Eight people reviewed the first chapter? AWESOME! I'm so glad that people like this story, which is probably going to be my biggest and my longest Code Geass fic ever (as it is now, the outline that I have planned has it at being 57 chapters and that's just the first three arcs of this four-arc story).

Also, I will tell you this. There will be long chapters, anywhere from ten pages to twenty pages (seriously, one chapter I wrote was a total of 45 pages single-spaced long and I had to split it into three chapters as a result).

Bakura: GET ON WITH IT! NO ONE CARES!

Shut up, Bakura! And there's no need to shout. Ahem, anyway, thank you to yuuram2fangirl, PiroWolfxL, Shadow-Shinobi666, Salvare, NightSkyWolf, Armaddon96, Shimmering-Sky, and davycrockett100 for reviewing the first chapter of this story. You are awesome.

Here is the second chapter where we get a look into the perspective of that 'girl' from the first chapter, get a look into Milly's perspective, get a short little Lelouch/Shirley moment and, ultimately, find out just what will happen to Lelouch and Nunnally now that their secret is out. And, now that I've spoiled this entire chapter (smirks), I hope you enjoy it and, as always, reviews are much appreciated.

. . .

. . .

December 2, 2015

Town of Hella, Area 5

She remembered the day she got her power.

It was a cold, winter morning. Snow covered the ground of the village in which she and her guardian were staying. When B.B. had proven that he wasn't going to harm her and then proceeded to give her food, shelter, and clothes soon after he found her in that alley, she had decided that she owed him more than she could ever repay. He had saved her life since she was sure that she would have died had she remained in that alley and then took care of her so she decided to stay with him. Besides, she didn't have any family to return to anyway.

B.B. was cooking dinner while she helped, chopping up vegetables to put into the stew that B.B. was creating. Both of them worked quietly, efficiently, the silence only disrupted by her faint humming. She remembered hearing her mother hum when she cooked, back before the fire, before a fight between Britannia and a group of terrorists destroyed her home.

Her jaw clenched and she nearly severed a finger when she brought the knife down too hard.

"Be careful. You don't want to chop off any of your fingers," B.B. scolded gently.

"Sorry," she said, focusing her attention on the cutting of the vegetables.

"What's the matter?" B.B. asked gently as he accepted the carrots she had just finished chopping and put them into the stew.

"Nothing, just…thinking."

"Your parents?" B.B. always seemed to know what she was thinking about but insisted that he couldn't read her mind.

"You're just easy to read," he had said.

"Yeah…" she murmured, cutting off the ends of the celery stalk and starting to chop it into small pieces. "I miss 'em and it's just not fair."

"Life rarely is."

"I know but still! They were good people. Why did Britannia have to kill them?!"

B.B. paused in his stirring and turned, puzzled amber eyes fixed on her. "Britannia was behind your parents' deaths?" he asked, since she never told him of that particular piece of information. That was primarily because she didn't trust him with it since he was Britannian himself.

She nodded shortly, since there was no use in denying it now.

B.B. returned his attention to the stew, accepting the celery that she finished dicing and tossing them in. "Tell me, Tara, do you want to avenge your parents' deaths?" he asked as the silence stretched on for several minutes.

Tara paused as she placed the radish she was about to cut up on the cutting board and turned toward the golden-blonde haired young man. "Of course I do. They were innocent and yet they died for no reason," she said.

"Do you know who's responsible for their deaths?"

"Well…no…but…"

"Then how do you suppose you're going to avenge them if you don't know who you're going against?"

"I don't know!" Tara gripped the knife tightly, her knuckles turning white and tears appearing in her eyes. "But I've gotta do something! I can't…Britannia has to be behind it."

"Why do you say that?"

Tara returned her attention to her cutting board, starting to chop the radish. "They were the ones that started the fight in my village when my parents were killed," she said. "They attacked first and the terrorists only retaliated."

"Put those in a bowl of water when you're done. And that doesn't narrow down the list of suspects, Tara," B.B. said, stirring the stew and turning down the heat a bit. "Britannia is a large place and there are billions of people that are Britannian, myself included. Are we all to blame for what happened to your parents?"

