I know it's been a while but work got so busy that I've come home too tired to really think about writing, let alone revising. But hey! I've finally come to update. At the very least, I'll get this chapter up today and, possibly, post the next chapter of Fall Into Dusk tomorrow. We'll see.

Anyway, thank you to harlequin320, MichaelCaboose007, ryder77, Npwall, OBSERVER01, theweird1234, demedichi, agarfinkel, Shadow-Shinobi666, Adamantium-Soldier74, DarthMaine, anand891996, Mr. Q, DarkAeroSage, MOR the Divine Being, Scarease, Doommajor, Guest, Shimmering-Sky, and B-Kira for reviewing the last chapter. You guys are awesome.

I hope that you enjoy this chapter—even if the interrogation scene that I know all of you are looking forward to is not in it and really only alluded to. PLEASE DON'T KILL ME! It's necessary—and reviews, as always, are much appreciated.

. . .

. . .

September 10, 2013

Hidden Laboratory, Tokyo Settlement, Area 11

C.C. fidgeted in the straps that had been wrapped around her, pinning her to the table. She managed to get a hand free and, casting a glance at the experimenters that were gathered around, she waited until they weren't paying attention. Then she began to slowly undo the straps wrapped around her; if she could just get free then she could use the Code to get her out of there.

Only a month had gone by since she was captured and C.C. had decided that now would be her best chance at getting out of there. If she could get out of the lab then she would have to find a way of blending in with the civilian population to avoid getting caught again. After that, after everything had calmed down, she'd track down Marianne's children.

Hopefully, she'll be able to speak with Marianne once she got out of there and the Code purged that sedative the experimenters gave her from her system.

But, first things first, getting out of there…

She finished removing the straps and flicked her eyes to the experimenters, judging how quickly she could get to the door before they noticed she'd escaped. She pressed her lips together and, jumping off the bed, bolted for the door as quickly as possible.

"What the…?"

"How is that possible? That sedative..."

"Doesn't matter! Catch her, now!"

C.C. didn't bother on seeing who was talking as she grabbed the handle of the door and, wrenching it open, threw herself out of it and bolted down the hallway. The scientists and the guards all made to grab her but, each time that they did, she would grab them in turn and activate her Code; she used it to either drive them insane or knock them unconscious and then bolted, leaving them to fall where they stood.

She managed to make it to the main staircase that would take her above ground when she was suddenly surrounded by a large group of soldiers. Scowling, she dove at the nearest soldier, grabbing him and activating her Code. Pushing the screaming, sobbing man away, she jumped at the next one, trying to create a hole in the circle of soldiers to slip through.

She managed to knock out or drive insane five soldiers, creating a hole just big enough for her to dart through. Running up the stairs, breathing softly in through her nose and out through her mouth, she made it to the top, grabbed the door handle, wrenched it open, and darted into the hallway beyond.

More soldiers attempted to stop her but soon met the same fate as the ones she'd encountered below ground. She was not going to let them stop her from getting out of there; she was not going to let them continue to get away with hurting her as they have. She may be immortal and she may be able to regenerate but that didn't give them the right to do whatever they wanted to her.

Even if she was apathetic toward many things, this was not one of them. She'd had enough of dying and coming back to life in the many centuries that she'd been alive and she wasn't too keen on continuing with the constant experiments that'd already killed her dozens of times since she was captured.

Besides, she needed to regain contact with Marianne and she needed to check on the vi Britannia children.

She rounded the corner, entering another hallway as the alarm began blaring—late, aren't they?—and more soldiers poured into the hallway, chasing after her. A trio of soldiers darted in front of her, holding tazers in their hands; the first got a kick to the groin, the second a fist to the fast, and the third a knee to the gut. She didn't need to use her Code all the time; she'd had centuries to learn how to fight and defend herself after all.

She darted through a set of doors and found herself in the main foyer of the lab, the large double doors that were her last obstacle to freedom looming in front of her.

She was so close.

She ran across the foyer, ignoring the way her green hair flew into her face or how her heart hammered in her chest or how her breath came out in pants. She was going to make it. Foot by foot, she drew closer and closer. She was almost there. She could practically feel the handles of the doors in her hands. Her fingers brushed the handles…

And the crack of a bullet being fired sounded.

Pain flashed in her head.

She fell to the ground, darkness claiming her, her fingers mere inches from the door. (1)

. . .

32

The Shinjuku Crisis

March 7, 2017

Nunnally's Bedroom, Viceroy's Palace

Gasping, Nunnally jolted out of her sleep for the second time since the assassination attempt. Blinking her eyes as they slowly adjusted to the darkness, she gazed around as she reached for the lamp, turning on the light. She was still amazed that she could see everything around her; even if she was a burden, though Lelouch insisted that she wasn't—Nunnally still felt as if she was—at least she didn't have to deal with not being able to see. Even though she still couldn't walk, at least she could see.

She gazed around her room, taking in all the details; the pink comforter wrapped around her, the peach-colored walls, the starlight glinting on the black sky outside the large window, Jeremiah looking half-asleep where he was leaning against the wall…

"Jer, what are you doing here?" she asked.

Jeremiah jolted out of the doze he'd accidentally fallen into and turned to Nunnally. "I apologize, Your Highness. I did not mean to fall asleep," he said.

"It's okay, Jer, but why're you here?" Nunnally asked softly.

"Prince Lelouch asked me to relive Lieutenant Moore and take over guarding you, Your Highness," Jeremiah replied. "I suppose I could have stayed outside and I apologize if I have intruded."

"No, no, it's fine," Nunnally assured the turquoise-haired young man. She gave him a slight smile that didn't really reach her eyes, not entirely anyway. She was still upset; she doubted that she'd ever truly get over what happened, or the words that Tara said to her that still resonated deep within her.

Worthless bitch…

"I trust you, Jer," she added, trying to shove those hurtful words out of her head. "What time is it?"

"Four in the morning, Your Highness," Jeremiah said.

Nunnally sighed. It was really early but she doubted that she'd be able to get back to sleep. In fact, she didn't really want to stay in her room; she felt like getting some fresh air. Maybe it would help her clear out her thoughts, which might help her get back to sleep.

"Jer, can you do something for me?" she asked.

"Of course. What is it, Your Highness?"

"Can you get me a wheelchair? I want to go to the gardens. I just...maybe some fresh air will help me relax so I can go back to sleep," Nunnally said.

"At this hour, Your Highness?"

Nunnally nodded.

Jeremiah looked hesitant.

"You can come with me if it'll make you feel more comfortable, Jer," the princess added with a smile.

Jeremiah was silent for a long moment before he nodded. "Very well, Your Highness. I will be right back," he said and left the bedroom. True to his words, it only took him about five minutes to find a wheelchair and return with it. He wheeled it over to the bed and Nunnally, using her elbows to push herself into a sitting position, and causing her blankets to pool on her lap, held out her arms to Jeremiah.

Gingerly, he picked her up and placed her in the wheelchair. "I should probably inform Prince Lelouch about this," he said as he straightened.

"I don't wanna wake him up. He needs his sleep, especially after everything that's happened," Nunnally said. "We'll just go for a little while then come back here. Okay?"

Jeremiah hesitated again but nodded. "Very well, Your Highness," he said and, grasping the handles of the wheelchair, wheeled her out of the room.

. . .

Lelouch's Office, Viceroy's Palace

It was about four twenty in the morning and Lelouch was still seated at his desk, going through the various reports he'd received from his Knights, all of them with the same message; they hadn't been able to capture B.B. It was frustrating, especially since Lelouch had no clue of just where B.B. could've gone.

Rubbing his head as he put down the most recent report, Lelouch reached out to pick up another one, using his free hand to cover his mouth as a yawn escaped his lips. He had a lot to do that day. He needed to find B.B. but he also needed to interrogate Tara and oversee the upcoming fight between Adeline and Suzaku, which he had to postpone a day due to what happened with B.B. The latter wouldn't really take much, if any, time but the former was likely going to be like pulling teeth from an alligator.

"Lelouch, I think you should get some sleep," Suzaku said with a worried frown from where he was leaning against the large window of the office. He, Dimitri, and Kay were the ones that were there since Lelouch had his Royal Guard rotate guard duty; half would stay with him while the other half would rest and one member of his Royal Guard would be with Nunnally at all times. Currently, it was Jeremiah's turn while Tadashi, Lila, and Rayne were dozing.

And, naturally, Suzaku was staying up simply because he was taking his duties as Lelouch's Knight as seriously as ever. Naturally, it was only because he wanted to prove himself just as good as a Britannian.

Yawning again, Lelouch waved away Suzaku's worry. "I'm fine," he said.

Suzaku gave him a look that clearly said he didn't believe him. "You can't hope to get all of this done without any rest, Lelouch," he said.

"I'm fine," Lelouch said again.

Suzaku folded his arms across his chest. "If you fall asleep at your desk, I'll just drag you to your room like I did the last time that happened," he said finally.

"I know you will," Lelouch said with a wryly smile and yawned again. He really was tired and, yet, he was so tired that he doubted he'd be able to sleep. Putting down the report he'd been about to read, he stood up, causing Dimitri and Kay to glance at him.

"I'm going to get some fresh air. You two stay here," Lelouch said, walking around his desk and heading for the door.

Suzaku pushed away from the window and immediately fell into step beside the amethyst-eyed prince.

Dimitri and Kay knew that Suzaku was more than a little capable of protecting Lelouch so they did as they were told as the prince and his knight left the office.

"Where're we going?" Suzaku asked.

"I was thinking the gardens," Lelouch said.

. . .

Gardens, Viceroy's Palace

"It really is like the gardens at the Aries Villa," Nunnally whispered as she gazed around the garden Jeremiah was wheeling her around. She could see the trees placed as they were back home along with the artificial stream and the beds of roses and the bushes dotted with asters and violets. It was really beautiful and the moonlight that shone down from the glass ceiling, illuminating the garden along with the wall lights embedded on walls of the indoor garden, only accentuated the beauty.

