Hey Everyone. Before we get started, a few notes:

A/N: I'm sorry this took so long to get out. Between graduating college, searching for a job, interviews, and a rather impromptu trip to D.C (and all the emotions that come with these things), things have been rather hectic for TWA.

A/N 2: I own nothing.

A/N 3: Disney Girls is the best Beach Boys song that was recorded after Brian Wilson left the band. I'm just putting that out there.

Alright, enough of all this. Let's get to it! On with the story!

Chapter 11: Dance Beneath the Diamond Sky (Part 1: Begin the Beguine)

After changes upon changes, we are more or less the same – Simon & Garfunkel

What cannot be imitated perfect must die – Bob Dylan

Suzaku was stunned he took in the scene: On his knees, writhing in pain with his hands clasped to his head, was his friend Lelouch. His eyes were black, like when the Geass Master had possessed C.C, but it made no sense. Why would the Geass Master possess Lelouch now? And why would he make it say so painful, when C.C's had been practically seamless?

Lelouch snapped him out of his thoughts by speaking, though not in his own voice. "Kill…every…" were the words that were forced through his mouth, as if someone else was trying ram it through his throat. But the words suddenly stopped, and Lelouch's eyes turned back to purple. "Get out of her out of here!" he yelled. "Get out while I can still control myself!"

Suzaku didn't need any further prompting. He grabbed Euphie, who was blubbering in confusion at this sudden turn in events. All the while, his mind was reeling, asking the same question over and over: What was going on?

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Oddly enough, the Geass Master was just as stunned as everyone else. Looking at the scene, various explanations were running through his head, trying to figure out what was happening. Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned and saw the Dimension Supervisor, who said "What is happening?" in a horrified and shocked tone.

Suddenly, a flash of insight struck him and he shifted his view away from the scene, looking for the someone he had almost completely forgotten about. He found V.V in the Sword of Akasha, sitting in a chair with similarly blacked eyes and a mask of concentration as several Directorate members looked upon him. Realizing what was happening, the Geass Master attempted to enter his mind, only to find himself blocked off. He tried for about a minute or so before realizing that he couldn't enter the mind of someone who was possessing someone else. Good to know he thought as he tried to work out an alternative plan of attack. He decided to possess one of the Directorate members who was standing around, a male about fourteen years old. Once in control, he proceeded to draw the gun holstered to the boy's side and fire every bullet into V.V's head. The Geass Master knew that it wouldn't kill him, but he knew that it would break him out of the trance state as well as scramble his memories a bit. He knew this for certain for someone had just fired a gun at the boy he was possessing, and as such he felt the bullets tearing him apart. The Geass Master fell to the floor in the Sword of Akasha clutching his chest, snapped out of his trance. Panting, he looked up to see the Dimension Supervisor with a scared look on her face. "Don't worry" he said, picking himself up. "It's certainly not pleasant, but I'll recover"

"I'm not worried about you" the Dimensional Supervisor said with a scoff. "I'm worried about the fact that now the Directorate, as well as the Emperor, will now of our existence."

"It was going to happen at a certain point. I was actually surprised he managed to go through the entire Ragnarok scheme the first time and not realize we were here. In any case, it should make things somewhat interesting in the days to come."

"I'm glad you're enjoying this, because your protagonists may not make it out of tonight alive." The Dimension Supervisor then shifted the view back to the SAZ. The Geass Master got up and looked, then winced. Things were turning ugly.

Xxxxxxxxx

What had started as a night of quiet jubilation and hope had descended into chaos. Upon later reflection, no one could pinpoint when the actual violence had started; one minute it had been calm, the next it had become a battlefield. For Kallen, however, she could pinpoint the exact moment it had all gone wrong. It was 6:15, when a call had come in from K-2, saying that she was getting reports about some sort of attack on the SAZ. Worried about the frantic voice coming through the radio, Kallen grabbed a set of binoculars and began to look over the scene. She quickly saw the battle unfolding before her eyes, as sounds of gunfire were just reaching their ears. Alarm quickly spread through her body, her memory of Lelouch's warning ringing through her ears. Her first instinct was to get to her Guren and enact her commander's orders, but a sense of something wrong stopped her and kept her in place. She kept looking over the scenes of violence before noticing what was off. Her realization was then articulated by Todoh, who was looking over the scene in a similar way.

