Chapter 15: Cheering Mao

In the ladies' room, Milly and Nina could be seen in front of several sinks, both women soaking their faces a little, while Kallen, even though she had entered with them, left extremely quickly to join Ohgi and Tamaki, since it was unbearable for her to be near Milly and Nina because of what had happened with Shirley.

"I still can't believe that's what happened," Milly thinks looking at herself in the mirror, as she gripped the sink tightly and recalled the episode. "But looking at it now it's obvious that something must have happened, Shirley would never have acted like she hadn't met Lelouch otherwise, even if they had argued... Lelouch, how am I supposed to feel about what you did? Grateful that you tried to get rid of Shirley's pain? Angry that you erased her memories even when she begged you not to? Or relieved to finally know that you really cared about her? "Milly trembles as she experiences so many conflicting feelings.

As soon as Nina finishes soaking her face she turns to Milly, quickly approaching her to try to comfort her when she sees the expression on her face. "Mada-Milly, are you all right?"

"I..." Milly looks at Nina as she continues to shiver. "No, I'm not, it's just that... all this is too much, even more after knowing that Shirley... I just can't stand it, but I still want to see it, I want to know what really happened with Shirley, with Lelouch too, but..."

"Milly..." Nina simply tries to give her oldest friend a hug. "I-I... I know it's hard, I know it hurts to see something like this, and it will surely hurt more when we finally see what happened, but I still want to see it too, I want to know what really happened, not only with Shirley, but also with Lelouch. You are not alone, I am here for you, just as you always were for me."

And with those words, Milly finally breaks down, sobbing into Nina's shoulder, cursing that it wasn't fair that Shirley had to suffer so much, regretting never noticing what happened and admitting her biggest guilt.

"I'm in love with Lelouch," Milly's words make Nina immediately raise her head to look at Milly in disbelief, who only shows a sad smile, while tears fall down her face. "Even after knowing Shirley's feelings, even after seeing everything Lelouch has done, and even after seeing what happened between them, I can't help but still love him," Milly lets out a laugh full of pure pain. "I really am a terrible fri..."

"No, you're not!" Nina says, hugging Milly tighter, making Milly look at her in surprise. "You're a great friend, you supported me, you believed in me, even after the way I treated you!" Nina's head goes through all her memories of Euphemia. "What's wrong with loving someone? What does it matter if you love Lelouch? Even when you loved him, you supported Shirley; even when you loved him, you don't deny that he has done wrong. Don't say you're a bad friend, because you're not, in fact, it's the opposite, because you're the best friend I've ever had."

Milly just looks at Nina, finally stopping crying. "Nina..." Milly's grip grows too. "Thank you, thank you Nina, thank you for being there for me."

For a moment both girls simply stood still, hugging each other as they remembered the good times they had, not only with each other, but also with all the other members of the Council. But finally they were both able to let go and smile at each other.

"Are you better now?" Nina asks gently.

"Yes, I think I'm better now." Milly runs her hands over her face, trying to wipe away some of the tears that were still there, and then looks at Nina with a smile of gratitude. "Thank you, Nina, for being there for me, and for not judging me for my feelings towards Lelouch."

Nina shakes her head. "I could never do that..." Nina's expression turns serious. "Milly, what are you going to do now?"

"I... I'm still not completely sure, I know I want to see this through to the end, no matter what's going to happen, I also want to talk to Rivalz, I want to talk to Kallen, I can see she's affected by everything too, she didn't even stay here with us, and now that you know about my feelings for Lelouch... I want to not have to hide them from anyone else, I want to not have to hide how I really feel anymore."

Nina looked at Milly in surprise. "Are you going to tell the others?"

"Not yet, I still want to prepare myself to be able to do it without any problem, but then..." Milly let out a sigh, a sigh that seemed to free her from a huge weight. "I want to be able to do it, no matter what anyone else might say, it's something I have to do, for Shirley, for Lelouch, for... me."

"If that's what you want, you have my full support," Nina says, leaning a little closer to Milly.

Another laugh comes from Milly. "Thank you, Nina. You know, you've really grown up a lot, I still remember when you couldn't say two words without tripping over your words, it was adorable."

"Milly," Nina's face turns a little red, though a smile can be seen in her expression.

Milly just smiles back, but the blonde's gaze quickly travels to one of the mirrors in the room. "But first I should get ready; it looks like I'm going to have to soak my face one more time."

Nina lets out a small laugh. "Don't worry, I'll wait for you."

"I know; I know you will."

Next to the ladies' room, and inside the men's room, another person could also be seen, tormented by what he had just seen. Rivalz was looking at himself in the mirror, his look was tired because of the whole situation.

"I don't understand," Rivalz says to himself. "How could something like this happen? Shirley didn't deserve this, she never deserved to suffer like that, and Lelouch..." Rivalz can't help but hit the sink hard. "Lelouch, you were my best friend, but you... Why? Why did this have to happen? Why couldn't things go on as usual? It's not fair! None of this is fair! This is...! Lelouch ... please, what should I do?"

Being all alone, Rivalz can only lament how everything had happened, sadly having no one to talk to at that moment, for the person he considered his friend was not even in the world, at least not to his knowledge.

A bit away from the baths, were Ohgi, Tamaki and Kallen, the three of them are silent as they waited for the others to come out of the baths so they could go back to the room where the others were.

Ohgi looked at the ground, undecided if he should say something, but finally he says, "Kallen, are you all right? You know, if you want I can..."

"I'm fine!" Kallen's words completely cut off Ohgi, who could only look at her with sorrow, while she folded her arms as she leaned against the wall. "You could see it; I already knew that my actions caused Shirley's father's death."

"That wasn't your fault," Tamaki says scratching his neck uncomfortably. "You didn't know that would happen and it was Zero who gave the order."

Ohgi nods. "That's right, don't blame yourself for it, in fact, if there's anyone to blame it's me, after all I knew about the plan before and still allowed it to happen."

"Or me, after all, maybe things would have been different if I hadn't opened my mouth," Tamaki seconds, also trying to cheer Kallen up. "It was me who made him need to perform a miracle to convince us."

Kallen just tenses up. "Thank you, but it's okay, you don't need to try to comfort me about what just happened, I just need some time to think."

"I understand, well, take as much time as you need," Ohgi says and then a silence breaks through, making the three of them just stand in silence again as they wait.

Finally, away from the other groups, were Nunnally and Zero, both sitting in a different room from the others.

"Are you all right, Your Majesty?" Zero asked Nunnally when he was finally sure they were alone.

Nunnally nods as she grabs her dress. "Yes, I'm just still a little... surprised by what we've seen."

"Don't feel bad, Your Majesty. It's normal that it affected you to see that."

Immediately upon hearing those words, Nunnally's gaze focuses on her protector. "Zer... Suzaku."

Zero gets uncomfortable when he hears his real name. "Your Majesty, we talked about this, you should refer to me as Zero."

"I know, but now that we're alone, please let me call you by your real name, and please take off your mask," Nunnally looks pleadingly and determinedly at Zero, who only remains silent for a moment, then finally nods.

"If that is what you wish, Your Majesty." And with those words Suzaku removes Zero's mask, showing his face to Nunnally, who only smiles.

For a moment they are both silent, not knowing exactly what to say, until finally Nunnally says, "Suzaku, how do you feel about what we've seen?"

Suzaku looks at Nunnally in surprise, the young man struggling to say something. "I-I don't exactly understand your question, Your Majesty."

"Suzaku, please don't lie to me," Nunnally's gaze hardens. "I can see that Shirley was important to you, so please tell me what you really think."

"I... I really don't know what to say," says Suzaku lowering his eyes. "I feel bad for Shirley, she shouldn't have to go through anything that happened, and I also feel it's unfair everything that happened in the end... You know, there was even a moment where I suspected that Lelouch might have been the cause of Shirley's death, but now... I don't think that's possible."

Nunnally nods, the young girl being strangely calm even hearing Suzaku's confession, making the masked man more nervous. "I see, I feel bad for Shirley too, she had always been very kind, and now I can see better what her feelings were towards my big brother... Suzaku, what do you think of my big brother's actions, does it bother you that he erased Shirley's memories?"

"...A little, but I can understand why he did it," Suzaku admits while clenching his fist as he remembers that he had allowed Charles to use his Geass on everyone back in Ashford. "I have no right to criticize Lelouch about that, not after what I did."

"I understand... Personally, I hate it!" Nunnally says forcefully, causing Suzaku to look up in surprise. "I hate that my big brother did that, no one should be able to alter another person's memories, to me it's like he created a huge lie, a lie that deceives everyone, even those who know the truth! And it was even worse because of the reason my big brother did it!" Along with her words, Nunnally remembers all the times Lelouch had lied to her. "Things could have been better if my big brother hadn't lied to me, I could have helped him, I would never have called him a monster...he would still be by my side."

Suzaku just stays silent, not knowing what to say at Nunnally's outburst, he could only look at the young girl who was gasping at everything she said, while remembering that he had allowed Charles to use his Geass freely on his friends. "Nunnally... I'm sorry, I'm really sorry, but... I don't agree with you; I can't agree with you."

When she finally stopped panting, Nunnally looks at Suzaku, again having a smile on her face, even though it only showed tiredness. "Sorry for yelling, I just had to get it off my chest."

"Don't worry, Your Majesty. But I want to give you some advice," Nunnally's gaze turns to one of curiosity as she listens to her protector. "It's your right to consider Lelouch's actions as a bad thing, but believe me, there are many worse reasons to do so, at least he wanted to protect someone, even if it was himself. Please, always keep an open mind about these things, that's all I ask of you."

For a moment there is only silence, but finally Nunnally says, "I understand, I'll listen to your advice, even if it's just to keep you calm... Suzaku, please, let's go back to the others."

"As you wish, Your Majesty," Suzaku replies, standing up while hiding his face behind Zero's mask again.

Suzaku quickly grabs Nunnally's chair, pushing her towards the hallway where the bathrooms are located, where Milly, Nina and Rivalz can be seen leaving the bathrooms, while Kallen along with Ohgi and Tamaki approach from the other side of the hallway.

"Is everyone all right now?" Zero asks, making the others nod. "Well, let's get back to the others then."

Quickly the group returns to the room they were in.

"Are you all right now?" Schneizel asked as he saw the group enter.

Zero nods as he and the others sit in their seats, all trying to ignore the stares of the others. "Yes, we're ready for the next episode."