"No…" Tara murmured, fetching a bowl from the cabinet and filling it with water before she placed the sliced radishes in the bowl. "B…But someone has to be, right?"

"That's true. The person behind the attack on your village is the one responsible. It makes sense, right?"

Tara's hands gripped into fists. "I don't know who ordered that attack, only that they're in the military," she said quietly.

"Then go straight for the heart," B.B. said, turning around to face her with a calm expression on his face after he shut the stove off. "Take out the head of a snake and the body will die."

"The head? You mean the Emperor himself?" Tara doubted she would ever get close enough to the Emperor to actually kill him.

"It isn't just the Emperor who governs his country."

"His children," Tara murmured because she knew that the children of Charles zi Britannia often held very high positions of power; Cornelia li Britannia, for example, was the Chief General of the Holy Britannian Army while Schneizel el Britannia was the Prime Minister. There were also the children who led divisions in the army or actually governed one of the Areas under the Emperor's control.

"Then that's who I'll go after," Tara decided. "I'll take out his children and then go for him."

"My, my, you certainly are an ambitious young lady," B.B. said amused, folding his arms across his chest and raising an eyebrow. "Just what makes you think you'll be able to do such a thing?"

"I gotta try, for my parents," Tara said firmly. She gazed out the window and added, "It's not like I have anything to lose."

B.B. hummed, uncrossing his arms and closing the distance between them. He placed a hand on her shoulder and said, "Perhaps I can help you in your endeavor."

Tara's brow furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I can help you. I propose a contract. I will grant you a power that will allow you to fulfill your deepest desire and, in turn, you will grant me my wish," B.B. murmured, releasing her shoulder and holding out a hand. "Be warned, though, this power, a Power of the Kings, will separate you from the rest of mankind. You will live a life of solitude, isolated from the rest of mankind."

"I don't care," Tara said. "If this power will let me avenge my parents then I'll do it." She took his hand and said, "I accept the terms of the contract."

. . .

2

Recovery

March 2, 2016

Saitama Ghetto, Area 11

Tara yawned as she meandered her way through the desolate ghetto that lay on the edge of the Tokyo Settlement, her bandaged hand being used to shield the sun. After removing her disguise, she had gone to the hospital to get her injury seen to; thankfully, they seemed to buy her 'I got attacked and just barely got away' story.

All around her, she could see the harsh life that the people of the ghettos were forced to live. Their clothing were in poor condition, their bodies suggested that they hadn't eaten in days, and they avoided attracting attention. Britannians weren't especially nice to Elevens, Tara knew; in fact, they were treated rather cruelly as if they were inferior, no better than animals.

The strong devour the weak. That was one of the core principals of Britannia and, due to being on the losing side of what history books would call the bloodiest war Britannia had ever engaged in, the Elevens were seen as weak.

Tara had been living in Area 5 when Britannia invaded Area 11, then known as Japan, for its Sakuradite resources. She had only been ten years old at the time but she had seen enough conflict that she understood exactly what Area 11 was going through. She had been present when Britannia rooted out and destroyed a terrorist cell that lived in the village she had grown up in before leveling the entire village.

She still remembered the fire that engulfed her house and killed her parents. It was only because she hadn't been home that she hadn't been caught in the blaze. After that, she had run off and started hiding wherever she could, afraid that the Britannians would track her down and eliminate her. She was being irrational at the time, it wasn't as if the Britannians cared about a skinny ten-year-old girl, but fear did strange things to one's sense.

Gazing up at the cloudless blue sky above her head, Tara let a small smile cross her lips as she recalled just what happened the day before. She had finally gotten the chance to test her power, her Geass was what B.B. called it, out and had succeeded in taking out a member of Imperial Family. It wasn't exactly the one that she was originally hoping to take out, and the prince was supposed to be dead, but still. It was an accomplishment.

Tara wondered just how B.B. would react to learning that two members of the Imperial Family who were supposed to be dead were actually alive and well—well, one now—but pushed the thought away. B.B. would probably just be happy, though he probably would never show it, that he had one less member of the Imperial Family to worry about.