"Chikusho!" Todoh swore, "they're all wearing Black Knights uniforms!"

As this information was disseminated through the troops hidden in the forest, Kallen quickly had an idea on how to proceed. Grabbing a cannister of grey spray paint that had been lying about, she quickly sprayed on her Knightmare the first kanji that came to her mind, a 本. Tossing the paint can to the nearest person, she jumped into her Guren and sped off into towards the battle.

Quickly moving into the desolated SAZ, she immediately found a fake Black Knight Knightmare and engaged it. She lost track of time after that. Knightmare after Knightmare seemed to attack her, and she fought them off one by one. At some point, she noticed that the other Black Knights had joined in her battle, each of them with a grey 本 sprayed onto their Knightmare. Through her radio, she could hear snatches of the conversations between her comrades, like how certain Britannians had joined the fight on their side and where various civilians were to be evacuated to. But none of it really registered; submerged in her battle fever, all she could truly focus on was beating back the mindless killers and preventing another tragedy like had happened last time. She was snapped out of her reverie only when a voice through the radio said "Q-1! This is K-2! K-1 is wounded in the North-West sector and taking fire! Please get him out of here immediately!"

Kallen made her way to the co-ordinates sent to her, fearing the worst. Upon arriving, she saw Zero with several wounds, crouching behind what was left of a wall and trading fire with several Britannian soldiers. The Captain of the Zero Squad unleashed a savage battle cry and decimated the fake rebels, killing them all within the span of three minutes. She then picked up her bleeding commander and quickly sped away to the nearest evacuation point, silently praying her in her head Please don't let him again. Please don't let him die again.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Nunnally had never known that her brother looked so peaceful while he slept.

It had taken a substantial amount of work to get Lelouch admitted into a hospital. Thanks to a few well-placed calls by Jeremiah and some quick alterations to Lelouch's outfit by Kallen, they had been able to get him decent care without too many questions being asked. As far the doctors knew, Lelouch had simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time and caught the wrong end of a gang fight. And they wouldn't need to worry about any further police investigations for two reasons: One was that Jeremiah had made sure that the cops involved on the case were either on the take or could be blackmailed should the need arise. The other was that Lelouch himself had gotten out with only minor injuries. All the doctors had done was give him a light sedative, a couple of bandages, and told Kallen and Nunnally that he needed to take it easy for a few days. As far as anyone was concerned, the matter was closed and finished.

Despite all this, Kallen still sat next the bed with the graveness of a statue. Her eyes bloodshot, she had been sitting there ever since they arrived and had barely said three words. The worry emanating from her was clear. And who could blame her? Nunnally thought, sitting opposite of her.

"How could this happen?" Kallen whispered, snapping Nunnally out her train of thought.

"I don't know" Nunnally whispered back with a sigh. "Lelouch was at least prepared for the possibility. At least it's not like last time."

"What the hell do you mean 'not like last time'? At least the last time this happened, the Black Knights were able to rally the people around them! They weren't scapegoats for a senseless attack! And Lelouch wasn't hurt!"

"Diethard's currently spinning the story to our favor, and I believe – "

"How?"

"Well, he's taking various pieces – "

"No, not that. How the hell are you so calm? Your brother's on a hospital bed, the Black Knights are facing some of the worst opposition ever, everything that we've worked for is in jeopardy and you act like the only problem was a delayed train."

"You think you're the only one worried here?" Nunnally hissed, anger seeping through her voice. "It's taking everything for me to just sit here. Seeing Lelouch like this is already bringing back memories of that goddamn parade float, so maybe remember that you're not the only one who cares whether or not my brother is still alive."

