Lelouch of the Wings of Rebellion

by MagusZero

In an alternate world without Geass, Lelouch awakens to another power from the Collective Unconscious - Persona. Leading a band of phantom thieves through the Metaverse, he seeks to topple the Britannian regime, stealing one corrupt heart at a time. Featuring the cast and setting of Code Geass, put into Persona 5's overarching scenario.

72. Love and Faith

Lelouch didn't have any dreams that he remembered that night, unlike the vivid nightmare that Norn had brought him the night before. Why had the Goddesses of Fate wanted him to have that dream in particular? He had thought it might be some sort of warning at first, but given the different time periods he had experienced in the dream, could it have been intended to make him reflect on his past, present, and future together as a whole?

Norn was infuriatingly silent on the matter, but he sensed that threatening her wouldn't do much good. And so he had continued to ruminate on it, before his mind restlessly turned to other topics, in spite of the tiredness that a prolonged excursion into a Palace usually brought. There were still so much that they didn't know, from the true identity of Eurydice, alias Lyra, to what else Marrybell had discovered about the cult since the raid, and the mystery of why Anya Alstreim had been erased from his memories, along with those of his sister. Then there were more known quantities that still demanded a resolution... such as Milly's recent confession to him.

All things considered, their foray into Cornelia's Palace had gone far better than it could have, with the lingering awkwardness that remained between him, Milly, and his girlfriends. It was the sort of thing that could have easily proved a fatal distraction, had they not been more focused on their mission. Worse, it would remain a continuing liability unless he took steps to put such uncertainties to rest.

That was the cold strategist within him. While its analysis wasn't wrong, Lelouch knew that he could never truly be so detached where his friends were concerned, something that was arguably one of his greatest weaknesses as a commander, yet had paradoxically become one of his greatest sources of strength over the past few months. And the fact of the matter remained that, as his friend, Milly deserved a proper answer, one way or the other.

Yet while he knew what that answer should be, he didn't quite know how to go about it. He knew that he was no expert on matters of the heart, and so he decided that he should speak to Kallen, Shirley, and Leila first. With their insights, hopefully he could avoid making any terrible blunders.

xXx

Despite being the newest of his girlfriends, Leila was the first one he had the chance to speak to that morning. As usual for conversations regarding such a sensitive matter, it was held in the Metaverse, where there was no possibility of ordinary students eavesdropping on them.

"In a way, I can completely understand her position," Leila said. "I myself kept quiet about how I felt for you because I was afraid of ruining our friendship, back when you were my only real friend. I feared what it would mean if you were to reject me." She grimaced. "I recall how it felt like my heart froze for a moment when you realized the truth and almost did, when I first invited you to my home."

It was now Lelouch's turn to grimace. In retrospect, telling Leila not to tell him that she was in love with him too was one of the cruelest things that he could have said to her in that moment, even if it had been more of a knee-jerk response than anything else.

"I would have come to deeply regret it if such careless words had caused a rift between us." He sighed. "I don't want that with Milly either... but... it's just too sudden to change the way I think of her, let alone for me to be able return her feelings in that way. I've always seen her more like a mischievous older sister... Make that an older sister whom I actually like... as a friend."

"Then you need to be honest with her," Leila said. "Falsely leading her on would be no less cruel than a thoughtless rejection. But be sure to choose your words wisely, Lelouch; hearts can be fragile things."

He still wasn't quite sure of how he would word it, but he nodded. "Thank you, Leila. I think that was helpful."

xXx

"I can't help but feel guilty, knowing what I do now," Shirley said, meeting with him a little later. "I can't begin to tell you how many times Milly tried to encourage me to overcome my fears and get closer to you... all while she was carrying feelings of her own for you. Yet she put them aside for my sake. I just... that's so sad," she continued, trying to find the right words to express her feelings, but coming up short.

"Milly saw any potential relationship with me as doomed, because she thought that I'd see it as an attempt to take advantage of my former royal title. And she would have been right, at first. But that was when I didn't know her as well; I know she's not that sort of person now."

"That may all be true, but... I can only imagine what Milly must have been putting herself through every time she sacrificed her own feelings so that she could help me find the happiness that she was denied by circumstances outside her control." Shirley's frown deepened. "Milly's a better person than I ever was... back before I faced my Shadow. I was such a selfish person."

"There are many words that describe you, Shirley, but 'selfish' isn't one of them. You're one of the kindest people that I know."

Shirley shook her head. "I appreciate it Lulu, and I know you're trying to make me feel better, but you saw my Shadow, and how possessive she, or rather, I was, deep down. Had Milly's position and mine been reversed... I know I never would have done for her what she did for me."

"But you've changed since then. You overcame your own Shadow, and when you had to decide, you chose to let Leila join our relationship, when neither you nor Kallen had any obligation to do so."

"That's... true," Shirley said thoughtfully as she considered his words. Thankfully her frown was replaced with a slight smile after a moment. "All of the jealousy that I used to have seems so silly when I look back on it."

Her green eyes met his, a question forming within them. "Lulu?" she began tentatively. "Do you think that, after you've had time to think through everything, the answer you give Milly might change? I'm not saying to rush into something you're not ready for... that wouldn't be good for either of you. But..."

"There's no way that I can answer that question now. If you asked me at the start of the year if I thought that I'd be in a committed relationship, let alone three, I'd have told you no. I didn't know Kallen's real self, I hadn't met Leila at all, and while I was fond of you, the old me wouldn't have let you get that close, lest you become entangled in my secret life. Who's to say how my feelings, or hers, might change with time?"

"Yeah... I guess that's true," Shirley said with a sigh. "But the two of you can still be friends! I don't think that's going to change anytime soon. And... if you eventually come to return her feelings... I want you to know I have no problems if she joins us."

"Are you sure that's what you want?"

"She's always been the best of us in the Student Council at making you smile, and at finding ways to bring you back to us from those serious moods that now I know you have because of your family, and all of Britannia in general. And you're the only person I know, especially the only man, who can consistently tell her no without budging when her ideas go too far, but never in a way that keeps her from being herself. It's like you two... balance each other out, I think. So even though you two can't be boyfriend and girlfriend, I still want you to be friends and continue to be such a good influence on the other."

Shirley was so earnest that it was impossible to doubt the sincerity of her words.

"Once again, you prove just how kind you are, Shirley. But don't count yourself out there just yet."

"What do you mean?" Shirley asked.

"You've always helped me smile. And perhaps more than anyone else, you helped me remain connected to my ordinary life here at Ashford Academy. You always went out of your way to make me feel welcome... even back when I didn't really want much to do with anyone else at the school, besides my sister. Milly had started to earn my trust, with how she saw to it that the campus was made more accessible for Nunnally, but part of me was still on guard around her, as I feared that she might have ulterior motives. You didn't know about my past, and so I could relax a little bit around you. I appreciated that. You always had a certain natural warmth and optimism, which I found refreshing, and in some ways, you reminded me of Euphy, if she hadn't been born as royalty.

"Even now that you know my full story, and have seen firsthand how ugly people's hearts can be, that warmth of yours hasn't changed." Lelouch shook his head. "No, that's not quite true. If anything, your warmth is greater than ever before. So as I said, don't sell yourself short, Shirley."

"Lulu..." Shirley murmured, her cheeks flushing slightly. "Thank you." A thoughtful expression crossed her face. "But just promise me one thing, before you go."

"What's that?"

"I see you constantly second-guessing yourself where your relationships are concerned, as if you're worried that the whole arrangement that you have with Kallen, Leila, and I will fall apart if you do or say the wrong thing. That's not any good. It's not just about making us happy; we all want you to be happy too."

"I always knew that making such a complex relationship work was going to have some bumps in the road, Shirley. But it's worth having you and the others by my side. I wouldn't give that up for anything now."

Shirley smiled. "Even so... take care of yourself, Lulu."

"Don't worry. I will."

xXx

"It seems you already know what you want," Kallen told him. "So why hesitate? Just tell Milly that you can't return her feelings at this time, but that you'd be happy to keep her as a friend, and be done with it. Otherwise, you'll just be wasting time, working yourself up with worry about how she might react. That's not what we need right now, with everything else going on!"

Lelouch didn't know whether to smile or sigh at her words. It was just like Kallen to take the most straightforward approach to a problem, both on or off the battlefield, and one of the many reasons he was glad to have her in his life. "I can't just include Shirley and Leila in the discussion and leave you out, not when it affects all of you, can I?"

"True, but you're overthinking things. The main thing was whether you accepted her feelings or not. You decided to turn her down, and you want to make sure you do it right. I get asking for advice, but I doubt there's much that I can add if you've already spoken to the others. Now, if you had decided that you wanted to date her, then you would have definitely needed to speak to all three of us first."

"I still value your input equally, Kallen."

"Yes, you've been nothing but conscientious of all our feelings in this relationship, unusual as it may be. I appreciate that. But I wonder if you wanted one or more of us to say 'no' to idea of her joining us."

Lelouch was taken aback. "What do you mean?"

"Milly's your friend, and has been for years. No matter how kind you are in delivering it, you know that a rejection will hurt her, and you feel guilty about that. But if one of us were to also say 'no', then it would take some of the weight of that decision off of your shoulders."

Lelouch winced. He hadn't consciously thought that, but he couldn't say that Kallen was wrong.

"Despite some unsavory rumors going around the school, my relationship with her was always platonic... Or perhaps I should say that's how it was for me." He paused. "Shirley asked if I thought that I might be able to return Milly's feelings in time... I wasn't able to answer her, not when I'm still trying to wrap my mind around how I could have missed something so obvious for so long, and with how it puts all of my past interactions with Milly in a new light. But..."

"What would I say if you were to decide that you could return her feelings?" Kallen cut in as his own words trailed off. "Don't tie yourself in knots thinking about that now. You're not ready for that, so you're stressing yourself out for no reason. Though... Shirley was okay with it, wasn't she?"

"Yeah, she was."

"Leila probably is too," Kallen murmured, "given her own experiences." She shook her head. "In all honesty, I'd need more time myself. What we have is working so far, but that's only because everyone involved is fully committed to making it work. Milly's my friend too, even if I'll never quite approve of some of the antics she gets up to, but inviting her to join us is on another level entirely. I have a lot more in common with both Shirley and Leila than I do with Milly. And while you make sure not to neglect any of us, you're already spreading yourself thin.

"But in spite of any faults she might have, I'll admit that Milly has a way of bringing people together," Kallen continued after another moment. "So it could work... but I'd have to be sure that it's something that you and the others truly want, rather than simply feeling obligated to include her."

