling into the same psychological trap Cornelia doubtlessly was. "Even if I could risk it I won't be able to convince the Black Knights to surrender without revealing my identity, and Cornelia absolutely will not back down either! We have to win, and we have to win quickly. That is the only way we can assure victory!"

Cornelia wasn't wasting any time. While she remained to the back of the enemy units, her own forces were advancing as quickly as the terrain would allow. Trying to bait them? Or analysing the situation? Whatever the case, he gave specific instructions to intercept to his own units, making them track through the mud towards the enemy. As for Shirley, he gave her a two word instruction.

"Buzz them."

Schizoid Man flew up into the air and swooped in among the enemy Knightmares. Not attacking them, but it didn't need to. Now that they could see an enemy Stand they probably thought it gave them an advantage. Lelouch intended to teach them that it did not! Whenever it flew near any of them, it would capture their attention when they should be watching his advancing forces! Because of that oversight he was able to open fire upon them in a moment of psychological vulnerability without having a Stand even so much as touch them.

However. Cornelia was not the kind that was content to remain out of any conflict. Her lance sailed through the air, piercing his middle unit, sending it back into the mud and creating a shockwave pulse that interrupted their attack. The Bors rapidly broke through to the front line, moving much faster than the others - Lelouch realised instantly how this was the case. It was using that enlarged factsphere to identify the most efficient path forward by locating the shallowest parts of the mudflow. Quite brilliant, Cornelia.

"You will have to do better than that," Cornelia taunted, retracting a wire built into the base of the lance and allowing her to retrieve her weapon without wading into the midst of her enemies.

"If you insist," Zero replied, lifting herself atop Lelouch's Knightmare using her Stand. "Before long, one of us will be the other's prisoner, and it seems as though our reinforcements are just about to arrive! This battle is as good as ours!"

Reinforcements? How irritating, he'd told them to radio ahead when they were in position. He looked back and indeed, there were a few Black Knight infantry standing back there staggering forward on the uneven ground. It might seem strange to use infantry in this day and age, but feet on the ground are always useful even in a war involving machines and powers of this calibre.

"And our reinforcements are also coming," Cornelia said. Indeed they were. Her own infantry, by the looks of things. Staggering out through the forest. Another worthless complication! "Don't declare your victories before they're completed, it gives history ammunition to shoot down your reputation. Don't forget. History is written by the winners, and is never kind to those ground into the dirt."

He appreciated the opportunity for a little back and forth, but right now he had an offensive to mount and a Princess to capture. "Red team, bring out the rocket launchers. Aim for her right flank, and forget about the infantry. Respond if you received, over!"

"Just a little further," was the reply. "All we have to do is make it over this ridge, and then we'll be safe and then you won't die in the bombings, and then - We'll see what happens next, okay!"

Needless to say. This was not the response he was expecting. Though now that he took a closer look at them, there was something strange about his reinforcements. Cornelia's as well. Neither of them seemed to be approaching the battlefield in anything other than a tangential, almost accidental manner. It seemed more like drunken staggering, and stranger still was that they were all being followed by a variety of figures. He bade his factsphere zoom in on these figures and grew immediately pale at what he saw in their eyes.

"That symbol is -" he gasped. "Was this what those two meant? A Stand on this scale -"

Yet it got worse. It's often said that if you see one cockroach then there are others nearby as well, so now it seemed as though they were everywhere. He could see them all around the battlefield. Wandering in completely random directions. Soldiers from Japan Liberation Front and from Britannia's. Civilians. Black Knights. Gesturing wildly. Talking to themselves, or perhaps more accurately talking to their freshly acquired Stands.

"What is this?" Shirley asked him. "All these people! They're -"

"I'm not certain!" Lelouch replied. But his mind was furiously working on possibilities. Some sort of an outbreak. That behavioural pattern was the same as - The same as Refrain! Of course. If it was some sort of contagious ability then that would be a significant threat to all lives, just as Euphemia had claimed. These people would be captured entirely in a world of fantasy and delusion with no way to provide for themselves. They must be cut off entirely from their own senses, and being told they are some place, some time else.

