And now, the monster parable shall be explained. Hopefully. To an extent.

Heraklinos, way off.

DeviateFish, exactly the reaction I was hoping for.

NightmareSyndrom, good guesses, all wrong.

Karasu, better guesses, all right.

WakingWorldDreamWorld, Haven't seen that film yet. I want to though.

-}+{-

That was the turning point. Since that day, I've lived a lie: The lie of living. My name, too, was a lie. My personal history, a lie. Nothing but lies. I was sick to death of a world that couldn't be changed. But even in my lies, I refused to give up in despair. But now, this incredible power, it's mine…

Ever since that day, I suppose I've been craving destruction and chaos. Yes, before creation there must first come destruction. If my soul stands in my way, then I shall toss it aside. Yes, for I have no choice but to move forward…

From that day on, I was never satisfied in my heart. The fabricated life that didn't make any sense. The time that slipped by. A life of a mareep given false memories. However, the truth unconsciously beckoned me…

Lelouch spent the day investigating, but not just the false 'case' he was working on with Suzaku, but all the people in this false world.

He had realised the truth, as impossible as it had first seemed. The whole world was just a fabrication- a simulacrum of reality, yet everyone in it was real, but with their memories altered.

'The only exceptions are C.C. and I.' Lelouch thought on the drive home. 'Of course, I have to play my role of the ace detective when I'm home with her.'

'Still, Seven hundred years and this is what she wishes for?' Lelouch thought. 'Of course, judging from the time limit on the wish, I'm guessing that whatever she wished for would vanish after the week was up, so she couldn't have wished for anything that would last, and there was no way that she'd waste her wish on a mortal like me.'

'No, the important thing here is to investigate why I am like Suzaku right now, what are my limits, and more importantly, father and mother. Everyone else in this dream world that exists is alive, so why is mother here?'

'The answer's obvious. Because mother's death was staged.'

Lelouch scowled. 'No, that can't be it. I saw her DIE!'

'Of course, she was also C.C.'s friend, and father was friends with this 'Cyrus' person, so there's no way to tell that she didn't have the Geass, or may even by immortal like C.C..'

'Wait… if Dream Ashford was immortal like the real Ashford, then his wounds would have healed already, wouldn't they?' Lelouch realised. 'Yet, they haven't…'

Lelouch opened his pokénav and called C.C. "Hey." He told her.

_\_ "Hey." _\_ C.C. replied.

"Just to let you know, I'm going into the hospital to visit Ash on the way home." Lelouch told C.C. "I'll bring home the right Pizza this time."

Lelouch tossed a box of Thornton's chocolates onto his crippled brother's torso. "Hey stupid." Lelouch taunted, walking into the private hospital room. "How're they treating you?"

"Very nice." Ash smiled. "You do know that I can't move my arms, right?"

Lelouch smiled back and opened the box with telekinesis and lifted a chocolate into the air. "So I'm supposed to feed you, is that it?" Lelouch asked.

"Ah ha." Ash nodded, mouth wide open to receive what Lelouch decided to float into his own mouth. "Douche!" the younger brother shouted.

"Have one of the nurses feed you." Lelouch smirked, chewing on the toffee. "So what're you still doing in here?"

"Because unlike you, I can't use Recover." Ash scowled.

Lelouch was surprised, but he had accepted this as a possible outcome after seeing that Ash wasn't surprised by his telekinesis. "Hey, you remember when we became like this?" Lelouch asked him.

"Yeah." Ash nodded. "We were Codes like Auntie C.C., and we found Mew…" he shook his head. "It was in Mount Coronet, wasn't it?"

"Palkia and Dialga had gone on a rampage, hadn't they?" Lelouch guessed.

"Yeah, good times." Ash laughed, his mind filling in the blank created by Lelouch's question.

'I don't want him remembering the truth just yet.' Lelouch thought. 'I need more information.' "Suzaku's like us too." Lelouch told his brother. "Don't think he met Mew though."

"Nah, but I think one of his great-grandparents or something did." Ash sighed. "He's a Fighting and Dragon type, you realise that yet?"