"I mean, Clovis said it was but to actually see it..." She trailed off, wonder in her eyes. She'd forgotten how beautiful everything was to look at; she'd grown so used to not being able to see that being able to see again, while easier to accept than she thought it would be, was wondrous.

"It brings back a lot of happy memories," she added, smiling softly at Jeremiah. "Remember that one time Big Brother fell into the stream?"

Jeremiah's lips quirked. "Yes, I do," he said.

Nunnally giggled and quietly told Jeremiah to stop as they came near a bush dotted with asters. "Can you get me one of those asters, Jeremiah?" she asked.

"Yes, Your Highness," Jeremiah said and moved over to the bush, gently picking the flower while Nunnally smiled patiently at the turquoise-haired young man.

"You know, when we're alone, you don't have to call me that. I'm probably less comfortable with that than Big Brother is," she admitted as Jeremiah walked back to join her and handed her the aster. She took it and sniffed it, that smile still on her lips. Even if her deep-seated sadness still resonated within her, she was able to push it aside and relax, breathing in the smells of the garden and imprinting everything she could see in the garden to memory. She honestly didn't know if her restored eyesight was permanent, though she strongly wished that it was.

She gazed around the garden and her eyes landed on a new addition that she didn't recall being in the garden at the Aries Villa. She did recognize it as a cherry tree, based on the description Suzaku had given her so long ago, though, its branches dotted with cherry blossoms. "Oh, that's new," she said, pointing to the cherry tree.

"Ah, yes. Prince Clovis had it planted because he wanted to include it in the backdrop of one of his paintings a few years ago and wanted a real-life example to look at," Jeremiah explained.

"It's pretty," Nunnally said, smiling. "I've never seen one before today. I've smelled a cherry blossom before and Suzaku told me what it was but it's even prettier than I thought it was. Can we go over here?"

Jeremiah nodded and guided her wheelchair over to the cherry tree. She asked him to grab her a cherry blossom and smiled as she, taking it from him, brought it to her nose. "It's been so long," she said softly. Seven years, since we were forced to leave the Kururugi Shrine, seven years since the invasion… She found her hand almost self-consciously going to the scar on her arm; looking at it now, it didn't look nearly as bad as she felt it was when she'd first been shot. She knew that the scar would remain though.

The door to the gardens opened and Jeremiah stiffened, only to relax a moment later. "Your Highness," he said with a salute and Nunnally turned to the newcomer, surprised to find Lelouch walking into the gardens with Suzaku at his side.

Lelouch frowned. "What are you doing here, Jeremiah?" he asked as he walked over to join them.

"Princess Nunnally requested that I bring her up here, Your Highness," Jeremiah replied.

"I needed some fresh air, Big Brother. I couldn't sleep anymore and thought the fresh air would help," Nunnally explained as Jeremiah turned her wheelchair around so that she was facing her big brother.

She smiled at him quietly. "This place is so beautiful, almost exactly like the gardens back at the Aries Villa," she added. "I'm so glad that I can actually see it and I can actually see what a cherry tree looks like. It's prettier than I imagined." She held up the cherry blossom that she'd asked Jeremiah to pick for her and then, with her other hand, picked up the aster.

Handing it out to Lelouch, she added, "Asters are your favorite flower, I know."

Lelouch took it while Suzaku raised an eyebrow. "You have a favorite flower?" the Knight of Honor asked.

"Like you don't," Lelouch said.

"True."

Nunnally giggled softly, even if it sounded only half-hearted to her own ears, and held out the cherry blossom to Suzaku since she also knew that cherry blossoms were Suzaku's favorite. He took the cherry blossom, gazing at it with memories and deep sadness swimming in his emerald eyes.

Lelouch yawned, covering his mouth with his hand and Nunnally frowned at her big brother. "Were you not able to sleep any more like me, Big Brother?" she asked.

"He hasn't even gone to sleep," Suzaku said.

Nunnally's frown deepened. No wonder he looks like he's about to pass out any minute now. Is this my fault? Have I made more work for him that he can't even sleep anymore? She thought sadly.

"I'm fine, Suzaku. I'm not even tired," Lelouch said and yawned again, which caused Suzaku to roll his eyes and Jeremiah gave him a look that clearly said he didn't believe him anymore than Nunnally did.

"Why're you still up, Big Brother?" Nunnally asked.

"I've been busy. I have a lot of work to do, Nunnally," Lelouch said.

"But you still need your rest, Big Brother," she insisted, reaching out a hand and taking Lelouch's hand in hers. She bit her lip and looked down. "I'm sorry..."

"Nunnally," Lelouch interrupted her, using his free hand to gently tilt her head so that she was looking at him. He smiled at her, gentle, pure love glowing in his eyes. "I've already told you, you don't have to be sorry. None of this was your fault."

"But you've been so busy lately and what happened to me has only added to that and...I don't like being a burden to you."

"Nunnally," Lelouch interrupted firmly. "We've been over this. You could never be a burden to me. Okay?"

Nunnally squeezed her brother's hand and nodded slowly. "Okay," she said softly even if a part of her still didn't believe it. She yawned and Lelouch chuckled before yawning again himself.

"Those things are contagious," Suzaku said, covering his own yawn while Jeremiah had to bite back his own, though it got out anyway.

"I think it would be best if we got you back to your room, Your Highness," Jeremiah said.

Nunnally didn't respond to that. Instead, she squeezed her brother's hand a second time. "Please, get some sleep, Big Brother, for me?" she asked quietly because she didn't want her big brother to pass out from exhaustion and he looked on the verge of doing just that.

Lelouch sighed but nodded. "All right, Little Sister," he said.

"I'll make sure he gets some sleep this time, Nunnally," Suzaku added, casting a sidelong glance at Lelouch. "'Cause we both know that he's even more stubborn than I am."

"That's not possible," Lelouch said wryly.

"I think you're both equal in terms of stubbornness," Nunnally said.

"We are not," Lelouch and Suzaku protested but Nunnally just giggled, a genuine one. Talking with her big brother and the Japanese boy that she'd come to see as another brother himself was definitely helping in easing the guilt, self-loathing, and sadness that she was feeling and allowing her to push it aside for now.

. . .

Stairs Outside the Clubhouse, Ashford Academy

Due to the assassination attempt and the murder that had occurred in the Student Council Clubhouse's meeting room, it was decided that the meeting would take place outside on the steps. They weren't really doing anything important that day; Milly had decided to postpone what she had originally planned in favor of preparing to visit Nunnally. They'd gotten the 'okay' to come and visit from Prince Lelouch earlier that day, from Adeline herself who had to go to the Viceroy's Palace anyway.

Rai had to admit that he was surprised by how well he was adjusting to Ashford Academy, even though he'd only been there for a few days, not to mention on how quickly it was that the Student Council had accepted him. He'd honestly expected them to distrust him, due to his relative newness to the council and the fact that he had no memories and was a virtual unknown to all of them, especially after what happened between Tara and Princess Nunnally.

But they hadn't. They said that they were giving him a chance, in spite of what happened the day before.

"So do you think Rai should come with us?" Shirley asked, glancing at Rai who blinked, the sound of his name bringing him back into the conversation.

"Well, Lelouch seems in a calmer mood now than yesterday so we can introduce him right before Adeline has her fight with Suzaku," Milly said.

"Still can't believe you're gonna fight Lelouch's Knight," Rivalz said, glancing at Adeline. The golden-haired girl, who was doing a couple of warm-up stretches in preparation of her upcoming fight, glanced up. She'd only mentioned the fact that she was going to fight Lelouch's Knight in order to either join Lelouch's regiment in the military or become Nunnally's bodyguard, depending on if she won or lost respectively, because Lelouch had offered her something in return for saving her little sister's life and that was what she wanted.

"Well, I've seen just how much the Black Knights have accomplished and I want to help out and protect those who can't protect themselves just like them," Adeline said with a shrug and glanced at Kallen and Shirley curiously. "By the way, I hear that you two were the ones who saved Nunnally the last time. Didn't he offer something to you too?"

"He did but I turned him down. I didn't need anything and I didn't want anything," Shirley said with a shrug.

"That and he already gave Shirley what she wanted, three times now," Milly said with a teasing grin. "Well, four, if you count dinner with Shirley's parents. Are you gonna go on another date soon, Shirley, and make it five? Or are you gonna take the next step?" She waggled her eyebrows and Rai, catching the implication, blushed a little.

Shirley went red as well. "M...Madame President," she cried.

"What about you, Kallen?" Adeline asked.

Kallen shrugged meekly. "I just asked for something small," she said quietly and didn't elaborate.

"Um, it's almost four. Should we get going?" Nina asked quietly.

"Right, let's get going," Milly said, jumping to her feet. "I think we should walk there. I mean, we might as well start somewhere in trying to help Rai get his memories back so maybe walking through the settlement will help."

"You think so?" Rai asked. "I mean, I don't even know if I'm from here." Then again, I don't even know if I'm an Eleven, or not, he thought.

"Well, it won't hurt to try," Milly said.

"I...guess..."

. . .

Private Courtyard, Viceroy's Palace

Nina gazed around the hallway as she and the rest of the Student Council followed Rayne, the blue-haired girl who was part of Lelouch's Royal Guard, as she led the way to the private courtyard where the fight was going to take place. It was really elaborately decorated but, considering it was the Viceroy's Palace, Nina wasn't that surprised. She'd never visited the Viceroy's Palace before but, all things considered, that wasn't that big of a surprise.

"His Highness decided to hold the fight out of the way," Rayne explained as they walked. "It's not a public affair so he felt that the public didn't have to know about it. Not even Prince Clovis is attending."

"Yeah, wouldn't wanna embarrass the prince by having his knight lose in public," Adeline said arrogantly as they walked into the courtyard.

"I wouldn't count my knight out right away, Adeline," Lelouch said from where he was standing next to his knight with almost all of his Royal Guard gathered around him. Nina noticed that he did look a lot calmer than he was yesterday but she also noticed that he was still tense and exhausted. In fact, it looked like he hadn't gotten much sleep the night before.

Adeline shrugged. "I'm not. I'm just confident I can win," she said and smirked at Suzaku. "So I ain't gonna hold back."