"Good," Schneizel turns to look at Nunnally. "Well, then, would you do the honors, Your Majesty?"

Nunnally just nods as she uses the remote to start the chapter, quickly skipping the summary when she sees that it hadn't changed.

The title of the episode quickly pops up; "Cheering Mao".

Tohdoh lets out a sigh. "It looks like we'll keep seeing about him without any kind of pause, though I suppose it's for the best."

Milly nods. "Yes, I don't ever want to see his face again."

"Does that mean it will be show when he...?" Zero tenses up a bit. "It's probably a vain hope, but hopefully it won't show what he told me."

"All right. First I just want to confirm this," Lelouch says inside a train in front of C.C. at night. "Are you my ally or my enemy?"

"Why do you ask me that?" asks C.C. with a solemn look on her face as she looks out of the window.

Chiba raises an eyebrow. "Really? It should be obvious to her."

"Surely she's just acting like she doesn't know, I doubt C.C. would want to answer questions about her past, or anything that would give information about her," Xingke proposes.

Lelouch looks at C.C. for a moment, but soon averts his gaze as he rests his head with his hand. "Mao's Geass allows him to get inside someone's head and hear what they're thinking and planning," Lelouch looks at C.C. with one of his eyes. "I've got that right, don't I?"

"Yes, the way Geass manifests itself is different for everyone," C.C. says. "If Mao concentrates, he can hear thoughts up to 500 meters away, and he can clearly read even your subconscious if he wants to. For someone like you, who fights for his head, he's the worst possible enemy."

Tohdoh frowns at the explanation. "Then we're right that no two Geass are exactly alike, plus some have a much higher range than others."

Schneizel nods, while letting out a chuckle. "So it seems, it will certainly be problematic to deal with very long-range users, let's hope they're not too common."

"Well, at least we no longer have to worry about another user having the ability to read our minds or give us orders we can't disobey," Ohgi says with a sigh.

Kaguya shakes her head. "I wouldn't be so sure about that, there may be Geass very similar to Lelouch's and Mao's, but with slight differences, such as not needing eye contact in the case of one similar to Lelouch's Geass, or not having as much range and power as Mao's."

"Yes, we can't be complacent, we must first get as much information as we can on the subject," says Cornelia.

"500 meters... Well, I'm not really surprised. I knew there must be others who had the power of Geass. Did you make a contract with him?"

"11 years ago."

Tamaki scratches his head. "11 years? So it happened 4 years before Britannia attacked us."

"That would explain why she made a contract with him when she already seemed to be interested in Lelouch when he was just a kid, after all it happened long before Lelouch even had any reason to fight or accept the Geass," Villetta bites her lip. "But then, how old is Mao? He didn't seem to be much older than Lelouch or Shirley, at most I'd say he looked to be in his early twenties."

"My mother always looked very young, in fact, she didn't look a day older since she married my father," says Nunnally, remembering seeing pictures and photos of a younger Marianne. "Maybe it's something like that with him."

Cornelia nods. "Yes, we can't judge his age based on his appearance, plus the Geass may also have something to do with it."

Gino looks at the warrior curiously. "What do you mean?"

"We know that C.C. doesn't seem to age, surely thanks to her immortality, maybe the Geass allows its user to not age at a normal rate, after all there must be a connection between the two powers and we know with Lelouch's death that a Geass user doesn't become immortal in any way."

Jeremiah, Sayoko and Anya just looked at each other, knowing that the former Princess wasn't quite right.

Nina nods. "I see, it could certainly be a possibility, after all we haven't seen someone with Geass for a long time, even Lelouch only had it for two years before he died."

"Couldn't he just give it to him as a child?" Rivalz asks. "That would explain why he looks so young."

Tohdoh shakes his head. "If she was willing enough to give such a great power to a child, then she would have given it to Lelouch long before, after all we know she was close to him shortly after he went to Japan, so it doesn't make sense that she would give it to Mao when he was just a child."

A chuckle escapes Lloyd's lips. "It will be really interesting to see how this all works."

Lelouch lets out a laugh. "So he's my predecessor. Is there a reason my predecessor is also my enemy?"

"Mao wants me," C.C. replies. "He may be your enemy, but he's not aiming at you."

"Yes, well, I can see that," Lelouch's forehead quivers with anger. "He could have revealed my true identity and told the police or the military who I am, but the only one he told was Shirley." Lelouch turns to look at C.C. directly. "Are there limits to his powers?"

"Mao's Geass is very powerful," C.C. also looks at Lelouch. "He can use it as many times as he wants, and he doesn't need direct eye contact like you."

Tohdoh closes his eyes. "It's certainly a terrifying power, even more so with the fact that it doesn't seem to have any of the restrictions of Lelouch's Geass."

"So Mao's Geass is superior?" Gino asks, settling back in his seat. "It seems to have a lot more advantages than Lelouch's."

Rakshata lets out a chuckle as she puts down her pipe for a moment. "I wouldn't say it's exactly superior, after all even if it's true that it has less restrictions than Lelouch's Geass, they are still different powers, and personally I would say that being able to make others your slaves just by looking them in the eyes and saying a few words is better than being able to read their minds."

Xingke nods. "Mao's power certainly seems better if we compare its restrictions and rank, but Lelouch's Geass certainly gives a greater reward, plus we could already see that even after reading Miss Fenette's mind, Mao was still sometimes confused by her attitude, so the user's own intelligence plays an important role."

"But we saw that Mao was able to defeat Lelouch, who couldn't really do anything, he only ended up saving himself thanks to C.C.'s intervention," said Guilford, crossing his arms.

Cornelia shakes her head. "He was able to win that time because he caught Lelouch completely off guard and put him in just the situation he wanted, now that Lelouch knows more about him, it stands to reason that things will end differently, seeing as we know Lelouch had to get rid of him somehow."

"Yes, now we can only wait and see how Lelouch managed to win in this situation," said Schneizel turning his attention back to the screen. "It must have been quite interesting what you did to defeat him, Lelouch... This will definitely be interesting."

"Do he have any weaknesses?"

C.C. averts her gaze. "If I had to name one, I'd say Mao can't turn his power off. In the middle of a crowd, he hears every mind churning and twisting around him, whether he wants to or not."

Rivalz shrinks back in his seat. "Agh, I can't imagine what that must feel like."

"It's definitely a pretty big disadvantage, after all it can make a person get distracted by all the voices, or even start to give them a massive headache from all the different voices," Kaguya says with a frown.

In a library, several people can be seen, while their every thought can be heard. On the second floor, Mao can be seen, clutching the banister tightly as he sweats profusely and his eyes are wild.

Mao, unable to stand the voices any longer, turns up the volume on his headphones, from which C.C.'s comforting words sound.

Finally, hearing C.C.'s voice, Mao smiles. "C.C., I can't live without you. Wait for me. I'll come to you."

Even so, some could not help but look at Mao with a bit of pity, seeing how damaged he was.

"I see, so that's why he's so obsessed with Miss C.C.," Schneizel says to himself.

Tianzi looks at Schneizel in confusion. "What do you mean? Is it because of her voice?"

A small chuckle leaves the blond's lips. "Not exactly, I'd say more that it's just the fact that he can't hear Miss C.C.'s mental voice, after all she's immune to Geass powers."

"It makes sense, anyone would want to stay together with the one whose thoughts they can't hear," Xingke's eyes sharpen. "But that doesn't explain how the relationship between the two started in the first place, after all he must have wanted something to accept a Geass, not to mention it's also strange that he seems to see C.C. in such a positive light, one would expect him to hate her or have at least some negative feelings, seeing as she was the one who gave him his Geass."

"It's really strange," Guilford seconds, holding his chin. "Well, we'll probably find out soon enough."

In the daytime, at Lelouch and Nunnally's residence, the former can be seen in the dining room having some tea.

"If Mao reads my mind, then he already knows my weak spots and that's where he'll strike," Lelouch thinks watching various cameras on his computer as Nunnally sips her own tea in front of him.

"It's been a long time since we've spent time alone," Nunnally says with a smile.

Lelouch smiles back. "You know even Sayoko needs a little time off now and then." The various cameras Lelouch sees are shown, one showing him and Nunnally at the time. "Starting today, I'll be staying home for a while."

"I guess it's the smart thing to do, after all, he'd better be prepared in case Mao is going to attack him," Rivalz says.

Milly frowns. "But he can read minds at 500 meters, wouldn't he know Lelouch's precautions long before he even approached the Academy?"

"He can, but going straight for him is also dangerous, after all he would know when Lelouch is near, unless of course he takes advantage of Mao's weakness," Tohdoh says.

Chiba nods. "It would be best if he stayed somewhere safe, plus he could get C.C. to do something, seeing as he couldn't read her mind."

"In the end, both options have their pros and cons, but it seems that Lelouch preferred to stay at the Academy," Schneizel says as he leans on his hand.

"But it's strange, if Lelouch really had prepared so much, how come...?" Zero looks at the screen worriedly.

"You've been away from home so much lately I was curious, have you found any really fun games to play or anything like that?"

"Something like that. My current opponent is pretty hard to beat," Lelouch replies with a smile, which disappears when he sees C.C. looking directly into the camera lens through one of the cameras.

Nunnally lowers her gaze. "Big brother... Even then you didn't tell me what was really going on... I really wish you would have told me something, anything."

Nunnally laughs. "That's funny. Only our big brother Schneizel would make you say something like that."

"Those were certainly better times," Schneizel thinks, smiling as he remembers that time. "Sometimes I wish things hadn't changed, everything would have been easier that way."

Away from Lelouch and Nunnally, Mao can be seen in front of a gun shop owner.

"I'm sorry, but I can't sell you one without a permit," says the owner as he cleans one of the guns. "It's illegal. Besides, you're from the Chinese Federation, aren't you?"

"Didn't he already have a gun?" Anya asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's possible he's trying to get a different one for some reason," Cécile suggests gently. "We don't know what his plan is yet."

Jeremiah nods. "That's right, we don't know what his plan might be, though I doubt it matters, after all His Majesty has no doubt found a way to defeat him with ease."

"Hey, but do you sell to the Black Knights?" Mao's question makes the owner immediately nervous. "Last Tuesday, at 11 p.m., you sold to someone named Wolf. Of course that's a nickname."

Ohgi's brow immediately furrowed. "So he knew quite a bit about us too, it's not really a surprise, but it's still worrisome."

Kallen nods. "It really could have been a big problem for us if more people had learned that, I guess it's a good thing he didn't really care about us."