Tara did wonder why B.B. chose her though. Why did he save her in that alley six years ago? Why did he take care of her, give her clothes to wear and food to eat? Why did he decide to give her a Geass?

You know what, I don't care. If he can help me avenge my parents then it doesn't matter. It's not as if he hurt me at all. He treated me a hell of a lot better than anyone else that saw me on the streets six years ago. Besides, I owe him my life, Tara thought.

She neared the two-story house near the edge of the ghettos and entered it, making her way up the staircase, noting that B.B. had cleaned the apartment again. She had gotten used to B.B.'s OCD habits, mostly, but she couldn't help but sigh. He must have gotten bored, she thought as she pushed open the door to the upstairs study.

"You're back," B.B. noted from where he was typing on his laptop, his amber eyes turning toward her and then back at the computer screen. "How'd it go?"

"Went off without a hitch," Tara chirped as she threw herself into an armchair and relaxed. "Well, mostly."

"Mostly?"

"Yeah. You know those two royals that were thought to have died during the invasion six years ago? The vi Britannia siblings?"

"Yeah."

"Turns out they survived. I ran across them when I was going after Clovis," Tara said.

B.B. paused in his work and turned to face Tara, a look of surprise on his face. "Really?" he said. "That's a surprise. I wasn't expecting them to still be alive."

"Well, Nunnally's still alive anyway. I took out her brother. I was aiming at her though but he jumped in the way." She huffed. "Don't know why though. I would've thought that he would've saved his own skin."

"Not everyone is like that, even among the Britannians," B.B. said, his eyes taking on a faraway look. "I would have done the same thing had it been my niece that was in danger."

"You have a niece?"

"Had. She died…a long time ago. So what happened next?" he said, quickly changing the subject. He never really spoke about his past and Tara would be lucky if she got a small bit of information about it.

"A member of Clovis's Royal Guard regained consciousness and shot my hand before I could kill the princess and I got the hell outta there," Tara said, holding up her bandaged hand. "But, at least I got one member of the Imperial Family out of the way…I think."

"You think?"

Tara rubbed the back of her neck with her uninjured hand. "Well, I haven't exactly had the chance to confirm it," she admitted.

"It might be best if you lay low for a while," B.B. said thoughtfully. "But you should confirm whether the target was taken out or not, though I advise against finishing the job if the prince survived. To be honest, I wasn't expecting you to get as far as you had."

"The power you gave me is awesome! And took 'em completely by surprise," Tara admitted, grinning, brushing a few strands of aqua-blue hair out of her face. "Shame I couldn't get all three of 'em though."

B.B. snorted. "Are you seriously dissatisfied that you couldn't take out all three of them?"

"Well, not really, but I could've done it," Tara said.

"You need to work on that overconfidence of yours, dear Tara. It's going to get you killed one of these days."

"And you don't want me to die?" Tara asked.

"Of course not," B.B. said, his eyes returning to the computer screen. "Allies who share a similar goal to me are hard to come by, for one, and you still have to fulfill your end of our contract, for another."

"What is your wish anyway?" Tara asked. She had asked that question ever since he had given her Geass but, every time, he would always change the subject or just not answer her.

This time, he did the former. "I've found some interesting information about Clovis. It's classified so not much is known about it but it might be worth looking into," he said.

Narrowing her eyes at the change of subject, Tara decided to drop it as usual and said, "Why?"

"Any information on the Imperial Family that we find may prove useful."

"And if not?"

"No harm done in just searching for information. Besides, all information can be useful if used properly."

. . .

March 3, 2016

Student Council Clubhouse, Ashford Academy

Milly walked into the Student Council Meeting Room, carrying a stack of folders in her hands, trying not to think about the missing member of the group. Everyone was gathered, except for their honorary member Nunnally who, as soon as school let out of the day, had Sayoko take her to the hospital. The last news that they had received was that Lelouch was out of surgery and was going to make a full recovery, though wouldn't be leaving the hospital yet, which everyone was relieved to hear.

"Hey everyone," Milly greeted them with a smile as she plopped the large stack of folders on the table, causing the stack to topple over and cover the table in papers. "Now, I suggest we get this over and done with as soon as possible so that we can head over to the hospital and see Lelouch."