"Of course, all of that is assuming that Milly would agree to join an arrangement like ours in the first place. We don't actually know if that's -"

"I'd bet on it," Kallen cut in. "As long as there's even half a chance for her, she'll hold out hope for a happy ending with you, especially after seeing how it's working so far with Shirley and Leila. And while you might not be ready for that right now, Milly certainly isn't shy when it comes to trying to make you think of her in as un-platonic of a way as possible... that goes double now that she doesn't have to pretend it's a joke. If you think otherwise, I wouldn't know whether to call you a fool or just too innocent for your own good."

Several moments of silence passed between them as he thought on Kallen's words.

"Direct, as always, Kallen," he said finally, "But you're probably right."

"Drawing it out any longer won't get you anywhere," Kallen said. "You should talk to Milly now. Just trust your instincts for a change, and try not to overthink things."

He took a deep breath and nodded. "I'll do my best."

xXx

"I figured that we'd be having a talk soon," Milly said as he arrived at the Student Council room. "Come on in."

He followed her lead, and as soon as they were both sure that no one else was around, they entered the Metaverse. Lelouch still didn't quite trust himself to say the right thing, so he waited for Milly to speak again.

"I'm sorry for making things awkward the other day," Milly began. "But as I said, I just had to get that off my chest."

Lelouch nodded.

"It's... okay if you're not able to return my feelings," Milly said. "You already have three incredible girlfriends, and I know that I built up a totally different sort of image over the years since you came to Ashford, all while keeping my true feelings hidden. It's not fair to expect you to be able to just turn around and reciprocate on the spot."

"So you already know," Lelouch said, suddenly feeling as if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

"Yeah. I'm pretty good at reading people most of the time. And though you can be a pretty good actor, you weren't bothering to mask your body language when you came in. You looked all stiff and anxious, like you were afraid of saying the wrong thing to me." She shook her head. "I don't want to see you like that, Lelouch. That would make things even more awkward. So just loosen up. RELAX!"

Lelouch couldn't help but chuckle in spite of himself. "There's the Madam President I've always known." But then his expression darkened. "Though I suppose I didn't know the real you nearly as well as I thought I did, given that I failed to see past the face you showed me. I never realized that I had been causing you such pain for all of this time."

"Well, you've never been the most astute when it comes to understanding girls, if I might put it bluntly," Milly replied. "But in a way, that's part of your charm. Devious and ruthless you can be in the Metaverse, you can also be refreshingly honest and kind. Clueless as you are sometimes, it's a far cry from all of the insincere and self-absorbed men that I had to put up with, who were only interested in me for my looks, or the Ashfords' remaining fortune. Some people can just never have enough. And even here at school, I doubt that nearly as many people would put up with me if I wasn't the headmaster's granddaughter. But at least you weren't so clueless that you'd want to be around me solely to get at an old Knightmare Frame."

"I now understand somewhat of what I saw as a game to get a reaction out of me was in fact a way to vent the feelings you had to keep bottled up, and to do so while hiding them in plain sight. But... now I have to wonder... how much of your day-to-day... exuberance was real... and how much of it was just a way to cope with the loneliness that you felt at home?"

"Oh, that's me alright," Milly laughed lightly. "I am the headmaster's granddaughter after all, and you know how much he loved parties in his youth. Though my home life certainly made me eager to have real friends for a change, and now I have a Student Council full of them! That's something that I treasure above all else."

"Are you really alright though?" Lelouch asked.

"I won't pretend that it doesn't hurt at all, but as I said, I knew from the start that you wouldn't be able to return my feelings in quite the same way. I've always held out hope that your feelings might change one day, but for the most part, I've already come to terms with it. I wouldn't have spent so much time trying to set you up with Shirley if that wasn't the case."

"So you'd be okay if we were to continue on being friends, as we were before? I for one know that I'd hate to lose you."

"Aw, you almost make it sound romantic when you say it like that," Milly pouted. "Don't get my hopes up!" Her expression changed to a smile. "But I'd be happy to continue being your friend; I wouldn't want to lose you as one either."

"I'm glad that we could come to an understanding, Milly." He paused. "If it's not too much of a change of subject, what comes next, now that you've changed your mother's heart? And how is she doing anyway?"

"It was rough for her at first, with how it all crashed down on her at once, but she's already doing better now that all of her energy isn't directed toward reclaiming past glories. She seems happier and more at peace than she's been in years. As for me, I'll be officially calling off my engagement to Earl Asplund with my mother's support soon. Then I was kind of thinking that I'd take a little time, just for myself, without having to worry about dating, or attending a constant stream of marriage interviews for once. It's been a long time since I had this sort of freedom, and I want to be able to enjoy it, and figure out what I'll be doing with my life after high school."

"So you're already thinking about that," Lelouch said. "And here I was starting to suspect that you were planning to get yourself held back on purpose."

"Whatever gave you that idea?" Milly asked.

"You did a lot worse on your last round of exams than you usually do. At first, I thought that you might have dropped off on studying given the time you were spending with us in the Black Knights. But now, it's clear. Spending time with your friends, and by extension, your time at school, was a source of joy that you desperately wished to hold on to, when you had so little to look forward to at home, or in an arranged marriage that you felt that you couldn't escape from. If you failed your classes, you'd at least have another year with all of us on the Student Council."

Milly giggled. "Yup! I guess you found me out, Lelouch. I'll admit, part of me is still tempted to do it, and I'll always cherish the time I've spent with all of you here... but I need to start writing the next chapter in my life."

"That's surprisingly mature of you, Madam President." He paused. "I know you're still thinking about it, but do you have any ideas so far about what you want to do after graduation?"

"I was thinking I'd like to do some traveling... you know, see the world. But my time in the Black Knights has also opened my eyes. I was never naive, but there's a lot more evil in this world than I ever realized. Even if I'm not changing hearts after graduation, I'd like to be able to keep helping people, and bring injustices to light."

"So... something like an investigative reporter?" Lelouch asked.

"Yeah! That's it!" Milly said, her eyes lighting up. "I know I'd have to work pretty hard, but that's a goal I can give my all."

"And it's even more of an uphill goal if you're trying to bring about change in a country as corrupt as Britannia."

"Yes. Even if we eventually change your father's heart, society won't just change overnight. But it's still something worth striving for. Nothing will ever change if you're afraid to take risks, and things that don't change go extinct."

"Well said." Lelouch put a hand to his chin. "I have a contact in the media," he said, thinking of Diethard. "I could put you in touch with him."

"I'm sure that would help," Milly replied. "They say that getting one's big break is the hardest part when you're in any sort of career in the media, especially if you're going to be in a highly visible role."

"Though even without my contact's help, I have no doubts that you'll rise to the occasion, Milly."

She let out a wry laugh. "True, though I'd never have gotten this far without you, Lelouch."

"What do you mean?"

"Too often, my life has seemed like it's been governed by the whims of fate. The accident of being born into a noble family... then seeing it suddenly fall from grace... meeting you... and then stumbling into a world beyond my imagination. Getting stuck with a suitor who I couldn't get rid of, unlike any of the others... I just felt so powerless, with how I was unable to control my own destiny."

She shook her head again. "I'll admit it now... Kallen was right about me at first. After we took care of the situation with Coach Nu, I stuck with being a phantom thief in the Black Knights more for the thrill of the heist than anything else. I just felt so alive, not having to worry about any of the rules that tied me down in my daily life. But then..."

"You had a brush with death," Lelouch supplied. "No, you did die in the Black King's Palace, but thankfully you weren't so long gone that Euphy couldn't revive you."

"Yeah..." Milly grimaced. "That really put things into perspective. What was I doing with my life? It almost got snuffed out for good, just like that... but I still couldn't muster the courage to stand up to my mother, and actually take charge of my life for a change."

Milly smiled. "But you were always there for me, Lelouch. With your help, and that of our other friends in the Black Knights, I was able to take back my future, so that I can finally live for my own dreams, rather than those of my mother. But..." She put a hand over her heart, conviction swelling in her voice. "None of those dreams will be realized if your father and that cult manage to destroy the world. And more than that, I want all of my friends to be safe, and to be able to follow their dreams too. So I won't let you or the others down, no matter what!"

I am thou… thou art I

Thou hast turned a vow into a blood oath

Thy bond shall become the wings of rebellion

And break the yoke of thy heart.

Thou hast awakened to the ultimate secret

of Fortune, granting thee infinite power…

As the power of the Fortune Arcana surged within him, Lelouch felt a new possibility emerging within his soul: Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of beauty, good fortune, and love.

But there was another surge of power, one feeding back along the bond that he shared with Milly, causing her eyes to widen with surprise. As it had been with Kallen and Leila before her, a shared vision appeared in his mind's eye. Breaking free of the phantasmal chains that had long bound her, Medea was engulfed in blue and white light. When the light had cleared, Milly's Persona had been reborn, standing as a trio of goddesses, each holding a torch and with their backs to each other, ever vigilant. Each goddess also carried one other item: a dagger, a rope, and a key, respectively.

"Hecate," Milly murmured. "I had this power within me?" She broke into a grin. "I may have once stood at the crossroads, but now my path is clear! We'll cast a spell far and wide, and be a light for others to follow!"

The vision faded, and the two of them found themselves back in the Metaverse version of the Student Council room.

"Wow..." Milly said. "I still feel like nothing could get me down now."

"I can imagine that," Lelouch said with a smile of his own.

"Of course, that means we can get plenty of paperwork done in no time!"

What?

"Now don't go bailing on me now, Lelouch!" Milly grinned wickedly.

He would just have to bear with it, wouldn't he?

Do You Support the Black Knights?

Yes: 32.0%

xXx

Lelouch returned to his room after concluding the day's Student Council business with Milly. Passing through the shimmering blue cell door that had been there ever since Tsu first invited herself into his quarters, he entered the Velvet Room to organize his Personas, and see if he could carry out any advantageous executions.

"Welcome once again to my Velvet Room," Igor said. He chuckled. "Your timing is fortuitous. One of your fellow Tricksters has left a message for you." Imperiously, he turned his gaze from Lelouch to the older green-haired warden. "Tsu! Give the inmate his message."

Nodding curtly, Tsu said, "Your half-sister, the leader of the Glinda Knights, wishes to meet with you. She would like to share information that she has uncovered on the cult's activities, following her raid on its base."