The owner looks at Mao in disbelief. "Who are you?"

"You will kindly accommodate me, won't you now?" asks Mao approaching the owner while showing his Geass with a maniacal smile.

"¿And?" asks Lelouch annoyed in his room while clutching a pen. C.C. was in front of him, sitting on the bed while hugging Cheese-kun.

"I know you want to protect your sister and all, but you can't just sit here and wait for him."

"I'll have the Black Knights hunt him down."

Kaguya quickly turns to Ohgi. "Didn't you say you had never seen him? I would have expected you to recognize him if Lelouch had already given them the order to hunt him down at that time."

"Well, it was quite a while ago, plus Lelouch quickly called off the mission, so it didn't end up seeming important to us, so I guess we just ended up forgetting about it," Ohgi says, looking away a bit.

"I see," Kaguya looks at Ohgi still not entirely convinced.

"What if he's not in the ghetto like you think?" C.C. asked, "What if he's right here in the Tokyo settlement? Then you've wasted all that precious time. You could just use me as bait. I'm Mao's target, so I should be…"

Chiba looks at C.C. in surprise. "I didn't expect her to offer herself as bait."

"It's not completely unexpected, after all Miss C.C. is immune to Geass, and she can't die either, not to mention it's pretty obvious that she has unfinished business with him too," Sayoko says.

Lelouch turns slightly, interrupting C.C., "Tell me, if I keep using my Geass, will I become like him?" Lelouch's question surprises C.C., "or did he end up as he is because he didn't fulfill his contract with you?"

"Oh, that's the million-dollar question," Rivalz says, leaning forward so he's closer to the screen. "Finally, we can find out if the Geass really did affect Lelouch in any way."

"That's right, we'll finally get the answer," Cornelia says, tensing up as she crosses her arms. "Lelouch, could you really have ended up being controlled by the Geass somehow? I... I really don't know how I would feel if it was like that."

Almost everyone else in the room also tenses up or approaches the screen, all wanting to know if Lelouch's behavior was due to the Geass.

C.C. just lowered her gaze as she hugged Cheese-kun tighter. "The more you use your Geass, the more powerful it becomes. Those who cannot control the power are ultimately devastated and consumed by it."

Silence reigns in the room for a couple of seconds at the revelation, no one making the slightest noise.

"...So were we right? Were Lelouch's actions really because the Geass ended up driving him crazy?" Ohgi finally breaks the silence as he tries to take it all in. "That can't be, then we would have... This can't be happening, there must be another explanation."

"That means she's to blame for everything that happened!" Tamaki slams down hard on his seat. "I knew she was just troubles!"

Guilford shakes his head. "We can't be sure yet, she said that it all depends on whether or not the user can control the power, and so far we haven't seen anything that tells us that the Demon Emperor is being dominated in any way by his Geass."

"But that would explain why he was even willing to hurt Nunnally!" says Rivalz as he raises his hand. "The Lelouch I know would never have done that, but it would make sense if he wasn't himself or in control of his actions."

"Please, we've already seen that he's fully capable of taking out people who have done nothing wrong to him just to get what he wants," Chiba says, remembering the death of General Katase and the others. "We can't just say it's all the Geass' fault, maybe he just became even more bloodthirsty over time."

"It's true that Lelouch has been willing to sacrifice people who aren't his enemies, but we've also seen how much he values those close to him, seeing how much it affected him to put Miss Fenette in such a terrible situation by being the indirect cause of his father's death," Xingke closes his eyes for a moment. "It's quite a change from being willing to murder his sister, which is the reason he started his rebellion in the first place."

Milly nods. "Yes, it must have been the Geass that made Lelouch act that way, there's just no other explanation that shows how he could change so much."

"Could the Geass really have affected Lelouch? But he ultimately..." Kallen feels her blood run hot at the thought of the implications. "C.C., you're always the one with something to do... What was your real goal? Did you really make Lelouch change with the Geass? But that would contradict what he did in the end... Hell, I'm going to find out, I'll see what really happened, I owe it to Lelouch!".

"If so, then it's really all C.C.'s fault! She might even be to blame for Euphy's death!" Cornelia gritted her teeth in rage. "Could it really be, is Lelouch just another victim? But... that can't be. Lelouch was the one who pulled the trigger, no matter what happened, in the end he... Damn it! I don't care if it's really all the Geass' fault or not, I'm going to finish that harpy off! But, what am I supposed to do with Lelouch if he ends up being controlled?" a shocked expression dominates the warrior's face, not knowing what to do next.

"Could Cornelia be right, was it really the Geass that caused Euphy's death?" Zero clenches his fist as he feels tears quickly start to appear in his eyes. "If it really was the Geass that caused Lelouch... But it doesn't make sense. Why wouldn't you tell me what really happened? You always lie to others, you always hid everything, but if this was the reason for Euphy's death then... Damn it! We could have solved everything if he had told me, besides he could think freely in the end, after all we planned Zero Requiem, why wouldn't he explain to me what really happened with Euphy? Why would he still stick by C.C. if she really is the one to blame for giving him the Geass? Nothing is making sense!"

The others in the room are also deep in thought, all pondering the implications of Lelouch really just being a puppet controlled by the Geass in some way, some having their expression go blank, the information being too much for them.

Schneizel lets out a small cough, drawing attention in the room. "Maybe we should leave this topic for our next break, it's obvious that the possibility of Lelouch not being fully sane would explain a lot of his actions, but it would be better to talk about it when we're not watching an episode, as it will be a topic that will certainly give a lot to discuss."

Kaguya nods. "I agree, at the moment we only know that Geass can affect the user in some way, but we don't know to what extent or if it depends on the type of Geass, so it would be better if we try to get some more information, while we can try to relax so we can discuss the topic well."

Another nod comes from Tohdoh. "I also agree, there is no use arguing now, it would be better to wait."

At the words of the three, the others in the room manage to calm down a bit, still tense from the information they just received, but calm enough to continue with the episode.

"Well, with that problem solved, it would be best to get started at once," Schneizel looks at Nunnally with a smile. "Would you do the honors, Your Majesty?"

Nunnally absently nods as she uses the controller, her mind plagued with doubt. "Could my big brother really have been affected by the Geass? That would explain why he killed Sister Euphy, but then why would he sacrifice himself at the end? Could it have been a moment of lucidity? No, it was something too complex to be just that, besides it wouldn't explain his relationship with Miss C.C., there must have been some reason why they stayed together... Miss C.C., what could she possibly want to be willing to give such a horrible power to my big brother?" Nunnally can't help but bite her lip, as fear runs through her body. "I need to know, I need to know what happened, I need to know."

"And knowing that, you were still making contracts?" Lelouch asks angrily as he looks at C.C. again, "With me and Mao?"

"That's right."

Kallen gritted her teeth. "How can she have so little shame! She doesn't even seem to care at all."

"It's really despicable," Tohdoh says, folding his arms.

"Tch, it doesn't even matter if in the end the Geass really had something to do with it, I'll always think of her as a bitch," Tamaki mumbles.

Chiba nods. "Yeah, she's a bitch."

"You're a cruel girl. I don't know why anyone would come after you. Mao couldn't fulfill his contract with you, so you let him go free. "C.C. buries her head in the stuffed animal as she listens to Lelouch. "What were the terms of the contract?"

"Do you think Miss C.C. is finally going to tell you the terms?" Cécile asked, looking worriedly at the screen. "We might finally know what they were."

Gino shakes his head. "No way, she's obviously not going to say that."

"Which honestly could end up working against her, after all we can already see that Lelouch is now genuinely angry with her," Xingke says.

Tohdoh nods as he stands up straight. "Yes, she can't keep that information forever, the more negative things about her show up, they'll just make Lelouch completely distrust her at some point," Tohdoh's face scrunches up for a moment. "After all that was one of the reasons we ended up betraying him, even if that ended up being a mistake."

C.C. doesn't answer, just averts her gaze as she lets out a sigh.

Lelouch just looks at her, completely enraged. "You're a monster. Why didn't you finish him off when you interrupted him? You should have taken his power or taken his life. Because you left things half-finished, Shirley was..." Lelouch in his fury swipes his arm across his chessboard, knocking over all the pieces.

"I... honestly didn't expect that," Ohgi says with a surprised expression. "I didn't think he'd get so angry, much less call her a monster."

"It's really strange, especially considering we know they continued to work together for quite some time," Xingke bites his lip for a moment.

Cornelia lets out a grunt. "It's not like he could just get rid of her even if he wanted to, he couldn't kill her anyway, and she knows too much information, maybe he just kept her around out of necessity."

"But they still slept together even when they lived in the palace, something that wouldn't make sense if Lelouch hated her," Villetta says, thinking about it. "Maybe he forgave her at some point, that would explain it."

"How exactly do you forgive someone for this?" Guilford shakes his head. "She herself admitted that she gave him a power that has already ruined other people's lives. Plus, she's also indirectly guilty for what happened to Miss Fenette."

A strange smile appeared on Schneizel's face. "It's certainly strange, something quite important must have happened between them for them to remain close after this, even more so considering Lelouch's personality... It'll certainly be quite informative."

"We should split up while we take care of Mao," C.C. says. "From today, I'll stay in the next hall."

"You can't." Lelouch sits on his couch while clutching his head in his hand. "The council and the cultural clubs meet there."

"I don't care about that," C.C. says as she gets up to leave the room. "I'll let you take care of that."

In the lab where the Lancelot was, Suzaku turns around confused as he put on his uniform jacket.

"A medical check-up?"

"It's just regulations," Cécile replies. "It's necessary for all Knightmares pilots."

"I understand."

Milly looks at Cécile. "Did Suzaku get a checkup?"

"Yes, it was mandatory for all pilots, we learned a lot from that check," Cécile replies with a smile.

Lloyd nods. "I remember, we were even able to get some insight into Suzaku's mentality, even though it was still quite small, we still couldn't get him to see a professional psychologist."

"Yeah, I still remember what the doctor told me," Zero thinks with a frown. "I should have paid more attention to what she told me."

Cécile smiles to Suzaku. "Well, tomorrow then, after school ends."

"Well, thank you," Suzaku says, starting down the stairs to leave, but quickly stops. "Oh, Miss Cécile, do you know of any way I can get in to see Princess Euphemia?"

"Huh? You want to meet her?"

Lloyd looks at Suzaku with amusement. "Forget it. You must be at least a Knight of Honor to have an audience with her."