In short, they might starve to death and never even know it. Was it a cruel death, or a kind one?

"Stop staring at them!" Cornelia yelled, suddenly charging forward. "Your enemy today is me!"

"You determined maniac!" Lelouch replied, quickly backing away. "If this is allowed to spread -"

"It won't be," Cornelia interrupted, lunging out with her lance and forcing Lelouch to dodge. "Capturing Zero is the key to discovering the truth after all this time! I will not allow you to slip on by once again! Never again!"

He had no choice, then. She was this obsessed with finding Clovis' killer? Reason would not reach her anymore. Schizoid Man flew directly for Cornelia's cockpit, but was intercepted by a sudden blast of sonic energy from her lance. Very well Cornelia. Have it your way.

"Are you alright?" he asked Shirley.

"I'm fine," she replied. "She didn't hit me with a full blast this time."

"Then this is what we need to do..."

Cornelia moved forward again without the slightest trace of wasted motion. Lelouch moved quickly to the left while Schizoid Man kept his passenger steady atop the frame, reaffirming his intention to acquire a multi-seated design as soon as possible. He fired his Knightmare's rifle, but it was as though Cornelia knew exactly where each shot would land before he even pulled the trigger. All he could do was try to create a little distance between them wherever he could.

"This is foolish!" Zero yelled. "Only a fool fights in a burning house! Look around us, our soldiers are succumbing to this Stand's power with each passing moment! If we do not fight back, then we too shall join them!"

"That's not my concern right now," Cornelia dismissed. "I've already taken steps to ensure Hey Jude does not spread. You reek of desperation. Are you going to surrender if you're so concerned?"

"Cornelia," Lelouch said while Schizoid Man rushed in for another strike, this one coming up from below. "You've surely heard of this phrase; If you're not part of the solution, you are part of the problem."

"Hmph!" Cornelia chuckled. "Is that the only trick you know?" Cornelia lashed out with her lance once again sending a sonic pulse that forced the powerful Stand to withdraw immediately. "Your Stand won't even be able to get close to me without being repelled anymore! You really think I'm part of the problem?"

"Not yet," Zero replied. "But you are about to be."

"... What do you mean?" Cornelia asked. Only then did she seem to notice. You could tell from her sudden intake of breath, and the distinctive click from switching off her external speaker. Because next to their position was Sugiyama, who had been knocked over by her sonic attack, where he lay face up in the mud.

And in the process giving Lelouch the perfect opportunity to see what C.C. meant about not attacking them. Indeed. The faceless Stand and the affected Black Knight had earned the fullest extent of his attention.

At first nothing seemed to happen. Sugiyama just sort of lay there for a moment, ears bleeding but otherwise not visibly harmed. But then, to Lelouch's fascination, their body simply rose from the ground. The blood withdrew into the ears, and most surprising of all the indentation that should have been there when she landed in the mud was completely gone. Like he had never fallen at all.

"No," Lelouch realised. "He's not rising from the ground. Time is rewinding immediately around him! That means… Any kind of attack is completely useless!"

But it wasn't done yet. The faceless Stand rose, drifted towards Cornelia's Knightmare in spite of her attempts to drive it off with her lance. She would strike at the enemy in a panic, yet whenever the sonic blast repelled the Stand it would simply rewind time immediately around itself, undoing the damage, returning it to its original position almost instantly. How fascinating! How terrifying! An enemy you could not attack, only aggravate into attacking you.

"Are you certain you are unharmed?" he asked Shirley.

"I should be fine," she said, though Schizoid Man was rubbing at its ears. "Just a glancing blow, honest!"

"I'll have C.C. check later on, after we rescue her. In the meantime, I need to see what this new Stand is capable of. Keep Schizoid Man at bay while I examine this effect."

It might be a bit of a risk, but he had to understand how this new threat spread before he could effectively fight it. To that end, he took note of the shadow cast upon Cornelia's Knightmare by his own, and used that Shadow to render her Knightmare invisible, where his own factsphere could freely view Cornelia being attacked within her own Knightmare by an entity she could not see or touch. The more information he held, the easier it would be to combat it.