"Could you please talk about anything else?" C.C said from the end of the room. "I've heard more frivolous arguments that I would care to remember in my years, but this has to rank up there. You both clearly love him, in your own special ways. Do you really think that the first thing he wants to see when he wakes up is the two most important people in his life arguing?"

Both Kallen and Nunnally spun towards the green haired witch, having completely forgotten that she was in the room. "C.C! You're-You're…" Kallen said with a shocked tone, desperately trying to cover up the fact that she had completely forgotten that C.C was there.

"You don't have a pizza!" Nunnally jumped in, trying to cover up her own surprise. "Really, you know how cranky you get when you don't have a slice."

"I ordered one a couple of minutes ago, it should be here shortly." C.C answered. "And nice try" she added with a smirk.

Just then Lelouch stirred, groaning as he raised his head to look at the room. "Are you alright?" both Kallen and Nunnally asked him in the same concerned voice.

"I'm fine" Lelouch said tiredly as he looked around him. "Only thing that hurts is my head. And my memory's a bit fuzzy as well."

"What's the last thing you remember?" a new voice asked. Everyone turned towards the door to see that Suzaku had come in, wearing his civilian clothes.

"Suzaku?" Nunnally said, surprised to see her old friend. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with Euphie?"

"Wait," Lelouch interrupted, his voice tinged with concern. "Is Euphie alright?"

"Yes, Euphie's fine. She's actually outside with Cornelia. They both want a word with you, Lelouch."

Lelouch's eyes opened with alarm. "Are you sure they -?"

"Don't worry" Suzaku said, holding up his hands in a calming gesture. "They're here in disguise, and they only want to talk. I came in ahead to talk you off any edge and prepare you for their arrival."

"That's not the only reason you're here, is it?" C.C asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No, it is not. I was wondering what happened to you back at the SAZ."

"Unfortunately, I'm not sure of what happened myself," Lelouch responded. "I was going to tell Euphie…Well, I was going to answer a question she asked me. Then, it felt like my head was being torn in half. The pain drove me to my knees and…I felt someone reach into my mind. They were filling me with all these…images of death and destruction. I then felt a voice being forced through my throat. I managed to refocus all my will on to getting rid of whatever was in my mind and then yell something at you, I don't remember what. Whatever was trying to possess me came back at me harder than before, and I struggled to throw it off a second time. I heard what something like gunshots and then I was on the floor, panting. Soon after, I heard more gunshots and knew that something had gone wrong. Looking out of the window confirmed that; place had turned into a war-zone. I staggered out of the room and grabbed a gun off one of the bodies that was in the hallway. I was able to send a message out to Nunnally where I was before I was pinned down in a gunfight, where Kallen found me."

"That's lines up with what both Kallen and I know from this whole fiasco" Nunnally said as Kallen nodded in agreement.

"And it lines up with what happened to me as well" Suzaku said with a sigh. "After I dragged Euphie out of the room, we were confronted by several odd-looking soldiers. They tried to force their way into the room, but I wouldn't let them. They tried to kill me and Euphie, but I was able to subdue them. We managed to get to the Lancelot and out of the SAZ to a place that Princess Cornelia had told me to get to once I told her that we had been attacked. But before I left, I had managed to snatch one of these off the soldiers that was trying to force their way into your room."

Suzaku then took a patch out of his pocket ant tossed it to Lelouch, who caught it and quickly looked it over. "OSI?" Lelouch asked, to which Suzaku responded with a nod. "Well that confirms, it" Lelouch said, putting down the patch, "the Emperor is definitely involved in this."

"There was one more thing," Suzaku said with a look of trepidation. "When you were collapsed on the floor, your eyes went black, like when the Geass Master possessed C.C"

The room absorbed this news in silence. "Do you think that the Geass Master is working with the Emperor?" Kallen said, thinking out loud.