Cécile turns to look at Lloyd. "But a count could arrange it, if he really wants to."

"Me?" asks Lloyd sounding honestly surprised.

"Yes!"

Rakshata laughs as she looks at her rival. "Were you that surprised, Earl of Pudding?"

"Well, you know well that I consider myself a scientist first and foremost, my noble titles were nothing in comparison," Lloyd replies, settling back in his seat with a smile.

Suzaku silently looks at both scientists, but in the blink of an eye he's completely surprised. "Huh? Lloyd! You are an earl? You never told me that."

Lloyd just laughs as he puts his arm behind his head. "Oh, I'm so embarrassed."

"The prodigal son of nobles," says Cécile also with amusement, "he really can't separate work from play.

Suzaku is still impressed.

"I never really expected Lloyd to be a noble, his personality was nothing like one would expect from someone of such high rank in Britannia," a small smile appears on Zero's face. "Well, I guess that's actually a good thing."

"You know, it'll only be for a few days," Lelouch says to Milly in front of her residence. "If you can keep the clubhouse off limits, that would really help.

"Well, it's not that I can't do it, but..." Milly's eyes sharpen. "Tell me, did anyone find out you're a Prince?"

Rivalz can't help but rub his neck uncomfortably. "It's still weird to be aware that you knew Lelouch was a Prince from the start, Madam President."

Milly chuckles. "Well, that wasn't exactly something I could tell you, the only person with the right to say it would be Lelouch himself."

"Hopefully, that secret is still safe. Only the Ashford family knows I'm still here and still alive."

"The all-knowing Ashfords," Milly sighs.

Lelouch looks up in confusion. "Is there a problem?"

"Oh Lelouch, they've got another blind date lined up for me," says Milly. "I'm afraid I can't get out of this one. What do you think I should do about it?"

Xingke turns to look at Milly. "Why did you ask Lelouch about what you should do? Wouldn't it have been better to talk to your grandfather or one of your friends?"

A melancholic smile appears on the blonde's face. "I... I had my reasons for asking Lelouch," Milly's words make Nina look at her with a slight smile.

Others also looked at the blonde with suspicious glances, some thinking they could imagine her reason for asking Lelouch.

Lelouch uncomfortably says, "Well, that's..." Both students just stare at each other for a moment.

"Madam President!" A shout makes Milly turn around to look for the source of the shout, only to see Shirley approaching.

"Shirley, are you back at morning practice?" asks Milly in surprise.

"Yes, I just started over today. I can't stay sad forever," Shirley's words made Lelouch lower his gaze.

Shirley's appearance makes several people look away uncomfortable with the situation, but to some people's surprise Milly just stares directly at the screen.

"Shirley..." Milly can't stop her hands from shaking slightly, causing the blonde to let out a sigh. "I guess I still have a little while to go before I can see you without feeling so... Well, never mind, I already promised myself I'd see it to the end."

Milly lets out a small laugh. "I should take lessons from you on how to stay positive."

"What are you talking about?" Shirley asks, also laughing. "You're always so..." Shirley suddenly realizes that Lelouch is there. "Hey, are you the guy from...? Did you go to school here too?"

Milly looks at Shirley in confusion. "Are you serious?"

Looking at her counterpart, Milly just bites her lip, still a little frustrated that she didn't realize what was really going on at that moment. "I was really wrong."

"Madam President," Rivalz looks worriedly at Milly, though his gaze quickly returns to the screen. "Lelouch... I don't even know what to think, why, why can't I even think of something about all this, damn it!"

"We're in the same class," Lelouch replies.

Shirley leans forward. "Hey? -No, I don't think we are! Uh... Are we?"

"Please, that's enough," Lelouch says, trying not to look at Shirley.

"Oh, big brother," Nunnally whispers as she looks at Lelouch's state. "I'm still upset that you did that to Shirley, no one should have their memories erased, but... it really must have been painful for you, big brother."

In the distance one of Shirley's clubmates waves her arm. "Shirley, we're ready to start."

"Here I come, see you Madam President! says Milly and then runs to her classmates.

"Of course..." Milly says confused, then looks at Lelouch. "What was that all about?"

"We had a... little argument."

Tamaki lets out a snort. "That's one way of putting it."

"So, she's a kind stranger?" Milly smiles as she finds the situation amusing. "Oh, that's so cute."

Lelouch smiles at her too, but it's an obviously fake smile. "I'm sorry, but could you play along until I get over it?"

"I suppose I could do it," Milly replies, looking at Shirley as she smiles. "Do you think it'll last long?"

"Yes, I'm afraid so."

Suddenly the scene changes to show C.C. kicking a guy in an alley, the kick causes the man to get caught between C.C.'s leg and the wall.

"I'm not looking for a Refrain dealer," C.C. says, annoyed. "I said a Chinese guy named Mao. Did you hear me?"

"I didn't know C.C. could do that," Kallen's eyes widen in surprise.

Schneizel let out a small laugh. "Well, Miss C.C. has certainly lived for a very long time, it's not hard to think that she acquired knowledge about fighting during that time."

"I guess that shows why she was never worried when Lelouch got mad at her, she could have always beaten him up if she wanted to," Rakshata chuckles as she leans back in her seat.

"I doubt you'd need that kind of knowledge to beat up Lelouch," Milly says with amusement to try to stop thinking about the previous scene.

Rivalz nods. "Yes, I'm sure even a child could beat Lelouch."

"The only Chinese in the settlement are day laborers!" says the man with great difficulty. "Why don't you ask the policemen?"

"I don't like cops."

"Then ask the Black Knights about him. They're the best at navigating the black market streets. They connect to the settlement and the ghettos."

"That's what everyone tells me."

"Because it's obvious."

Lloyd lets out a small snort of laughter. "He's certainly good at talking even in the situation he's in."

Shirley in her room was going through her desk. "How strange. Where is it?"

"What's the problem, Shirley?" her roommate asks. "What are you looking for?"

"My diary. I can't find it. Did you take it?" Shirley's words are accompanied by the image of Lelouch burning the diary in the park.

Shirley's roommate laughs. "Of course not."

Milly's expression fell at the scene. "Lelouch really went out of his way to make sure there was no evidence, even though it was reprehensible to burn something so private."

"It was the most logical option, after all if he just ripped out pages it would become obvious that someone else must have grabbed the diary, but if he burns it, Miss Fenette will simply think she lost it at some point," Schneizel explained.

"I understand, I'm sorry, Zero," said Inoue from the Black Knights' vehicle with a communicator. "We haven't found this Mao guy yet."

"I understand," Lelouch replies.

"Should we check our contacts in the Kyoto information network?"

"No, just stay in the Kanto quadrant. If you get any information, let me know."

"I understand."

"Well, I'll get back to you soon," Lelouch says as it shows that he was climbing a flight of stairs in the council building. "If I get within 500 meters of Mao, he can read my mind. That's what he wants. But knowing that, I should be able to guess his next move," Lelouch growls in annoyance. "I could put him in check if I only had a..."

Suddenly C.C.'s voice is heard, "Missing piece?" Lelouch, hearing C.C., turns to look at the immortal. "You and I are thinking about the same thing."

"So it seems," Lelouch says.

"Then we should work together on this, don't you think?"

"Yes."

Rivalz blinks a couple of times, rather confused. "Was that it? They've already decided to work together again."

"Whether they wanted to or not, they both needed to work together at that moment, but that doesn't mean everything was back to normal," Ohgi said, rubbing his neck.

Lloyd nods. "Yes, His Majesty and C.C. were probably still angry after finishing him off, they were just together to finish him off quickly. Easy and safe!"

"I don't know," Cécile says, touching a finger to her lip. "I don't think they just worked together, something else must have happened."

Lelouch's phone suddenly starts ringing, causing him to quickly see who's calling him, only to find that the person is not on his contact list.

Lelouch and C.C. look at each other for a moment, both knowing for sure who it is.

"Yes?" says Lelouch answering.

"It's me, Lulu," Mao's voice rings from the phone. "And C.C. is there too, isn't she? I want to talk to her. Put her on the phone."

Sayoko frowns. "That's a problem, now we know he's less than 500 meters from Master Lelouch."

"Don't worry, I'm sure His Majesty could defeat him without any problem, after all we never saw him come back in any form," says Jeremiah confident that everything will be alright.

In Ohgi's apartment, Villetta was lying on the bed, the woman being naked, the only things covering her body were some bandages and the sheet of the bed itself.

The woman opens her eyes with difficulty, which draws the attention of Ohgi, who was sitting in front of his desk near the bed.

"So you just took her to your home?" Kaguya asks Ohgi with a frown. "Didn't you call any of your friends? I doubt they would have ratted you out, after all we could see that none of them really trusted Lelouch, besides it would be safer."

Tamaki nods, but without his usual enthusiasm. "Yes, I have to admit that at that point we wouldn't have said anything to Zero about it, would we Kallen?"

"Huh?" Kallen looks at Tamaki a bit surprised by the sudden question, but quickly pulls herself together. "Yeah, right, we wouldn't have said anything," Kallen's words are accompanied by the teenager averting her gaze, though to her luck no one notices.

Ohgi just rubs his neck harder, looking rather uncomfortable. "I thought about it, but I thought having more people might make her nervous, plus, even if I believe them that they wouldn't rat me out to Zero, I couldn't take away the possibility that you might say it by mistake."

"I see..." Kaguya frowns more at a thought. "Wait, couldn't it be that the reason he doesn't remember Mao is because he's too focused on this...? I really should talk about this later."

"Are you awake?" Ohgi asks.

"Yes," Villetta answers with difficulty.

"What were you doing in that place, passed out like that? What's your name?"

Villetta looks at Ohgi a bit confused. "I am... My name is... What is my name...?"

"Wait, did you forget everything?" Chiba looks at Villetta in surprise. "I thought you'd simply forgotten what happened that night."

Villetta just rubs her hands together. "No, during that time I forgot everything about my life, I couldn't even remember my name. Kaname was kind enough to take care of me when he saw that I couldn't remember anything."

"It makes sense, after all her previous personality wouldn't seem like someone who would be willing to date a Japanese man," Schneizel's words made Villetta only squirmed slightly, much to the former prince's amusement. "I guess spending a lot of time with Prime Minister Ohgi made you willing to date him after fully recovering your memory, right?"

"...Yes, thanks to Kaname's kindness I decided to go out with him even after I got my memory back, in fact, that was one of the reasons why I resigned from the army," Villetta says looking at the ground with a solemn expression. "Even though at first I... I'm really sorry, Kaname."