"Neither will I," Suzaku said, emerald eyes narrowed in determination.

"Before we do that, we might as well get this over with. I wanna introduce ya to our new Student Council member," Milly said, grabbing Rai and yanking him close to her, causing him to blush since his face was pressed into her assets.

"M...Milly...please let go?" he pleaded, his face bright red.

Milly just chuckled but released Rai as she turned to Lelouch who'd walked over to join them while Adeline and Suzaku moved into the center of the courtyard, studying each other. "This is Rai. Rai, this is Lelouch," she said, gesturing to the prince.

"Um, nice to meet you, ah, Your Highness," Rai said with a bow that was, oddly enough, almost graceful as if he knew how to treat royalty.

"You as well," Lelouch replied, studying the silver-haired boy with expressionless eyes. "Milly told me that you don't have any memories."

"Ah, no, just my name," Rai admitted. "The walk through the Tokyo Settlement didn't really help either."

Lelouch hummed in thought, still studying him and Rai shifted a little under the prince's piercing amethyst eyes. There was no denying that Lelouch could be an intimidating sight and his moniker of Demon Prince as well as what happened the day before still on his mind only made him even more intimidating, as was clear by the uncertainty and slight fear on Rai's face.

Nina felt a pang of sympathy for the boy. She wasn't scared of him, not really. She was uncomfortable around him but that was only because she'd been uncomfortable around boys for a while since that day. But the boy wasn't Eleven, or didn't look Eleven anyway, and that was really the only reason that Nina had come to tolerate him. It was the same with Adeline since she knew that Adeline wasn't Britannian but she wasn't an Eleven and, gradually, Nina had come to tolerate her too.

But whether he was Eleven or not, there was no denying that he was terrified of the Demon Prince.

And Lelouch seemed to know it, if that smirk that was on his face was any indication.

"You're scaring him, Lulu," Shirley chided, coming to Rai's side and placing a hand on the boy's shoulder.

"It just seems rather curious," Lelouch said thoughtfully, "of just how he came to Ashford Academy and only a day before the attempted assassination."

"You're not accusing Rai of having anything to do with what Tara did, are you?" Milly said, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh no. That is unlikely. But that just makes it harder for me to trust him," Lelouch said, turning his gaze from Rai to Milly. "But I trust you, Milly, so if you say he'll be fine then I'll give him a chance." He never said that he would trust him but Nina wasn't expecting him too; when it came to earning Lelouch's trust, one would have better luck convincing a mountain to move on its own.

"I kinda figured that'd be the best I'd get, especially after what happened yesterday," Milly admitted.

Without responding to that, Lelouch decided to get on to the main reason why they were there and turned around to face Suzaku and Adeline. "You two may begin when you're ready. You'll fight until one of you gives," he said.

Suzaku nodded, jaw clenched in determination.

"Sure," Adeline said, stretching her arms above her head and brushing her golden hair off her shoulder.

"Rules?" Suzaku asked, not taking his eyes off Adeline.

"Hand to hand combat. No weapons and don't kill or otherwise seriously hurt each other," Lelouch said.

"In other words, basically anything goes," Adeline said and grinned. "I can live with that." Without another word, she darted toward Suzaku, intent on tackling him but the Eleven Knight of Honor was swift and, dare Nina say it?, graceful as he spun out of the way, jabbing a fist toward Adeline's side. The golden-haired woman front-flipped to avoid it and, once she got to her feet, barely dodged out of the way to avoid the spinkick that Suzaku aimed at her.

"She's fast!" That burnt-orange-haired Eleven boy Tadashi, that Nina tried hard not to get near since he terrified her even if he was part of Lelouch's Royal Guard, exclaimed. "I've never been able to dodge one of those damn spinkicks!"

"Neither have I. And those things hurt," Rayne huffed.

"You were the one who challenged him to a fight and told him not to go easy on you," Kay pointed out.

"True."

Cartwheeling to the side, Adeline jumped forward, aiming a roundhouse kick at Suzaku but Suzaku ducked down and, with a sweep of his leg, swept Adeline's legs out from under her. With an "oof", Adeline crashed onto the ground and Suzaku pinned her, only for her to knee him in the gut and jam her elbow into his chest, forcing him to let her go. She flipped to her feet and dove toward Suzaku who swiftly dodged to the side, eyes narrowed in thought as he and Adeline began circling each other. Adeline was panting slightly but Suzaku didn't even look winded.

"He sure has a lot of stamina," Kallen noted as the Knight and the golden-haired girl continued to fight.

"Exercise nut," was all Lelouch said.

"I heard that," Suzaku said, not taking his eyes off Adeline as the two put some distance between them and began circling each other again.

"You were meant to," Lelouch shot back amused.

Adeline ran forward, intent on using the supposed distraction to her advantage and aimed at punch at Suzaku's stomach but he stopped her in her tracks by grabbing her wrist with both of his hands and swiftly threw her over his shoulder. With a yelp, she landed hard on the ground behind him but quickly scrambled to her feet, only to find herself on the receiving end of a spinkick that threw her off her feet before Suzaku had her pinned, her arm pressed against her neck while her other arm pinned beneath her.

Nina winced.

"Ouch," Rivalz said.

Adeline gritted her teeth and tried to wiggle free but it was clear that she couldn't without risking an injury. Sighing in defeat, she relaxed. "I give," she said.

Suzaku relaxed his grip and jumped off Adeline, stretching out a hand toward her. She took it and pulled herself to her feet, panting and wiping beads of sweat from her forehead.

"Wow, you're pretty good. I didn't know you knew judo," she said.

Suzaku smiled sheepishly. "Well, I'm not a master or anything but I was taught a little when I was growing up," he admitted.

Adeline huffed. "Well, you're certainly good," she said.

Lelouch walked over to join the two of them. "You put up a good fight but it wasn't enough to join my knights," he said. "However, the option to become Nunnally's bodyguard is still open."

"I'd like to accept that option then, Your Highness," Adeline said.

"Very well."

"Gotta admit, that was an impressive fight," Rivalz said.

"Yeah," Kallen said.

Nina nodded slowly in agreement.

. . .

March 14, 2017

Abandoned Subway Tunnel, Shinjuku Ghetto, Area 11

One week had gone by since the fight between Adeline and Suzaku and things were starting to happen really fast. Kallen had been at Ashford Academy with the Student Council helping Nunnally adjust to being back in the clubhouse when she'd received a message from Ohgi. They had confirmed the item that Prince Clovis was working on and they were now going to discuss what to do next. So Kallen, making up an excuse that she had a doctor's appointment, quickly left and headed for the abandoned subway tunnel in the Shinjuku Ghetto.

Kallen still didn't exactly trust the Liberators, not after what happened to Naoto, but she was willing to trust Ohgi and if Ohgi trusted those two Liberators than she did too. She still wasn't entirely sure what to think of the leader of the Liberators', or rather half of the Liberators, desire to have the Demon Prince alive though. But then she did recall some of the little things that she'd learned about the Demon Prince herself; she knew that they had been used as political hostages and remembered that look on the prince's face when he spoke about that and about the invasion.

She still didn't know why they hadn't gone back to Pendragon after the invasion though. She had considered asking Nunnally but since Nunnally didn't know about the political hostages reason why they were exiled, Kallen didn't know that she would know why they never went back. Either that or she would say it was for the same reason that they were exiled; to keep them safe.

It would make sense. It was clear, just by that look on Prince Lelouch's face, that he did harbor much resentment for being exiled.

And, according to Michal, that was something Unity had noticed as well, or rather assumed was true based on what he discovered on the news about the vi Britannia siblings.

Basically speaking, Unity wasn't about to condemn the prince without first garnering concrete evidence that the prince couldn't be swayed to turn against his country. Kallen wasn't entirely sure if that was possible herself.

However, in comparison with Nightfall's approach—which was to just murder the prince in the most grotesque way possible for no other reason than his hurt pride, according to Reyes, and because he was a dangerous enemy—and based on what Kallen knew herself, Unity's plan was better.

Of course, Kallen could be being biased because of the relationship she saw between Prince Lelouch and Princess Nunnally. She saw the love that glowed in Lelouch's eyes whenever he was with his little sister, and seeing the princess's own eyes—that was still something that took the entire Student Council by surprise since none of them had expected Nunnally to have regained her sight—light up with love and happiness whenever she saw Lelouch. And she somehow knew of just how devastated Nunnally would be if she lost her brother, mostly because she knew of what it felt like to lose a brother.

And she didn't want Nunnally to feel that kind of pain.

Prince Lelouch, the Demon Prince of Britannia, was a very dangerous enemy and Kallen would gladly fight against him if it meant freeing Japan from Britannia's control and could very well kill him on the battlefield. That was the nature of war though and Kallen wasn't stupid; she knew that the prince knew that, as a soldier, there was a chance that he would not walk off a battlefield he walked onto.

But what Nightfall wanted to do to the prince was not killing him on a battlefield or fighting him honorably.

Kallen still remembered Christmas Day, the day in which retired Major General Stromberg had been viciously mutilated and murdered and that bloody message had been left for Prince Lelouch, telling him that the same thing would happen to him. Kallen had learned, from Michal, that it was Nightfall, the one in charge of the second half of the Liberators' organization, who'd done that to Stromberg.

"What happened to Stromberg was not something that Unity wanted. He doesn't believe in that kind of senseless murder. Killing on the battlefield is one thing, soldiers march onto the field knowing that they will have to kill or may not walk back off it, but killing someone off the battlefield, and while he was unarmed and unprepared to fight back—according to Nightfall himself—like that. That's crossing the line."

Kallen agreed with that. If Nightfall wanted to kill the Demon Prince the same way he killed retired Major General Stromberg, while he was unarmed and unprepared to fight back, then Kallen was not going to support him.

Even if it meant that she would have to try and find a way to capture the Demon Prince, one of the most dangerous enemies her late brother's resistance has ever faced who may very well be fighting for Britannia willingly, it was still better than what Nightfall wanted to do.