"No I didn't." Lelouch admitted. "Didn't think of that until now."

'So we have types?' Lelouch asked internally. 'And we can use pokémon attacks and restorative items… though clearly not to the same extent as pokémon can or else Ashford would be out of the hospital by now… it's almost as if we are pokémon…'

'What if the whole point of becoming immortal- no, becoming a Code- was turning into a pokémon? And what does Mew have to do with it?' Lelouch thought. 'But, why are we no longer Codes… what's more, how does one become a Code in the first place?'

'Ashford became one during the battle in China, around the time of his death- or at the time of his death. So, if a Geass user dies-'

'No, that can't be it.' Lelouch thought to himself. 'If so, Mao would still be alive… but if it's related to the Geass, which it must be, then the opportunity for becoming a Code must be beyond what Mao achieved. Most likely after one learns to regain control of their Geass, like Ashford did during the SAZ.'

'So once one learns how to turn their Geass on and off at will, then one becomes a Code upon their death?' Lelouch thought to himself. 'And once one becomes a Code and finds Mew, then one becomes a pokémon?'

'This is still just a theory.' Lelouch sighed, shaking his head. 'But it's a good one.'

He got to his feet. "Anyway, I'd best be going." Lelouch told his brother. "C.C.'s waiting for me."

Ashford shook his head. "Mate, I still can't believe you married someone thirty-five times your age." He groaned.

Lelouch laughed. "I happen to like mature women." He joked. "This is why she married me and not you."

Ash just grumbled and called for a nurse as Lelouch left.

"You did this to piss me off, didn't you?" C.C. asked our hero, glaring at the Meateor Pizza the traitor brought back from Dominos Pizza.

"It's good to have variety in your diet." Lelouch joked, picking up a slice of pizza. He was in a good mood.

C.C. glared at him before tossing a Shadow Ball into his face, knocking him off the table. "Witch." Lelouch smirked, getting to his feet and throwing a Shadow Ball back at his wife.

It dissipated the moment it touched her. "Pathetic." She smirked, throwing another blob of darkness at Lelouch.

He ducked under the table. 'A Normal and a Ghost type?' Lelouch asked himself. 'An odd type match-up, but so is Fighting and Dragon. I know I'm the Psychic type, but do I have a second element too?'

He looked down at his hand as black flames formed into the shape of claw. 'Night Slash… am I a Dark and Psychic type?'

Lelouch closed his hand to end the attack, before getting up and returning fire with a Psybeam. 'Dark is super-effective against Ghost, so best use Psychic attacks so she doesn't get too hurt-'

His thoughts were interrupted as he got hit in the face by simultaneous fire, electric and ice attacks- a Tri Attack. "Dammit witch." Lelouch growled as C.C. smirked.

"Come on then boy." She taunted. "Can't even take on a pregnant woman?"

The pizza was forgotten, left to go cold.

'Another thing.' Lelouch thought later that evening as C.C. slept beside him. 'Why are all the people killed by Deoxys showing up as murder victims?' Lelouch thought. 'And even so, why isn't Shirley walking around despite having been killed?'

'Where are all the Deoxys?' Lelouch asked. 'Are they causing this? Or have some other role to play in this dream world?'

The next day, Lelouch spent some time with his sister. It was such a good feeling to see her walking with both eyes open, even if she was slightly more spoiled than Lelouch remembered.

'Of course she is.' Lelouch smiled to himself. 'She didn't have to go through that here. She deserves to be more spoiled.'

Unfortunately, Da Chief caught him as he was treating his sister to Ice Cream and dragged him back to the station for a good chewing out, during which Lelouch tore off her moustache.

She punched him in the face.

"ANYWAYS~!" Milly sang, reapplying the faux moustache onto her face. "You're on a serial murder case! Get back out there!"

"Yes oh lord and master." Lelouch sighed with a smile as he walked out of her office, only to get dragged back in by the scruff of his neck.

"Don't get funny with me Lulu." Milly hissed. "Solve the damned case."

'You wouldn't believe me if I did, President.' Lelouch thought.

Lelouch didn't go out to meet his partner afterwards, however.