"Chigusa," Ohgi just looks worriedly at his wife, holding her hand to try and reassure her.

Rivalz looks at Villetta in confusion. "Is that why you became our instructor? For getting out of the army."

"That's one way of putting it, but not exactly," Villetta tries not to look at any of the Ashford members. "There were some special circumstances."

Schneizel nods. "I see, well, at least that settles the matter."

"You don't remember?" Ohgi asks, coming closer. "What about Zero, were you talking about him before?"

"Who is Zero?"

Ohgi desperately hits his face with one hand, while the other hand holds a gun as he trembles. "What am I doing? I practically betrayed him and now this?"

"But I don't know..." Villetta tries to stand up, exposing her bare chest.

Villetta immediately turns red as Ohgi stands up to try to cover the screen with his body.

"Why did they have to show this," Villetta thinks mortified.

"Oh come on, why does this always have to happen?" asks Tamaki trying not to look out of respect for his friend.

"This time it was even worse, at least they didn't show anything so explicit before," says Guilford turning away from the screen as a very slight blush shows on his face.

Kallen just grunts. "It was still just as embarrassing for me."

"We really need to talk to D.S. about this," Ohgi says, still covering the screen. "I don't want it to happen again."

Villetta quickly realizing that she was naked, she covers herself with the sheet again while trying not to see Ohgi. "Nothing..."

"I'm sorry, I was able to undress you with my eyes closed, but dressing you..." Ohgi says nervously as he tries not to look at Villetta. "But I turned up the heat, so I thought you'd be fine."

"Thank heavens," Villetta smiles, causing Ohgi to look at her in confusion, to which Villetta looks back at him as her smile grows. "Anyone could have picked me up there, but I was lucky he was a good man."

"I really was lucky," Villetta smiles, forgetting her embarrassment for a moment. "I couldn't have been luckier."

Back in the council building, C.C. can be seen walking down the stairs while holding Lelouch's phone. The immortal turns around as she smiles.

"You should be happy about this, Lelouch. We're finally going our separate ways." C.C. tosses the phone to Lelouch, who manages to catch it. "I made up with Mao."

"What?" Tamaki looks at the screen with wide eyes. "What do she mean, she made up? You're not telling me she's planning to get back together with the freak?"

"It... seems so," Ohgi says, also confused.

Kallen clenches her teeth in fury. "I can't believe it! She's really planning to leave Lelouch to go with him?!"

Nunnally looks disheartened at the screen. "Miss C.C., how could you even think of leaving my big brother? You're supposed to be partners."

"But that doesn't make any sense, after all, she was still in the Black Knights," Chiba folds her arms. "C.C. couldn't have gone with him anyway."

Tohdoh nods. "Yes, and it's not as if she could have just come back for some reason either, after all, Lelouch wouldn't forgive such betrayal."

"That's right, Lelouch wouldn't let someone willing to abandon him to his enemy stay by his side," Cornelia seconds.

"Maybe she's trying to trick Lelouch," Kaguya suggests. "It could be that C.C. thinks it's safer to handle Mao on her own."

"But they said they needed to work together a minute ago," Gino says. "Why would she change her mind so quickly?"

Xingke closes his eyes for a moment. "We didn't hear the conversation between C.C. and Mao, maybe listening to it will make sense of her actions."

"But Lelouch was right next to C.C., he should have been able to figure out what they were talking about from C.C.'s answers alone," Nina says.

Zero shakes his head. "That depends on how the conversation went, C.C. may have only given extremely brief and ambiguous answers," inside the mask Zero frowns. "It must have been some kind of deception by C.C., that's the only thing that makes sense."

Schneizel nods. "In the end, we'll only know the truth when we hear the call; for the moment, anything we say will be mere speculation."

"I really hope she's doing it to protect my big brother," Nunnally thinks holding her chest.

Kallen just folds her arms. "That better be it."

Sayoko subtly approaches Jeremiah to whisper to him, "Do you think Miss C.C. is trying to protect Master Lelouch? It's the only possibility that seems to make sense."

Jeremiah only nods slightly. "Yes, she has shown great loyalty to His Majesty, it makes no sense to think that she betrayed him before."

"Are you betraying me?" Lelouch asks.

"Are you really saying that?" C.C. is still smiling. "We were never friends. We were just accomplices, that's all."

C.C. starts to leave, but is stopped by Lelouch. "Wait!"

"Wow, what a surprise," C.C. turns to look at Lelouch. "You sound exactly like Mao."

Milly shows an angry expression. "How can she compare them? Lelouch is nothing like that man."

"Maybe in personality they don't, but his relations with Miss C.C. could end up being of the same nature, after all we still don't know what exactly the relationship between Miss C.C. and him was," Schneizel says as he looks at Milly with a rather inquisitive look. "Maybe originally Miss C.C. had a similar relationship with him, but as time went by his obsession with her grew."

Cornelia nods. "Which would explain why C.C. compares them, after all she may have made a contract with someone even before Mao, this situation may have even happened before, maybe Mao had to deal with another Geass user as well."

"It's certainly a possibility, after all C.C. has lived for a very long time, nothing tells us that it's impossible to think that she's made contracts with many people before, especially now that we know she wasn't limited to doing it with Lelouch, and maybe many of those people ended up obsessing over her just like Mao," Xingke sighs as he closes his eyes.

"So it's always like this?" Rivalz asks, rubbing his hands together. "She makes a contract with someone, but they don't keep it because they become obsessed with her, so she leaves them in the end?"

Schneizel laughs. "It may not always happen, surely others failed for various reasons, but surely there were many who ended up falling in love or becoming obsessed with her."

"Why?" Tamaki looks confused. "How could anyone fall in love with her? Have you seen her shitty personality?"

"Surely that was mostly due to circumstances, after all Lelouch has a special relationship with her because she is the only person he can be honest with, a similar case could have happened with other people," Tohdoh explains.

Xingke nods. "That's the most likely option, though in the end it's still just our speculation, we won't know until we see the full context."

"C.C., you know too much about me," Lelouch says, activating his Geass. "I can't let you go like this. Don't go! C.C., stay here with me!"

"Did he forget that Geass doesn't work on her?" Chiba asks with a raised eyebrow.

"It must have slipped his mind because of the tense situation," Rakshata replies. "He simply thought about stopping her from leaving, and the first thing that came to his mind was probably to use his Geass."

Xingke nods. "That's right, though it does make the comparison C.C. made about him and Mao take on more weight, after all he did almost use mind control just to get C.C. to stay with him."

"But he only did it because he thought C.C. was betraying him, obviously Lelouch wouldn't let her just walk away with everything she knows about him," Kallen says annoyed.

Tohdoh shakes his head. "If he were only worried about that, then he would have tried to order her never to reveal information about him or do anything that might ruin his plans, or he might even have tried to make her his slave, but instead he asked her to stay with him, not even to be loyal to him, just to stay by his side."

Another laugh comes from Schneizel. "That's right, it is his words that tell us what Lelouch wanted at that moment, and which also show us that he was really starting to become obsessed with her in some way, now it remains to be seen if he ended up becoming obsessed or if he could somehow avoid it."

Kallen can only grit her teeth loudly at the others' words. "I hate it, I hate the idea that Lelouch really could have fallen in love or obsessed with C.C., even more so after seeing everything she did... No, what I really hate is knowing that he wanted her by his side, even if he wouldn't let me be by his side."

At Lelouch's words, C.C. takes a step closer, causing the former Prince to smile.

"Geass doesn't work on me. Didn't I mention that?" C.C.'s words immediately make Lelouch's smile disappear. "Don't worry. I won't tell anyone about you. You can keep your Geass too. And Mao won't bother you anymore. He will never cross your path. Then all your obstacles are gone. Congratulations and goodbye." C.C. finally leaves the place, leaving Lelouch alone in the darkness of the room.

In a hospital, Suzaku and a female doctor can be seen in a room, next to them is a computer showing Suzaku's various records.

"The test results came back fine, though you seem to pay a lot of attention to discipline and the weight of the value of human life," the doctor says, looking at the computer.

Tamaki snorts. "He certainly didn't show that value for human life in the war."

"Suzaku was always trying to save as many lives as possible," Cécile says, annoyed. "He always gave the others the option to surrender, and he delivered when they did."

"Please, his enemies were people who only sought to defend their Nation, plus don't forget that he earned the name White Reaper for a reason," Chiba says annoyed.

Cécile clenched her fist. "You often caused the death of civilians in your operations, even His Majesty's tactics had a lot of collateral damage, at least Suzaku only fought with other soldiers."

"How can you say that!" Kallen glares angrily at the scientist. "Did you forget everything Suzaku did? Did you forget that he fired the fleija that destroyed most of Tokyo?"

Zero immediately feels a chill at the reminder of what happened in Tokyo. "That's right, I caused that..."

"But..."

"Miss Croomy," Zero's words make Cécile immediately stop to look at the masked man with surprise. "I understand that you wanted to defend Mr. Kururugi, but Miss Kōzuki is right in her words about what he did in Tokyo."

Cécile can only look at Zero, her gaze showing great sadness. "...I understand, please continue."

"Thank you and excuse me, Miss Cecile," Zero beneath the mask looks with sorrow and thanks to his old friend.

For her part, unnoticed by anyone, Nunnally looks at Suzaku not knowing what to say. "Suzaku... I... I really need to have a good talk with you about everything."

"Is that going to be a problem?" Suzaku asks as it can be see how Cécile is behind him.

The doctor quickly checks more of Suzaku's records. "These are the positive traits of a soldier. Do you think you're subconsciously comparing yourself to your father?" The doctor's question surprises Suzaku and Cécile. "That may be the underlying cause of your insecurity. It's quite common in the children of famous people. Your father Genbu Kururugi, the former prime minister of Japan. He was a great man," the image of Suzaku's father's grave appeared next to the doctor's final words.

Zero quickly tenses up at the sight of the grave. "Father... The doctor was wrong, I wasn't comparing me to you, in fact, it was almost the opposite."

"Is that Suzaku's father's grave?" asks Nina.

Tohdoh nods slowly. "That's right, that's Genbu Kururugi's grave."

"Urabe and the others are late," Chiba says as she, Tohdoh and Asahina are shown standing in front of the tomb.

"Well, this must be an ironic meeting place, right?" Asahina asks. "Prime Minister Kururugi's tomb?"

"The traitor who told us to fight to the end and then killed himself," Chiba says bitterly.