"I was actually planning to reach out to her myself soon, so that saves me some trouble," Lelouch replied. "Did she say when and where she would like us to meet?"

"She did, Trickster," Tsu replied. "She can rendezvous with you in the afternoon, on the day after next, at Omotesandō Mall."

That brought back memories, of meeting with both Kallen and Milly there, planning what supplies to buy before their excursion into Villetta's Palace. It had only been a few months ago, but it felt like it had been much longer than that. And just like then, it seemed that Marrybell wanted to follow the strategy of hiding in plain sight.

"I can do that. Will you relay that message to Marrybell?"

"Yes," Tsu said. "But there is one more thing, Trickster."

"What's that?"

"She'd like it if you could bring a friend," Shi spoke up, continuing where Tsu had left off.

"In other words, you can think of it as a double date," Tsu smirked.

"You will refrain from such irrelevancies when you are in my presence," Igor said impatiently. "But I look forward indeed to seeing what comes of this meeting. Undoubtedly, it will bring you a step closer to averting Ragnarok."

Of course that was all that Igor cared about. But it was precisely that predictability that made it possible for Marrybell to entrust a message to him to the inhabitants of the Velvet Room, thus cleverly avoiding any mundane forms of surveillance, while not trusting its master at all. Igor wouldn't do anything that would interfere with them stopping Ragnarok. It was what came after a failed Ragnarok that they had to worry about, but Lelouch made sure not to betray a hint of such thoughts on his face.

Concluding his business in the Velvet Room, Lelouch returned to reality. Given that he would have to wait to meet with Marrybell, he could use the intervening time to follow up on his promise to Milly. Diethard might have some interesting things to say as well, in the aftermath of the uprising in the Chinese Federation and Cornelia's subsequent crackdown.

Taking out his phone, he dialed Diethard's number. He didn't require quite the same degree of security in arranging a meeting with the newsman as he did with the 88th Princess, but he still made sure not to say anything more than necessary in his message.

Diethard's reply came quickly, confirming that they could meet on the following afternoon. The proposed meeting place was... unusual, but it would suffice.

Satisfied, Lelouch spent some time catching up on homework that he hadn't gotten to yet with the previous day's infiltration of Cornelia's Palace. Back in the old days, no one would have thought anything of it if he missed an assignment or two; it would have fit right into his facade as a slacker. But now that he had distinguished himself on the last round of end-of-term exams, it was expected that he would continue to demonstrate an appropriate level of effort going forward. Besides, he would have to deal with both Leila and Shirley's disapproval if his grades were to slip, and he didn't want to let either of them down.

xXx

"Even from our first encounter, I never took you for a religious man," Lelouch said.

"I'm not," Diethard said next to him in the pews, the sound of the pipe organ drowning out their words to anyone else who might try to eavesdrop on them as long as they made sure to avoid raising their voices. "But I have always found it curious how people try to cling to a higher power, seeking a sense of purpose that they cannot find in their own lives."

"You were seeking a purpose in your life too," Lelouch said, picking up on what the newsman left unsaid.

"What makes you say that?" Diethard asked.

"When we met, you said you were looking for the next big story, one that could really shake things up. You claimed you wanted to shake the masses out of their stupor, but didn't really care what that story was, so long as it would relieve the ennui that you felt, and give you a hand in shaping history. Had you found a more compelling story, you could have just as easily been an enemy, rather than our ally."

"That's true," Diethard admitted. "As you probably know by now, I studied law at Imperial Britannia Central University. I graduated with high honors, and I could have had a thriving legal practice. But in spite of that accomplishment, I only felt emptiness, and so I left it behind for a new start in the media. Though that wasn't the first time that I sought a new path. Would you believe that my parents originally wanted me to join the seminary?"

Lelouch stared at Diethard incredulously. He had never met someone who seemed so uniquely unsuited for the role of a priest, yet somehow it was easy to imagine Diethard taking perverse pleasure in delivering a sermon to a congregation, treating it all like it was a big show for his own entertainment.

Diethard chuckled. "From your reaction, I see that you can understand that there is of course no small amount of showmanship that goes into a priest leading his flock. I could have done well there, had I been so inclined. But that would have also left me unfulfilled."

While Lelouch could never say that he had truly liked Diethard because of the man's lack of principles, he could understand Diethard all too well. He had felt the same sort of ennui before he had awakened to the power of Persona, back when he had no realistic means of taking down his hated father's empire, nor any prospects that he could look forward to after graduation. Becoming a cog in Britannia's corporate machine would have been tantamount to surrendering to its values, and that was something he had no interest in.

"I was starting to despair of ever finding what I was looking for..." Diethard continued, "but then our paths happened to cross. I still don't know exactly how you do it... but the chaos you've unleashed has far exceeded anything I might have imagined on that day." The newsman chuckled lightly to himself, though he was clearly trying to hold back his excitement, and when he continued speaking, his words came out quicker than before. "Your actions have changed the course of history itself, and promise ever greater upheaval! Your exploits will become the stuff of legends, and I will be there to document them every step way, even should you challenge the heavens themselves!"

That was truer than Diethard knew; stopping Ragnarok would lead to the inevitable confrontation with his father, who would practically be a god if allowed to consolidate control over Mementos. But where Diethard would support his rebellion against any higher powers that be out of finding chaos more interesting than stagnant order imposed from above, Lelouch would do so to create a world where his friends and loved ones could find happiness and be free of those who would try to control them. That may have originally been a self-serving justification for his cause, a lie even to himself, but eventually, the lie had become the truth, and his cause had become their cause.

Still, there was a conviction, or perhaps more accurately, a degree of fanaticism in Diethard that exceeded any that Lelouch could recall seeing in Diethard before. The man's desires were as distorted as any of their targets in Mementos, yet those same obsessions now chained him to the Black Knights, and more specifically, to Zero, all the stronger.

I am thou… thou art I

Thou hast turned a vow into a blood oath

Thy bond shall become the wings of rebellion

And break the yoke of thy heart.

Thou hast awakened to the ultimate secret

of the Devil, granting thee infinite power…

Indeed, Lelouch felt power flowing into him through his bond with Diethard, giving rise to yet another possibility within him: Beelzebub, the Lord of the Flies.

It was at this point that Lelouch became aware that several of the churchgoers were staring at them. Judging from their reactions, they hadn't overheard Diethard's more seditious comments, but they had heard the bit encouraging him to "challenge the heavens themselves", a sentiment that they, quite understandably, saw as blasphemous.

"We should go," Lelouch said softly.

"That would be wise," Diethard nodded.

They withdrew to the outside of the church. Satisfied that they hadn't been followed, Diethard said, "We still have much to discuss, Mr. Lamperouge, such as that friend of yours who you say is interested in becoming a reporter. I'm happy to oblige. Not only can I write a favorable letter of introduction for her, but I can advise her on which networks and producers to avoid, as well as those whom she should reach out to. But first..." Diethard smiled deviously, and raised his arms toward the sky. "Let us rejoice, and celebrate a job well done! Don't worry... I'll handle all of the necessary arrangements."

xXx

Lelouch got back to Ashford Academy later than he had originally planned, but all things considered, it had been time well-spent.

Briefly visiting the Velvet Room, he confirmed that Marrybell had received his message. The plan to meet with her at Omotesandō Mall was a go. But there was still a decision that he had to make. Marrybell had asked him to bring along one of his companions. Whom should it be?

The choice became clear after a moment of thought: Shirley. As Nemo had pointed out, he needed to take the initiative more with her, and Shirley would be at ease in a familiar place like Omotesandō Mall in a way that neither of his other girlfriends would. Kallen would have little interest in spending more time than necessary there, given how the mall was both a monument to Britannian consumerism and another reminder of its conquest of Japan, while Leila was too recognizable in public, and if there was any appearance of him being on a date with her, it would be a scandal putting the lie to her claims of still being in mourning for Prince Clovis.

Admittedly, being seen on a date with Shirley would cause some gossip around campus, but that would be the extent of it. He had wanted to avoid such unwanted attention for Shirley's sake, but if he was honest with himself, most of the school probably already believed that he was dating her and Kallen at the same time. His unfortunate reputation of being a womanizer around campus, as much of a distortion as it was, would have seen to that. In that sense, his relationship with Shirley had never really been secret, though he doubted that any of those outside of the Black Knights could appreciate its true complexity.

Reaching for his phone, he called Shirley, and asked if she'd like to join him at Omotesandō Mall for his meeting with West and Oz. Of course, he didn't say the real purpose of the meeting out loud, but Shirley was more than capable of discerning his meaning.

"I'll be there," she replied on the other end. Though he couldn't see her face, her voice told him that she was smiling. "Thanks for inviting me, Lulu."

With that objective cleared, Lelouch began preparing for bed. He knew that any meeting with his half-sister and her knight was sure to be eventful.

Do You Support the Black Knights?

Yes: 33.4%

xXx

Lelouch waited by one of the zelkova trees that lined the center of one of Omotesandō Mall's main walkways. He could have sat down on the bench that wrapped around the island in which the tree grew, but that wasn't his style. Some of it was restlessness, yes, for he was eager to learn what Marrybell had discovered, but he also didn't want Shirley to think that she had been late to their meeting, which she might if she saw him sitting there. It was a small matter, but something Shirley could easily get herself worked up about, silly as it was. Really, she was much too hard on herself, but at least he had been able to help her look at herself in a better light during their conversation the other day.

Glancing around at his surroundings, it occurred to him that 'walkway' was an understatement. The paths on either side of him practically spanned the width of the historic avenue that the mall had replaced. An enormous skylight formed the ceiling of the entire area, furthering the feeling of openness as natural light beamed down through it. The shops themselves were set in between columns of a colonnade that also stretched down the length of the avenue, and above each column there was a banner, alternating in red and blue, all emblazoned with the words "Omotesando Shopping Mall." Large photographs intended to showcase the prosperity of the Britannian Tokyo Settlement were displayed between the banners, along with advertisements and even occasional landscape paintings, some of which had been donated by the late Viceroy Clovis to commemorate the Mall's dedication... and less charitably, to satisfy his own ego as an artist.

Lelouch had changed out of his Ashford Academy Uniform before heading to the mall, and into attire more fitting for what was ostensibly a date, even if it was actually more of a "working date". He had a white jacket over a pink button-down shirt, with a dark blue tie, khaki pants, and dark brown loafers.

Lelouch knew that a number of guys around campus would never let themselves be caught dead wearing pink, but he had never really understood the fuss about it. Pink was a perfectly respectable color, and had actually been seen as quite masculine for much of Britannian history.