He decided to pay a visit to his father.

"Rrrrreeellouche!" Charles Zi Britannia greeted with open arms as Lelouch closed the thick oak doors of his father's office behind him. "To What Do I Owe The Pleasure-"

BLAM

The joy on Charles face turned to an angry scowl as the bullet hole in his skull closed up. "Explain Yourself Boy." He demanded.

"Heal Block." Lelouch cast on his father, before firing a bullet between the man's kneecaps. "That should stop you healing for the time being." He stated. "Now, Answer my questions."

"Yes My Son." Charles replied obediently.

"What is your true name and title?" Lelouch asked him.

"Charles Zi Britannia, 98th Emperor Of Britannia." Charles answered, confirming Lelouch's hunch that people could answer questions of the real world whilst under the influence of his Geass. They could lie to themselves, but no one could lie to his Geass.

"Who was behind mother's murder?" Lelouch asked him.

"My Brother Cyrus." Charles responded.

"What was his motive?"

"He Deemed Her As An Emotional Obstacle In My Rise To Become A Code And Accomplish Our Goals."

"What goals?" Lelouch asked. "World conquest?"

"Conquest Was Merely A Means To An End." Charles replied obediently. "Our True Goal Is To Summon Zero."

"The terrorist?" Lelouch asked.

"The True Zero."

"Explain." Lelouch ordered.

"Zero Is The True God Of This World." Charles answered. "He Is Nothing And Everything."

Lelouch decided to drop the matter for now. "Did mother survive the assassination?"

"Yes."

"How?"

"She Used Her Geass To Transfer Her Psyche Into A Suitable Host."

"Who? Nunnally?"

"No." Charles replied. "It Was The Young Girl Who Was Studying Steel Type Pokémon As Marianne's Apprentice, Jasmine Of Olivine."

'Jasmine?' Lelouch asked. "Does Mother Know Of Your Plans?"

"She Is My Partner In All Things Lelouch." Charles told his son. "This Is Why Cyrus Wanted Her Dead."

'So mother is my enemy…' Lelouch scowled. "If you are a Code, then why does my Geass work on you?" he asked, wondering why he didn't ask himself this earlier.

"I Do Not Know." Charles replied.

"What do you know about the stage above Code?" Lelouch asked.

"I Know Not Of Such A Thing."

Lelouch smirked. "Do you know why the Knight of Five is capable of pokémon attacks?"

"No." Charles answered. "Each Knight Has Their Own Skills. I Buy Those Skills With Rank And Power. I Have No Need To Understand Them."

"I see." Lelouch nodded. "What do you know of the monster who stole hearts and the heartless monster?"

"A Fable Euphemia Is Writing." Charles explained.

"What of a relationship between Jirachi and Deoxys?" Lelouch asked.

"I Know Not Of Such A Thing."

"How do you kill a Code?"

"I Know Not Of Such A Thing."

"Do you consider yourself to be a good parent to Nunnally and I?"

"Yes."

BLAM

"WELL YOU'RE NOT!" Lelouch shouted as his father roared in pain. "YOU-!"

Lelouch took a deep breath, realising that his anger had clouded his mind and broken his visual connection of the Geass. "You are the worst parent, no, the worst being I have ever known." Lelouch told him with a glare, daring his father to use his Geass on him. "You can just die."

"Do You Expect Me To Comply With Your Wishes?" Charles Zi Britannia boomed, forcing himself into a sitting position. "Do Not Be Arrogant, Boy."

BLAM

"No, I don't." Lelouch told his father. "I expect you to be silenced for the rest of this dream."

"You Cannot Kill Me Boy." Charles boomed.

"I can kill Mother."

Charles froze. "You Wouldn't Dare." He snarled.

"I Would." Lelouch told him. "I can trap you here, not for long, but long enough for me to go to mother, prevent her from using her Geass, and kill her. I'm sure that her death in this world would mean her death in the real world." Lelouch glared. "That is my bargain. After the dream, you can take her somewhere I cannot harm her, but until then you shall not hinder my plans or I will kill her."

