I felt someone slowly and gently rubbing my head as I woke up the next morning. Opening to see it was D.D., my eyes noticed the soft smile she had as my head was rested on her lap. When and how she lifted my head off the couch I didn't know, but I enjoyed the moment while I could. It was still early, looking at my phone the first alarm hadn't gone off yet. Putting it down and looking at her, I lazily asked what she was doing.

D.D.: "It looked like you were having trouble sleeping, so I stayed with you until you settled down."

(F/N): "You were like this the whole night?"

D.D.: "No, I had a hard time sleeping as well. I imagine it's the same reason for you."

(F/N): "I'll be fine. And that's what I'll be telling myself later when I'm nervous."

D.D.: "Not if, but when? I suppose there's a virtue in knowing yourself that well."

(F/N): "I will be, quite literally, fighting an army by myself. In a Sutherland. If it was the Lancelot, the Guren, or my Lionel, I know I wouldn't be nervous."

D.D.: "But instead you have a numerical disadvantage to deal with." She sighed. "I won't lie, I really don't want you to do this. Regardless of knowing what will happen, it's dangerous."

(F/N): "Well, I guess you'll have to make sure you and C.C. do your jobs quickly and well. Are the other suits ready?"

D.D.: "They are."

The Saitama Ghetto is occupied by the Yamato Alliance and will be encircled today by Cornelia's forces. Lelouch originally relied on the use of the resistance group there, who are undisciplined, and to make things worse, he relied too much on the same moves he used before in Shinjuku. But we planned to do things differently. The first move was to remove the civilians from the board before Cornelia's pawns completely encircle it and moved in. It wasn't going to be easy getting them to leave.

C.C. disguised herself as a civilian and would claim she was a member of Kozuki's resistance group, and that the current leader Ohgi sent her to warn them of Cornelia's forces. It worked, once they saw the military moving toward the ghetto. The people who were smart enough listened and followed C.C.'s directions. Which was a good amount of people, who started making their way out through sewers. Meanwhile, Cornelia needed to be distracted long enough before she gave the order to move in and eradicate the people. She wants to know who was responsible for Shinjuku and her brother's disappearance? I'll tell her.

Zero: "Princess Cornelia." I called on a video broadcast to the command center which she answered. "I am Zero and I will not allow you to commit the same massacre your brother did."

Cornelia: "You have a lot of nerve mentioning my brother. I take it you want the credit for his disappearance?"

Zero: "Partly, I know exactly why your brother abandoned his people and is now on the run."

Cornelia: "Then I would suggest surrendering, but I take it you won't accept that option."

Zero: "That is correct!"

Soldier: "Your Highness, approaching the mobile command center, it's-"

Cornelia: "Is this some kind of joke?" Her angered tone was from the sight of Prince Clovis' personal transport driving towards them, with Zero standing on the roof. "You will not get away with this, surround him!"

Zero: "I wouldn't move." The back portion of the transport broke open, revealing the container of poison gas. "So much as one move and I will unleash the poison gas stored in this device."

Cornelia: "Buying time for your terrorist allies? It won't matter, even if you manage to somehow get out of this, you and your friends will be captured."

Zero: "You're mistaken. I don't care about the terrorist, I care about the innocent Japanese people caught in the middle of this needless fighting. People whose only wish is to live peacefully without fear."

Cornelia: "Interesting words coming from a man threatening to use poison gas."

Zero: "Do you think I would needlessly kill enemy soldiers? Soldiers, who have families of their own? No, it is simply your choice whether or not you make a move. Do nothing and no one here will have to die."

Cornelia: "There is only one small issue with all of that. Soldiers serve knowing that their lives are on the line, they do so in order to protect their families, the real innocent people who are murdered by terrorists, like yourself."

Zero: "Is that in regards to your brother? Because he was not an innocent man, in fact, he created a research division that experimented on humans-"

Cornelia: "I've had enough of this. I will not humor you for a moment longer."

Zero: "Fine by me, after all, this battle has set from the start."

That wasn't me talking and standing there, but a prerecorded message and a mannequin bolted to the roof of the transport. I unleashed the smokescreen to get their attention there, while I was on the other side of the ghetto and moved in with my Sutherland to surprise attack the Knightmares I was closest too, before running off into the ghetto. D.D. was managing the resistance members, who didn't hear the conversation, over the radio while I focused on thining the numbers with my Frame.

In war, when you are outnumbered greatly, there are a few things you can do to increase your odds of success when victory in battle isn't an option. Our mission was to save the civilians and earn the trust of Ohgi's people. But we needed to show that Brittannia could also be fought with few numbers and little loss. For starters, an act of deception is an important tool and goes a long way. Such as allowing your opponent to believe you are somewhere you are not. Like right in front of them with poison gas, catching the forces that are far away off guard as they believe they're safe from where they are. They were not.