Though Kallen still wondered what Unity expected to do if the prince refused to be swayed to join them. Would he kill him? Kallen very much doubted that they would just let him walk away.

It took Kallen a moment to realize that she'd been so deep in thought that she didn't notice that she'd reached her destination.

She glanced over her shoulder to make sure that she wasn't being followed and made her way into the tunnel, walking down it until she could barely make out the figures cloaked in shadows with only a few spears of light puncturing the darkness.

"Sakura," she called out.

"Hana," one of the figures called back, using the two Japanese words that they'd decided on to show that they were alone and were allies when they all got to the rendezvous.

"I still don't like this," Ohgi said as Kallen joined him and the rest of the Kozuki Resistance as well as Michal and Reyes.

"She's old enough to make her own decisions," Michal said patiently.

"I know but…" Ohgi sighed and shook his head. "But you're right. Kallen is old enough to make her own decisions. All right. Let's get to work."

"So we found out that it is a poison gas capsule," Inoue said as Kallen sat down cross-legged next to the subway tracks. "Clovis has been developing it for a few years at least and, according to Naoto's spy, it looks like it's about ready."

"So what're we gonna do?" Tamaki asked. "I mean, we've confirmed what Clovis was making so we don't really have to do anything else, right?"

"That's up to you," Michal said. "You have kept your end of the deal for me but it's up to you if you wish to aid us some more. We could use it."

"What, exactly, would you need help with?" Sugiyama asked.

"Retrieving that gas capsule," Reyes said with a shrug as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "It's clear that we can't leave such a powerful and dangerous weapon in Britannia's hand but Michal and I are the only one's left of our cell."

"We also haven't been in touch with Nightfall and his cell since the Liberators were split," Michal said. "Nightfall's cell supports him so refuses to have anything to do with Unity and his half of the Liberators. So we can't expect any help from them and we're only two people. That is why we request that you help us get this gas capsule out of Britannia's hands."

"We can't leave such a weapon in Britannia's hands," Nagata said with a frown.

"Yeah. Clovis could use it on the Elevens in an attempt to smoke out any terrorists," Minami said with a frown.

"I thought General Andon was in charge of trying to take out the terrorists," Sugiyama said with a puzzled frown. "Would he use it?"

"I wouldn't put it past him," Kallen said darkly, hand clenching into a fist but she forced herself to relax. "And if that's the case then we definitely gotta get it out of their hands."

"I agree," Inoue said with a nod. "It's too dangerous but just how are we going to get it away from Britannia? I mean, Naoto's spy knows where it's being kept but the security'll be too tight for us to try to break through."

Reyes grinned. "Actually, I've come up with a plan for that but it'll only work if you all are willing to help," he said. "If we can force them to leave the lab and take the poison gas with them then you can take the gas from them in the confusion."

"Forcing them to leave the lab is the hard part," Ohgi said with a frown.

"I know but Michal and I have already thought of that."

"So will you help?" Michal asked.

Ohgi glanced at the Kozuki Resistance members around him.

Kallen stood up, causing everyone to look at her. "We can't let that gas stay in Britannia's hands, not when there's a very high chance that they will release it. Even if I still don't trust the Liberators, if they can help us get that gas capsule out of Britannia's hands then I think we should help," she said.

"I agree," Inoue said with a nod.

"Everyone?" Ohgi said, turning to the rest of the group and they all nodded in agreement. "All right. Michal, what do you need us to do?"

Michal smiled. "Here's the plan," he said quietly.

. . .

March 17, 2017

Viceroy's Palace, Tokyo Settlement

Lelouch made his way down the hall of the Viceroy's Palace, heading for his elder half-brother's office, his thoughts on many things at once. One thing on his mind was Tara; the stubborn girl wasn't telling him anything, just as she said she would. Even if B.B. had admitted to sending Tara after Clovis, Lelouch wanted answers for why Tara would decide to go after Nunnally instead. Not to mention that strange power she'd used to throw everyone around like ragdolls in the museum but she refused to say anything.

Naturally, Nunnally was on the forefronts of his mind. She still flinched at the slightest of sounds and woke up screaming from nightmares. She also didn't feel comfortable with anyone she didn't know around her, even with Adeline, her new bodyguard, at her side. She was slowly starting to warm up to the new boy Rai but she still shied away from him occasionally.

It was understandable that she would be afraid of newcomers since it had been someone she'd only meet a few months beforehand who'd tried to kill her three times.

Hoping to find a way of helping her come to terms with what happened, Lelouch had asked her if she would consent to speaking with a therapist who was trained to help people who'd experienced trauma. After much consideration, she'd agreed; that was two days ago but Lelouch knew it would take time for his little sister to start coming to terms with what happened.

Another thing that was on his mind was the lack of terrorist activity since the incident in Akita. While Lelouch knew that his victory against the Liberators had been impressive, and Diethard certainly succeeded in making it even more impressive with his reporting skills, it still didn't explain why there was absolutely nothing happening.

There were too many terrorist cells in Area 11. Why did all of them decide to go to ground?

It just didn't make any sense.

And yet another thing on his mind was Nightfall. Ever since that death threat that he'd left during the Christmas Ball, he'd still done absolutely nothing. While Lelouch wasn't looking a gift horse in the mouth, it just seemed really odd that he wouldn't do anything after making such a threat.

Nightfall wasn't just talk. Lelouch learned that after his fight against the psychopath at Sapporo. But it was starting to seem as if he was just talk, unless that was what he wanted Lelouch to think.

Perhaps he's trying to lull me into a false sense of security before he strikes, Lelouch thought. It would explain why he hasn't acted since Christmas.

He brought himself out of his thoughts as he and his Knight reached Clovis's office and raised a hand to knock but paused when he heard voices from within.

"...news on the Code-R project?" Clovis's voice said, causing Lelouch to lower his hand, narrowing his eyes.

"Nothing, Your Highness," Bartley's voice said. "The terrorist spy we found has been executed but he refused to give up whether he told anyone about the project."

Lelouch's eyes narrowed even more. Terrorist? He was supposed to be the one in charge of the terrorist threat in Area 11 and yet Clovis seemed to know something about a terrorist and didn't tell him? Why? And what was this Code-R project they were talking about?

A sigh of frustration sounded. "We need to find out if he told anyone and we've got to do it as discreetly as possible. We cannot have anyone finding out about the Code-R project, especially not Lelouch," Clovis said.

What are you keeping from me, Brother?

"While he didn't tell us about whether he told anyone about what he saw, he did mention something: the Liberators."

Lelouch froze and Suzaku, who was listening in on the conversation at Lelouch's side as well, frowned and glanced at him.

"That just makes it worse," Clovis exclaimed in frustration. "If the Liberators know about Code-R then that could spell doom for the entire Empire, especially if they are able to get their hands on it. Double security around the lab. We cannot have the project fall into the Liberators' hands."

"And Prince Lelouch? He is in charge of the terrorist threat. Should he not be informed that the Liberators may be making a move?" Bartley asked.

"No, no. I can handle this. Lelouch doesn't need to know a thing," Clovis said.

"Yes, Your Highness."

Lelouch's jaw clenched. So you won't tell me that the Liberators might be making a move? Even if it doesn't seem to be against me, this time, I should still know about it given the orders I was given, he thought but schooled his expression into one of impassiveness as he finally knocked on the door.

There was a long moment of silence, then: "Come in!" Clovis called.

Lelouch opened the door and stepped into the office, inclining his head in greeting to both Clovis and Bartley as Suzaku slipped into the room behind him. "Brother," he greeted Clovis calmly.

"Ah, Lelouch, welcome. You're a bit early," Clovis said with a gracious smile. He waved a hand to dismiss Bartley who bowed and walked out of the room, Suzaku moving to the side to allow him past. "Please, take a seat. You have some news, I suppose?"

"Not much, unfortunately," Lelouch said, taking a seat and Suzaku moved to stand to the right of his chair. "Tara is still being stubborn and refuses to answer why she went after Nunnally."

"I'm sure, given enough time in a cell, she'll open up eventually. How is Nunnally doing?"

"Beyond happy to have her sight back but still deeply traumatized by everything that has happened. I suppose I should be thankful she didn't gain her sight back until after the attack, otherwise, I suspect it would be worse. She gets along with her therapist, which is good, though I know it's going to take time for her to actually start to heal," Lelouch said.

Clovis nodded in agreement. "Do you still not know how she regained her sight?" he asked.

When Clovis had first found out that Nunnally had regained her eyesight, he'd been overjoyed but also just as confused as Lelouch was by how it happened. Lelouch only knew that B.B. had been responsible for it but didn't know how and hadn't told Clovis that because he wanted to get the whole story before he told anyone.

"No," Lelouch said.

"It truly is a miracle though and I am more than happy for her," Clovis said. "And how are you doing, brother?"

"I'm fine." And he was. In the days since his late night talk with Nunnally in the gardens, Lelouch was getting a lot more rest than he had been before and, as a result, he was able to work much better because he wasn't in danger of passing out from exhaustion anymore. That also made Nunnally happy and Lelouch, naturally, would do anything to make Nunnally happy.

Clovis nodded. "Any news on the terrorists?"

Except for the Liberators that you won't tell me about… "No. I suspect they've gone to ground since Sapporo, though I honestly cannot say why," Lelouch replied.

"Perhaps your very presence has driven them to hide, Demon Prince," Clovis said with a smirk.

I honestly doubt that's it. There has to be another reason… "Maybe," Lelouch said out loud.

. . .

March 21, 2017

Roof, Abandoned Building, Near the Outskirts of the Tokyo Settlement

"You sure this is going to work?" Reyes asked, glancing at Michal from where the two were positioned on the roof of a building with a perfect view of the hidden laboratory that Naoto Kozuki's spy had found. He had his pair of binoculars hanging around his neck on a thin cord while Michal's were pressed against his eyes as he scanned the lab.

"It's our only chance."

"But entrusting this mission to such a new resistance..."

"Unity has faith that they can pull it off."

Reyes huffed. "Unity also thinks that they can actually capture the Demon Prince," he said.