"No, but you're not too far off" a familiar voice said. Everyone turned towards it but all they saw was C.C. Except it wasn't C.C as they usually knew her: instead of her usually airy manner, she had adopted a more serious and business-like attitude. And her eyes had turned pitch black, which could only mean…

"So, if it wasn't you who possessed me" Lelouch said, "then who did?"

"That would be V.V" the Geass Master replied. "He's been spending more time in the Sword of Akasha this time around, trying desperately his Ragnarok machine to work. In doing so, he has discovered a new power, one not too dissimilar than mine. He attempted to work that power over you tonight, but he wasn't prepared to take over your mind tonight."

"Wait, how would V.V know how to possess Lelouch?" Kallen asked, extremely alarmed.

"The Empire does keep an ear to the ground as it pertains to all its enemies. And that does include Zero. To someone who knows nothing about Geass, Zero's actions and methods may not reveal any discernable pattern. But to someone with that knowledge, they would be able to guess that Lelouch has a Geass, as well as its nature. Which is probably why V.V and the Emperor decided on this method of attack."

"Does that mean Emperor knows I'm Zero?" Lelouch asked with a concerned look in his eyes.

"Maybe. Whenever I possess a Geass user, I usually am able to see their memories. But given that V.V is a novice at this power and your own mental fortitude, he no doubt was struggling to stay inside your mind. He probably didn't have the concentration to notice any of your memories. That does not mean that they don't know. Even if V.V was unable to gleam your identity, the Empire has the Geass Directorate at its beck and call, which has members who could discern your identity should they desire. I've been protecting you the best I can, but I can't be everywhere at once and even my defenses have holes in them."
"Wait, how are you protecting us?" Suzaku asked.

"Simple. I've discovered the power the ability to possess users centuries ago. During that time, I've strengthened it to the point where not only am I able to possess someone like C.C, but am also to exercise a Geass through the possessed as well."

"Like you've stopped the time in this room?" Nunnally asked. Everyone else, startled, turned towards the nearest clock to see that the hands on it had frozen.

"How did you know?" Lelouch asked, turning to his sister in with a look of confusion.

"I was wondering why Euphie and Cornelia hadn't come in yet. Plus, I felt a familiar tingling in my ears. I decided to check the clock and it hasn't moved since we began talking to the Geass Master."

"So that leaves one question" Kallen said, redirecting her focus back to the Geass Master "Why are you helping us?"

"Simple" the Geass Master said, "It's because Lelouch needs to kill the Emperor and end the Ragnarok project."

"Why me?" Lelouch asked, "Why not do it yourself?"

"Believe me, I would love to. But there are forces that have power over the workings in this world. And one of them is the power of prophecy. Many years ago, before any of you were even born, a prophecy was made saying that a cruel emperor and his mad plans could only be stopped by a son that he had discarded and was adopted by the land that he had been exiled to. I myself have no real power to stop Charles zi Britannia or Ragnarok. I can delay them, but I cannot stop them. You, Lelouch, must be the one to stop him. But you mustn't rush to kill him right now. Right now, your fight against the Empire is about to reach an important crossroads. A lot is going to happen very quickly, so I'll leave you now to face the new reality. All I can do is give you a warning: Brace Yourself."

And with that, the witch's eyes turned from black to gold and the clocks began ticking again, leaving the time travelers to ponder the meaning of the Geass Master's warning.

"Ah, I hate it when he does that," C.C groaned as she clutched her head. "It gives me such a headache. What did he say this time?"

"We'll tell you later. Right now, I think my siblings have waited outside long enough" Nunnally said as she motioned to Suzaku to get the li Britannias, speaking only as a reaction to C.C as she tried to comprehend the Geass Master's latest message. Meanwhile, Lelouch tried to understand the cryptic warning as well. 'Brace Yourself' could any number of things. Was it meant just for him? Or was it to the room at large? And what were they to prepare for? Did the Emperor have another move planned against them? Where they going to gain new enemies? What was going to happen next? What did he mean by 'Brace Yourself'?