"And you're going to do it." Lelouch added. "Because you're an insane, heartless bastard with a twisted concept of love, but you care for her too much for her to die. The only reason you haven't executed Cyrus for trying is because you don't know how to kill a Code, but I do." He warned. "It is difficult, and I cannot do it on this dream world, but I can do it, because I am not you."

Lelouch gave his father a paralysing Glare, trapping him further with a Mean Look. "Submit yourself unto me." Lelouch warned, stepping out of the soundproofed office and leaving his father there to bleed. "Or Suffer the consequences."

After that, Lelouch want into his father's house. "Lelouch!" Marianne smiled. "What a surprise!"

"How's Cornelia?" Lelouch asked.

"She's holding up." Marianne sighed. "She's with Euphie right now."

Lelouch nodded, then looked his mother in the eye.

"Answer me this: Why did you allow Father to abandon us in Japan?" Lelouch asked, his Geass compelling her to answer.

"It was to remove you from harms way," Marianne replied with a smile. "We knew you and Nunally would most likely be targeted by Cyrus next."

"Even though you knew Japan would become a warzone?" Lelouch demanded, outraged. "Even though you knew you would be condemning your own children to an early grave regardless?"

"Things were at a delicate stage at that point, so Japan was the best choice." his mother replied. "All we needed was a few months, after which it wasn't an issue. Once Charles and I complete our plan, things like that won't have mattered. Besides, in the end you were fine, weren't you?"

Lelouch's face twisted into a snarl. "'In the end'? In the end, it was just pragmatism on your part? WE WERE YOUR CHILDREN! But in the end, accomplishing your own goals stood above your own duties as a parent?"

Marianne tilted her head to the side. "It was to make the world right. Isn't it the same for you?"

"Not even I'm that cold, though I do now realise who I got it from." Lelouc snarled, fighting the urge to look away in disgust.

He settled for sighing with dissapointemnt. "But in the vein of pragmatism, I'm sure you'd appreciate the order I shall place upon you, dear mother. Never use your Geass again." He ordered her.

"Alright." She nodded.

"Once this dream world ends, go to father and tell him that I declare war." Lelouch almost hesitated, but continued. He knew his path was already chosen. "Once you have done this… Kill yourself in front of him."

"Of course honey." Marianne responded as Lelouch broke his Geass off. "Anything else?"

Lelouch sniffed. "Are you baking brownies?" he asked his mother.

"You have a good nose." she smiled. "They won't be ready for another few minutes though. Would you like a drink?"

"Coffee please, I'm driving."

Lelouch spent the next few hours writing up the case report for Milly to avoid any unwanted suspicion, then went home to find that C.C. had cooked pasta.

For all his brilliance on the battlefield or in the boardroom, Lelouch never could have predicted that.

The next day, Friday, it rained.

Except the rain did not fall.

It just stayed motionless in the air.

Lelouch stepped outside to find a man with a gaunt face and blue hair standing in the middle of the road. "Lelouch." The man stated. "To have awoken from this dream world, you truly are my nephew."

"You must be Cyrus." Lelouch growled, activating his Geass in response to his. "I've heard all about you."

"You claim to know how to kill a Code." Cyrus stated. "How?"

Lelouch laughed. "Remove their immortality." He said. "My turn to ask a question."

"Very Well." Cyrus stated.

"Your Geass is not merely stopping perception of time, or the rain would still fall." Lelouch stated. "Geass cannot affect the physical world, only peoples minds, so this is a dream within a dream." He glared at Cyrus with a smirk. "Are any of these statements incorrect?"

"The second and the third." Cyrus replied. "How can your Geass affect my brother, who is a code?"

"I do not know." Lelouch replied. "I suspect it is because I have advanced beyond a Code."

Cyrus glared. "There is no stage above a Code."

Lelouch tutted. "It's my turn to ask a question." He taunted. "Regardless of the nature of your Geass, you are a both a Code and capable of using your Geass, am I correct?"

"Yes." Cyrus answered. "What evidence do you have that there lies a stage above a Code?"

Lelouch answered by levitating a car with his mind and tossing it into another. "That is my evidence." Lelouch said with a smirk. "You encountered each of your Geass Runaways during a personal crisis, correct?"