Michal sighed and, lowering his binoculars, turned to Reyes. "At the very least, if the Kozuki Resistance proves themselves in this mission and then agrees to join the Liberators, we will be able to finally recreate the cell we lost at Sapporo. Unity's forces are less than Nightfall's because of our loss at Sapporo. We need to gain more supporters for Unity and this might be our chance to do it."

Reyes huffed. "Yeah but they don't trust us," he said.

"Who's fault is that?"

"Dios! I get it! I fucked up! Will you stop bringing it up?" Reyes complained, throwing his hands above his head in frustration and uttering a string of Spanish curse words under his breath.

Michal, ignoring those curses that Reyes was spewing, brought his binoculars back to his eyes as he returned his gaze to the hidden lab. "Trust is not given, it's earned. We simply have to earn their trust," he said.

A boom sounded in the area of the lab.

"It's started," Michal said.

Reyes brought his own binoculars to his eyes. "Good thing the Yamato Alliance were easy enough to convince to do this," he commented. "Shame I don't really care for how they operate, otherwise I'd suggest that we invite them to join the Liberators."

"They work for this situation but Unity would never allow them to join him. Nightfall might."

Reyes cast a sidelong glance at Michal. "You do realize that this act could, very well, bring the Demon Prince down on the Yamato Alliance should he find out that they were responsible for it, right?"

"Yes. And?"

Another explosion sounded around the lab.

"...Just what did the Yamato Alliance do to piss you off, Michal? You're normally the level-headed one outta both of us," Reyes said bewildered. There was no denying that Prince Lelouch was on the same level as Prince Schneizel in terms of being a dangerously brilliant military strategist and tactician. And Michal knew that the Yamato Alliance sucked at coming up with strategies. If he wanted, the Demon Prince could destroy the Yamato Alliance just as he'd destroyed Michal's cell at Sapporo, and probably have an easier time at that.

And Michal would be cheering him on the entire way.

"It's made up of a bunch of sheep who willing follow the orders of their leader, no matter what, and their leader is psychotic. It wasn't that bad when Izumi was in control but then he'd gotten killed a couple of years ago and the Yamato Alliance has gone downhill since then," Michal said with a growl.

"How bad?"

"On the same level as Nightfall."

"Oh wonderful, we have another psychotic bastard on our hands." Reyes scoffed, cursed in Spanish, and said, "If they're as bad as Nightfall then I hope Prince Lelouch destroys them."

"Agreed."

. . .

Abandoned Building, Shinjuku Ghetto

"So how long are we going to keep him here?" Inoue asked, gesturing toward where B.B. was leaning against the wall, eyes closed, one arm resting lazily around his bent knee and the other on his other leg. They'd taken off the cuffs within a few days of him being brought there once he made it clear that he wasn't going to run. He also knew all the names of the members of the Kozuki Resistance because he'd simply been paying attention whenever they greeted each other by name.

"Michal said that if we can use him to lure the prince to us then we should keep him here until we can actually do that. But, right now, we've gotta focus on the mission," Ohgi said. "Kallen and Nagata should be at the extraction point right now so we should get moving."

"Should someone stay and watch him?" Sugiyama asked, gesturing toward B.B.

"I will not leave," B.B. said without opening his eyes. "I am simply too curious about the outcome of this Unity's plan to leave."

"I don't trust ya," Tamaki said, waving a gun in B.B.'s direction.

"You don't have to trust me, you just have to trust in the fact that I have nothing to gain by leaving."

"You also have nothing to gain by staying," Yoshida pointed out.

"Oh but I have much to gain by staying," B.B. said with an enigmatic smile.

"We can worry about our...eccentric guest later. Right now, we need to get into position to backup Kallen and Nagata," Ohgi said finally.

"Right," the rest of the Kozuki Resistance said in unison before they left the abandoned building.

...Just what do you hope to gain by this?…

B.B.'s eyes fluttered open and he smiled but said nothing.

. . .

Ballroom, Viceroy's Palace

Lelouch contemplated whether he could sneak out of the ballroom while his brother wasn't watching because, frankly, he was bored out of his mind.

Sipping at his wine, he let his amethyst gaze scan the crowd of nobles that were talking with each other and laughing at some random joke. His knight was by the door along with his Royal Guard and they all looked just as bored as Lelouch felt.

Why did I have to come here again? He thought and then remembered that Clovis insisted on it and then managed to convince Nunnally to convince Lelouch to go and, naturally, Lelouch could not say no to his little sister. He sighed and wandered around the ballroom, eyes scanning the area.

"You Highness," a voice called out and Lelouch turned to find a couple walking toward him. While they were dressed in formal wear for the ball, they also walked in a way that reminded Lelouch of soldiers. The man reminded Lelouch, instantly, of a taller version of Dimitri so he figured that they were his parents, which made him wonder why they were there; as far as he knew, Dimitri's parents lived in Osaka.

"Yes?" he said politely.

"We were unable to meet you when your brother was introducing you to everyone and then there was that tragedy at the Christmas Ball, which really was a shame since I rather respected Major General Stromberg and..."

"Diana, dear, you're rambling," the man chided his wife lightly and turned to Lelouch, giving him a short bow. "I apologize, Your Highness. Diana is rather nervous when it comes to speaking with royalty. I am Lord Eric Duncan and this is my wife Diana."

"A pleasure, Lord and Lady Duncan," Lelouch greeted them with a slight incline of his head. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Simply to greet you and introduce ourselves since we haven't had the chance before today," Diana said, smiling a little nervously and clearly trying not to ramble as she had earlier.

"You certainly have made a name for yourself, Your Highness," Eric said. "You remind me of your mother. I may not have known Marianne that well but I did know her reputation. It really was a shame what happened to her."

"Yes, it was," Lelouch said, his voice guarded.

Diana seemed to have noticed because she smiled a little. "I know not many noble families supported your mother because of her background but, while we weren't quite as publicly supportive as the Ashfords, we did support her," she said.

"Not many have but I am grateful to find another family willing to look past my mother's heritage and see her for who she truly was," Lelouch said.

Before Diana could respond, Dimitri and Suzaku darted to Lelouch's side. "Sorry to interrupt, my prince," Suzaku said with a bow, "but Dimitri's learned something."

"What?" Lelouch asked, turning to face Dimtiri who's headset was pressed against one ear and his other hand was holding a tablet, his eyes were narrowed.

"Intercepted a message, Your Highness," he said. "It would appear that an area on the edge of the settlement has been attacked. There are no causalities and only minimal injuries and the 1st Regiment has managed to drive the attackers away but it appears that it was a terrorist attack."

Lelouch's lips pressed together in a thin line. "The Liberators?" he asked.

"No, Your Highness, or, at least, they didn't leave their crest behind as they usually do so I do not think it's them," Dimitri said, narrowing his eyes as he listened to whoever was speaking on the other line.

Lelouch hummed in thought. "And was there any attempt to contact me to inform me about this attack?" he asked, glancing at Suzaku as well. Both of them shook their heads and Lelouch's eyes narrowed.

"Considering I'm supposed to be in charge of the terrorist threat in Area 11..." He trailed off, his thoughts turning cogs in his head. If no one was contacting him to inform him about this attack or even ask for the assistance of the Black Knights, despite the fact that Lelouch was supposed to be the one in charge of all things involving the terrorists, then there was a chance it had to do with the Code-R project.

"Excuse me, Lord and Lady Duncan. There is something I need to take care of," Lelouch said, turning to Diana and Eric.

"Of course, Your Highness," Eric said with a bow and Lelouch turned before striding away, cloak billowing around him and Suzaku immediately fell into step beside him. The rest of his Royal Guard filed out of the ballroom after him, Jeremiah coming to Lelouch's left side, a small frown on his lips.

"What is it, Your Highness?" he asked.

"I'm missing something," Lelouch murmured. "Dimitri just informed me that he intercepted a message speaking about a terrorist attack and, yet, I wasn't informed personally about it."

"That is odd," Jeremiah said.

"Agreed."

"So what will you do?"

"For now, Jeremiah, I want you to contact the Black Knights and have them on standby just in case the terrorists are not as defeated as they appear. The rest of you, remain here for the time being; Dimitri, keep monitoring the situation."

"What about you?" Rayne asked in confusion.

"I'm heading for the base to see if I can find more information about why I wasn't informed about this attack," Lelouch replied.

"Alone?" Kay echoed.

"Suzaku will accompany me and we will both go in disguise. If the terrorists do decide to attack the settlement then the Black Knights will be needing you. It will be easier for just Suzaku and I to get to the base without being hounded by the media and potentially drawing the terrorist's attention to me," Lelouch said.

"This is reckless, Your Highness," Jeremiah said, narrowing his eyes. "What do you hope to gain by doing this?"

"Answers," was Lelouch's response because he knew that if he could get to the base without anyone noticing him, and by anyone he meant Clovis, Clovis's Royal Guard, the 1st Regiment and, yes, the terrorists, then he would be able to get answers. At the very least, he would be able to question the soldiers at the base, and General Andon, about why they decided not to inform him of the attack. Also, the base was actually rather close to where the attack took place—another reason why Lelouch had no idea why no one told him about it—so he could assess the incident himself.

Of course, he couldn't tell his Royal Guard all of that, not when there was a chance that someone was listening in.

"Suzaku will be more than enough to protect me and I do know how to take care of myself," Lelouch added.

Jeremiah continued to observe him with a frown.

"These are your orders," Lelouch stressed. "Do not leave the palace until I say otherwise and try to keep the fact that I left the party a secret for as long as possible."

Though he could tell his Royal Guard weren't exactly happy with what he was doing, they all saluted and stated, "Yes, Your Highness."

"Be careful," Rayne added.

"Yeah, don't do nothing stupid," Tadashi said.

"Contact us if you need backup and we'll be right there," Lila said.

"Thank you. Come, Suzaku, let's go," Lelouch said and, turning around, headed for the stairs to grab himself and Suzaku a disguise before they would head onto the streets of the Tokyo Settlement.

. . .