One possible meaning that Lelouch hadn't considered came to fruition as his half-sister Euphemia hurried into the room and enveloped him a crushing hug. Straining to breathe, he could hear his other half-sister chuckle and say, "You may want to ease up on the hug, Euphie. Otherwise he might be here for another week or so."

Released from the gripping embrace, Lelouch got a look at Euphie and Cornelia. Euphie's hair was decidedly disheveled, and she was wearing civilian clothes that looked as if they had been put on in a hurry. Cornelia herself was dressed in a military outfit herself, but it was not her usual regal outfit. She had instead adopted an attire of a black jacket, grey shirt, and brown khakis, the outfit of an off-duty serviceman. "It's good to see you both" Lelouch said with a warm smile, "although I'm not sure that you needed to come and see me, given how trivial my injuries seem to be."

"Oh, I'm afraid that we needed to come and see you, Zero" Cornelia replied. Smirking at the surprise on Lelouch's face, she continued "Euphie may have let…certain things slip on the way over here.

"I'm so sorry Lelouch!" Euphie said in a hurried panic "We were being chased and taking fire and then the Black Knight, the real ones, showed up and I-"

"Euphie, it's fine" Lelouch said with a sigh, holding up his hand a symbol of peace. "It's better that we all know where we all stand."

"If that's the case, can you explain who she is?" Cornelia asked in a semi-angry voice, pointing to C.C standing in the background.

"I'm C.C" the green haired witch responded.

"Do you have an actual name aside the one Clovis assigned you?"

"C.C was my name long before Clovis caught me."

"Look, before we get sidetracked" Lelouch interjected, "you said you needed to see me. What was that about?"

"Oh, that" Cornelia said, turning her attention back to Lelouch. "Euphie and I have decided to defect from Britannia."

"WHAT?" Nunnally, Kallen, and Lelouch said in unison, all of them caught off guard.

"You heard me right" Cornelia responded, smirking at the shock on their faces. "Right before all hell broke loose, my knights and I were attacked by OSI agents disguised as Black Knights. As we were fighting our way out, I realized that our father truly wanted us dead and that we were no longer safe. So, we decided to seek out the help of somebody who has managed evade the Empire for nearly a decade."

"I see," Lelouch said, his eyes clouded over in thought and analysis as he drank in what his half-sister had told him. "Did anyone decide to come with you?"

"Both of my knights are sticking with us, as is Euphie's knight" Cornelia responded, with something that suggested she was surprised at Suzaku's choice.

"Now it's your turn to answer some questions, Lelouch" Euphie said, looking at him with a mixture of determination and curiosity.

"Not now" Lelouch said, holding up his hand. "There's a lot I need to explain, and not just to you two. Kallen, please call Ohgi and have gather all the senior command of the Black Knights for a meeting. Nunnally, I need you to get Diethard, Rakshata, and the Kyoto group in for this meeting as well." Looking at the plethora of confused faces in front of him, he elaborated "I'm developing a plan for how to respond to what has happened tonight. And in order for it to work, we are going to need everyone on board."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The Emperor couldn't recall the last the time he had seen V.V this agitated, as the immortal code-bearer was pacing around the Ragnarok machine that they had built. But then, he wasn't too happy himself. He had initially had come to …express his disapproval with how things had turned out during the SAZ debacle. But as he made his way into the Sword of Akasha, the scene unfolding along his walk began to unsettle him. Various Directorate members were running around, shouting directions at each other while the prepared for something they were clearly worried about. Even more troubling was the fact that a body had been wheeled away from. All of this, plus V.V's nervous disposition, gave the Emperor that something had gone had horribly wrong.

"There you are" V.V said, facing his brother. "I've been waiting for you for at least an hour."