"What do we need to do?" Shirley asked.

"We're not balancing the budget again, are we?" Rivalz asked.

"No, that's this Friday," Milly said and gestured to the folders, adding, "these are actually petitions from all the clubs for what to include in the upcoming school festival. One pile will be for ideas that are denied, another for approved, and another for undecided. All right, let's get to work."

They worked in silence for several long minutes, scanning the contents of each petition and talking about them with each other.

"I don't think having a dunk tank with the tank filled with snakes instead of water is a good idea," Rivalz said, eyeing the petition. "Why would someone come up with such an idea?"

"Who would put snakes in a tank?" Shirley said.

"People are weird," Rivalz said with a shrug. "I'm against this one."

"Same," Nina said softly, looking up from the petition she was scanning.

"Same here. All right, goes into the denied pile then," Milly said and took the petition from Rivalz before placing it on the denied pile. She held up the one she was holding in her hand. "I like this one. It's from the Art Club. They suggested a booth where people can have their faces painted and get pictures with different backgrounds that they say were inspired by the museum." Even if the museum visit had ended in what had almost been a tragedy, the Art Club members who had gone had still been inspired by what they saw.

What happened at the museum was still on everyone's minds, Milly knew, but she also knew that when she made the announcement to the entire school that Lelouch was going to make a full recovery, it had put them at ease. Granted, now that Lelouch's identity as a prince was ousted, everyone had a number of questions. Thankfully, Milly didn't answer any of them, making it seem as if she had been just as shocked by the news as everyone who was part of the field trip was. The only ones who knew she was lying were the rest of the Student Council.

The news had spread throughout the school like a wildfire as soon as Monday came around before Milly had a chance to stop the spread and now all of Ashford Academy knew that Lelouch and Nunnally were royalty. Milly wasn't exactly happy about that and knew that Lelouch would be even less happy about it but there was nothing she could do about it. She was honestly surprised the news hadn't leaked to the media yet but, thankfully, she had done something about that by insisting that no one breathe a word of what they learned in the museum to the media, stating that it would put Lelouch and Nunnally in danger. Due to how popular they were with the school body, they hadn't said a word to the media yet and Milly was grateful.

"I'll agree with that one," Shirley said.

"Me too. It sounds like it would be fun," Nina said quietly.

Rivalz nodded in agreement.

"All right, it's unanimous then," Milly said and placed the petition on the approved pile before going back to the others.

She had to wonder of just what would happen now. She had no doubt in her mind that Pendragon had already been contacted. That was why Lelouch had done everything he could to avoid being seen by Clovis whenever they were in the same vicinity of each other; he knew that Clovis would tell Pendragon and he feared that they would be dragged back into the folds of the Imperial Family as a result.

He was mostly afraid of him and Nunnally, especially Nunnally, being used as tools by the Emperor if they weren't killed for not returning to the Imperial Family after the Invasion of Area 11 ended.

Milly smiled sadly to herself, knowing that things were going to change around there, not just for Lelouch and Nunnally but for the Student Council as well. All members of the Student Council had become close friends in the years since they had met and having one member and one honorary member leaving for what could possibly be forever was something that Milly knew would take them time to come to terms with.

Especially Shirley. Milly was sure that everyone, but Lelouch, knew of Shirley's strong crush on the amethyst-eyed prince. Milly teased Shirley about it every chance that she got, not to be mean but because she was Shirley's friends and that's what friends did. Besides, it was rather amusing to see just how clueless Lelouch was to Shirley's affections. She knew that Shirley always got extremely shy and flustered around Lelouch whenever she attempted to approach him with her feelings, or even simply ask him on a date. Milly had also tried to help convince Shirley to just take the plunge and ask Lelouch out but she always backed out at the last instant.

And now she may, very well, lose her chance, either because Lelouch would be forced to become a prince again or...

Milly didn't even want to think of what else could happen to her friend. Lelouch and Nunnally were in a very precarious position at the moment due to that pale-purple haired girl's attack and Clovis discovering that they were still alive. She only hoped that Lelouch could find some way to keep himself and Nunnally safe and alive.