Extraction Point, Near the Outskirts of the Tokyo Settlement

"Okay, the gas capsule is secured. Get ready to get out of there quickly. It won't be long before backup is sent," Michal said and Kallen, who was seated in the driver's seat of the truck in a uniform with a cap hiding her facial features from view, knew that he was watching everything from above. Thankfully, Nagata knew how to operate the crane and Reyes and Michal were decent marksmen able to take out the soldiers and allowing for a clear path for Nagata to get to the crane.

"Right," Kallen said and strapped in her seatbelt as Nagata, out of breath from running from the crane, climbed into driver's side and, securing his own seatbelt, moved the gearshift to first and took off. Kallen gripped the edge of her seat as the truck shot forward, weaving its way through the street, heading for the rendezvous.

"You're on your own from here on out. We will meet you at the rendezvous," Michal said.

"Don't let them Britannian bastards catch ya," Reyes called from the background.

"Yeah, yeah, we know," Kallen huffed. But I have the Glasgow if we need it, she thought. As part of the plan, just in case they needed to protect the gas capsule from being recaptured by the Britannians, they'd agreed to bring along the Glasgow and Kallen would act as decoy to give Nagata time to get away with the capsule. Of course, Ohgi had been the first to protest but, eventually, conceded that Kallen was the best pilot out of all of them and was likely the one that could last long enough against the Britannians for Nagata to get to the rendezvous.

The truck shot down the street, heading for the main road that would take them to the Shinjuku Ghetto. Kallen kept an eye on the rearview mirror, relieved that they were in the clear for the moment, though she knew that it wouldn't last. While Michal and Reyes's distraction was certainly providing them with the time they needed to get as far from the lab as possible, Kallen was not going to relax until they were at the rendezvous.

Nagata turned the corner and continued to drive rapidly as Tamaki's voice sounded over the radio. "Hey, do ya got the gas capsule?" he asked.

"Of course we have it. Didn't we agree not to talk about it in case our transmissions were being intercepted?" Nagata said tersely.

"Oh, uh, right, whoops. Well, I doubt that they've intercepted this transmission. We're in the clear," Tamaki said cheerfully.

. . .

Ballroom, Viceroy's Palace

Clovis la Britannia chatted with the noblewomen in front of him while sipping at a glass of wine, briefly wondering how his younger half brother was enjoying the party. He knew that Lelouch didn't particularly care about these kinds of parties but Clovis wanted him to lighten up just a bit and, maybe, relax since he knew that Lelouch had been especially busy recently due to the assassination attempt on Nunnally.

Of course, when Bartley had come to him earlier to inform him about the attack on the lab by a terrorist group, Clovis was especially glad that Lelouch was at the party. He'd, while his half-brother was not paying attention to him, ordered Bartley to handle the matter. He also knew that he'd have to speak to the public about the attack, since he had no doubt that the media had likely caught wind of it.

But he also had to ensure that Lelouch didn't have to worry about it because he couldn't afford to have Lelouch poke around that area, not when there was a chance of him finding out about Code-R. He couldn't let Code-R fall into his younger half-brother's hands, not when Lelouch was already the Emperor's favorite and had garnered such a fearsome reputation, causing Clovis to drift into the background. He needed Code-R if he was to stand a chance at gaining the prestige he needed to become a true contender to the throne, a prestige his younger half brother, to Clovis's dismay, had already managed to obtain because of what happened at Sapporo.

Clovis did care about Lelouch. There was no denying that. He did love Lelouch but he was ambitious and sick of being pushed to the sidelines, outshone by Cornelia, the Witch of Britannia, and Schneizel, the White Prince of Britannia, and now by his younger half-brother Lelouch, the Demon Prince of Britannia. He didn't even have a moniker himself; he was just the Viceroy of Area 11 and, while he did garner a lot of power after obtaining that post, he hadn't wanted the post truthfully. He'd only taken it because he wanted an excuse to be in Area 11 to search for Lelouch and Nunnally following the invasion, not believing that they were truly dead.

So he didn't really see being Viceroy of Area 11 as a true accomplishment, especially not when he didn't even have the glowing record that General Andon had.

Clovis wasn't a fighter, like Cornelia, and he wasn't a strategist, like Schneizel and Lelouch, which was another reason why he needed Code-R. He needed that girl's power because if that girl can grant him that kind of power then he would finally be able to gain what Schneizel, Cornelia, and Lelouch had already gained. And, as he said before, he would finally be able to be a true contender for the throne.

Once Bartley came to Clovis's side to inform him that the terrorists had been driven away from the area that they'd attacked, he, relieved, decided that now was the perfect time to speak to the public about the attack. According to Bartley, the media had, indeed, picked up on the story and it was spreading like a wildfire.

"Get a camera crew in here. I wish to speak to the people of the settlement," Clovis ordered.

"Yes, Your Highness," Bartley said with a salute and moved off, calling orders as he did so and Clovis had a few attendants appear to dress him so that it wouldn't look as if he was speaking to the people from a party. That would not do.

As he prepared to speak before the public, he briefly scanned the ballroom, noticing that Lelouch's Royal Guard was still there, though he couldn't seem to see his brother or his brother's Number knight—something that Clovis still didn't approve of—but figured that they were nearby. After all, Lelouch did have a death threat hanging over his head; Clovis knew his half-brother wasn't stupid enough to go out in public with someone after his head.

As the camera was set up in front of him, Clovis pushed his thoughts of his brother out of his mind for now and focused on speaking with the public about the terrorist attack.

. . .

Streets, Tokyo Settlement

Lelouch sneezed, causing Suzaku to glance at him as the two rode in the back of a cab heading for the Tokyo Military Base. Both of them were dressed in casual clothing while Lelouch was wearing a pair of sunglasses since his eyes have always been his most telling feature. They'd hailed a cab as soon as they'd changed into their disguises and left the Viceroy's Palace and they'd only just left the palace when Lelouch had sneezed.

"I think someone's either talking or thinking about you," Suzaku commented.

Lelouch leaned back in his seat. "And who would be talking about me?" he mused.

"Well, let's see..."

"That was a rhetorical question, Suzaku."

Suzaku chuckled before he grew serious and added quietly, "Are you still sure about this, Lelouch? I mean it's really dangerous for you to be out with just me to protect you."

"You are more than capable of protecting me, Suzaku, and as long as people don't recognize me, I can pass off as just any other Britannian. And once we're in the base, we'll be fine," Lelouch added.

Suzaku pressed his lips together but nodded slowly, accepting Lelouch's reasoning.

As they drove, they bypassed a large screen on which Clovis had suddenly appeared. The television screen that was within the cab as well also had Clovis on it but Lelouch only listened with half an ear, gazing out the window at the cars that sped past, as Clovis spoke about the terrorist attack.

"Out of curiosity, Lelouch, does everyone know that you're in charge of the terrorist threat? Or is that just the military?" Suzaku asked.

"Just the military, at the moment. I honestly don't think it really matters that much, especially with the lack of terrorist threats before today," Lelouch said.

Suzaku hummed. "I suppose so," he said and glanced at the television screen as Clovis's speech came to an end, ending with him requesting a moment of silence for those who died in the attack.

The cab switched lanes and Lelouch stretched out a hand, turning off the television screen, and looked to see how far they'd come. They were still a good couple of miles away but they were making pretty good time.

At least, until some moron rammed into them.

That caught both Lelouch and Suzaku by surprise, throwing them forward and causing the cab driver to swerve in an attempt to not be driven off the road. As the cab swerved rapidly to the side, the truck that had rammed into them swerved as well, heading in the opposite direction, straight onto a ramp that was under construction. The cab came to a stop on the side of the road as the truck crashed into the partially opened doors of a garage of the building down below.

Suzaku, rubbing his neck, peered out the window. "Was that our fault or theirs?" he wondered.

Lelouch shrugged as he unbuckled himself and climbed out of the car, assessing the damage while rubbing his neck and stretching, making sure he hadn't hurt anything. He also briefly checked on the driver who assured him that he was fine, just a bit dazed from the whiplash. "You okay, Suzaku?" he asked, walking around the car to join Suzaku who'd also gotten out and was stretching.

"Yeah, fine. How's the driver?"

"Fine, just whiplash."

All around him, people had gathered in curiosity, peering at the truck and murmuring to themselves. Some of them were even taking pictures of the crash sight but, to Lelouch's disgust, none of them were bothering on calling for help, or even checking to see if the driver was all right.

He headed for the ramp and Suzaku darted after him in confusion. "Where're you going?" he asked.

"I just want to make sure they're all right, Suzaku. Even if we don't know just who was at fault, we should still check on them. It's obvious no one else will," Lelouch said, not even bothering on hiding his disgust as he glared at the onlookers who were still watching, chatting, and taking pictures.

"Why is no one calling for help?" Suzaku asked in naive bewilderment.

"They don't care," Lelouch said flatly as he jogged across the ground toward where the truck was located. "Funny, and rather ironic, that the Demon Prince of Britannia is more willing to help than them."

He neared the truck. "Hello? Are you all right?" he called, not entirely sure if they could hear him since the cab of the truck was practically buried in the building. He didn't hear an answer and frowned to himself.

"Suzaku, call for help. They might be unconscious or they might not be able to hear me. I'm going to try to find a better way for them to hear me," Lelouch said and his amethyst eyes landed on the ladder attached to the side of the truck. That'll work.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Suzaku asked, dialing a number on his phone as he watched Lelouch grab the rungs of the ladder and climb up.

"I'll just be a minute," Lelouch replied once he was on top.

It's you. You're finally here…

Lelouch blinked at the faint feminine voice that sounded and looked around but couldn't find the source of it. For some odd reason, he was sure that it wasn't coming from the driver; it was too quiet, like a whisper, and yet loud enough for him to hear it clearly. And yet it was clear that Suzaku didn't hear it because he was looking at Lelouch in puzzlement, the phone resting against his ear.

Shaking his head to clear it, Lelouch peered into the truck. "Hello?" he called again. "Are you all right?"

There was no answer.

"I'm not getting through to anyone," Suzaku called.