"I've been a bit busy" the Emperor said with irritated sarcasm. "This whole thing has been a failure. Not only did your plan fail, but I lost several OSI agents and two of my children, with their knights, have decided to defect. Plus, a review of the bodycam footage shows that the whole thing was done extremely sloppily, so no doubt the Black Knights are going to use that against us."

"That's not important" V.V said dismissively.

"What has you so worried? Is it the dead kid I saw rolled out of here?"

"Rollo? No, although it's not unrelated." V.V took a breath before continuing. "I had a tough time controlling Lelouch. It was hard enough to get into his mind, and even then he was trying to fight me off. I could barely get anything from his memories, but there was something that I found out that we can't ignore."

"What?"

"I…I don't think that the Sword of Akasha is as …isolated as we thought."

Just then, the Ragnarok Machine exploded.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxx

"I'd like to thank everyone for coming" Zero said, taking a seat at the desk in the room. "I can imagine that you have some questions."

It had to have been one of the strangest collection of people to have ever been assembled in one place. On one side of the room, sat the most senior members of the Black Knights: Kallen, Ohgi, Tamaki, Inoue, Miniami, Sugiyama, Diethard, and Yoshida. Sitting next to them on the bench were the Todoh and his four Holy Knights. On the opposite was even more disparate group of people: Princesses Cornelia and Euphemia li Britannia, their knights, and the Kyoto group. At the end of the room, Lelouch, his helmet next to him, sat at the desk next to his sister Nunnally. On the other end, C.C stood next to the door in a languid pose, eating another pizza. Everyone was looking at each with suspicious eyes, but no one was put their feelings into words. This meeting was too important.

"But before we begin," Lelouch continued, "I would like to stress how important this meeting is. I know that we all come from a variety of backgrounds, and many of us have tried to kill each other at some point or another. But right now, we are all united against a common enemy: The 98th Emperor of Britannia, Charles zi Britannia. He is has proven himself an enemy of all of us, willing to use whatever means he can to further his own power. I believe that it is time for all of us to put aside our differences and work together. With that, I open the floor to discussion."

There was a moment of silence, as everyone tried to gather their thoughts. What was clear was that this meeting would be one of special importance. Eventually, someone did speak. And as per usual, it was Tamaki with a tactless remark.

"Wait, you've been a prince this whole time?" he blurted out.

"Ex-prince to be more precise. But yes" Lelouch, smiling sardonically at Tamaki

"Tamaki-san does raise an important point" Chiba said. "Given that there are now four members of the Imperial family here, how can we be sure that they won't betray us to the Empire?"

It was Kirihara who answered first. "I can speak to the loyalty of Zero and his sister to our cause, Lt. Chiba. I was with him when he first arrived in Japan. I know that they both were greatly hurt by the Empire, and they have held on to an anger for these past seven years."

"As for my dedication to this cause," Euphemia began, "I truly belief that working together to depose the Emperor is the best course of action. I spent months fighting an uphill battle to get a half-measure passed, only to have dashed by my father in an effort to kill me. The current system is too flawed to work; we need to tear it down. And to do that, we… we need to kill the Emperor."

There was a round of head-nodding in approval, before all eyes turned to Cornelia. "I'm afraid I don't have anything as selfless as that to justify why I'm fighting" she said with a sigh. "I've been fighting my father's wars for longer than I can remember, only to have idiotic nobles screw it up. I'm tired of how the Empire's being run, and I'm ready for a change. Besides, the Empire's trying to kill me. Self-survival is as good a reason to fight."

This response got a less enthusiastic response, but it was accepted since it was honest enough. The next question came from Ohgi, who asked "In this spirit, I would like to ask about a subject that you've been particularly tight-lipped about: C.C. She's been around us since the beginning, but none of us knows a thing about her. The only things we are aware of us is that she's loves pizza, is involved with Mao, and is practically indestructible. I feel like it's time that some things about her need to be explained."