"Okay, here's the last petition," Rivalz said, holding up a piece of paper. "This one's for a Bake Sale, from the Baking Club naturally."

"Ohh, that sounds cool," Milly said and took the petition from Rivalz, scanning it. "Oh, and they even included the prices they're gonna include for each item. Reasonable and we'll get a percentage of the profit. It's got my stamp of approval. What do you guys think?"

"The money will definitely help and a lot of the bakers are really good. Okay, I'll approve it," Shirley said and Nina and Rivalz nodded in agreement.

"Then it's approved," Milly said and placed the paper on the approved stack. "Well, looks like we got through 'em pretty quickly. Let's get these into folders so we don't lose 'em and then head over to the hospital."

Shirley gathered the denied petitions in a neat pile and placed them in one of the folders while Milly did the same with the other pile. She then accepted the folder Shirley handed her and tucked them under her arm. "I'm just gonna run these to my grandfather so they won't get lost. I'll meet you at the gates," she said and left the meeting room.

. . .

March 4, 2016

Mercy General Hospital, Tokyo Settlement

Prince Schneizel el Britannia had been in shock when he had been contacted by Clovis and informed of the survival of the vi Britannia siblings. Schneizel has always been close to the vi Britannia siblings; Nunnally was a sweetheart and Lelouch had been incredibly clever and an intelligent, up-and-coming strategist. They always used to play a few games of chess together whenever Schneizel would visit the Aries Villa and, while Lelouch never won, he seemed to get better with each passing day.

Lelouch and Nunnally were among the few of his half-siblings that Schneizel genuinely cared about, even if he would never admit it out loud.

He had been upset when the news of Lelouch and Nunnally's 'deaths' had reached his ears but, due to considerably amounts of practice, he never let it show. This was also because he was in the middle of negotiations with one of the states of the EU when the news had reached him and couldn't afford to let his mask slip, not when they had just entered a rather delicate portion of the negotiations.

He did allow himself some time to grieve for his lost siblings but not much because his duties meant that he had a lot to do. He had to come to terms with and let go of what happened in order to focus on keeping the country running smoothly.

Over the last six years since then, it seemed that his duties were increasing. The Emperor was putting a lot of his own duties on Schneizel and was distancing himself. Schneizel held a considerable amount of influence in the political world and was probably the only one in the world who could sway the Emperor's decisions when necessary.

It was for that very reason that Schneizel was actually able to convince the Emperor to not do anything drastic once he had informed him of the survival of the wayward, reckless Eleventh Prince and his sister. As soon as Clovis's news had reached Schneizel's ears, he knew that it was only a matter of time before everyone found out and decided to inform the Emperor personally, as soon as he got his surprise under control. When he did, the Emperor hadn't showed any emotion, though he did muse out loud about what he should do with them. Schneizel had been quick to inform him that Lelouch could still be useful, knowing full well that being of use to the Emperor was what ensured one's survival, especially if they were a member of the Imperial Family.

The Emperor had agreed and, after some more fast talking, they came to an agreement that the Emperor approved of and would ensure Lelouch and Nunnally's continued survival.

It also helped Schneizel out as well.

It was no secret that Schneizel was the one likely to take the throne after his father, despite not being the Crown Prince. And it was also no secret that Schneizel was vying for the throne.

And he would rather have Lelouch as an ally than as an enemy.

As soon as the decision had been made, Schneizel traveled to Area 11 to deliver the news to Lelouch personally. He was now in a private car with tinted windows that was currently driving down the streets of the Tokyo Settlement toward the hospital. His gaze fixed on the buildings that flew past, he pondered just how to approach his younger half-brother after six years, and if Lelouch had changed at all since they last saw each other.

The car came to a stop in front of the hospital and his assistant, Kanon, opened the door. Schneizel stepped out, smoothing his white overcoat. "I do not know how long I'll be. I'll call when I'm ready to leave," he said to his assistant.

"Yes, Your Highness," Kanon said with a bow.