"Correct." Cyrus answered. "How did you do that?"

"Because I have advanced beyond a Code." Lelouch smirked. "Why did you kidnap Nunnally?"

"To bring you to Mirage Island." Cyrus answered. "How did you advance beyond a Code?"

"I don't know yet." Lelouch shrugged. "How many Codes are there?"

"Four." Cyrus replied. "What is your goal? Your mother is alive and your sister doesn't want you to hurt people."

"Why?" Lelouch asked. "Because his world is wrong, and I am right. Where is the Geass Order's current headquarters?"

"The Ruins of Alph." Cyrus stated. "What drives you to do that which you do?"

"Pride." Lelouch stated. "Why are we playing this game, Cyrus?"

Cyrus glared. "Impudent child." He sighed, turning to leave. "I will leave you be, boy."

Lelouch smirked as the rain began to fall. 'So that's his Geass.' He realised with a smirk. 'That's actually rather pathetic.'

With that, he turned around and walked back inside the house.

Just as the S.W.A.T. Team pulled up in the driveway.

Lelouch sighed as he pulled his fingers out of the blinds. "Why do the bad things always happen to me?" Lelouch asked himself as C.C. walked down the stairs. "C.C., go back upstairs-"

She was visibly shaken. 'Shit.' Lelouch realised. 'This has happened before. This was supposed to be a safe world for her.'

'This was not supposed to happen.'

The sunlight coming through the window turned red, and Lelouch could tell what was happening as the masked policemen burst through the front door.

Lelouch held out a hand as they prepared to fire. "Die." He commanded, unleashing a powerful Dark Pulse upon them, launching them into the garden. "Ryujin!"

The beast of the storm crashed through the wall, demolishing the living room from behind as more men came through the door. "Go." Lelouch commanded C.C. as he helped her onto the dragon. "I'll come after you."

The lugia launched a powerful Aeroblast onto the squad, obliterating them. "Everything will be fine." Lelouch told her. "That is a promise, as part of our contract."

C.C. quietly nodded as Lugia rose into the skies and fled the city as Lelouch pulled the knot of his tie down his neck. "Now then…" he smiled as he walked out into the red skies as it began to rain blood. "Let us move forward…"

From the red sky, meteors began to fall, glowing with a familiar, sinister energy.

Rather than be fearful, Lelouch had an epiphany. 'Of course… Jirachi… the meteor… the Deoxys… why didn't I see the connection before?'

He walked out into the city as people began clutching their heads, screaming as they exploded into light and were replaced by hordes of Deoxys. Occasionally a tendril would grasp hold of Lelouch, but all he had to do was will them to burn and his powers killed them with ease.

'These aren't the killing machines Britannia built.' Lelouch smirked to himself as he smote down another monster. 'These are wild, unorganised, unthinking animals, unwittingly coming for their own doom.'

Two great beasts, a slender, white monster and a bulky, black behemoth duelled for dominance above the blood-red sky, their power rendering the world asunder as deoxys swarmed to devour anything remaining on the surface.

The two beasts roared, and a titan, dark webbed hand of stone smashed down on the world as a great, white beautiful wing of fur swept across the sky, destroying the simulacrum. Lelouch could see scars in the world where reality- the world outside of this dream- was showing through.

Lelouch glared at the red sky. "JIRACHI!" he ordered as the world began to crumble around him. "COME!"

The sky began to fall- a great crimson orb of death to crush Lelouch in anger.

Lelouch glared at the Doom Desire, and faded into oblivion.

He reappeared in a dark dungeon on silver flames. "Shadow Force." Lelouch stated. "Yes, I know that this is Giratina's ability, but I thought, why not?"

Jirachi turned around to face him. The pouch on his belly had opened up into a large demonic eye, and green marks could be seen under his eyes.

Jiro was in pain.

"In all your years, this has never happened." Lelouch told the Jirachi. "Never before have there been so many Deoxys powering the wish. Never before have there been Deoxys you couldn't control. And there has never, ever, ever been a puppet that woke up during the dream, am I correct?"