"I'd like an explanation as well" Euphemia added. "She was a prisoner of Clovis, whom you apparently broke out. Then she's on the battlefield, completely wreaking havoc on with the pilots there. I don't how any of this is possible, so I'm hoping you could tell us how."

Lelouch looked at the room, which in turn was looking at him expectantly, before sighing. Then, in swift motion, grabbed a gun he was keeping in the desk and shot C.C in the face point blank. The room gasped and began to protest, but Lelouch held up his hand in a bid for silence. "Give her five seconds" he said, motioning to the slumped over body of C.C.

"It's actually three seconds" C.C said sardonically, rising up as the room became filled with gasps of shock and awe. "And the next time you feel to demonstrate my powers, please let me know."

"Apologies C.C," Lelouch said. "But this is one of her two main powers: the ability to heal from any wound that may be inflicted upon her. It is how she is able to survive the battle of Narita, as well as her imprisonment by Clovis. It was also the reason for her captivity, as my late brother was obsessed with unlocking the secrets of immortality for himself."

"And what is the other main power?" Ohgi asked, raising the question that everyone was almost too scared to ask.

"The other power is to bestow a power upon someone: the power of Geass."

The entire room (save those who knew anything about the matter) looked at Zero with faces of confusion. "Could you please explain what a Geass is exactly?" Kirihara asked hesitatingly.

"Different people tend to develop it differently" Lelouch said. "Mine developed into what I've heard classified as 'Absolute Obedience'".

"What does that mean?"

"Perhaps a demonstration is in order. Could I have a volunteer?"

Everyone looked around the room looking for a volunteer. Suddenly, a voice spoke up: "I'll do it"

Everyone looked to see it was Kallen who had volunteered. Lelouch swallowed nervously and beckoned her to the center of the room, silently praying that her immunity to his Geass hadn't carried over to this timeline. "Okay, I have to ask everyone to keep their eyes on Kallen" Lelouch said in a tone that hid his nervousness. And whatever you do, don't look into my eyes. This power is ocular based, and I'd hate to get anyone caught in it."

Turing towards his girlfriend, he removed his contact and activated his Geass. "Kallen, please do twenty pushups".

To his great relief, Kallen's eyes turned orange and she did the pushups. To everyone else, their faces were a mask of awe and terror. When Kallen finished, they were all at a loss for what to say. Finally, Todorh spoke up, saying "So, this … Geass force absolute obedience?"

"Yes" Lelouch said, "but only for a single command. Kallen, do you mind?"

"No" the red-haired pilot responded.

"Do twenty sit-ups".

This time, nothing happened. Kallen simply folded her arms and said "I'd rather not" before sitting down.

"Okay," Todoh said, satisfied that the power had limits. "Two more questions: First, how can we tell if anyone has been put under through Geass? Two, can C.C bestow her powers upon anyone?"

"Excellent questions. First: I can't speak to most Geasses. As far as my own, you could see it in the person's eyes, like you did with Kallen. If you are wondering if you have been put under, see if you are missing any memories. I'm not talking about blurry memory or anything that could potentially explained by something else. I'm talking about memory lapses; like you suddenly found yourself somewhere, with no memory as to how you got there."

There was a short span of silence, as everyone searched their memories to see if there was any such incident. The collective sigh of relief that went around the room signaled that no one had found one.

"Wait" said Chiba, realizing the implications of what Lelouch was saying. "You said your Geass. Are there other Geasses out of there?"

"Yes. Currently, there is only one other Geass user allied with us: our chief intelligence officer, Mao. He has Absolute Hearing, which means he is a mind reader." This led to a collective round of "huhs" from those who had encountered Mao; his erratic actions and talking made sense with that explanation.

"Where is he currently?" Kayuga asked, seeming a little worried.

Lelouch turned towards her with a reassuring smile. "He's in China." This led to another round of "huhs" from the room. While China had always kept a tight lid about what happened in the country, there had more than a few numerous credible rumors about country slowly consumed by internal strife and organizational chaos ever since it's failed attempt to invade Japan a few weeks back. Mao's presence in the country would the sudden shift.