Tohdoh frowns more. "Enough! General Katase committed suicide too, and he was a true patriot."

"No doubt he was a patriot, but he didn't kill himself," Zero thinks depressed. "Father..."

Tohdoh for his part just gives Zero a sidelong glance, "I'm really going to have to tell what happened, it doesn't matter, it's something I have to admit by now."

In the distance, a member of Britannia's army can be seen pointing his weapon at Tohdoh. "Tohdoh the fugitive identified. All units ready for action."

"Yes, sir," say other soldiers.

Xingke lets out a sigh. "You were too exposed, it's no surprise you were found."

"No doubt it was a mistake on my part, but I had to visit the tomb," Tohdoh says, sinking into his seat. "It was something I needed to do."

"Yes, I read your proposal for reorganizing the Black Knights," Lelouch says into his phone in his room as he watches a record. "I have a few changes, but overall I like where you're going with this. I'll pass it on to Ohgi tomorrow."

Villetta looks at the screen in confusion. "He isn't looking for C.C.? I thought he'd do that right away."

"Perhaps he has his reasons for not doing so," Ohgi proposes uncertainly.

"Thank you," Diethard also says into his phone in a room in a karakoke, with other people behind him looking at their computers.

"In the next draft, I'd like you to insert a chart that predicts how the cell base structure will be implemented. That's it," Lelouch hangs up.

Diethard just looks at his phone with a smile. "So that was the final test. I guess I passed."

Lelouch in his room looks out the window. "Diethald, though he's Britannian, he's proving even more useful than I'd hoped. Still he could be a spy. I can't rule that out yet. Humm..." Lelouch looks at his phone, seeing that he has a voicemail. "I understand. That call from Mao."

"I see, so that was your reason, very clever of you, Lelouch," thinks Schneizel amused by the scene.

Tianzi looks at Xingke in confusion. "I don't understand, what do he mean?"

"We'll see soon enough, so it's best to wait," Schneizel says before Xingke can say anything. "We wouldn't want to ruin the surprise, would we?"

Everyone in the room looks at the blond strangely, but he just keeps smiling, so the others decide to keep silent, feeling it would be best not to talk for the moment.

Away from Ashford, C.C. is in the middle of Clovisland. The green-haired girl is watching the rides turn off, as the whole place is deserted, but suddenly the lights start to come on, and the rides start to work, surprising C.C. a little.

"That was the place where they were meeting?" Cornelia says confused and annoyed. "In... Clovisland," the former Princess says the name of the amusement park with difficulty, obviously embarrassed by the name.

Schneizel just laughs in amusement. "It's certainly an interesting place to meet, almost ironic considering the situation in which Lelouch met Miss C.C."

Cornelia simply lets out a sigh. "It always has to be like this, especially with Clovis."

"C.C., your mind is so calm," Mao says, causing C.C. to turn around, only to see that his former contractor was sitting on one of the horses on the amusement park carousel. "It's the only one I can't read. You really are the best thing ever!"

"What the...?" Tamaki looks completely incredulous at the situation, not even being able to finish speaking.

The others weren't in a much better state, with almost everyone also watching the scene in complete shock at the absurdity of the situation, though some people like Lloyd and Rakshata just laughed.

"Guilford, is this really happening?" Cornelia asks, almost looking as if she wants to believe it's all just a dream.

"I'm afraid so, Your Highness," Guilford replies almost reflexively. "He really is riding the... carousel."

Hearing Guilford, Cornelia just buried her face in her hands. "You have to be kidding me."

"I can't believe this was Lelouch's rival," Villetta says, running her fingers over the corners of her eyes in exasperation.

Schneizel laughs. "Well, I guess it shows how different they are, after all Lelouch would never have done something like that."

"Childish as ever," C.C. says expressionlessly.

"I'm a Prince on a white stallion and a Prince has to rescue the Princess," Mao ignores C.C.'s words as he steps off the carousel, "Does that make you happy, C.C.?"

Sayoko just looks at the screen with a slightly surprised expression. "How can he be so childish?"

"There's obviously something wrong with that man," Jeremiah says with distaste.

C.C. just keeps staring at Mao. "Mao, we talked about this before. I told you that you and I..."

"Those were all lies. Lies." Mao interrupts C.C. as he approaches her. "C.C., you love me and that's how I know," along with her words Mao removes her headphones, from which C.C.'s voice can be heard again saying kind words.

"Thank you, Mao. Mao. Mao."

Ohgi shivers a little. "It's still strange to hear that."

"It really shows how crazy and obsessed he is," Anya seconds.

C.C. finally loses her composure, so she shouts. "Stop!"

At the same time the image is shown of what appears to be Mao at an extremely young age, the child is kneeling on C.C.'s lap, while holding his head tightly, the image is also accompanied by Mao's own cry as a child, "Silence!"

"So she knew him when he was a child?" Ohgi looks at the screen in shock. "But I thought we'd already dismissed that possibility."

Schneizel shook his head. "Not exactly, we thought she couldn't have known him as a child because she didn't offer Lelouch a contract when he was just a child, but now we can see that she didn't for another reason."

"Maybe that reason is Mao himself, maybe when she saw how bad it ended when he received a Geass as a child, she decided it would be better to wait for the Demon Emperor to grow up," suggests Chiba.

"It's the safest possibility," Tohdoh seconds.

Tamaki out of nowhere hits her seat. "Wait, she said she gave the Geass to the nutcase 11 years ago, and he doesn't look a day over 6 now that we see him as a brat!"

"Yes, that would mean he was only about 17 to 19, about our age at the time," Milly says with wide eyes.

"Quite horrible, we thought he looked very young, but he actually looked older than he really was," Xingke says with a lowered gaze.

Cornelia just sighs. "It's normal considering all the stress he had to go through as a child because of his Geass, though at least now we know that the Geass doesn't cause the user to age slower or retain a youthful appearance."

"But... I still can't believe it," Ohgi clutches his head in disbelief. "C.C. was actually willing to give the Geass to a poor kid, even though she knew it could drive a person crazy."

"She really is a witch," Kallen says, completely furious. "She didn't even care about ruining a child's life, all just to get whatever it was she was after with the contract."

Schneizel nods. "That thing she wants must surely be extremely important to her if she was willing to wait so long and take such drastic actions just to get it."

"Don't listen to them," C.C. says, managing to calm Mao a little. "Just listen to the sound of my voice. That's it. Since my mind is the only one you can't read, and you can only be happy when you're with me. I'll stay with you always. Yes, I'm here. So you don't have to worry," along with C.C.'s words, Mao is shown drawing her in a forest, then showing the two of them lying on hay in a half-destroyed hut.

Tianzi flinches at C.C.'s words and tone "I don't like hearing this."

"You shouldn't, it's obvious she's just manipulating him," Xingke says, annoyed at the memory of the eunuchs. "It's completely horrible."

"Yeah, it's pretty cruel," Kaguya mutters with a frown, for once not defending C.C.'s actions.

"C.C., you're the only one! The only one I want forever," Mao says as the scene returns to the amusement park. The albino tries to get closer to C.C. "Lelouch doesn't matter at all. If you come with me..."

"That's enough!" C.C. shouts, pushing Mao away as she pulls out a gun and points it at her former contractor, much to his surprise. "I should have done this a long time ago," finally as C.C. finishes her words, a gunshot is heard, while the only thing showing is the Ferris wheel of the place.

Cécile's eyes widen. "So she did plan to kill him."

"It seems that way, but it's still horrible considering she's the one to blame for him ending up like this," Tohdoh says, crossing his arms.

"At least now we know why Lelouch kept letting her stay by his side, after all he received proof that she hadn't betrayed him," Rakshata says.

"That doesn't make sense, he was still alive," Zero thinks in confusion. "Could he have survived the gunshot? It wouldn't be impossible if she shot him in the arm, after all I remember he had several bandages, but a single gunshot shouldn't cause that much damage... This is all very strange."

In his room, Lelouch starts the voicemail, of which it rings.

"It's me, C.C.," Mao's voice comes from the phone.

"Mao," C.C.'s voice is heard.

"I'll be waiting in Clovisland. Come alone."

C.C. let's out a sigh as he shows Lelouch is shown on the screen walking down the street. "You're still so selfish, I understand."

"If you don't come, I'll have to tell the police who Lelouch really is. I can have him eliminated any time I want."

It shows the moment when C.C. decides to go with Mao.

"You should be happy about this, Lelouch. We're finally going our separate ways."

"So Miss C.C. really went to protect my big brother," Nunnally murmurs.

Zero nods as he manages to hear Nunnally. "It seems so, and we can also see that's what he meant when he talked about the call."

"That's right, Lelouch managed to record the whole call, in a way that even Miss C.C. didn't notice," Schneizel says, smiling with amusement.

Tianzi looks confused. "How? Mao shouldn't be able to know what he did by reading his mind."

Xingke puts a hand on Tianzi's shoulder in support. "He may have actually been more than 500 meters away, something Lelouch must have noticed when he heard no word from Mao about his action."

"Although it didn't do any good in the end, after all, C.C. is done with him," Milly says, sinking back into her place.

"I wouldn't be so sure," Schneizel thinks, not believing that Mao is really dead.

"She comes and goes like the wind," Lelouch says to himself, as he plugs his computer into a port on what appears to be a command post of some kind. "I can't read her. I can't understand how such a twisted girl thinks. Idiot!"

Tianzi shakes her head in confusion. "What is he doing?"

"It sounds like he's preparing something electronic, though I can't imagine what it could be," Xingke replies, leaning on his arm. "I'm honestly more curious about his words, they're quite meaningful considering the situation."

Sayoko nods. "They're pretty similar to the ones Mao gave Miss C.C., at least the part about not being able to read or understand how she thinks."

"Though the tone is completely different," Anya adds. "In Mao's case they were words of comfort, while Lelouch is just showing his frustration."

Nunnally shakes her head. "Not exactly, I can see that my big brother is frustrated, but I also think there's something else going on."

Milly looks at Nunnally curiously. "What do you mean, Nunnally?"

"I wouldn't know; I just think there's more to it..."

Back in Clovisland, C.C. drops to her knees while holding up her arm, which is stained with blood.

"I knew it," Mao says happily as he holds up a gun. "I knew you couldn't pull the trigger. That's because you really love me, C.C.!" Mao starts laughing as he claps his hands.

"What?" Gino looks at the screen in confusion. "How did he shoot? C.C. had a gun, while he did not."