Schneizel calmly walked into the hospital, cold light-purple eyes scanning the area. From what he had been told when he arrived in the Area, Lelouch had been transported out of the emergency room to a private recovery room in a private ward that was for important officials to avoid the media. Thankfully, news of Lelouch's heritage hadn't spread beyond the students of Ashford Academy, according to Clovis. He hadn't made any announcements himself, stating he was going to wait until Lelouch recovered.

After getting directions to Lelouch's room, Schneizel made his way toward it. When he reached it, the doctor was just leaving. As soon as she caught sight of Schneizel, she bowed. "Your Highness," she said.

"How is he?" Schneizel asked calmly.

"He's doing well, Your Highness. He's going to make a full recovery, though I have advised him that he take it easy for a least a couple of weeks," the doctor said.

Schneizel nodded and made his way into the private recovery room, taking in the sight of his younger half-brother.

Lelouch had grown since Schneizel last saw him, though he still had a rather willowy form that suggested he didn't do much physical activity. He was pale and looked tired but, otherwise, he seemed fine. Though he didn't look that surprised to see Schneizel, he did raise an eyebrow.

"You got here a lot sooner than I thought you would," Lelouch said.

"I set out as soon as I finished informing Father about your survival," Schneizel said, walking over to the chair next to the medical bed and sitting down gracefully.

"So I'm assuming you're here to drag me and Nunnally back to Pendragon."

"As soon as you are medically cleared to leave, yes," Schneizel said. "But I've spoken to Father on yours and Nunnally's behalf."

"Oh?"

"Yes, we've come to an agreement. For Nunnally, she has a choice. She can choose to remain at Pendragon or return here to Area 11 and continue her schooling at Ashford Academy. I managed to convince him to do that for her at least."

"And me?"

"Not only does Father want to speak to you when you return to Pendragon but you also have a choice, though your choice is more of where than what. Father wants you to prove that you are useful to him; therefore, he has insisted that you enlist in the military as soon as you are medically cleared. However, you will get to choose whether to enlist in Pendragon or here in Area 11."

Lelouch's brow furrowed in thought. "I see," he murmured.

Schneizel studied his younger half-brother. He could tell that Lelouch wasn't too happy, though he suspected it wasn't so much the decision as being forced to return to Pendragon, and to the father that Schneizel knew he hated.

He could still remember the day that Lelouch had left the Emperor's presence six years ago, the sheer anger and hate that glowed in his eyes was strong and Schneizel doubted that it had ebbed at all over the years.

"You hate this, don't you? You hate us and your life as a prince. That's why you chose to hide rather than rejoin the royal family, yes?"

Lelouch blinked and then sighed. "I don't hate you, Cornelia, or Euphie," he admitted. "Or any of our other siblings. Granted, I can't stand the majority of them but I don't hate them."

Schneizel nodded. "But you hate the Emperor," he said and his lips quirked a bit when he saw Lelouch start in surprise as if he didn't realize that he was that transparent when it came to his feelings for the Emperor. But his reaction told Schneizel that he was right, not that he doubted it.

"Don't be so surprised, Lelouch," he said. "It's not exactly hard to figure out that you hate our father. I saw the look in your eyes when you left Father's presence after he announced yours and Nunnally's exile and I doubt those feelings have gone away since then."

He pursed his lips together as he paused, thinking about how to gain Lelouch as an ally. "A part of me feels the same way," he said finally, deciding to go with relating to his younger half-brother. "I suppose hate is the wrong word, though, but I know that he has been getting extremely distant lately. He has been delegating more and more of his duties to me and the rest of our siblings, deeming a lot of his duties and the problems that are arising in the Empire as mundane."

"Why are you telling me this?" Lelouch asked confused.

Schneizel didn't answer. Instead, he said, "Lelouch, you do know that if you had come to me after your mother was killed, I would have helped you, right?"

Lelouch's lips pressed together in thought. "I suppose so," he said.

"Perhaps we can help each other now," Schneizel said, lacing his fingers together as he locked his light-purple eyes on Lelouch's amethyst orbs.

"Help each other how?"

"We can work together to fulfill both of our ambitions," Schneizel said, knowing full well that Lelouch could hold a grudge and likely sought the truth behind his mother's murder as well as revenge.