And if in the process it put Cornelia into a position of vulnerability… Well, he was hardly the kind to say no if opportunity smiled upon him for once instead of frowning.

"Get away from me!" it looked like she screaming from lip reading, necessary because her external microphone was switched off. All the Stand seemed to do was pin her back by the neck to stare in her face while she struggled in vain, and then let her go. Her body went slack, ceased struggling although her face took on monumental levels of simultaneous rage and surprise all at once. "You - You devil! Taking me here of all places!"

He zoomed in on her face, and took note of a peculiar set of rings forming around the iris in both her eyes. Lelouch fully expected another faceless Stand to manifest around Cornelia, but none arose. Strange. He had assumed - Unless there was another step to the infection? But what could it be?

Suddenly the Bors lunged forward. It didn't strike Lelouch as a deliberate action. More like Cornelia had instinctively grappled the controls in front of her to compel her beast forwards. He stepped back, but to his horror he beheld Schizoid Man rushing forward to lash out at the Knightmare with a thunderous right hand.

"Wait, don't!" he warned, but far too late. The enemy Stand emerged from the front of the Bors like a spectre and the two Stands stared at one another face to face. Eyes to the symbol pulsing like an infected vein across the middle of where a face ought to be. Damn! Now what?

"Daddy?" Shirley whispered unbelievingly. Lelouch winced in a steady mixture of guilt and horror. He had to act quickly! He seized hold of her and retreated from the battlefield as quickly as possible. This had to be figured out! Quickly! And he would have to do so while keeping Painted Black or himself from viewing any of them in the eyes.

Questions barrelled through his mind while he sought refuge from the wandering, shambling victims and Stand users. Everyone in Narita settlement, everyone on the battlefield could be considered an enemy. Yet somehow, for some reason neither Cornelia nor Shirley had those clock faced Stands following them around immediately after eye contact, even though their behaviour was now like the others. Why? What were the rules for this Stand? If he didn't understand the rules, he would not be able to fight it!

If only Euphemia's signal had not been interrupted. If only C.C. had been able to give him a more detailed warning! He needed more time to think. More time to observe. And right now Shirley seemed to be the safest guinea pig available. Almost all the others around him seemed to be -

"Hey, what the hell is going on around here?!"

"Tamaki?" Lelouch said to himself, genuinely surprised at the transmission coming through to him. "Well, even an idiot can be useful under the right circumstances." He accepted the transmission and responded quickly. "Report at once! What did you see? Miss out nothing, it could be vital."

"Tsch, well… One of their soldiers was behaving all freaky. I figure they were trying to play some sort of mind game, you know, psych us out. Like I'm gonna avoid a chance of firing on a Britannian officer just 'cause he's drunk! Next thing I know, I'm hanging out in our bar, I think a couple weeks back, then all of a sudden I'm back here! Outta nowhere! The hell is going on?!"

In other words… He was sent to an image of "his own past". The bar he mentioned. Perhaps there was a clue in that? Just like Tamaki to not give him enough relevant data. He would have to press for more details!

"Tell me more," Lelouch demanded. "What was special about that bar! Did anything in particular happen while you were there just now?"

A brief pause. How irritating! If you want him to shut up he doesn't, when you want him to talk -

"Do I gotta say?"

"Not especially. I mean, it could only make the difference between countless lives being lost or saved. No hurry, we might well have all the time in the world!"

"... Tsk. Well, there I was staring at the hottest chick I ever got turned down by. Caught me completely by surprise seeing her like that, so instead of talking to her like I did last time I saw her, I wound up knocking over some guy's drink. Kicked off this bar fight, last thing I saw was Sug- I mean, P4 take a mean looking slash across his upper leg. Man, now I feel like a damned fool! Wish I'd have said something else to her this time instead of making an idiot out of myself!"

P4. Kento Sugiyama. An unremarkable soldier who was not as skilled as Kallen nor a hot headed idiot like Tamaki. Call it curiosity, but he had to know. It was perhaps a strange compulsion, but where powers like Stand or Geass were involved it was impossible to rule out the impossible. That's why after a moment of scanning the battlefield with Painted Black's assistance he asked Tamaki a pair of essential questions, dreading that he already knew the answer.