The jirachi simply stared at Lelouch. "Chi." it replied.

Lelouch smiled smugly. "And it hurts." He said. "All you want is to give a nice dream to the nice lady, and it's gone wrong. Oh so very wrong because of the Deoxys."

"Jira." Jirachi said. "Jira rachi."

"I know." Lelouch nodded. "But your wishes, your dreams, they are so ephemeral, aren't they?" he asked. "You can't do anything that lasts forever, can you?"

"Jirachi jira." Jirachi said. "Rachi rachi jira."

Lelouch laughed "If only you had a heart." Lelouch paraphrased from Euphies story. "Then you too would be loved by the others."

Jirachi looked at him in shock as Lelouch crouched in front of him. "Did you find your heart?" Lelouch asked him. "Look at all the hearts you've gathered in this sweet dream. Look at all the people you've made happy."

"J-JIRA!" Jirachi begged, covering its head with its hands.

"But me?" Lelouch asked. "I'm happy without a heart. I know what I am."

Jirachi stopped still. "So now, you have a choice." Lelouch told the Jirachi. "My wish is simple. I want you to answer my questions. Grant my wish, and I can make a world where everyone is happy. You wouldn't have to steal hearts anymore. You could just tell me."

"Jira…"

Lelouch knelt down opposite Jiro. "Tell me. What is Zero?"

Jirachi looked away, then whispered the answer.

Lelouch furrowed his eyebrows. "That's not possible."

Jiro shook his head. "Jirachi. Jiro jiro rachi jiro chi ra."

"And Britannia wants to summon this thing?" Lelouch asked.

"Rachi." The pokémon shrugged. "Rachi jiro chi ra ji."

"That's… insane." Lelouch growled, before shaking his head. "How do I stop it?"

"Chiji."

"I suppose if it had flaws, the plan would be hopeless." Lelouch sighed. "I'll have to think of a plan when the time comes then."

"Jirachi."

Lelouch nodded. "Now, tell me about the Code. How does the Geass evolve into it, and how does it evolve again?"

"Rachi." Jiro explained. "Rachi jiro chira rachi. Jirochi jira chiji ra jirachi chi. Jiro rachi ji chi ra. Rachi chi jiro jira jira chirachi. Ji rachi chi ra chijira. "

"All three of them?" Lelouch asked.

"Chi." Jirachi nodded. "Rachi chi ji chira ra."

Lelouch sighed. "This makes far too much sense." He complained. "This dream world will die soon, won't it?"

"Rachi chi." Jiro replied, shaking his head. "Chi rachi jira."

Lelouch raised an eyebrow. "That's surprisingly decent of you."

"Jirachi." Jirachi smiled, a green tear leaking out of its eye.

"Before I go, it's about time someone granted your wish." Lelouch told the Jirachi. "All those millennia serving others simulacrums of happiness is too long for any monster." Lelouch smiled. "What can I do for you?"

Jirachi titled its head as if trying to comprehend the question. "Ri?" it asked.

Lelouch nodded.

Jirachi smiled bitterly. "Shin."

Lelouch was taken back in surprise. "Really?" he asked.

"Rachi." It nodded.

Lelouch sighed. "That's what she wanted too, isn't it?" he asked gently.

"Chi." Jiro replied sadly.

Lelouch stood up. "I promise to change that wish of hers." Lelouch vowed, pulling out the police-issue handgun from his jacket. "I promise to make her happy."

"Jirachi." The pokémon smiled as Lelouch pressed the barrel to its head.

"From one Monster to another," Lelouch told the Jirachi, activating his Geass with a smile. "It has been an honour."

"Jirachi."

BLAM

"That was cruel."

Lelouch turned around to see Cyrus standing alone in a sea of white. "Such wishes are wasteful."

"I pay my debts." Lelouch smirked. "Because thanks to Jirachi, I know two ways to kill you."

Cyrus glared at the boy as they both faded into the light. "Later." Lelouch smirked, pointed the gun at his own head as everything faded.