"Hi, Lulu!" Shirley's voice rang out. Looking up, he saw her waving at him as she approached.

Shirley was wearing a green dress. It wasn't nearly as fancy as the one she had worn to the masquerade ball, but he still thought it looked stylish on her. Then again, he had always known Shirley to have good fashion sense.

As for the details of her dress, it had a frilled skirt, and a green ribbon, slightly darker than the rest of the dress, set over her right breast. A lighter green jacket rested over her shoulders and arms, flaring out slightly at the cuffs, which were the same color as her ribbon. She also had a pair of high heels that matched her dress, fastened in place by straps around her ankles, and completed her outfit with a simple chain necklace, from which a small golden butterfly pendant hung.

"I hope I didn't keep you waiting," Shirley said with a smile, though there was just a touch of nervousness behind it.

"Don't worry about it; I'm just here early. You're right on time." He paused. "Um... I like your outfit"

Shirley beamed at him, her anxiety gone. "I'm glad you like it!" She glanced around. "Where are West and Oz? Weren't they supposed to meet us here?"

"They'll show up," Lelouch told her. "With this sort of thing, it doesn't hurt to be a bit late or early. If people know exactly where you're going to be, and when you're going to be there, it can be a liability."

"I... suppose that makes sense," Shirley said. "There's still a lot that I have to learn. I never had to think about stuff like that before... you know."

"There he is, Oz," they heard a familiar voice say. "And I see his tastes remain impeccable as always."

While Marrybell's words could have been misinterpreted as referring to his manner of dress, Shirley was all too used to hearing suggestive comments from a certain Student Council President, and immediately picked up on the hint of mischief that made it clear that the 88th Princess was talking about her.

"Huh?!"

"Don't let her fluster you, Shirley. She's like Milly when it comes to saying things like that."

"Oh, I see."

"I did mean that sincerely though," Marrybell said as she and Oldrin drew closer, giving Lelouch a better look at the two of them.

Marrybell had donned a white sleeveless blouse, with a roughly diamond-shaped section cut in the front to reveal some of her cleavage, and a frilled collar, around which a bright red ribbon was tied, and she also wore a pinstripe skirt below. On her part, Oldrin had a white jacket over a pink blouse that was less revealing than Marrybell's, with a broad white sunhat, suitable for providing shade from the heat of the waning summer sun, and a long matching skirt. Both of them had sunglasses on, to better conceal their facial features, and they had also swapped their usual hairstyles with each other.

"Let's just get going," Lelouch said, before they could get further sidetracked onto that line of conversation. "I assume you have a more specific destination in mind?"

"I do indeed," Marrybell replied. "Follow me."

They made their way past a number of shops, until Marrybell eventually stopped in front of one.

"Here we are," she announced.

Lelouch stared at the storefront for several moments, certain that there had to be some kind of mistake.

"You can't be serious," he told Marrybell.

"Now, now, surely you aren't as much of a prude as you let on."

"But... it's a... lingerie boutique," Lelouch managed.

"And I so happen to design lingerie in my spare time," Marrybell replied.

"Just like Clovis," Lelouch scowled. Unbidden, recollections of the lingerie that Leila had been shown wearing in that painting of her in Clovis' Palace, and Euphemia's swimsuit from Kamine Island, itself a Clovis design, flashed through his mind. He quickly forced them aside, before they could show themselves by making his face any redder than it already was.

"No matter how distorted he may have become, he did have some talent there," Marrybell said. "I mainly design for myself and Oz, but I'll admit, it was long something of an ambition of mine to show everyone that I was the better designer."

Lelouch noticed that Oldrin had suddenly pulled down the brim of her hat while Marrybell was speaking. At least he wasn't the only one feeling embarrassed right now.

The 88th Princess frowned. "Though there's not much fun in that competition anymore, now that he's dead."

There was an awkward silence for several moments. Finally, Lelouch spoke again.

"Why here?"

A sly smile spread on Marrybell's face. "For starters, this place sells my lingerie and accessory line. That gives me a certain amount of influence with the owners. I called in a favor or two, so that we could have a private shopping session, with no questions asked."

"But why would a guy like me enter a lingerie store? Won't people wonder about that?"

Marrybell laughed lightly and shook her head. "You really are a prude, aren't you? But to answer your question, it's simple. You're on a date with one of your girlfriends, aren't you? It would only be polite for you to be there to carry her bags." Her smile turned to a smirk. "Besides, she might want your opinion on what she picks out."

"But..." Shirley started, her cheeks reddening. "Everything's got to be so expensive. I can't-"

"Don't you worry about the price," Marrybell said. "Just find enough sets to try on that you could be reasonably expected to stay in the changing room for a while."

Shirley's eyes lit up as she grasped the princess's plan, and the blush on her cheeks faded somewhat. "I'll see what I can find then. It'll only take me a few minutes." She took hold of Lelouch's arm. "Come on, Lulu. What are we waiting for?"

Knowing that he would have no choice if he wanted to get the information that he needed from Marrybell, he allowed Shirley to lead him inside. That his half-sister had arranged things so that they would be the only ones inside the shop, save for a few staff members, was a small blessing.

Now that he wasn't pointedly averting his gaze from the lingerie on display, he had to agree that Shirley's assessment had been correct. The store's wares weren't so exorbitant to be out of the price range of the mall's primarily upper-middle class clientele, but they certainly weren't cheap, especially on an ordinary student's budget. From a functional perspective, it was all overpriced to begin with, but he knew enough to understand that wasn't why women bought lingerie.

"Okay, I think these will do," Shirley said. "So... I guess I should try these on in the changing room now." Her words came out more quickly now. "You don't mind waiting outside, do you, Lulu?"

"You say it as if there's another option," Marrybell teased. "Could it be that your true self is not as innocent as you look?"

Shirley immediately froze up. Without intending to, the princess had struck a nerve. Shirley had been able to accept her Shadow as part of her, but that wasn't the same as being completely comfortable with it. There was no way that she could forget how shamelessly forward her Shadow had been, and Lelouch had seen enough of Shirley's Palace to know that she had a well-suppressed perverted streak when it came to her fantasies. Everything in there had been the product of her Cognition, from the barely dressed and nude statues of himself, to the bondage gear that her Shadow had donned when it went berserk. She had been the Ruler of the Sinking Ship of Lust, after all.

It had always been inappropriate for Shirley to act upon those thoughts in polite Britannian society. But likely, she was far more worried about her friends' opinions of that side of herself, and especially his own, given how unflattering of a light her Shadow had cast her in. He could relieve parts of that anxiety by reassuring Shirley that he didn't think any less of her for it, and reminding her of all of her good qualities, as he had done earlier, but it was still deeply rooted in her psyche, and not something that could be easily vanquished. And all of that was on top of the traumas of finding her father gruesomely murdered, being kidnapped, and then discovering the true nature of her father's work. Was it any wonder that she showed an averse reaction to Marrybell's comment now?

Marrybell looked at Shirley quizzically. "It was just a joke. I didn't mean any offense."

"I think that there's more going on with her than either of us realized, Mary," Oldrin said softly.

"Well... I'll just let you do your thing for now," Marrybell said, an apologetic look on her face. She turned to head to the changing rooms. "I'll see you in a few minutes."

"Are you okay, Shirley?" Lelouch asked.

"Yeah..." she nodded after a moment. "It just brought up some bad memories, that's all. We should join them."

Lelouch and Shirley followed Marrybell and Oldrin to the changing rooms. Lelouch patiently waited just outside of Shirley's room, knowing that as soon as the coast was clear, Marrybell would almost certainly activate the Metaverse Navigator.

Sure enough, she did. There was the slightest twisting sensation as the app brought them into the Metaverse, but he likely wouldn't have noticed it if he hadn't been expecting it. There weren't any particularly strong sources of Distortion near Omotesandō Mall, so naturally the Metaverse version of the changing rooms looked identical to the real ones.

"Alright, let's get to business," Marrybell's voice said. She stepped out of her changing room, followed a moment later by Oldrin. Neither of them had actually changed their clothes, as they had known they would be going into the Metaverse before long.

"Wait, so soon?" Shirley's voice asked from behind the door of her changing room. There were hurried sounds of fabric rustling. "Just give me a moment to finish up in here!"

Shirley had actually tried to change clothes, despite knowing that the whole thing was just cover for their meeting in the Metaverse? Lelouch felt his cheeks grow warm once more, as the mental image of Shirley hurriedly redressing herself presented itself to him. He tried to think of something else out of consideration for her privacy, but that was easier said than done with some of the Personas that he held within him.

"Okay, ready!" Shirley said, coming out, back in her green dress.

"Good," Marrybell said. "We have a lot to talk about. But first..." She turned to Shirley. "I hope you don't mind if I pry, and it's fine if you don't want to answer, but what got you involved in the Metaverse? It's clear that you and Zero are quite close to each other, but it doesn't seem like his style to rope you into stealing hearts with him, unless you had your own strong reasons for doing so. I can tell that you're not a soldier like Queen, and you don't have Bishop's background in espionage either. By most appearances, you seem, save for your involvement in the Black Knights, to be an ordinary student. But I've learned that things are rarely as they seem, and your reaction to my joke earlier was anything but ordinary."

Shirley cast her eyes down, but then she surprised Lelouch by speaking up a moment later. "I... I'm... a former Palace Ruler." She straightened herself, directly meeting Marrybell's gaze. "Zero and the Black Knights entered my Palace to rescue me from it and change my heart."

"A Palace Ruler?" Oldrin gasped, raising her hand to her mouth in surprise. "I... never imagined that it would be something like that."

"Ordinarily, someone can't be a Persona-user and a Palace Ruler at the same time," Marrybell mused. "But you did say that you were a former Palace Ruler. There's no contradiction there if you became a Persona-user after you stopped being a Palace Ruler. Though all of the Palace Rulers whose hearts we changed were reduced to little more than weeping husks, crushed under the weight of their sins, and that clearly didn't happen with you. I can't see you committing the sorts atrocities typical of most Palace Rulers. That leads me to conclude that the Distortion that gave rise to your Palace was quite different from theirs."