Lelouch then continued, "But to return to the point, I'm not sure what allows for someone to obtain a Geass. All I know is that it can't be taken on by just anybody."

"C.C, do you want to elaborate?" Rakshata asked the green-haired witch, her curiosity piqued by this strange power.

"No" C.C replied bluntly.

There was a second of silence before Lelouch continued, saying "The real problem is that there are a good number Geass users in the employ of the Empire. I don't know how many or where they are, but they work for the interests of the Empire and the Emperor."

There were looks of worry on many faces as this news was digested. "Princesses, do you know if this is true?" Tousai Munakata of the Kyoto house asked.

"I've never seen it," Cornelia responded, adopting of concentration and contemplation, "but it would explain several things that happen over the years. Some of the odder mistakes made by opposing forces…a number of nobles changing their behavior rather suddenly…"

"It also explains several things that happened during the invasion" Todoh said, himself in a similar position of thought. "There were several times when people were silenced or started acting very strangely."

"So, the threat is real" Kayuga Sumeragi said, blanching slightly. "Do you have a plan to combat any potential Geasses, Lelouch?"

"A full-bodied countermeasure to Geass is something I will work on, with the help of Dr. Rakshata" Lelouch responded. "Currently, the only real countermeasure that I have in place is the shielded visor that's a part of the Black Knights uniform."

"Our visors protect us from Geass?" Ohgi asked in wonder.

"Our visors protect against a direct Geass like mine. We need to work on a protective measure for an extrasensory Geass like Mao's".

Ohgi nodded, grateful that Zero had at least provided them with some sort of protection. There was a brief moment of silence before the next question was asked. "Zero," Kaguya said, "what are we going to do once we the Emperor is defeated?"

"I personally feel like we shouldn't discuss anything that might come after our war with Britannia just yet. It's not the best idea to divide up the spoils of victory just yet, especially as there is the very distinct possibility that we will lose and all die. There is the possibility that setting the terms of victory now will cause dissension amongst us, and that will inevitably lead to defeat."

"That's true enough" Todoh said, "but we will need to settle one thing from the start: Who will we replace the Emperor with? You're right that all other potential issues can be shelved for later, but this is one needs to be handled now."

"You're right" Lelouch replied. "And I have just the person to replace him: Princess Euphemia"

"Me?" a shocked Euphemia said, unprepared for this turn in events.

"You can't be serious" Cornelia said, terror bleeding into her voice. "You can't be serious. Not Euphie."

"I'm completely serious" Lelouch said in a calm and rational tone. "Euphemia is by and large the most popular Viceroy Britannia has ever had in any region. She has shown herself a capable leader and administrator, and completely free of the racist and elitist ideologies that plague the larger portion of Britannians. She would perfect as Empress."

There was a moment of silence as everyone digested what had been said. Then, Euphemia spoke, saying "I thank you Lelouch for the kind words and your faith in me, but I must decline the throne."

"Really? Why?" Lelouch said, echoing the thoughts of everyone in the room while Cornelia and Suzaku breathed a sigh of relief.

"My time as Viceroy has shown me what it would take for me to be the Empress of Britannia. And quite frankly, I don't believe that I'm up for the task. My time in Japan has been spent primarily dealing a complicated and self-absorbed behemoth, all while fending off enemies that range from the Black Knights to the nobility. Becoming Empress would be the same thing on a much larger stage. It's a bit too much for me. But you are right: we need someone who is free of the racist and elitist ideologies of Britannia. Someone who has proven themselves as a capable administrator and leader."

"Very well," Lelouch said. "Who do you have in mind?"

"Isn't it obvious Lelouch? I'm talking about you."

... And I'll leave it for now.

a/n: I hope to have the next chapter of this out before too long (I've already begun work).

...

That's it. Huh, I usually have more end notes.

Oh well. Till next time my friends! - TWA