My duty was to strike at the confused enemy while D.D. caused the confusion for the Britannian forces. She did this by suddenly appearing in front of the enemy far away from my position, while I hid my Knightmare before moving onto the next target. The resistance members slowly started to die off. Ultimately, I didn't care since no matter what choice I made they'd never follow Zero. I parked my Knightmare and left it in the open before making another broadcast to Cornelia, challenging her to face me for a dual. She wouldn't go herself, no, it was her Knight Guilford and the royal guard.

They were in for a surprise, for the hidden fourth piece played her part well. Before escorting the people out through the sewers, C.C. had planted explosives. The moment Guilford and the guards moved in to attack my Knightmare they found the ground explode and collapse beneath them. Guilford cursed my name, calling the move a cowardly tactic. We, the Three Kings, the one of Battle, one of Deception, and one of Command, did our duties well. So too did C.C., the piece that eluded them and brought the people to safety.

Lelouch: "So that's how you turned my loss into your success. Hm, I suppose focusing solely on Cornelia was a mistake of mine."

(F/N): "To be fair, people make mistakes and not everyone can see the future."

Lelouch: "Checkmate." My eyes shot down to examine the board, we were playing a game of chess in his room. "But I take it you didn't come here to tell me this."

(F/N): "Yeah, it's two things." I said still looking at the board. "Is everything set with Nina?"

Lelouch: "She'll send updates on her project to the email address you specified."

(F/N): "That's good." I chose to look at the board and not Lelouch.

Lelouch: "The other thing is you're not coming back to Ashford after today."

(F/N): "I want to come back, but I have to focus on the task at hand. The hideout is ready and I've already left a note for my parents, saying my goodbyes."

Lelouch: "That's why your moves were uncertain, your mind was occupied."

(F/N): "On one hand, I can't wait for certain things to happen. On the other, I'm nervous that I'll make a mistake. There wasn't one today, but I can't be completely full of myself."

Lelouch: "Honestly, I think you made a mistake becoming Zero. While I agreed it hand over the mask, I did so not because I thought you would do a better job than me, I did so to give me time to evaluate my life based on what you told me."

(F/N): "And what came of that evaluation?"

Lelouch: "Someone will always suffer no matter who is Zero." I chuckled.

(F/N): "That makes it all sound worthless. I'm trying to prevent more people from suffering."

Lelouch: "What about the people that care about you? The Student Council, your parents. The moment you and D.D. disappear you'll take away from their happiness, their normalcy, changing their daily lives."

(F/N): "I get your point. Whoever is Zero will negatively affect the people around him." I picked up and looked at my king. "Too many variables for things to go perfectly. Change in a simple interaction changes all future interactions to a degree."

Lelouch: "You believe you've made a mistake?"

(F/N): "Possibly. No crying over it now." I placed down the king and stood up to stretch. "Speaking of interactions, how are things going with Shirley?" Lelouch was caught off guard by the question and became defensive.

Lelouch: "There is nothing going on with Shirley."

(F/N): "Please, I'm not giving the mask back to you so just enjoy your student life while you can."

Lelouch: "While I can?"

(F/N): "Don't worry. It will be around a year before I'll need to talk with you about it."

Lelouch: "Very well, in the meantime, I would ask that you refrain from asking questions about my interactions with people."

(F/N): "Fine, fine." I smiled. "Take care, Lelouch."

Heading for the door, Lelouch didn't say another word as I left. With the door shut behind me, I took out my phone and looked for any missed calls but there were none, leaving me to drop the smile as I went to leave the clubhouse. Stepping down the outside front steps, I gazed back before continuing on to the courtyard. With every step, I indulged myself in reminiscence of fake memories. So much that I did not notice the person calling to me until they placed a hand on my shoulder.

Suzaku: "(F/N), is everything okay? You look troubled."

(F/N): "I'm fine, just... more tired than I expected. Was there something you needed?"

Suzaku: "Milly was asking about you since you were the only one not at Arthur's welcome party."

(F/N): "Sorry about that, something came up. I'll make sure to call her later and apologize." Suzaku removed his hand from my shoulder.

Suzaku: "I know we haven't talked much, but if you need help I'm available."

(F/N): "Thanks, I'll keep that in mind. Take care."

Suzaku: "You too."

He said as I started walking toward the front gate. Heading to the new mobile hideout, I snuck in and went to my new room. There I found D.D. on the computer at my desk. The interaction between Cornelia and my recording was recorded, along with some footage of the fighting that took place. One of the last jobs was to edit a video of it all and upload it for the world to see. D.D. was in charge of that, and while I changed into the Zero outfit, I asked her how it was going.