Lelouch studied him intently. "I have a feeling you know what I want but what do you want?" he asked.

A small enigmatic smile crossed Schneizel's lips. Surely you should already know the answer to that, he thought. "It should not be that hard to figure out," he said.

Understanding dawned on Lelouch's face and then he adopted a thinking expression, his brow furrowed before a cool smirk crossed his lips as if he had come to a decision in his mind. He chuckled softly and Schneizel leaned back in his seat.

"So do we have an alliance?" he asked.

Lelouch's amethyst orbs landed on Schneizel, that cool smirk still on his lips. "We do," he said.

Schneizel's lips quirked a bit but he adopted an expressionless mask as he nodded. "I'll be staying in Area 11 until you are cleared to leave. I suspect it will not be long," he said.

Lelouch, his eyes still thoughtful, nodded and Schneizel walked out of the recovery room. As he walked, he found himself wondering if Cornelia had gotten his message; he was sure that she and Euphie were both going to be thrilled.

. . .

Shirley hovered outside the door leading into the private recovery room where her friend and crush was resting. She glared over her shoulder at Milly who was standing nearby with Rivalz, Nina, and Nunnally by her. Milly had decided that Shirley was to visit Lelouch first out of all of them. The orangette supposed she should be grateful that Milly didn't push her into the room.

She turned back to the door, her hands turning over the silver, rectangular-shaped locket she held in her hands. Swallowing her nervousness, she made her way into the room, wondering why she was so nervous to speak with her friend; she has never been this nervous before. Maybe it was because Lelouch was royalty.

Lelouch was seated up on the hospital bed, looking bored out of his mind, but he smiled when he saw Shirley, causing her heart to flutter and her cheeks to redden. "Hello Shirley," Lelouch greeted her.

"Um, hi, um, Your Highness…" Shirley said, managing to calm her nerves, though that smile was making butterflies flutter in her stomach.

"You don't have to call me that, Shirley. You're my friend so you can call me whatever you want."

"Oh, uh, all right, Lulu," she said, starting to relax and swallow her nervousness and she moved over to stand by Lelouch's bed. "I'm so glad you're all right. When you..." She trailed off, not wanting to think about what happened and quickly changed the subject. "So, um, what's going to happen now? Are you leaving?" She tried to keep the sadness out of her voice but it must have manifested because Lelouch's beautiful amethyst eyes softened.

"Unfortunately, yeah, as soon as I'm medically cleared to leave," Lelouch said.

Shirley chewed on her lower lip and then leaned forward and gave Lelouch a quick hug. "I'm gonna miss you," she said, blushing as she stepped back. She then remembered what she had brought with her. "Oh, I almost forgot." She held out the locket.

Lelouch blinked but took the locket. "What's this?" he asked.

"Well, I was, um, gonna wait until your birthday to give it to you but, since we might not see each other again, I thought that I might as well," Shirley said shyly.

Lelouch clicked the locket open and then smiled at the picture Shirley had placed in it. Since she didn't know if she was going to see her friend again, she had decided on placing a photo of the entire student council and Nunnally in it. She hoped that if Lelouch kept the locket then he would never forget them.

"Thank you, Shirley," he said, closing the locket and then draping the silver chain around his neck.

"You're welcome, Lulu," Shirley said softly. "I chose that picture so that you won't forget us."

"You're my friends and I'll never forget about you, any of you, Shirley. I promise."

Shirley smiled.

"Hey, Shirley, are you done taking the plunge? There are others who want to see Lelouch too," Milly said, poking her head into the room.

Shirley's cheeks reddened. "Madam President!" She exclaimed while Lelouch just blinked in confusion.

"Lelouch seems as clueless as ever so I'm gonna assume you didn't," Milly said, stepping into the room.

Still blushing, Shirley uttered a quick goodbye and bolted out of the recovery room. She rejoined Nunnally, Rivalz, and Nina and sat down on the bench beside Nina.

"You okay, Shirley?" Nunnally asked, tilting her head to the side in concern. "You came out of there pretty quickly."