"Keep trying. You might have to contact Jeremiah and..." Lelouch broke off with a yelp, he would forever deny that he actually 'yelped', when the truck suddenly jerked back with such force that Lelouch was thrown headfirst into the truck. He crashed on top of what appeared to be a gas capsule and tumbled down the side of it.

Well, ow, that was unexpected.

. . .

"Lelouch!" Suzaku gasped, diving out of the way to avoid getting hit by the truck that had backed up as suddenly as it had, the sudden backing up had caused Lelouch to lose his balance and topple into the truck. Forgetting about calling for help, Suzaku quickly dialed Lelouch's number as he darted after the truck that was driving rapidly away. He knew that it was unlikely he'd be able to catch up with it on foot but he might, at the very least, see where it was going and could track his prince down from there.

"Ow...Suzaku?" Lelouch's voice sounded over the phone.

"Are you okay?" Suzaku asked.

"Fine. Hit my head a little when I fell in but I'm fine," Lelouch said, voice quiet, most likely to not be heard by the people who were driving that truck.

"I'm following you on foot, my prince," Suzaku said, keeping his voice quiet as he unfolded the headset part of his phone and fitted it around his ear, so that he could keep speaking with Lelouch while having both hands free if necessary. "From the looks of the direction the truck's heading in, I think you're heading for the Shinjuku Ghetto."

"Wonderful." The sarcasm was strong in Lelouch's voice.

Suzaku was about to say something when the sound of gunshots came to him and he swiftly dodged out of the way, though he noticed that they weren't aimed at him, they were aimed at the truck. The truck started to weave rapidly as it struggled to evade the bullets; Suzaku then watched as a squad of knightmares, dropping from an aerial carrier, charged after the truck.

He swore. "My prince, I think we may have, unintentionally, got entangled with terrorists. I don't see why else they'd send a squad of knightmares after a single truck," he said, watching as the knightmares charged after the truck, still firing at it.

"Oh this day just keeps getting better," Lelouch said with scornful sarcasm.

"Should I contact Jeremiah and inform him of the situation?"

"No. If you do then Jeremiah will order the Black Knights here and that'll be complete chaos since no one will know who the enemy is," Lelouch said.

That makes sense… "All right, my prince." Suzaku was now following at a more sedated pace, simply following the sounds of the battle since he knew those knightmares were after the truck that his prince was in. He knew that if he followed the knightmares then he'd figure out where both were going soon enough. As for how to get his prince away from the fight between the knightmares and the terrorists...well, he'd worry about that when he got there.

. . .

A few minutes earlier…

Ballroom, Viceroy's Palace

"That was simply wonderful. You spoke as if you weren't in the middle of a party," one of the noblewoman said as Clovis stepped away from the camera, brushing off some invisible dust and smiling charmingly at the woman in front of him. The cameramen packed up everything and left while everyone went back to the party.

"It's all part of the job, playing the part of Viceroy when necessary at any time of the day, even during a party," he said. He thought he did a good job with that speech, considering it wasn't one that others, like Diethard, normally wrote for him. Unlike Lelouch, whom Clovis knew was a very charismatic speaker, Clovis couldn't do that, which was another reason why he envied his younger half brother. But he thought he did a good job with that improvised speech and everything was looking up. Now all he needed was confirmation that the girl had been transported without problems…

Just then, Bartley darted across the room. "Your Highness," he said.

"What is it?" Clovis asked.

Bartley leaned forward. "The terrorists have the girl. They were last seen heading for the Shinjuku Ghetto," he whispered to where only Clovis could hear.

Clovis's eyes widened fractionally. "Excuse me, ladies," he said to the noblewomen around him and turned before striding out of the ballroom, trying hard to keep himself from running. Damnit! Damnit! Damnit! I have to get that girl back. That girl's power can't fall into the hands of terrorists, he thought. Of course, he also knew that if people were to find out about that girl before he was ready then it would lead to him being disinherited. He needed to find out that girl's secrets; it was the only way to ensure that he got the prestige he sought, and didn't get disinherited.

He had to get that girl back. "Redeploy the 1st Regiment! Retrieve the project at all costs," he ordered firmly as he headed for the doors that would take him to the hangar. "I will, personally, take command of this operation."

"What of Prince Lelouch?"

"He doesn't have to know about this. I'll deal with them with the 1st Regiment," Clovis said firmly as he swept out of the palace and into the hangar.

"Yes, Your Highness," Bartley said as he walked after the Viceroy of Area 11.

. . .

Present time...

Road to the Shinjuku Ghetto

Lelouch winced as he was thrown to the wall for what felt like the billionth time. All the swerving that the terrorists were doing to avoid the gunfire from the Britannians that were firing on them was really doing a number on Lelouch's body. He'd already been thrown against the wall of the truck and the gas capsule so many times that he was sure he was going to bruise. It also didn't help that he was starting to lose reception on his phone, and thus his connection with Suzaku.

"...catching up with us! Damn it! How the hell were they able to find out so quickly? Did they intercept our call earlier?" one of the terrorists exclaimed.

"I don't know but this is why I'm here," a very familiar voice said and Lelouch pressed himself against the wall of the truck, eyes widening as he spotted a very familiar red-headed girl dart past him, shedding the disguise that she'd been wearing as well as a radio.

There was no denying it.

Lelouch narrowed his eyes. Kallen Stadtfeld, so you're a terrorist? And yet you seem to get along great with Nunnally. Why then? He thought and resolved that he would have to find a way to question Kallen as soon as he could.

Supposing he got out of this mess alive.

He pushed that thought out of his head as he watched the door open to reveal a battered red Glasgow knightmare frame. A moment later, he watched as Kallen launched the Glasgow out of the truck but then the truck rounded a corner, throwing him back against the gas capsule, and he lost sight of her.

One Glasgow against who knew how many Sutherlands? She must be a decoy, used to distract the Britannians and allow her companion to escape, Lelouch thought.

"My prince...still there?" Suzaku's voice sounded over the phone, though it was slightly garbled, reminding Lelouch that he was, indeed, losing his connection to his knight.

"Careful, Suzaku, the terrorists have launched a knightmare to fight back. Try to avoid getting caught in the crossfire on accident," Lelouch said.

"Didn't...all of...Almost at...Shinjuku..." Suzaku's garbled response came but Lelouch couldn't make much sense out of it. "Losing...stay safe..." The connection cut after Suzaku asked Lelouch to remain safe and he, knowing there was no pointing in attempting to call his knight back, closed his phone, slipping it into his pocket.

He scanned the area and his eyes landed on the radio that Kallen had dropped. That might come in handy, he thought and winced as he was thrown against the gas capsule once again when the truck swerved again.

. . .

Edge of the Shinjuku Ghetto

Suzaku peered around the decrepit building he was hiding behind as he attempted to find a way past the battling knightmares and into the tunnel that he was sure was where the truck had gone. At the very least, that red Glasgow had come from that direction so it was his best bet at finding his prince, especially now that they'd lost the connection.

This reminds me a little of the invasion, Suzaku thought but firmly shoved the thought out of his mind, not wanting to relive the invasion, especially not with the bad memories associated with it. He peered around the corner again and, noticing that the fighting seemed to be drifting to the east, used that as a distraction and darted toward the subway tunnel. He ducked into it and headed down it; his prince was down there and he had to catch up with him.

Suzaku really was taking his duties as a knight seriously. He had no choice. He knew that many looked at him with contempt in their eyes, some of them even still whispered about how they thought that he'd conned Lelouch into choosing him as his knight. There were even some who were much more insulting but they always made sure that the prince couldn't hear them. After all, everyone knew that insulting a Knight of Honor was seen as insulting their prince and that was considered high treason.

Nonetheless, Suzaku hoped to prove that he was worthy of the honor that Lelouch had given him and, while there were many who didn't see him as more than just an Honorary Britannian, there were some that did, such as most of Lelouch's Royal Guard and Lelouch himself. Lelouch was the reason why Suzaku had such a prestigious rank after all and he was not about to do anything to cause his prince to regret his decision.

He also couldn't bear it if something happened to his best friend. He'd killed his father only because he knew that the do-or-die resistance that his father was going to call would not only jeopardize hundreds of thousands of innocent lives but it would also put Lelouch and Nunnally in danger. After all, the do-or-die resistance was his father's way of saying that they would fight until they drove all Britannian enemies off their land or die trying and many of the Japanese saw Lelouch and Nunnally as the enemy, even though they were living proof that not all Britannians were bad. So Suzaku had killed his father to protect his best friends.

As he was going to do now.

Stay safe, Lelouch. I'm on my way, he thought in determination as he leapt onto the tracks of the subway tunnel and darted down it, hoping that he was going the right way.

. . .

Bridge, G1 Base, Edge of the Shinjuku Ghetto

"Situation report?" Clovis said firmly as he strode onto the bridge of the G1 and took a seat on his throne as Bartley and the rest of the soldiers and technicians on the bridge went to work getting an overview of the situation.

"The truck containing the project has entered the Shinjuku Ghetto and, as you ordered, we have sent the 1st Regiment after it to retrieve it. They are encountering some resistance in the form of a red Glasgow and the terrorists are also putting up a fight against our men."

Clovis hummed in thought. "Send out a couple of squads of the Numbers to track down the capsule. They will be under the direct command of my Royal Guard." He could just dispose of them later if they happen to come into contact with the girl. No one would miss a bunch of Elevens anyway.

"Yes, Your Highness," Bartley said with a salute.

Clovis turned to his Royal Guard who stood at attention. "Go and retrieve the gas capsule as soon as those Elevens find it. Ensure that they do not open the contents of that capsule," he ordered firmly.

"Yes, Your Highness," the Royal Guard stated with a salute before they darted off to follow their orders.

"And of the terrorists and that Glasgow who's proving to be a rather tricky opponent?" Bartley asked.

"Have the 1st Regiment take care of it until the capsule is retrieved," Clovis said. After that, there would be no point in continuing the fighting since he would have what he needed. If anything then he could tell Lelouch and have the Demon Prince take care of those terrorists before they try something like that again.

"Yes, Your Highness."

. . .