"Was it his left leg?" he asked first.

"Huh? Yeah!"

"I see. Was it a vertical slash?"

"Huh? That's right, how'd you know?"

"Because I used my Stand to examine his leg," Lelouch replied. "And I can tell you now that he has a scar exactly like that! In that position! In that shape!"

"Huh? That sure is a freaky coincidence! Man, I wonder how he got it and - Ah, dammit! That Britannian's back up! Stay down already! Stay - Woah. B-Back here again? Uh… Hey, pretty lady! What's a nice girl like you doing in a place like this?"

Lelouch ended the transmission. Listening to Tamaki attempt to pick up women was not something he particularly needed right now. Especially if he wound up succeeding, which frankly boggled the mind and was not what he needed to focus on right now. Not with the way the scar was fading like that. It left Lelouch with a nasty little theory about how this Stand worked.

"Got you," Shirley suddenly said. "Smart thinking! Making the dog invisible to daddy and making him accidentally fire on it… Worked like a charm! We should have done this last time."

This gave him even more data. Something was happening to Schizoid Man now that she had done something to unquestionably alter her past. Its body was changing. Growing clothing that looked startlingly familiar. Its face was robbed of its manic features leaving nothing behind but that symbol. In an instant it had become the very ghost of Joseph Fenette.

And it looked as though daddy was a little bit irate at her daughter's boyfriend. Lelouch squeezed his eyes closed and withdrew Painted Black, desperation setting in now that he fully understood what this enemy was. Yes, Euphy. This enemy was a threat to all life in Area Eleven. Yes, C.C. He had to acknowledge that he could not defeat it. Because of who he was. Because this threat used a person's own self against them in a way that would wear you out and beat you down. It all hinged on whether or not you caused a paradox -

However. The effort to resist was worthless because he felt a terrible pressure suddenly strike him in the chest, and then he instinctively opened his eyes. And then -

This was not the inside of a Japanese made Knightmare model. This was a certain familiar pristine corridor. Before him lay walls he knew from memories of a happier time, before he knew of the cruelty of the world, the cruelty of Britannia, the cruelty of his own father -

He took a step and found his legs shorter. Too short. Something tugged at his neck, and he reached back to find a cape. How pretentious! Almost as much as the architecture of this very room. Lelouch adjusted his centre of gravity, and hurried towards where he knew there was a mirror, supposedly an antique though that might depend upon your answer to Theseus' paradox -

How apt a description for his situation. Is an axe the same axe if you replace its head, and then later replace its handle? Is a ship the same ship if, over the course of many years, every plank has been replaced? Is a life the same if its past is altered? Plank by plank. Moment by moment.

His thought process screeched to a terrible halt at what he beheld in the mirror. HIs features had lost all trace of adolescence. His stature was miniscule, his dress rather pompous (especially for a child), but one fact above all others terrified him to the very core of his being.

"This day," he began, desperately trying to organise his thoughts. "This must be the day my mother was slain! And should I try to change it, prevent it in any way… I'll be finished!"

/To Be Continued

Stand Stats

Stand Name: Hey Jude

User: Mirai Kozuki

Stats

Destructive Power C

Speed C

Range C

Durability A

Precision B

Developmental Potential E

Abilities

Take a Sad Song: Physical manifestation of each individual user's regret appears, attacking anyone or anything that in any way attacks the user or the Stand.

Make it Better: When user is harmed in any way, their individual time rewinds by up to half a minute. The rest of the world is unaffected during rewind.

Geass Stats

Hey Jude

User: Mrs Kozuki

Stats

Range C

Control E

Duration A

Stability E

Remember to Let Her: Should anyone make eye contact with either Stand or user, that person's mind is sent into their past to a moment they regret.

Into Your Heart: Any change to the past made by the victim, until the point they cause a paradox, will change the past accordingly.

You Feel The Pain: If the victim causes a paradox, they become an additional user of Hey Jude.

Hey Jude, Refrain: All Hey Jude users have their minds trapped in a parallel universe where events play out as dictated by their changes to the past. Their present day bodies will therefore behave in a manner consistent with long term Refrain addicts.