A/N: again I do not own Code Geass or Batman Beyond. Great works that are not my own. Here we will now see a negative effect that Zero had on the world.

The sewer water rippled with every step Batman took as he navigated through the sewage system of the Tokyo Settlement. Batman sighed in disgust, he knew he would spend the next couple of hours when this was over cleaning out his suit. But it would all be worth it if he could find Kallen and save her.

He was following the signal he was able to get off Kallen's phone. It wasn't as accurate as Lelouch would want it to be, but it at least gave Lelouch a clue about where her general location was. It indicated that she was a few hundred meters in front of him, not moving hopefully her phone didn't fall from where she had it.

Batman continued to follow until he met a dead-end in the form of a brick wall. He frowned as he looked back to the signal he was following, she should be a few more meters behind this wall. She wasn't below or above him, the tracker of her phone told him they were on the same leveled plane.

Pulling up a holographic map of the city sewage system, it confirmed that the path did indeed end here. Batman was confused at this until an idea popped into his mind.

He pulled up the sewage map again, but not a map of the current Tokyo Settlement sewage system, but of the old Tokyo city. And sure enough, he found that the path continued beyond this wall. He activated his detective vision and found that the path beyond the wall was indeed continuing on.

Which means that Kallen was definitely down here somewhere!

'How am I gonna get through?' Lelouch thought as he contemplated his actions. He could use an explosive Batarang and blow open the wall, but the walls would carry the sound waves far enough to alert Kallen's kidnappers. And he wasn't willing to put Kallen in danger anymore. So he needed another way in.

Another idea came to his mind again. He activated the heat sensor settings in his mask and looked for any recent signs of heat presence. Sure enough, he found multiple handprints on certain bricks on the wall. He placed his hand on one and it moved slightly. Lelouch frowned in thought. 'Must be in a certain order that I have to press these bricks.' Lelouch thought to himself.

He began pressing numerous bricks to see if ant would work. After several tries, he was able to figure out the combination, and the brick wall slide opened, revealing the path to the hidden network.

'So that's how they've stayed hidden all this time.' Lelouch thought as he moved quickly down the tunnel.


After walking through the contaminated water for a while, he noticed that he was in the general vicinity of the signal from her phone. Then he heard the faint murmur of cheering, or chanting, in the distance. Walking forward, he came to the end of the pipe he was currently in. And gasped.

In front of him was a large colosseum-like area in the sewer system. It must have been the central sewage hub of the entire city when the country was still Japan. It was run down, with rust over most of the pipes, no water was flowing through it. But it wasn't the room itself that made Batman gasp, more what was added.

Posters hung on the wall, Zero was plastered on all of them. Underneath some of the larger ones, it wrote, 'Our Creator'. On the ground floor were crowds of people wearing attire that was similar to Zero. The people looked both excited and yet furious.

Batman fired his grapple hook up to a higher vantage point to get a better view of the room while activating his cloaking device to hide him from anyone who might be looking up.

Looking over to where people's attention was focused on, it was a large platform near one of the walls of the circular room. On the platform were several straight standing wooden polls. And fastened to everyone were people. Britannian officers, members of the Black Knights, and… Kallen!

He had to move fast before-

Suddenly a voice called to the congregation.


"SILENCE!" A voice shouted, waking Kallen up from her daze. When she came to, her eyes were a bit foggy but her sense of smell could pick up something nasty, so she was either in a sewer or a garbage yard.

When her eyes cleared up, she found that she was in the former, and also tied to a wooden post.

She looked around and gasped when she saw Zero! Or Zeros? Was she still dizzy?

She then found out that she wasn't as her vision cleared up more, and she saw a large crowd of figures dressed in the garb of Zero, wearing a mask as well.

She then turned her head and gasped when she saw that members of the Black Knights were in a similar state, as well as a few Britannian officers. All of them held looks of terror on their faces.

She then took a glance at the one whose voice she heard but moments ago that woke her up. He was dressed the most similar to Zero out of everyone in the room. Which most likely meant that he was in charge of this group.

"My brothers, my sisters," The man spoke in a modulated voice similar to the original Zero, "I welcome you all here! I appreciate your praise, but it is not for me you cheer for. No, you cheer for the man who created us, the man who shaped this world, the one who brought all to his knees! For our father! ZERO!" He raised his fist in the air to make a dramatic point.