Marrybell paused. She glanced at Oldrin, and then back to Shirley. "We should have enough time. Will you tell me what happened inside your Palace?"

xXx

"So.. let me see if I've got this all right," Marrybell said slowly. "Your father was a researcher for Prince Clovis' secret Cognitive Psience program, who was murdered to cover it up, while the Black Knights were framed for the crime. You then discovered that Lelouch was part of the Black Knights, and shortly thereafter got kidnapped by a rogue Persona-user calling himself Medjed, who escaped from the same facility as the Irregulars, and came to consider the Black Knights as enemies to be eliminated for not adhering to his delusional brand of justice. Medjed subsequently used you as bait to draw the Black Knights in, and also wanted to exact revenge against you when he couldn't take it against your father, who was responsible for experimenting upon him. Finally, Medjed arranged events so that the Black Knights would come face-to-face with your Shadow as it went berserk, in the hopes that it would kill you all."

"That's... correct," Shirley said with a sigh.

"We couldn't have defeated her Shadow by any conventional means," Lelouch added. "That we're alive at all today is all thanks to Dame. A person's Shadow is everything that they don't like about themselves, and they usually try their best to suppress or ignore it at the conscious level."

He paused. "There are, of course, those who have fully given in to their distorted desires, as it is in the case of a typical Palace Ruler, whose Shadow and ego have become practically indistinguishable from each other. Dame's Shadow, however, was singularly antagonist to its originator, because she rejected it so strongly. That's also how we learned that the very act of trying to deny your Shadow's existence only makes it more powerful, until it becomes impossible to contain and control."

"Hence why it went berserk," Marrybell supplied.

"Exactly. But Dame showed real strength in truly accepting her Shadow as a part of herself, and in doing so, she deprived it of its power over her. And having made peace with her Shadow, it turned from a malevolent force into her Persona, protecting her and allowing her to wield its untapped potential as her own."

"Her Shadow became her Persona?" Oldrin murmured.

"I think, technically speaking, that all of our Personas were our Shadows," Lelouch replied. "We accepted their powers in order to fight back against the Palace Rulers who had wronged us. Nemo is probably closest to Dame in how she obtained her Persona; her Shadow openly manifested before her too, and even asked her to accept it. But Dame's encounter with her Shadow was more perilous than any of ours."

"I... couldn't have done it if you and the others weren't there for me," Shirley murmured. "I'm not that special, really."

"You say that, but I have to agree with Zero," Marrybell said. "It's far more difficult to face your own shortcomings and anxieties head on, than it is to rebel against an external oppressor. And then there's the fact that you emerged from your ordeal with a power comparable to those who had been fighting in the Metaverse for far longer than yourself. You are gifted as a Persona-user, with uncommon resolve and loyalty to the one you love."

Marrybell paused. "And let me offer my condolences as well. I never would have imagined that you were the only daughter of one of Britannia's Cognitive Psience researchers. I cannot forgive the crimes that your father must have committed in the service of such ghastly research... but I know all too well the pain of losing one's family. You were... very close to him, weren't you?"

"Yes... I was. And I still love him, for being the kind father that he was to me... But don't think that I'm out for revenge. I just think that the only way I'll truly find some sort of closure in my father's death is if I can learn the truth behind everything, and prevent anyone else from suffering under his research, or projects like it."

"So you have a strong sense of justice as well," Oldrin said. "You hope to protect those who are too weak to defend themselves from the depredations of Britannia's Cognitive Psience research, so that they might continue to smile, do you not?"

"Um... yeah... I guess you could say that."

"Then you have the spirit of a knight... even if you lack formal training as one." Oldrin smiled. "I think we'll get along just fine."

"Unfortunately, it seems that we all have to pay for the sins of our fathers," Marrybell said. "Or in Oz's case, those of her uncle. We learned back at the cult's base that he was in league with its Director, designing the Knightmare that we stole from there, not only as a highly effective mobile weapons platform, but as a tool to probe ruins like those that you found on Kamine Island."

"And that brings us to the crux of our discussion today," Lelouch said. "What were you able to discover about the cult, following your questioning of two of its former members?"

"Where to begin..." Marrybell sighed. "Well, I suppose I can start with the name that they call themselves: the Eden Vital Order."

"Eden?" Shirley asked. "As in the Garden of Eden?"

"I doubt that it's literally the Garden of Eden," Marrybell said. "But from our earliest encounter with members of their so-called Order, we've known that their leaders have promised them that the completion of the cult's plans will lead to the end of suffering. Doubtlessly, they imagine an idyllic world for themselves, once they've destroyed the old one."

"But... everyone will die if they destroy the world," Shirley protested.

"That's just how it is with cults," Lelouch said. "Indoctrinate followers from when they're young, or cut them off from those they knew before, and instill in them visions of an imagined paradise, where they'll dwell eternally in a blissful afterlife, free of the concerns of this world. That makes them dangerous, because if they believe that destroying the world will help them claim their heavenly reward, they'll be all too happy to hasten it along. And that's just their newest recruits. We can assume that their order goes at least as far back as, and likely predates the founding of Britannia. Generation upon generation is brought up with a belief in the tenets of the Eden Vital Order, and at every turn they continue to pass it on to their own children, no matter how insane they seem to us. Their faith is such a foundational part of their identities that few would ever think to question its righteousness."

"I... suppose that makes sense," Shirley said, somewhat uncomfortably. "But that doesn't make them any less insane! I mean... isn't it enough to be kind to each other, help those in need, and keep faith that we can make a better world together?"

"In a perfect world, yes," Oldrin replied after a conspicuous pause. The topic seemed to bother her even more than it did for Shirley, but Lelouch couldn't say why. For a moment, Lelouch considered commenting on Oldrin's reaction, but he decided that it could wait.

"Britannia looks down upon helping the weak," Lelouch growled. "That extends even to the religious teachings that much of its populace follows. It's a narrow and selective reading of the scriptures that they claim to hold sacred, one that miraculously confirms their own biases: that Numbers deserve to be in their place for moral failings, that Britannians are blessed with wealth and power on account of their superior character, and that the structure of society is divinely ordained."

"It's even worse than that, you know," Marrybell said. "Many back in the Homeland, especially around Pendragon, have taken to worshipping the Emperor as a God, even praying to him when they say grace at meals. There's always been a cult of personality around him, but it's much more apparent than it used to be."

"And that collective Cognition only empowers him further as he slowly takes over Mementos... we grow stronger as we challenge each Palace, but so does he." Lelouch looked back to Marrybell. "What else have you learned?"

"A bit more about their beliefs... they have a legend that there used to be something called 'The Power of the King' in this world, but that it was lost some time ago. Few, even within the cult, know the specifics anymore, but the Power of the King seems to have been a means to manipulate Cognition."

"Could it be that projects like Code-R, and Eden Vital's own efforts to produce artificial Persona-users, were actually aimed at recreating the Power of the King?" Lelouch asked.

"You're quick to catch on," Marrybell replied. "Rare Persona abilities that directly affect the Cognition of others, like Terry's, sound too much like the Power of the King for it to be a coincidence, and the Director clearly believes so as well. Within the Eden Vital Order, the discovery of Personas and the Metaverse is seen as the culmination of decades of research, once more clearing a path for opening Heaven's Door, implying that the Power of the Kings would have originally been used to access it. Though neither Terry nor Lyra could elaborate further on what exactly opening Heaven's Door entails. While the Director prizes Persona-users as useful tools for his plans, he doesn't trust them with the details."

"And he's quick to discard them if they become too independent and outlive their usefulness."

"That is also correct."

"Since you brought up Terry and her powers, I assume you had her reveal which of her memories she was ordered to erase?"

At once, the expressions of the two Glinda Knights faltered. Oldrin seemed particularly perturbed.

"You should be the one to tell him, Oz," Marrybell said gently.

"I know, Mary." Oldrin took a deep breath, and then looked up again, glancing from Shirley to Lelouch. "I suppose I should start at the beginning. As I've said before, I was supposed to be the next head of the Zevon family, before my uncle made his move to take it over. In fact, for generations, my family's succession has always strongly favored the female line. Male children would be passed over for their sisters, even if the sister was the younger sibling." She grimaced. "And should there be fraternal twins..."

"Are you saying...?" Shirley began.

"Yes," Oldrin nodded. "I have... or had... a twin brother."

"Had...?" Shirley let out a small gasp, a look of dread crossing her face as she immediately grasped the implications of that word. "What happened to him?" she whispered.

"He was given up to be raised by the Order in ignorance of his noble birth when both of us were very young, lest he come to contest my position as the future family head." Oldrin took another deep breath, steeling herself. "It's very likely that he was killed when the Director self-destructed the Order's base in the Taklamakan Desert. The Irregulars reported encountering a male Persona-user who bore a strong resemblance to me during their infiltration of the facility. Knowing what I do now, that was probably my brother. Given how close our own escape was, it's certain that few of its inhabitants, save for the Director and his closest allies, survived."

"There's still a chance that he might be alive!" Shirley cried.

"I'd like to believe that... but I fear that I'd likely be deluding myself."

"Are you going to be okay?" Shirley asked with concern. "From how you've carried yourself since we met today, I never would have guessed that you were suffering from something like that. When I lost my father... I just fell apart... Deep down, part of me even wanted to die. At least that way, I'd get to see him again."

"I never really had the chance to even know I had a brother before he was taken away from me," Oldrin said. "In that way, I'm not as badly affected by it as I otherwise would be. But I can't help but feel that I failed him... and everyone else in that facility. Most of them were hardly innocent, yet the Director still got away with an act of mass murder, and I was powerless as a Knight to stop it. And most of all, I should have been there for my brother when he needed me."

"It's okay to cry if you need to," Shirley said. "I mean... if he's really gone, they can't bring him back... but it's still important, for your own sake. You can only keep up a strong front for so long."

"Trust me, I've already had plenty of opportunity to cry in private," Oldrin replied, though a few tears still managed to well up and escape from the corners of her eyes. "But I appreciate your support. I'm glad that Zero chose to bring you along today."

"She does have that gift, yes," Marrybell said, placing a comforting arm over her Knight's shoulder. Her voice took a more ominous turn. "And we'll see that the Director pays for what he did to both of our families, no matter what it takes."

"What I don't get though," Shirley said, "is how your mother could have just given up your brother like that."

Oldrin sighed. "It didn't even work out for her in the end. As much as she feared that my brother might usurp my position if he was allowed to remain in the family, my uncle was the one to do so instead." She frowned, a pained look on her face. "I barely even recognize the woman that my mother turned out to be. According to Terry's testimony, every head of the Zevon Family, going back for generations, including my own mother, has also been the leader of Pluton, an organization that carries out black operations for the Emperor, and, by extension, the Eden Vital Order. She knew exactly whom she was giving my brother to, and was a fanatic like the rest of them."