"Oh, I'm fine, just fine. Milly's just being…well…Milly," Shirley said.

"Ah." Nunnally nodded in understanding and then smiled sadly. "I'm gonna miss you, Shirley."

Shirley, the redness in her cheeks leaving, gently took her hand in hers. "So am I," she said softly.

. . .

"So what's gonna happen to you?" Milly asked seriously as she took a seat beside Lelouch's bedside.

Lelouch's thoughts went to the Emperor's decision regarding him and Nunnally as well as his new alliance with Schneizel. Joining the military was not what he had expected to be told to do but he figured that was one way for him to be 'useful'. He also knew that it would mean that he would be under the thumb of the man that he hated with every fiber of his being. He grounded his teeth together at the thought of being under the Emperor's thumb again but pushed the thought away because he knew, in order to keep Nunnally safe, he would have to bow his head to the Emperor.

No matter how much he hated the very thought of doing that.

"Schneizel said that the Emperor's giving us a choice," Lelouch said. "Nunnally will get to choose whether to remain in Pendragon or finish her schooling at Ashford Academy. I have to make myself useful and join the military but I get to choose whether to enlist at Pendragon or here once I'm medically cleared to enlist."

"You have to join the military?" Milly repeated.

Lelouch nodded. No matter how much he hated the Emperor's decision for him, he knew that he could make it work. The more he thought about rejoining the Imperial Family, the more he realized that he actually could make it work. Back when Japan had been invaded, he made a promise to his first, and best, friend Suzaku that he would destroy Britannia and he could still do that.

But, this time, he would work to destroy Britannia…from within.

The fact that he had Schneizel as an ally would definitely help; it was always better to have Schneizel as an ally than as an enemy, especially considering the amount of influence and power the Second Prince had.

"It's gonna be tough for you," Milly noted. "Especially since you lack stamina."

"Thanks for the reminder," Lelouch said dryly.

Milly giggled and then her eyes went to the locket. "Oh? Did Shirley give that to you?" she asked, eyes twinkling with mischief. "A little love token, eh?"

Lelouch turned the locket over between his fingers, cheeks reddening at the insinuation behind Milly's words. He wasn't exactly stupid and knew an insinuation when he heard one, even if he still didn't get why Shirley acted flustered around him sometimes. "Nothing like that, Milly," he said. "She gave it to me as a reminder. She doesn't want me to forget you guys, not I ever would."

Milly blinked sympathetically, all traces of mischief gone to be replaced by somberness. She stretched out a hand and placed it on Lelouch's. "We'll still be here, ready to greet you when you come back because we will see you again," she said.

Lelouch smiled, glad that he had such good friends. He would go wherever Nunnally went, naturally, but if Nunnally chose to remain in Pendragon then Lelouch would try to ensure that both of them could visit Milly and the others. "If anything, Nunnally and I'll come and visit when we can," he said.

"That'll have to do," Milly said. She paused and then pouted. "You leaving means I gotta find a new Vice President for the Student Council, for one, and I just thought of the perfect theme for the annual cross-dressing ball, for another. Now I won't be able to get anymore pictures of you in a dress since someone found the last ones I took and burned them." She turned to look at Lelouch with a knowing gleam in her eyes.

He adopted an innocent 'why are you looking at me?' look, his lips quirking slightly.

I'm going to miss this, he thought somberly.

. . .

A/n what do you think?

Blaze: and that was the second chapter. Now we're moving on to Pendragon, which is one chapter long, and then on to military training where I get to bring in my second favorite Code Geass character as well as introduce three of the seven important "good" OC characters but that's then and this is now

Bakura: aren't you going to be reworking the meeting between Lelouch and Charles?

Blaze: possibly but probably not without making...

-Boom-

Blaze: ...that happen in the story itself

Suzaku: did Lelouch just blow up Charles? How the hell?

Blaze: he has his ways

Kallen: he raided Blaze's Weapons Building in her City-Closet

Suzaku: Weapons Building? On second thought, I don't wanna know

Kallen: so any notes for this chapter?

Blaze: none that I can think of. I hope that you enjoy this chapter and reviews, as always, are much appreciated.