The congregation then began to cheer the name Zero to the top of their lungs. Some of the ones tied to the podium winced at the loud noise of the people, Kallen wasn't one of them.

"Wh… Who are you, people?!" A Britannian officer shouted.

The 'faux' Zero turned to the man. "We," he gestured around to the crowd of Zeros with him, "WE, are the Children of Zero!"


Batman frowned as he heard the name of the sick cult that sought to keep Zero alive.

The Children of Zero.

Ironic name for a cult whose goal is to kill anyone they see fit.

He had run into a few of their members from time to time since he started his career as Batman. From what he was able to gather so far, this cult sought vengeance for what happened to their 'father' after his 'death'. Also whenever he encountered them, they would refer to him as the 'pretender'. Believing that he was trying to replace Zero, which to be honest he was. But for different reasons what they thought.

Since then, they have been grabbing both Britannian military personnel and Black Knights off of the streets and then executing them for killing their 'father'. While they executed the Britannians for being part of the force that killed Zero, the Black Knights were killed for failing to protect him in the first place.

Lelouch growled. Is this what Zero's legacy was going to be? A cult of extremists who sought to eliminate those responsible for the death of someone they saw as a deity? 'This is what happens when a man tries to play god.' Lelouch thought to himself with shame. 'All they do is create an insane band of followers that will do anything that will please their god.'

Lelouch shook his head, sending the thought out of his mind. It didn't matter right now. What mattered was getting Kallen out of here, quickly. But he couldn't just rush in there without a plan. That would only get her, and the other hostages killed. He had to think this through.


"What do you want with all of us?!" One Black Knight questioned.

The faux Zero stared at the man, with a gaze that sent shivers down Kallen's spine. "What do we want?" He repeated the question mockingly. He then turned to his audience. "You heard the man. TELL HIM WHAT WE WANT?!" He shouted to the crowd.

"VENGEANCE FOR OUR GLORIOUS FATHER! VENGEANCE FOR ZERO!" They answered, raising their fists high in the air.

"But why kill us?!" Another Black Knight shouted hysterically. "Britannia was the one who killed Zero! Not us!" He glanced at the Britannians tied up with them.

"Britannia may be responsible for ending Zero," the false Zero agreed with his statement, "But you all failed to protect him from such dangers! Therefore, his death was as much as your fault as it was Britannia's!"

Kallen felt a pang of guilt at those words. The false Zero had no idea how much his words had struck true. After all, she was there, she was there when the high command of the Black Knights betrayed Zero. And when they decided that Zero should 'die'.

"But through us," the false Zero's voice took her out of her mind, "The Children of Zero, his legacy will carry on! We will continue to bring down the hammer of justice on all those who have wronged our father!" The crowd cheered at the man's words.

"YOU PEOPLE ARE CRAZY!" A Britannian officer shouted, silencing the crowd.

The false Zero turned at that, and it caused the man to freeze in fear as a wet liquid had started flowing down his pants. He started to walk slowly to the man while speaking, "How should we punish one such as you? Death is too merciful for the crimes you have committed." Slowly, he reached into his coat to pull something out. It was an injector of some sort holding a vile of light brown liquid.

"This is your punishment," The false Zero began to explain, "Like Refrain, it makes the subject experience realistic hallucinations. But with a very 'lovely' twist. Instead of their fondest memories, they experience their greatest fears, until it drives them mad." The crowd cheered in approval in this form of punishment.

He walked to the Britannian who shouted, who began thrashing around in his restraints in an attempt to get free. "No! Please don't! Please! Mercy! No! NOOOO!" He protested to no avail as the needed pierced his neck and the liquid entered into his bloodstream

He stopped struggling after that. Then a few quick moments later, he had a look of absolute terror in his eyes. "No! Please! Getaway! GET THEM AWAY FROM ME!" He shouted in fear as the drug took effect and the hallucinations started.

The false Zero continued this process on the other occupants tied to the wooden poles. All had the same reaction, a hallucination of their worst fears. Until finally it was Kallen.

She glared up at the man who dared wear his suit.