Steps Outside the Student Council Clubhouse, Ashford Academy

Adeline sat down on the steps beside Nunnally's wheelchair, noticing the rest of the Student Council, except for Kallen, were seated either on the steps or on lawn chairs that Milly had fetched from the clubhouse or on blankets that Shirley had brought from the storage closets. It was a nice day; the sun shone brightly in the cloudless blue sky above and the breeze was soft, not enough to disturb them but enough to ward off the warmth from the sun's rays.

"I'm sorry about this," Nunnally said softly, her bluish-purple eyes filled with regret. "You don't have to be out here just 'cause I don't feel comfortable in the meeting room."

"Don't worry about it, Nunnally," Milly said with a bright reassuring smile. "We could all use the fresh air and it's a nice day today."

"Yeah, I certainly don't mind being outside," Rivalz said with a shrug.

"And Nina could use a break from her computer for an hour or so," Milly added with a teasing smirk at Nina who flushed and ducked her head.

"Y...Yeah," the dark-green haired girl said softly.

A soft smile crossed Nunnally's lips, though Adeline could still see the regret and sadness deep in her eyes. She smiled softly and placed a hand on her shoulder; she understood what Nunnally was going through because she had, and was still, going through the same thing. For years, she couldn't even be anywhere near weapons of any sort, except knightmares. Even now, she couldn't figure out why she felt more comfortable around knightmares than any other kind of weapon, though Unity speculated it was because knightmares didn't exist when their village had been destroyed.

Either way, she knew that it would take time for Nunnally to overcome what's happened but she also knew that Nunnally could overcome it.

"Thank you," Nunnally said, glancing at everyone. "I'm glad I have such great friends."

"Oh there's no need to thank us, Nunna. That's what friends are for," Shirley said with a bright smile. She tilted her head to the side and added, "By the way, has anyone heard from Lulu?"

"Not since this morning when I spoke with him about attending Clovis's party," Nunnally said.

"Aww, you're missing your boyfriend, aren't ya?" Milly said with a grin at Shirley.

"He's not my...I mean...I...uh..." Shirley stammered out, her cheeks going red.

Adeline chuckled, raising an eyebrow at Milly. "Are Shirley and Prince Lelouch an item?" she asked.

"It's not official but I'm positive that they are," Milly said.

Shirley's cheeks went redder. "N...No, we're not," she stammered out.

"Well, why not?" Adeline asked.

"He's a prince," Shirley said softly, looking down. "He'd never choose me to be his girlfriend."

"You don't know that," Nunnally said. "Big Brother might surprise you, someday."

"Oh, I do wonder just how Lelouch will find a way to surprise Shirley. Hmm, I always would've thought that, considering how dense he is, it would be Shirley who'd take the next step though," Milly commented.

Adeline had to bit her lip to keep from laughing at how red Shirley, and Rai, Rivalz, and Nina, had gotten at the implication while Nunnally tilted her head to the side in confusion.

"What do you mean, Milly?" she asked innocently.

"Nothing! Nothing!" Shirley exclaimed, waving her hands frantically, her face still the color of a tomato.

Milly pouted, her blue eyes twinkling with amusement.

"Ah, can we get back to work? Um, I mean, don't we have to finish this before tomorrow?" Rai asked, the blush on his cheeks fading as he glanced at everyone, raising a silver eyebrow.

"Yeah, we should probably get to that," Adeline said, noticing Nunnally stiffen slightly at the sound of Rai's voice before slowly relaxing. She knew that Nunnally was still wary and uncomfortable around Rai but she seemed okay with him around if the rest of the Student Council was around as well. She knew that the only reason Nunnally was all right with her was because she'd saved her life; Adeline had been the same way when Unity had saved her life to the point that she was wary of anyone besides her big brother for the longest time.

You and I have far too much in common, Nunnally, she thought sadly.

As she got to work, she found her thoughts drifting and they went to her big brother. She knew that her big brother had organized, with Michal and Reyes, a mission with the resistance that had formed within the Shinjuku Ghetto. While she didn't know much about that resistance, or about the mission itself, Unity had said that it was of utmost importance. According to her big brother, it was what Michal had asked the Shinjuku Resistance for in return for the supplies and weapons that the United Liberators, which was the name that Adeline had given the half of the Liberators that followed Unity, would be supplying them.

She also couldn't participate but, considering her new position as Princess Nunnally's bodyguard, she understood why she couldn't. And, this time, it wasn't because she was a "kid", it was because she had her own orders to fulfill. She had to get close to Prince Lelouch but, until she could earn the prince's trust, getting close to Princess Nunnally would be the next best thing at the moment.

. . .

Abandoned Subway Tunnel, Shinjuku Ghetto

Crash!

Lelouch was thrown, once again, into the gas capsule and fell to the ground as the truck came to abrupt halt. He had no idea where he was, though, when he glanced at his phone and saw that he didn't have any service, he figured that he was underground. And since Suzaku did say that the truck was heading in the direction of the Shinjuku Ghetto then there was a very strong chance that he was in the Shinjuku Ghetto.

Now how to get out?

Lelouch huffed as he stood up, glancing at the gas capsule curiously. The terrorists had stolen this gas capsule, the 1st Regiment were chasing after it, Clovis didn't inform Lelouch about what was happening, and Clovis didn't seem to want Lelouch to know about this Code-R project of his, a project that he didn't want to end up in the Liberators' hands.

Is this that Code-R project that you don't want to end up in the Liberators hands and refuse to tell me about? Lelouch thought. He didn't know whether it was or not, especially since it did look simply like a gas capsule. If it was poison gas, and Lelouch would not be surprised if it was—Britannia was cruel enough to make such a dangerous weapon—then why wouldn't Clovis tell him about it?

It didn't make sense. What was so important about poison gas that Clovis wouldn't tell Lelouch about it but, at the same time, thought it would bring about the doom of the Empire?

Was it possible that it wasn't poison gas but, rather, something else entirely?

That didn't explain, entirely, why it was in a gas capsule though.

Lelouch decided that he would worry about that later. For now, he should get out of there before the terrorists showed up since there was a strong chance that Kallen and whoever was with her had backup. And he doubted that they would simply let him walk away from this unscathed, not when he held such a dangerous reputation.

He moved as quietly as he could toward the side door, aware that the driver in the cab might be conscious, and slowly opened it. Darkness punctured only by thin beams of light from flickering lights dotting the subway's walls stretched out in front of him. His eyes narrowed as they slowly adjusted to the darkness and Lelouch glanced back at the gas capsule, pressing his lips together.

He knew that he couldn't exactly just leave it there, not when the terrorists might have backup. While he really didn't want such a dangerous weapon in Britannia's hands, it was much better than in the hands of terrorists, sort of.

Actually, it wasn't safe in either of their hands.

But what can I do? The only option I can think of is to get into contact with either my Royal Guard or the Black Knights. However, I would have to go above the ground to contact them since I have no service here—a distant boom followed by the sound of gunfire sounded above—and that isn't exactly a good option at the moment, Lelouch thought, his mind turning cogs as he attempted to come up with a solution to his current dilemma.

The sound of movement came to him and Lelouch, gun in his hand in an instant, pointed it in the direction of the sound, only to relax when his knight stepped into the light. "You got here a lot quicker than I thought you would," he commented, returning the gun to its holster.

"Are you all right, my prince?" Suzaku asked as he walked over to join him, tucking his own gun in its holster as if he'd been expecting to come across a terrorist.

"Just a couple of bruises but I'm fine," Lelouch said and turned to contemplate the gas capsule again, lips quirked into a frown.

Suzaku studied the gas capsule as well, frowning. "Is that a gas capsule? The terrorists stole poison gas?" he asked.

"I don't think that's it. Clovis would've told me if it was just poison gas. No, something more is going on but I can't figure out what," Lelouch said, frustration clear in his voice. He was missing something important and he really didn't like it.

Just then, though neither of them knew how, the gas capsule suddenly began to open. Valves were released, tubes snapped away from the capsule, and Lelouch found himself tackled to the ground as the capsule opened up like a flower. He winced as Suzaku shielded his body with his own, not that it really would've mattered had it really been poison gas in that capsule.

But, just as Lelouch thought, it wasn't.

But what it was shocked him.

It was a girl.

A green-haired young woman strapped in a white straightjacket with a white gag over her mouth and foggy golden eyes.

. . .

(1) A reference to a fantasy book series that I love (listed under my Favorite Books section on my profile). Anyone who gets the reference will receive a virtual cookie of their choice!

. . .

A/n what do you think?

Blaze: and so we have finally reached canon events! (Throws confetti into the air)

Bakura: (shakes confetti out of his hair) I am not cleaning this up

Blaze: I'm not surprised. I'll just get Komui's cleaning robot to do it

Allen: the working one or the malfunctioning one?

Blaze: I do not want everyone in the computer room to have makeup put on their faces so the working one

Kallen: makeup?

Allen: (sweatdrops) long story

Suzaku: you haven't been here in a while, Allen. What brings you here now?

Lelouch: Allen, you ready to go?

Allen: (grins and pulls out a deck of cards) yup

Suzaku: (frowns) what are you going to do?

Lelouch: Allen and I agreed that we would split whatever we make at that new casino down the street (walks out of the room)

Allen: (grins evilly) and since I don't lose at cards, many of my Master's debts are going to be paid off today (walks out of the room)

Kallen: …why do I have this feeling that new casino down the road is going to be broke by the time Allen and Lelouch are done?

Suzaku: well, they do still have the slot machines

Kallen: actually, no they don't. One of those robots that Blaze said was called a Komurin destroyed all the slot machines

Suzaku: wow. Ahem, anyway, we should finish this chapter...Where did Blaze go?

Kallen: I honestly have no clue. Bakura?

Bakura: hell if I know. She just up and disappeared, probably went to get something sweet to eat or something. Anyway, finish the chapter, you foolish mortal.

Suzaku: fine. Blaze hopes that you enjoyed this chapter and reviews, as always, are much appreciated. The next chapter will, hopefully, be up within the week but Blaze makes no promises. Thank you all for reading!