"Maybe he pulled one so fast that he didn't give C.C. time to react," Nina suggests.

Chiba shakes her head. "I don't think so, he didn't seem to be able to pull that off, plus it would take less than a second for C.C. to just shoot."

"It's really strange," Tohdoh adds, sharpening his eyes.

"That explains how he was still alive, but it remains to be seen what kind of injuries he received," Zero thinks.

"You're wrong!" C.C. shouts, "I was just using you from the beginning."

C.C.'s words make Mao stop laughing. "What are you saying? You shouldn't tell lies like that. You really shouldn't. Lies are very, very evil," Mao shoots at C.C. again, causing her to fall to the ground, then shoots her again and again. "Lies are evil!"

C.C. can only writhe in pain.

The audience can only cringe at the gunfires and C.C.'s screams, almost all of them uncomfortable at the sight of such graphic torture, though those with military experience manage to keep their composure better.

"How horrible, no one should feel that," Nunnally thinks in horror as she recalls the moment her mother died and she lost the full use of her legs. "It's just cruel."

"Don't worry... I understand... C.C. you must listen to me. I've built a big new house in Australia, a special house, very quiet, white and immaculate. But to get to Australia, I'll have to take a plane and there's not much room," Mao moves a little away from C.C. "The thing is, C.C., you're too big to take on a plane. So that's why..." Mao pulls out a chainsaw from a bag, which he turns on while a mantic grin appears on his face, only to finally cut a pole in half with the chainsaw. "I'm going to make you compact. It won't take long."

Everyone quickly shows an expression of complete horror upon hearing Mao's plan, several even turning green and seeming to be on the verge of puking.

"What the hell?!" Tamaki expresses, turning pale.

"Xingke" Tianzi, frightened, approaches her protector, who holds her hand to try to reassure her. "It's all right, Your Majesty. You are safe."

C.C. just looks at Mao as he trembles on the ground. "Is this your revenge? Are you punishing me?"

"Oh, no, I'm not," Mao says with a smile as he approaches C.C., "I'm not, I'm not, I'm not, I'm not at all. I'm just showing you my gratitude."

Suddenly a voice is heard.

"So this is the place you chose," Lelouch's voice is heard from a large screen in the amusement park, which quickly also shows Lelouch standing in front of the Tokyo Tower. "A place where there will be no thoughts of anyone else to bother you. That narrowed it down a lot."

"So that's what His Majesty was doing," Jeremiah says with great anticipation. "Tokyo Tower is over 500 meters from Clovisland, so his mind can't be read."

Sayoko nods. "So it seems, but I wonder what Master Lelouch plans to do from there," the maid turns to look at Ohgi. "Didn't he order you guys to do something about this?"

"No, I don't remember Lelouch asking us to do anything in Clovisland, right?" Ohgi asks, looking at Tamaki and Kallen, both of whom nod.

"Lelouch might try to somehow control some attraction to break or explode, seeing as he was already able to make his image appear on the screen," Gino suggests with a grin.

Cornelia frowns. "I suppose it's a possibility, but I find it highly implausible."

For his part, Schneizel for once ignores the entire conversation as the former Prince begins to feel a sense of déjà vu. "Lelouch... You're not going to tell me you're planning to use the same trick you used on me, are you?" Schneizel unconsciously can't help but clench his fist at his thoughts as his gaze turns cold.

"Lelouch!" Mao says with venom the name of his rival, while C.C. just looks at the screen in disbelief.

"Since your Geass has the maximum total range of 500 meters. It can't reach me here in Tokyo Tower."

Mao starts laughing and clapping when he hears Lelouch. "That's true. That's very true. But what can you do from so far away? After going to all that trouble to hack the system, what's your big plan, a remote control attack with some battery operated toys or a whip me into submission?" Lelouch is strangely silent, not responding to Mao's words to his confusion. "Ah, cat got your tongue now? If you want C.C., then you'll have to come?"

"Mao!" says Lelouch, interrupting. "You don't think C.C. is her real name, do you? She doesn't even whisper it to anyone."

A smile of amusement appeared on Xingke's face. "I see, so he plans to piss him off by telling him about C.C.'s name."

"It would certainly be effective against him, seeing how obsessed he is with her," Cornelia says with a sneer. "He probably hates the idea of Lelouch knowing something about her that he doesn't, let alone something as important to her as her name."

"It seems so, but... am I the only one who thinks Lelouch is acting strangely?" Kaguya asks with a suspicious look at the screen.

Tianzi looks at her friend. "What do you mean, Kaguya?"

"It's about how Lelouch kept quiet for a long time only to end up interrupting Mao, isn't it?" Kaguya nods upon hearing Schneizel's question, while he just clenches his fist tighter. "Then I wasn't the only one... Looks like I'm not wrong."

"Now that you mention it, that's strange, I would expect him to have already made some sort of speech by this point," Chiba says, squinting suspiciously.

Rivalz shrugs. "Maybe Lelouch is just doing it to confuse him."

"I don't know, I think it must be something else," Milly murmurs.

Mao only looks with shock at the screen, and then his gaze travels to C.C.

"But I know," Lelouch smirks. "She told me her real name."

"Although it wasn't voluntary," Lloyd comments with amusement.

Guilford shakes his head. "That doesn't matter, it just serves to make him angry, obviously he wouldn't tell the whole truth."

"Is that so, C.C.?" Mao asked, looking at C.C. as if he didn't want to believe what he had just heard. "You never told me, never ever. But did you tell him?"

"Do you know why?" Lelouch asks, still smiling. "Because C.C. is mine. C.C. belongs to me in every possible way."

An awkward silence filled the room at Lelouch's words, even as several faces in the audience began to turn red.

"Did he really just...?" Villetta can only stare open-mouthed, completely surprised by Lelouch's words.

Suddenly several laughs start to be heard in the room, they come from Lloyd and Rakshata.

"So that's the way he plans to play with him," Rakshata laughs. "The name of C.C. would be enough to make him angry, but now..."

"He will surely be livid," Lloyd finishes Rakshata's sentence, also laughing.

Cornelia finally comes out of her stupor and can only clutch her head, feeling another headache. "Really, Lelouch? I can't believe you're saying these things."

"I don't think anyone would believe it," Schneizel says, forgetting his thoughts for a moment as he looks with amusement at the others in the room, who are divided between those surprised, embarrassed and some like Kaguya who just smile strangely.

Mao angrily approaches the screen. "No. She doesn't. She doesn't. She doesn't. She doesn't. She was mine long before I met you!"

"I've gained all of it, including all the part you've never seen, all of them..." Mao only shows a face of complete horror as he understands what Lelouch meant.

The blushes and laughs only grew even bigger, with several having their jaws drop at the suggestiveness of the whole situation.

"I didn't need to hear that," Cornelia thinks looking like she's on the verge of throwing up. "It's almost as bad when that girl... No, I don't even want to remember it."

"Big brother," thinks Nunnally with a completely red face. "I really didn't expect you to say something like that."

Kallen just buries her face completely red in her hands. "Lelouch, how can you say something like that without being embarrassed? If you had told me..." Kallen's blush only grows deeper at the mental image.

For her part, Milly simply bites her lip in amusement, though her face also showed a blush. "Wow Lelouch, who knew you'd be able to say something like that? I don't even want to imagine how Shirley, or even I would have reacted if you said those words to us."

Finally, Kaguya just smiles lustfully as she thinks, "I wonder if D.S. would be willing to give me a copy of this moment."

"Lelouch..." Mao runs towards the screen to start hitting it with his chainsaw, showing that there were quite a few small screens together, in which Lelouch's image appears on each of them. "Face me! Lelouch, come here. Come here. I can look into your mind. I will see the truth. I'll see what a liar you are. Liar."

"Mao, you lost," Lelouch's voice is still audible as the broken screens fall to the ground and spark, echoing strangely.

Several felt a shiver as they heard Lelouch's words, feeling as if they were directed at them.

Mao finally stops his attack. "What are you talking about? I don't care. I'll be with C.C." Suddenly a bunch of voices start to be heard, to Mao's surprise, who starts to turn both ways trying to see where the voices are coming from. "Is that Lelouch? But he's too far away. It sounds... everywhere... all those voices."

"Stay right there!" commands a policeman in a knightcop, while at the same time all of Clovisland fills with other officers, who quickly surround Mao. "Drop the gun and surrender!"

"How did the police get there?" asks Rivalz, confused.

"Lelouch probably called them, it seems his plan was to anger Mao to the point where he would only focus on him, so he wouldn't notice the cops approaching," Xingke explained, thinking he understood Lelouch's plan.

Rivalz looks a bit uncertain. "But what was he planning on doing next? Mao could easily have told the cops that he had information about Lelouch being Zero, that would surely have gotten their attention, plus even if they arrested Mao, they'd still take C.C., and Lelouch wouldn't be able to do anything since he was in Tokyo Tower."

"That's what still doesn't fit, the Demon Emperor must have found a way to make it so that neither of those two scenarios could happen," said Guilford trying to think of an answer.

For his part, Schneizel starts biting his lip in frustration. "Did you really use the same trick, Lelouch? If so..."

"What are they doing here?" Mao looks incredulously at the policemen, only for the young Chinese man to be focused by the light of a police helicopter.

Several policemen move closer to Mao, while the voice of their leader is still heard. "Stay where you are! Drop your gun and put your hands up."

"It's the police," Mao says, not knowing what to do. "Who contacted them?"

As the cops approached Mao, C.C. was still on the ground, but is quickly picked up along with his gun by someone, which C.C. quickly sees is Lelouch dressed as a cop.

"Lelouch, what are you doing here?"

"How the hell did he get there so fast?" Tamaki asks in confusion. "We saw him at the Tokyo Tower."

Gino shrugs. "Maybe he used some knightmare or other vehicle to get there."

"That's impossible, no vehicle or knightmare had enough speed to do that at that moment," said Cécile, also confused.

Schneizel simply focuses his gaze entirely on Lelouch, his eyes showing no feeling whatsoever. "Then I was right."

"It can't be!" Mao also recognizes Lelouch. "He was in Tokyo Tower. He can't be here now."

Lelouch hearing Mao just turns to look at him with an arrogant smile. "Are you really that much of an idiot? That was all just a recording."

The eyes of everyone except Schneizel open wide.

"A recording?" Nina says in complete disbelief. "That can't be possible, he was answering him, we all saw it."

"It shouldn't be possible," Cécile mutters, her mouth wide open.