Oldrin shook her head. "I had put my mother on a pedestal, seeing her as the exemplar of an honorable Knight, and I wanted to be just like her... right up to being a Knight of the Round. But I still have a way to go before I'm on the level of a Devicer like Queen, and even if I had eventually succeeded in that goal, I wouldn't have been able to stay a Knight of the Round for long. Eventually, the conflict between my oath to the Emperor and my duty as a Knight to protect the weak would have become too much. A Knight who willfully turns from those in need, or acts as their oppressor is no Knight at all. And I would have been complicit in all of that and worse if I had succeeded my mother as the head of Pluton."

"But she could have raised you to be a member of the Eden Vital Order, and she didn't," Shirley countered.

"I appreciate that you're trying to find some good in my mother... and I can't honestly say that she was all bad... but..."

"Do you just think she was waiting until you were a certain age? Or that she chose not to because she knew that you'd never go along with it?"

"I think there's some truth in each of those possibilities, Dame," Lelouch said softly, "but there's another that you're overlooking. West was sent to live with Oz's family after she lost her own. With West there, it would have been very difficult to keep her from learning about the Eden Vital Order as well, had they attempted to indoctrinate Oz in its beliefs. At that point, Oz was more useful to the Director as West's friend, so that their bond would serve to keep her tied to the Zevon Manor, rather than running off on her own. In turn, it would allow both of them to be kept under observation more effectively. I wouldn't be surprised if the Director began supporting Oz's uncle as the next head of the Zevon family around then as well. The failure to raise Oz as a loyal member of the Order from a young age may have led him to question if she was truly committed to their cause. Though that's just speculation on my part."

"I... hadn't considered that either," Oldrin said.

"But I understand how you feel... about your mother," Lelouch said slowly, a part of him still not wanting to say the words that would follow out loud. "I... came to the realization recently that my mother wasn't quite the saint that I had long held her up as. I blinded myself to her flaws, even as she was my father's most prolific and ruthless enforcer as the Knight of Six." He clutched a fist, and his voice was firm when he continued speaking. "But that doesn't mean I can forgive the one who murdered her, or my father for covering it up. She was still my mother, and unlike my father she actually gave a damn about Nemo and myself."

Silence passed between Lelouch and Oldrin. Finally, Shirley spoke up again.

"What about Terry?" she asked Oldrin. "Now that she's admitted to everything, do you think you'll be able to continue working with her? I mean... I know that really forgiving someone is easier said done, especially when the hurt goes so deep, but..."

"Terry and I have been friends for a long time," Oldrin began slowly. "Of course, when she first came to my home, she only knew what Eden Vital had told her, and carried out the Director's instructions, to keep me from finding out about my brother, without question. Later, as she began to see me as her friend in turn, and to develop a sense of self outside of the Order, she felt guilt for what she had done to me, but still viewed it as an act of kindness, shielding me from a cruel reality, and from the pain that learning about my brother would inevitably bring. Eventually, she had to keep erasing my memories whenever I stumbled across evidence of my brother's existence, even if I didn't always grasp its significance, because she feared my reaction, and the wrath of the Director, should I discover her involvement in hiding the truth from me."

"Lies led to more lies, until the deception threatened to collapse under its own weight," Lelouch said, curling his lip slightly. "I've already come to the conclusion that, from a rational standpoint, there's too much risk for the Director for far too little gain if her defection to your side is part of some overly convoluted gambit on his part to keep a spy embedded among us. There's no question that she can continue to work with us, if you so wish it. But of course, forgiving her for her sins against you is an entirely different matter, Oz. I can say that if someone were to hide Nemo's existence from me like that... I wouldn't forgive them, no matter how well-intentioned they claimed to be."

Oldrin sighed. "I won't say that I'm happy about it... it still hurts, knowing that she didn't trust me enough to come clean sooner." Her voice trembled slightly. "And... sometimes... I wonder if I could have saved my brother, if she had done so." He placed a hand on her chest, over her heart, and the look on her face was replaced by one of resolve. "But I could never hate Terry. I understand why she did it, and in the end, she's one of the Director's victims too."

Oldrin took a few breaths as she composed her thoughts. "Like my brother, she never had a chance to know the family of her birth, and had who knows how much emotional abuse heaped upon her by the Director, all when she was too young to understand why, much less fight back against it. Even now, her heart bears the scars of that abuse, and of her own guilt. If I was to turn my back on her now, what sort of Knight would I be?"

"I'm glad you were able to forgive her," Shirley smiled. "Neither of you would have been able to begin to heal and move on if you had chosen to bear a grudge against her, and let it eat away at you."

Her words were ostensibly directed at Oldrin, but Lelouch couldn't help but feel that Shirley was gently chastising him for his continued inability to forgive others, and especially for refusing to even entertain the possibility of doing so for his father. But not everyone deserved forgiveness for their crimes. Some wounds just went too deep.

"Needless to say, given how close I was to Oz," Marrybell said, interrupting Lelouch's thoughts and using a sharper tone than her knight's, "my memories would also be erased on those occasions when I was the one to discover a hint about Orpheus, so that I couldn't tell her that she had a brother."

Lelouch gave Marrybell a curious look. "Orpheus?"

"That was the name of Oldrin's brother: Orpheus Zevon."

"Now that you mention it, Lyra's Persona is named Orpheus as well." Lelouch paused. "As has already been established, Lyra was once held prisoner by the Eden Vital Order, and I believe she was almost certainly a member of it for a time as well, most likely serving as an infiltrator or assassin, before she escaped and went rogue against it. Those sorts of skills don't usually come without years of training. If that was the Order's primary facility, could Lyra have known Orpheus Zevon during her time there?"

"She did admit to knowing an 'Orpheus', yes, and her physical description of him matched that of the agent whom the Irregulars ran into. That's corroborating evidence, though obviously Oz's brother wouldn't have gone by the Zevon surname during his time in the Order. And that's assuming he was allowed to know the circumstances of his birth, which is unlikely to say the least. But given that all of our accounts of him are secondhand, it's not enough to conclusively prove if the man that Lyra knew was really Oz's brother or not. The Director assigns most of his agents code names based on mythology, after all; Terry and Lyra both confirmed that for us."

"I mean... I can't deny that's a logical way to think about it," Shirley frowned. She turned toward Oldrin. "But things happen for a reason, don't they? It can't just all be a coincidence."

"What reason was there for my home to be bombed, and my family murdered, other than the scheming and cruelty of a twisted old man?" Marrybell asked bitterly. "Or for Oz to lose her brother before she had a chance to know him?" She clenched a fist, but then took several breaths to calm herself. "Don't get me wrong, Dame. I'm actually a bit envious of you, of how you can hold onto your faith like that in spite of everything that's happened to you."

"I told you before," Shirley said, "it's only because everyone else was there to believe in me... and because I could believe in them." Her expression changed, as if a thought had just occurred to her, and there was a renewed light in her eyes. "Don't you have Oz, the Glinda Knights, Zero, Nemo, and Noire to confide in, if you every feel lost or lonely?" she asked earnestly. "And Lyra - both Nemo and Noire are certain that she's your long-lost sister, Julia! I know you've questioned her, but have you tried really reaching out and-"

"That's enough," Marrybell interrupted tersely. "Of course, I'd be overjoyed if it was really her, but..." Her hands began shaking, and while she tried to keep her voice firm, she couldn't keep herself from choking up slightly.

"As it is," Marrybell said, starting again, "Lyra has no memory of me. Even if we accept the premise that she is my sister on a biological level, she's essentially a completely different person at this point. Julia was always so gentle... When I look at Lyra, all I see is a trained assassin... I can't reconcile that with her being Julia. It's just the same as if the Eden Vital Order killed her in the bombing that claimed my mother's life as well."

"Don't say that!" Shirley gasped. "As long as there's life, there's hope, isn't there? If she really is your sister, there's got to be something left of her old self buried deep down. No matter what they did to her, I doubt that they could get rid of your sister's memories or personality fully!" She turned to Lelouch. "You agree, don't you, Zero?"

Lelouch didn't respond for a moment, silently impressed with Shirley. She had gone from passing out upon learning that he was a former royal, to unabashedly talking back to a woman who was undoubtedly one of the most dangerous princesses in the empire. Of course, he doubted that Shirley was thinking about that, and if it was pointed out to her, she was all too likely to get self-conscious. He wouldn't have that.

"While I can't say that I'm as sure as Nemo and Noire are," he said finally, "the bond you had with your only full sister was much like the one I have with my own. That's something truly precious and powerful. If Lyra is your sister, your support will be crucial if there is any chance of helping her regain her memories. And if she's not your sister, then it's imperative that you figure out who she really is. Both scenarios require getting closer to her. Furthermore, distancing yourself from her will accomplish nothing, save for limiting your own potential as a Persona-user."

"I admit... you have a point," Marrybell said slowly.

"You'll never know unless you try," Shirley added. She paused and then turned. "But what's that about her limiting her own potential as a Persona-user, Zero?"

Lelouch blinked. Marrybell and Nunnally both knew from Igor that the power of the Wild Card drew upon their bonds with others, but Shirley didn't, and somehow he doubted that Marrybell had told Oldrin either. What would be the best way to explain it without making it sound weird?

"Well, you see, Dame... you know how your own Persona draws its power from the strength of heart you showed in facing your own Shadow?"

She nodded.

"Well, for people who can use multiple Personas, like Nemo, West, and myself... we don't just draw upon the powers of our own hearts. We're also empowered by those around us... those with strong convictions of morals or faith, whom we can confide in... and be trusted by in turn."

He had borrowed some the wording from when Igor first explained the concept to him. As little as he trusted the Prison Master, it still seemed less cheesy than anything he might have come up with on his own.

"Are you talking about friendship, Zero?" Her cheeks flushed red. "Or-or love?"

"It can be either, as long as its a genuine and meaningful bond." He paused. "I suppose that even rivalries would work, provided that there's a certain level of respect between both parties."

"So that's why you started to become more open with others a few months ago, isn't it, Zero?"

"Yes," he admitted. "Though I've gone far past that now."

She shook her head and smiled. "Zero...supernatural or not, when you have friends, or someone that you love, that has incredible power all on its own!"

"A lesson that I eventually learned," Lelouch replied.

"It does make sense when it's explained that way," Oldrin nodded.

"But we're getting sidetracked," Marrybell said.

"Right. Is there anything else that you managed to learn about our enemies in the Eden Vital Order?" Lelouch asked.