D.D.: "I've already uploaded it to every video platform I can and a few file sharing sites. You should have seen the news, some stations have already made their report's on Zero."

(F/N): "Oh, and what did they say?"

D.D.: "You're a terrorist." She turned the chair to face me. "Did you send in that tip on Prince Clovis yet?"

(F/N): "Yeah, before I met with Lelouch. They should find him soon, then Cornelia will be wanting answers about Code R." I adjusted the cape a bit before sitting on the couch, placing the mask on my lap.

D.D.: "Then it's a matter of waiting for things to happen."

C.C.: "So you're back." She said, coming out from a shower in a cropped sleeveless white turtle-neck and white boyshorts, drying her hair with a towel. "Also, you're out of hot water."

(F/N): "Making yourself at home?"

C.C.: "Remind me who it was that made me run through the sewers? A hot shower is a small price to pay."

(F/N): "Look on the bright side, you'll never have to do that again."

D.D.: "C.C., you had no complaints before so you have no right to complain now."

C.C.: "Oh, am I not allowed to express my thoughts honestly? Would you like it if I was more of a dog like you?"

D.D.: "Bold words coming from a freeloader who would only sit around eating pizza all day if she wasn't made to work."

C.C.: "Are you really in a position to call me that?"

D.D.: "What do you mean? I've pulled my weight-" I loudly clapped.

(F/N): "As much as I'd love to see this back-and-forth develop into a passionate makeout session between you two, could you both give it a rest? What even started this?" I waved my hand in the direction between them.

D.D.: "She... called me fat."

C.C.: "No, I said that dress of yours made you look fat."

D.D.: "That's the same thing!"

(F/N): "Oh god." I facepalmed. "D.D., what did we talk about back in the homeland?" I asked like a parent talking to their child.

D.D.: "The three of us..." She mumbled the rest.

(F/N): "D.D., say it properly."

D.D.: "The three of us need to get along and work together."

(F/N): "Now, C.C., apologize to her."

C.C.: "What? Why would I-"

(F/N): "C.C., do I need to remind you who willingly bought a crate of pizza's for you?"

C.C.: "Fine." She faced D.D. and continued. "I'm sorry for saying you looked fat. There are you happy now?" She asked me.

(F/N): "Only when you two shake hands and agree not to fight over silly things." C.C. eyed me for a moment before looking back at D.D. and offering a hand.

C.C.: "Your partner asks for a lot." D.D. shook her hand.

D.D.: "Yeah, he does." I took out my phone to check the time.

(F/N): "As long as you two start getting along, you can say whatever you want about me."

C.C.: "In that case, there are several things I want to say." I got up and put on the mask.

Zero: "I'm afraid you'll have to save those words for later. I need to speak with Ohgi before it gets any later."

Heading to speak with Ohgi at the same meeting place as before, I left D.D. and C.C. to their own devices. Once we met up, Ohgi told me about everyone's reaction to the video and the accounts of the people. Tamaki was still vocal, but everyone was willing to follow me and see how things go. Ohgi mostly thanked me for the supplies and appeared honestly grateful for it all. He would be a great piece to have, with everyone's trust in him. There was, however, an issue with another piece that was bothering me.

Euphy hadn't called me, which I found disconcerting since she should have called about Suzaku already. Asking me how the two of us are doing, instead, I was asked nothing and heard not a single ring from my phone. Perhaps that awkward feeling had more of an impression than I gave credit. In the worst case, I'll have to work out a new plan on the Britannian side of things. I would rather not use my Geass anymore now than I have to. Part of me is simply tired of it. My Geass is more like a curse, where Lelouch's is more like a wish to me.

Command a few people and poof, the world is saved and everyone lived happily ever after. That's the childish idea of it. The truth is everyone won't live happily ever after, there is no perfect world like that. People will die, tears will fall, hearts will break, and the world will be changed. Somewhere in all of that, I spaced out and didn't hear what Ohgi asked. I apologized, saying that there was something important that came to mind, and asked him to repeat himself. He asked what I wanted them to do, to which I told him to gather the others and follow me.

Taking them to the mobile hideout, I informed them that this would be our new base of operations. They were rather impressed, and when one asked about the boxes lying around I told one of them to open a box. Inside were the uniforms for the Black Knights. I told them that from today onward that acts of terrorism would not be tolerated, as it only creates problems. D.D. chimed in with her agreement as she walked downstairs with C.C., forcing me to introduce them as one of my benefactors and partner in crime, respectively. They bought it and so it was now time for the Black Knights to make our move onto the board.