Both Lloyd and Rakshata also stare at the screen with their mouths open, for the first time showing real surprise and amazement at what they see.

Kallen nods. "Yes, there's no way that could be a recording, for it to be, Lelouch would have to..."

"To have predicted what Mao would say, as well as when he would say it," says Xingke, also genuinely surprised.

"That's crazy!" Ohgi jumps up from his seat while holding his head with one of his hands. "No one should be able to do that, no matter how smart they are."

"Your Majesty, you truly are the greatest of all men," Jeremiah looks adoringly at Lelouch. "It was truly an honor to have been able to make your goals be achieved, Your Majesty."

Kaguya smiles with amusement. "Well, Lelouch managed to do it, he somehow found a way to know what Mao would say... He's truly exceptional."

"You never cease to amaze me Lelouch, you really never stop," Zero thinks with amusement.

Nunnally at the sight of the scene just covers her mouth, a mixture of fear and pride growing inside her. "Big brother, you really are amazing, no one else could accomplish something like this, only you... I never really had a chance to beat you."

"He really is a demon, only then would he be able to do such a thing," says Guilford, genuinely frightened.

The others felt a chill at Lelouch's actions and Guilford's words, even those who knew the truth of Zero Requiem, unable to do more than accept that only a demon should be able to accomplish such a thing.

Before anyone can say anything else, a deafening laughter is heard, which catches the attention of everyone, who look surprised at the fact that the person laughing is none other than Schneizel.

Schneizel for his part just ignores the stares, laughing as if he's watching the funniest thing in his entire life, even though his laughter feels hollow to the discomfort of many, almost as if it were the laughter of a dead man.

"Schneizel, are you all right?" Cornelia looks at her half-brother in dismay.

Schneizel, still laughing, only turns to look at Cornelia, causing her to shiver. "I feel perfectly fine, I just realized something important, really important."

"I see," Cornelia says, not knowing what else to say.

For a moment only Schneizel's laughter continues to play, while the others just stare at him not knowing what to say, but finally after almost a minute the Prime Minister's laughter subsides enough for the others to refocus on the screen.

"So that's how things are, well, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed to see that I wasn't your first time, Lelouch," Schneizel thinks finally stopping laughing, his anger at the idea of Lelouch using the trick with which he managed to defeat him on someone else before is completely forgotten, replaced by a feeling of genuine disappointment and amusement. "At least you used it on someone really dangerous to people like us, though it's still a shame you didn't do it on me first."

"That's a lie!" Mao shouts. "You were talking to me, answer me!"

"You have a very simple way of thinking. Because you can read minds, you have never resorted to cunning."

"Were my thoughts also simple, Lelouch?" Schneizel thinks a bit annoyed by his brother's comment. "Or was it another reason why you were able to use the same trick on me? Maybe it was exactly because my thoughts are the opposite of his."

"Did you predict every single one of my answers?" Mao looks at Lelouch as he can't believe what he's just heard, though his expression quickly turns to one of anger. "Don't play games with me, punk! If the cop arrests me, I'll be out in a heartbeat!"

Suddenly the thoughts of all the officers are heard again, all being thoughts of mockery or disbelief at Mao's words.

"Shut up!" Mao shouts, grabbing his head. "Just stop talking about me!"

Lelouch just laughs in his head. "C.C. told me you can't turn off your Geass. And your range is erratic. If you don't concentrate, your range becomes very short."

"So you used the monitor to distract me?" Mao asks. "Even so, I can still defeat you. I'll ruin you."

"The moment you try is the moment you die," Lelouch thinks finally walking away from the group.

C.C., seeing that Lelouch was walking away while still carrying her, says, "Lelouch, wait. If I talk to him..."

"She still want to talk to him?" Anya shows a curious expression. "Why?"

"I think she was fond of him, at least in a way," Kaguya says uncertainly.

Villetta looks at the young woman in confusion. " How could she be fond of him? She ruined his life and he's completely insane, almost cutting her to pieces."

"Maybe that's just the reason, maybe C.C. feels guilty for having turned Mao into what he ended up being," Xingke suggests, glancing sideways at Tianzi. "That would also explain why she didn't shoot him when she had the chance, maybe her affection for him prevented her from doing so."

"A little late to feel bad for him, don't you think?" Chiba says sarcastically.

Tohdoh lets out a sigh. "It may be too late, but at least it shows that she did feel some kind of positive feeling toward Mao, even after everything that happened."

"Although that didn't stop her from leaving him when he could no longer complete the contract they made," Villetta is silent for a moment, but finally says, "I honestly don't know what to think "of C.C., her actions and words keep contradicting themselves over and over again."

I don't think anyone knows exactly what to think of Miss C.C., it's obvious that she's an extremely complicated person," Sayoko says, closing her eyes for a moment.

Tohdoh nods. "Yes, we've seen that she's capable of concern and vulnerability, but she's also capable of abandoning those she's hurt."

"It's quite an enigma," Schneizel says, looking at C.C. curiously.

"Do you think I'm going to die?" Mao glares angrily at Lelouch. "Listen, cops, do you know who that guy is? He's the terrorist you want. He's..."

"Fire!" shouts the sergeant before Mao can say anything else, in his eyes it can be see that he's being controlled by the Geass.

At the sergeant's words, the other cops start shooting Mao at point-blank range, causing him to fall to the ground, while Lelouch turns his back so C.C. doesn't have to see the scene.

"Mao!" C.C. shrieks when she hears the gunshots.

Zero looks at the scene completely confused, not believing what he just saw.

In the hail of gunfire, Mao falls to the ground, where he trembles from his wounds with his eyes still wide open.

"Zero," Mao says with the last of her strength and finally stops shaking and falls completely to the ground.

"That doesn't make any sense! He couldn't have died at that moment! Unless..." Zero grips his seat extremely tightly at his thoughts. "I can't believe it! He actually survived something like that while Euphy...! How can life be so damn unfair?!"

Tohdoh sighs without noticing Zero's condition. "I guess that's the end of him, rather tragic."

"Yes, he was another victim of the Geass in the end, though that doesn't take away from the evil he did," Xingke says, closing his eyes for a moment.

"Mao was only six years old when I made my contract with him," C.C.'s voice is heard as the police helicopter flies over the city. "He was an orphan who had never known the love of his parents. He couldn't read or write and knew nothing of right and wrong."

The helicopter finally landed on the roof of a building, two people could be seen getting off the vehicle as the pilot of the helicopter, who was also under the command of the Geass, said, "This is Echo-3. I have freed the hostage in the ghetto as ordered."

"What?" another policeman says over the radio as you can see how the people who got off the helicopter were Lelouch and C.C. "Your orders were to take her to the hospital," but the pilot hangs up the transmission, then takes off again, leaving Lelouch and C.C. alone.

"When I gave Mao the Geass power, it isolated him," C.C. says as she turns to face away from Lelouch. "In his mind, I became his only friend and lover, though I was still a perfect stranger. I'm the only one he even thought of as human. I was his whole world."

Ohgi can't help but feel sorry for Mao. "I honestly feel bad for him; in the end he was just a kid who became obsessed with the only person who treated him with any kindness."

"It's really a shame, and he wasn't helped by his Geass, which only ended up isolating him even more from the others," Villetta adds, also feeling a bit sorry for him.

Lelouch just keeps looking at C.C. seriously, "C.C., listen to me. I will not let Geass destroy me. And I will conquer his power, bend it to my will and use it to change the world. I will fulfill your wish and mine. Then I will complete the contract that he couldn't achieve. So please..."

"Lelouch, tell me," says C.C., interrupting Lelouch. "Are you trying to comfort me? Do you have pity for me?" C.C. turns to look a little at Lelouch. "Or is this part of your obsession?"

For a moment Lelouch is silent, but finally he says, "It's a contract. This time, it's from me to you."

C.C. listening to Lelouch, finally sees him face to face as she gives him an honest smile, then stretches out her arm towards him. "Very well then, I accept your contract."

Lelouch upon seeing this, simply throws off his police cap, to also extend his hand towards C.C., and even when he hesitates a little upon finally touching the immortal's fingers, the former Prince tightly grasps his companion's hand, definitively closing the fate of both of them.

And we finish another chapter of this translation, I hope you enjoyed it, I certainly did.

The text below is the original chapter notes (so remember that if the dates don't make sense, it's because I originally wrote these notes for the Spanish version, which came out much earlier).

And again we ended up in suspense, I'm really sorry about that. Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, it was a very interesting one to write, although it took a bit of time because of its length, although it was ready since yesterday, there were just a few internet problems that caused its delay, but at least I can say with total certainty that the next chapter should be ready by Sunday in two weeks, and then it would only be another two weeks until the end of May, so I think I can go back to my original schedule of updating this story every week normally.

Mao is definitely an interesting character, he is something that Lelouch could have become if he let his Geass dominate him and become obsessed with C.C. in an unhealthy way, although at the same time he is also the opposite of Lelouch, as he is a childish idiot who only manages to fool others by having the ability to hear their thoughts, because as Lelouch said, Mao doesn't really use cunning, at least not at the moment.

If anyone found Schneizel's thoughts suggestive, that was on purpose, he always gave off the weird incest vibe with his strange flirting with Cornelia, not to mention when he literally said that Lelouch was the person he loved and feared the most, so his thoughts would no doubt be a bit strange.

I honestly don't like the romance between Ohgi and Villetta, as I don't think it's really well written, it was boring, and I felt it made both characters worse by taking away interesting things from them and making them commit quite a few stupid things that I don't think I even need to mention. Plus, I always found it weird that Ohgi agreed to date a woman with amnesia, I felt it was quite strange and even disturbing to a certain extent, he didn't even bother to look up information on her, for all he knew he could have started a relationship with a married woman or a woman with children, but he didn't care at all.

I hope you enjoyed the conversations and thoughts of the characters at the beginning, I really liked especially the conversation between Milly and Nina, I think it gave them both a good scene, although Nunnally and Suzaku's conversation was also entertaining to write.

Something I need to say something that doesn't really have to do with the story; I've seen that there was a little disagreement so to speak in the comments, I'll just say that I appreciate that someone has so much interest in my story to leave so many comments, but I also want to kindly ask you to try to lower the comments a little, mostly for the other readers, who may find a little frustrating or annoying the large amount of comments on the same thing. Mind you, this is not a scolding, just a request to make things easier for everyone.

Well, see you in two weeks, don't hesitate to leave your comments, they always help to improve this story.