"Some more of their mythos, though I can't say just how relevant it may prove or not."

"Go on," he said.

"The Power of the King was said to have been bestowed upon select humans by beings known as the 'Bearers'. But one day, the Bearers suddenly vanished from the world, and the Power of the King with them."

"What sort of beings were the Bearers?"

"Many acted as confidants to those whom they gave the Power of the King, so that their chosen might hone their abilities. Additionally, the Bearers were long persecuted by those who saw them as practitioners of witchcraft, and they were said to be cursed to walk the earth for all eternity. Other than that, little else is known about them."

That was interesting. The bit about acting as confidants and helping others hone their powers reminded him of Tsu and her sister, who helped him strengthen his Personas in the Velvet Room. And after the storm on Kamine Island, Tsu had said something about being a witch, and that she and her sister were cursed to be bound to the Velvet Room for eternity. Save for the part about walking the earth, and that they dealt with Personas instead of 'the Power of the King', the green-haired sisters almost exactly matched the profile of the Bearers that Marrybell had laid out.

"What happened to them?" Shirley asked, looking a bit nervous, as if Marrybell had been telling them a ghost story.

"That was above Terry and Lyra's clearance in the Order, if it's known at all. But they were taught that there is an evil force that acts to keep the Order from reaching its promised paradise. It appears in the form of what mankind most desires, and claims dominion over man, holding the mortal world in its thrall. Yet it is the Pretender, and its words are empty."

"That... sounds like they have their own version of the Devil," Shirley murmured anxiously.

To Lelouch, it seemed more similar to the Gnostic myth of the Demiurge that Bishop had once told him about. But the distinction wasn't important right now. Shirley's idea was close enough.

"It certainly makes it easier for them get behind destroying our world," Marrybell spat. "As the Pretender's domain, they already think it's hopelessly evil and corrupt, so what do they lose if they wipe it out in favor of their paradise?"

There were no good answers to that question, not when they were dealing with a cult as deranged as the Eden Vital Order.

"Did you manage to learn anything else about the ruins at Kamine Island, or others like them?" Lelouch finally asked. "Not long after our last meeting, the Nose told me that they were called 'Thought Elevators', and that whatever powered them had long since disappeared from the world."

"The Nose?" Shirley asked in confusion.

"I've actually brought him up before," Lelouch said, "though it was some time ago, and I didn't call him by that name back then. He's that strange old man who resides somewhere between this world and reality, and helps West, Nemo, and I manage our Personas."

Shirley's expression immediately turned to a frown. "Oh, him... Please be careful, Zero." Lelouch recalled how Shirley had been horrified to learn how Igor had involved Kallen's late brother, and had likely been the one to lead Nunnally to discover the Metaverse as well.

"We've had our arguments, yes," Lelouch said, very much aware that the Prison Master was likely eavesdropping on their conversation. "But his assistance remains essential to our operations." Lelouch was careful to leave out, "for now."

"Yes," Marrybell added, in a tone that clearly said that there would be no further discussion of Igor. "Neither Terry nor Lyra knew much in the way of specifics about those ruins, but they are taken as concrete evidence of the former existence of the Power of the King, and of a civilization that harnessed it to achieve untold feats. Eden Vital considers Cognitive Psience to be but a pale imitation of what that lost civilization could accomplish. But through such research, the Order in present form was born, rising from the scattered remnants of those who survived the passing of the Bearers and the Power of King from this world."

"There's still so much that we don't know about the Order," Lelouch said, grimacing after several moments of thought. "I can't say just how frustrating that is to me. Yet at the same time, we know far more now than we did before the raid. We should be able to get at least some hint to the last keyword that we need to enter my father's Palace out of that."

"But the remaining keyword represents whatever your father sees those ruins as," Shirley said. "It's likely to be something really personal to him. We have a better understanding of the cult's beliefs now, yes, but is that really enough?"

"It will have to be," he replied. "But don't worry; I won't let you or the others down. I'll share West and Oz's findings with Bishop. I think it's safe to say that she knows more about religious and esoteric symbolism than any of us, so she might pick up on a clue that we'd miss on our own."

"I suppose you're right about that," Shirley nodded. "I mean, I always paid attention at Sunday school, but her knowledge of the subject is at a completely different level." She sighed. "It helps that she's probably studied loads of different religions. We aren't really taught much about other cultures and their beliefs... I know that now. I suppose that the church I used to go to with my family was more progressive than most in Britannia... yet looking back, our pastor mostly stuck to what was considered safe. If you show too much interest in other cultures, or concern with the plight of non-Britannians, you risk getting labeled as eccentric or worse. And so many churches just preach hate against our fellow man these days, when it should be a message of love!" She shook her head. "Sorry. I didn't mean to go off on a tangent like that. It's just disheartening."

"It's alright, Dame", Lelouch reassured her.

"That said, we've been talking for quite a while now. It seems that all of our conversations tend to go that way," she chuckled wryly. "But unless you have anything else of import that you still need to discuss with me, I would suggest that we should return to the real world and conclude our shopping. The staff know not to disturb me, lest they invite the displeasure of a powerful patron upon the boutique, but they're bound to get curious sooner or later, and we wouldn't want them to risk investigating the dressing rooms, would we?"

"Has there been any sort of retaliation against the Glinda Knights for their part in the raid?" Lelouch asked.

"Surprisingly, no. But I'm not so optimistic to assume that it's because the Director died as well in the base's destruction."

What both of them left unsaid was the likely implication - either the Director was waiting for a more opportune moment to exact revenge, or someone else was restraining him from doing so. And who would have such authority over the Director, save for the Emperor himself? But for what purpose would the Emperor leave them be, especially when they wanted to ruin his plans to bring about Ragnarok? It made no sense.

"One last question: would you be willing to join us in our next infiltration of Cornelia's Palace?"

"Yes," Marrybell replied. "Even if we figure out Father's keyword before then, the Nose seems to think it would be suicidal for us to challenge the Emperor before we've bested Cornelia. I'm inclined to agree with him."

"It's settled then." The two Wild Cards sealed their agreement with a handshake.

The room almost imperceptibly shifted around them as they returned to reality.

"Oh, before I forget," Marrybell said, turning to Shirley. "I know that I cut you short earlier, but make sure you come out with something to purchase. Don't worry if it fits or not."

"Huh?!"

"Do you think the staff is going to believe that you spent so much time in there and didn't eventually find some lingerie that you liked? Or do you want the salespeople to wonder why you and your boyfriend went missing for such a long time before coming out of the changing room?"

Shirley's cheeks went a deep red. "But I-"

Marybell gestured with her hand impatiently. "I will be buying something for you. The price is irrelevant. But I assure you, I'm not going to be missing the money at all."

"Um..." For a moment Lelouch was sure that Shirley was going to protest again, but instead she did a quick curtsey. "I understand. Thank you very much, your Highness!"

"Think nothing of it."

Briefly glancing at the pile of underwear that she had brought in with her, Shirley picked up a pair, raising it to chest level.

"Does... this look okay, Lulu?"

Lelouch knew that his cheeks had to be as red as Shirley's had been a moment ago, but he fought the urge to avert his eyes.

"Yeah, Shirley... it looks great," he managed.

Behind him, Lelouch heard a suppressed giggle from Marrybell.

"What?" he asked crossly, turning to face his half-sister again.

"I'm sorry," Marrybell said. "I couldn't help it. You two are just adorable together."

Beside her, Oldrin nodded silently.

"Let's just check out, Shirley."

Yet as they made their way out, Lelouch could clearly feel that the powers of the Lovers and Faith Arcanas had grown stronger within him.

xXx

Marrybell and Oldrin left the store first, with Lelouch and Shirley waiting a short time to make their own departure in the other direction.

"It still almost doesn't feel real," Shirley said, softly enough so that only he could hear her. "I mean, everything we just discussed. Once, if someone had told me even half of that, I'd have thought they were totally crazy. But..." She smiled gently. "When you're with me, I can face anything."

"I'll be there for you on every step of the way, Shirley," he told her.

Within him, he heard the gentle urgings of the Persona Parvati, who who strangely could have passed as a dead ringer for Euphy during their infiltration of Gao Hai's Palace. Or perhaps it was the other way around, and he had subconsciously modeled Parvati's appearance on that of his favorite half-sister in her dancer outfit. But in any case, Parvati was attuned to the Lovers Arcana, and thus naturally supportive of his relationship with Shirley. And so, following Parvati's generous advice, he took Shirley's hand in his own

Shirley's smile became even more beautiful as he did so.

Suddenly, there was a flash of light.

"Recorded," a monotonous, yet familiar voice announced.

Lelouch spun around, and Shirley let out a small gasp of surprise. Standing just a short distance from them was Anya Alstreim, holding out her camera phone straight at them. How had he not seen her approach them?! Had her small stature allowed her to blend in with the crowd of shoppers until it was too late? Or had he just allowed himself to get too distracted by a precious moment with Shirley? No, the how wasn't important right now. The question was just what had Anya seen? If she had seen Marrybell and Oldrin too, then...

"Anya, don't just wander off on your own!" a male voice called out.

Bounding over to them and standing tall amongst the crowd, came a young, blond-haired man. Gino Weinberg. Now Lelouch definitely knew that he had been distracted. He should have been able to see Gino coming from a long way off.

"Oh, hi Lelouch!" Gino said seeing him, a silly grin on his face as he gave them a wave. "Oh, and Shirley's here too." He paused, glancing slightly downward and between them. "You seem... rather close to each other," he chuckled.

Lelouch became aware of an increased pressure on his hand. Startled as she had been by Anya and then Gino's appearance, Shirley had unconsciously tightened her grip rather than letting go of him, and now she couldn't release him at all, as if she was frozen on the spot.

"Hey, wait up!" Rivalz's voice moaned. A few moments later, he joined Anya and Gino, standing to the side and slightly behind the latter, along with Rolo, who was also apparently part of their group. Taking up the rear was a short blonde, twin-tailed girl pushing a wheelchair, in which another girl with long, wavy sandy brown hair was seated, unmistakably Alice and his little sister, Nunnally. Unlike Rivalz and Rolo, they took their places to Anya's side.

"Big brother, it's good to see you!" Nunnally said happily.

"What are you all doing here?" Lelouch asked, trying to stay calm.

"Ah, well I just wanted to see a commoner's market, and Rivalz here offered to show me around," Gino replied. "Anya chose to tag along, and invited your sister and Alice to join us. Then we ran into Rolo by the school gate, and asked if he'd like to come along as well."