'|||'|'''||'|''|'||'||'''||'||''''|''''''|||'|||'||''|'|''|''''''||'||'|'||''|'|'||''|'|'|||'|''''|''''''||''''|'||''|||'||''''|'||'|''|'||'|||'

Lelouch woke up in a forest to see Shirley and Jeremiah kneeling over him. "Your highness!" Jeremiah shouted as Shirley pulled Lelouch into a hug.

"I'm fine." Lelouch told them, sitting up. "How long was I out?"

"Five hours your highness." Jeremiah explained as Shirley sobbed.

Lelouch smirked, looking up at the sky to see the Millennium Comet. "I assume everyone else in the world was out of it too." He said. "And I told you about my status."

"You would be correct, sir." Jeremiah stated, remembering himself as Lelouch stood up. "May I ask, what happened?"

"Shirley." Lelouch interrupted. "Do you remember anything about the past week?" he asked her. "Anything at all?"

"Yeah, being worried about you!" she shouted. "Honestly…"

Lelouch sighed. "Never mind." He told them, drawing Ryujin's masterball. "Let's just get moving again."

Jeremiah explained that he had had episodes of unconsciousness himself, but he kept waking up throughout the dream world. Lelouch suspected that this may have been due to his dual nature as a pokémon and a human, since Shirley, being a pokémon biologically, didn't pass out at all, but felt a large drain on her power compared to how she was after Lelouch woke up, suggesting that Jirachi had drawn power from the deoxys, like Lelouch suspected.

Just as jirachi had predicted, Lelouch had regained full control of both his Geass. He was now ready for whatever may come.

But first, he had to meet his brother in the Ruins of Alph and wait for the team from the Black Knights.

"My Darling Marianne!" Charles Zi Britannia boomed as Jasmine stepped into his bed chamber. "It Is Good To See You Again!"

"And you Charles." Jasmine smiled sweetly. "There's something I need to tell you."

"Oh?" Charles asked her, raising an eyebrow. "What Is It, My Love?"

"Our son Lelouch." Jasmine explained with a smile as she drew a sword from the wall. "He wishes to declare war against you, my love."

Charles stood up in rage and fear. "NO!" he shouted as Jasmine placed the sword to her own throat.

"Goodbye." She smiled as the Emperor ran towards her desperately. "My love."

Slish.

Charles Zi Britannia, the 98th Emperor of the Holy Empire of Britannia, fell to his knees as the girl's head rolled across the granite floor as Jasmine's body slumped onto the red carpet in a pool of blood.

He screamed.

C.C. felt her flat stomach as she rose from the bed, disappointed to feel it lifeless as ever.

She turned to the usual source of comfort, Jiro, only to find him gone as well.

The witch curled up into a ball, gripping her knees into her chest and sobbed. "Lelouch…"

Ryujin landed atop the northernmost peak of Union Cave before recalling the great storm bird. "Come on." He told Shirley and Jeremiah. "This way-"

"What is it?" Shirley asked him.

"Jeremiah, while I remember, never, ever, EVER, negate the Geass that Shirley is under or she will die." Lelouch commanded. "I cannot stress that enough."

"Understood." Jeremiah bowed, before Lelouch began to lead the way down the mountain again before stopping again. "Sir?"

"I took your metagross." Lelouch remembered. "I don't have him with me."

"That is more than fine sir." Jeremiah saluted. "I am honoured that my pokémon can be of use to you sir."

Lelouch smiled. "Thank you Jeremiah." He said. "Alright, follow me."

"Hey, what happened to you while you were out Lulu?" Shirley asked, jogging alongside Lelouch down the rugged rocks despite her bare feet.

"I grew up." Lelouch told her slyly. "It was… an experience."

-}+{-

I merely said that there would be answers. I never said that you'd be the ones getting any.

Nah, just kidding. Again, next chapter, everything gets awesome. Again.

Varanus: So, a true, blue AU future, huh? And it looks like Lelouch is going to make full use of that bit of providence he got. I'm looking forward to what comes next, as what was set up WAY back in Chapter 15 is being brought to light now.

Prize for whoever can figure out all the foreshadowing I placed in this chapter, since nobody worked the old one out.