"But there's another question we should be asking," Rolo said, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"Yeah... um... buddy..." Rivalz started nervously. "Why are you holding Shirley's hand like that?"

"It appears that they have been shopping together," Anya said, continuing to seem very much unfazed by the whole situation before her. "Shirley is holding a bag that seems to be from one of the boutiques here."

"In other words, they're on a date," Rolo said bluntly.

"Whoa, slow down!" Rivalz cried. "Lelouch, I thought that you were dating Kallen. You're... not going behind her back, are you?"

Lelouch fought to contain his frustration. He had tried to keep his relationship with Shirley a secret, for her sake. He could deny that he was going out with Shirley, but then he would have to improvise an alibi on the spot and hope that Gino, Anya, Rolo, and Rivalz would all buy it. Shirley would know that it wasn't true, but depending on how he might have to act to sell the deception, it could still be hurtful to her nonetheless.

Yet at the same time, there was something that heartened him in such a bad situation. Judging from their reactions, none of the others had noticed Marrybell and Oldrin at all. Perhaps he could play the situation in an entirely different way...

He gave Shirley's hand a light squeeze of his own, and glanced into her green eyes, wordlessly asking her to trust him to take the lead. Understanding his meaning, she lightly nodded back.

"I wouldn't go behind either Kallen or Shirley's backs, Rivalz," he replied. "We're all young, yet at the same time, we have enough going on in our lives without constantly worrying about who's seeing who. So we decided that we wouldn't. It's better this way for all of us."

"So you're... how do I put this... 'playing the field'?" Rivalz asked slowly.

"I wouldn't quite put it that way... but I suppose it's close enough."

"Oho!" Gino grinned. "I guess some of the rumors about you are true after all."

"But Kallen really agreed to that?" Rivalz pressed "I get that she's usually a quiet girl, but she got...well... almost territorial where you were involved. And Shirley..."

"Kallen and I used to practically be at each other's throats!" Shirley chimed in. "It was so much better for both of us just to let go of all of that. We didn't want it to stand in the way of our friendship, and it wouldn't have been right to force Lulu to choose between us!"

Lelouch was suddenly aware that everyone's eyes were on Shirley now.

"I'm...still almost expecting Madam Prez to jump out at any moment now and reveal that this is just some crazy prank that she cooked up..." Rivalz said. "But when Shirley says it like that... there's no way she isn't telling the truth."

"That's right," Nunnally said cheerfully. "I've actually known for a while now. I'm so happy for all of them!"

Now it was Nunnally getting funny looks, including from Alice. But rather than the jealousy that he was all too used to seeing on the fastest Irregular's face, he saw a slight anxiety, as if she half-expected his sister's Shadow to surface and make some kind of inappropriate comment detailing her innermost thoughts on the matter. Though in the end, Alice needn't have worried about it, for nothing of the sort happened.

"Well, it sounds like he's not so much a womanizer, but a really lucky ladies' man!" Gino chuckled good-naturedly. "I can respect that."

"Well, whether he goes out with one girl or two is no business of mine," Rolo grumbled. Yet in spite of his words, the detective seemed strangely offended by the notion, not as one might normally disapprove of such allegedly casual relationships, but in another way altogether.

Anya didn't say anything. But a faint smile spread on her face, and for a moment, her eyes seemed to light up, as if she was suddenly far more aware of her surroundings, and greedily taking everything in. Yet after a few moments, the smile faded, and Anya seemed to lose interest in the scene, leaving her appearing as unemotive as before.

No one else seemed to have noticed Anya's out-of-character behavior, and he might have otherwise dismissed it as a product of a paranoid imagination. But that expression had lingered for just long enough for him to be sure that it had been real, and it was unsettling to him. It reminded him too much of the knowing yet malevolent smile that the Anya in his dream had given him. Or perhaps, somewhat more charitably, Anya was just quietly enjoying a laugh at his expense.

"Well, now that we've cleared that up, you're welcome to join us if you'd like," Gino said. "Or we can just leave you to enjoy the rest of your date together."

"Um... we appreciate the offer, but we really should be going now," Shirley said. Her cheeks were slightly red, but she was still handling herself remarkably well, and her lingering embarrassment was exactly what would be expected in such a situation, further helping sell their half-truths.

"As I said, it's fine! Have fun, you two!" Gino waved.

Gino and the others on the Student Council had been rather of the revelation that he was dating Shirley, all things considered, and Lelouch was glad for that. But he had no doubt that the rumors would take on a life of their own if, or rather, when they got back to Ashford Academy, fueled by the 'confirmation' that he was in an open relationship with at least two girls. He didn't expect that Rivalz or the others would gossip about it, but it was the sort of thing that couldn't be hidden forever, and the chance of it leaking out increased exponentially with the number of people who knew the 'secret'. The inevitable scenario was far from ideal, but at least his relationship with Leila was still a secret... it would be far more damaging if that was to come to light.

Still, such a storm of gossip could serve his purposes in the end. By revealing the "truth", or more accurately, a fragment of it, the Knights of the Round and the student body as a whole would think that had been all he was trying to hide. They wouldn't look any deeper into it, and discover the far more consequential truth of his meeting with Marrybell and her Knight. Speculation and discussions about his love life around campus would also distract from other activities that he, Shirley, and Kallen might undertake on the behalf of the Black Knights.

As he turned away and left with Shirley, he allowed himself a small smirk.

Deceiving people was all too easy when you let them believe what they thought they had known all along.

Do You Support the Black Knights?

Yes: 34.6%

A/N:

It took considerably longer than I would have liked to finish this chapter. Work got busy again, and there were a number of important character interactions and reveals, which I wanted to take the time to make sure that I got right. As always, special thanks goes to my beta readers and their feedback during this process. On top of that, it ended up being the longest chapter in the story to date, but hopefully that somewhat makes up for the wait.

Milly's evolved Persona, Hecate, has the same name as Ann's, but a different design, more faithful to the original mythological depiction of Hecate. I figured that the imagery of a Goddess who watches over crossroads would be fitting for the Fortune Arcana, and beyond that, Medea served as a priestess of Hecate, so it seemed like a natural progression for Milly's Persona.

In addition to being immune to Fire magic, Milly's Hecate gains resistance to Psy spells.

As for Diethard, like in his original appearance in this story, I modeled part of his portrayal after Kirei Kotomine from Fate/Stay Night, another (highly) morally dubious, distorted character who is unhealthily obsessed with his chosen goal, and who shares Diethard's voice actors in both English (Jamieson Price in earlier Fate dubs) and Japanese (Jouji Nakata). That his max Confidant event occurs in a church, the added detail in his backstory about his parents wanting him to go into the seminary, and the "rejoice" are all nods to Kotomine.

Lelouch and Shirley's outfits on their "date" to Omotesando Mall are the same outfits that they wear when they head there early in R2 to look for a gift for Coach Villetta. As for Marrybell's outfit, it's based on a piece of fanart of her, while Oldrin's outfit is actually one that her twin brother Orpheus wore in Oz of the Reflection while pretending to be her.

Marrybell really does design lingerie in Oz of the Reflection, which gave rise to the inspiration for their particular meeting place in the mall.

The Eden Vital Order is the main antagonistic organization from Nightmare of Nunnally, and that continuity's version of the Geass Order. Obviously, the version of this story is somewhat different, and in a number of ways more closely resembles the canonical Geass Order, with the main difference of researching Cognitive Psience and Personas instead of Geass. Nonetheless, thematically, the Eden Vital Order is more appropriate for the name of the organization in this story, and they couldn't be the Geass Order, because Geass no longer exists in this story's world.

But of course, the operative phrase there is "no longer". As we learned in the chapter, the "Power of the King" did exist in this story's world before disappearing under mysterious circumstances, which will be revealed later. This is a plot point that has been planned since the conception of the story.

The chapter itself named after the Arcanas of two of its most prominent characters, Shirley, with the Lovers Arcana, and Marrybell, with the Faith Arcana. Of course, Marrybell may not seem to be showing a lot of Faith right now, especially next to Shirley... and that's intentional. Much of Marrybell's behavior thus far in the story is actually patterned on the Reversed Faith Arcana.

Shirley's religious beliefs aren't significantly touched upon in the original show. However, given her canonical characterization, I think it can be safely assumed that she would have dutifully followed in the religious tradition of her parents. It's also probably a safe assumption that most Britannian churches are Protestant, in the broadest possible sense of not recognizing the authority of the Roman Church, as a consequence both of the historical Reformation, and that many would recognize the ultimate authority of the Emperor instead. Additionally, Leila's Catholic upbringing in this story was specifically intended to stand out against the broader trend in Britannian society, and show her connection to Europe over Britannia. Following from that, I will be assuming that Shirley belongs to some sort of Protestant denomination, though which one specifically is not important to this story, whether it even has an exact equivalent in our world, or if it's one that arose later in Code Geass' timeline.

In any case, we can see from Shirley's canonical characterization that, whatever her religious beliefs, she isn't pushy with them, and she is, without a doubt, one of the most tolerant individuals in the show. Thus, she gets along well with Leila (raised Catholic), Kallen (observes both Buddhist and Shinto traditions, like most Japanese), and Lelouch (who, as written in this story, generally lacks religious belief, and is often hostile to the idea of gods or organized religions, especially those he sees as corrupt or controlling), without regard to differences in belief. For Shirley, love, friendship, and kindness come before all, and we see in the show that she is very much presented as an innately good character (even if she still has flaws and insecurities, such as those that manifested her Shadow). That is to say, Shirley's beliefs simply reinforce existing aspects of her character, rather than being a cause for her goodness.

Nevertheless, establishing Shirley as having a deep, sincere, and quiet faith based on love will inform her reactions to some of the threats that the Black Knights will face as Ragnarok draws near, so I felt it was best to do so now.

Lastly, after the rather heavy exposition in the conversation with Marrybell and Oldrin, my beta suggested, and I thought it best to throw in a curveball at the end of the chapter, in the same vein as the end of episode twists so common to Code Geass. Hence, the other members of the Student Council discovering Lelouch's relationship with Shirley. Can't let Lelouch get too comfortable...

Thanks for reading, and I hope you continue to enjoy the story! Until next time!

Edit: Upon reading over the story's TVTropes page, I realized that Lelouch actually first told Shirley about Igor in Chapter 63. Therefore, in the interest of internal consistency, I slightly edited the conversation in this chapter to reflect that.