"Kallen Kozuki," The man began, and then the crowd erupted in a fit of anger at the mention of her name, "The ace of the Black Knights, the captain of the Zero squad, the one trusted to protect our father. And an absolute failure!" The crowd repeated the word 'failure' after it was spoken.

"You were given the task to protect Zero no matter what the price you were supposed to pay." He continued with his judgment of her. "Yet when he needed you the most, you left him for dead and ran away like a coward!" That sent a knife through Kallen's heart.

She had done just that during the end of the Black Rebellion over a year ago. And again on the Ikaruga when the Black Knights betray Zero, she left him to die. Maybe she deserved this, maybe it was her just punishment for leaving Lelouch behind. For not believing in him when he needed her the most.

She looked to see that the vile that the false Zero was holding held more liquid than the last few viles. "If too much of a dose of this 'fear toxin' is injected into a victim's body, the physiological shock of the drug proves too much to the nervous system and it shuts down. Or in other words, they die." Kallen wasn't frightened, she was fine with this fate she was now facing. It was her punishment for leaving him.

The false Zero turned one last time to the crowd. "Can anyone here speak in defense of this failure!?" He rhetorically asked the assembly. No one spoke up. With that, the false Zero moved over to her, the needle inching closer to her neck. Kallen closed her eyes, accepting her fate

Suddenly, an object flew through the air, knocking the injector out of the false Zero's hand onto the ground with a clank! Kallen's eyes shot open and gazed at the object that saved her. Her eyes widened as she recognized the object, and knew who its owner was.

"I CAN!" A voice boomed like thunder above the assembly.

Kallen glanced up to see the Batman descending down upon the crowd of false Zeros, black and red wings extended. When he landed he knocked a few backs and some fell on their rear. He gazed up at the faux Zero with a white-hot rage in his soulless eyes.

"The pretender!" The faux Zero gasped at his sudden appearance. "Destroy him! He is guilty of impersonating our father!" The crowd obeyed as they began to charge the masked vigilante.

Which was a big mistake.

Batman tore through the whole group. No matter what they threw at him, he countered, blocked, parried, dodged, then struck back ten times greater. Fear was beginning to grip the group of false Zeros. At one point, Batman lifted a Zero off his feet and threw him into a line of others, all of them falling like dominos. Every now and then he pulled out one of his gadgets; a Batarang that hit a fire extinguisher or a propane tank about to be thrown by an enemy, the bat-claw which pulled an enemy to him that he slammed to the ground, an ice grenade that froze enemies in their tracks, and many more gadgets.

While this was going on, the false Zero on the platform was shaking in fear at Batman's inhuman strength and speed. While Kallen, on the other hand, was amazed by those factors. Never had she seen someone move, let alone fight, with this grace and eloquence. He wasn't just strong, he was a genius, and she could tell by the way he fought. He was thinking through his moves carefully, timing every action he made perfectly, to make sure he could execute the most effective tactic to take down this horde of enemies.

But there was something else she noticed. While he wasn't trying to kill any of the cultists, that much was certain, but he wasn't exactly playing nice with them either, he was elegant, yet ruthless in his moves, he wanted to inflict maximum damage without killing them. They hinted that even though he seemed to be in control, he was enraged beneath the mask he wore, both figuratively and literally.

The question was why? What made him so angry to be going on these thugs like this? What did they do to earn this rage? It could be that he was angry they were hurting people and instilling there own justice on society, but he was doing something similar? So what was it?

"Tell Kallen I'm sorry."

Kallen gasped as the words that her mother told her floated in her mind. 'Was that is?' She asked herself. 'Is that why he's so angry right now? Why he's hurting them so badly? Because he's trying to make up for whatever thing he did to me?'

Kallen wasn't able to dwell on these thoughts any longer, as she felt someone loosen her holds and hold her in a tight grip with a needle pointed at her neck.


Batman delivered a powerful roundhouse kick to one of the Zeros that sent him flipping upside down with a broken mask as he hit the floor headfirst. He breathed heavily as he looked around in the chamber. All the false Zeros were on the ground, unconscious, or in too much pain to stand back up, with either broken masks or broken bones.

He had to admit, that felt really good. Those worthless piles of scum had the guts to instill there own twisted justice on people who hadn't done anything wrong, but even worse: they had the stomach to call Kallen a failure. That was the straw that caused Lelouch to snap. Because Kallen was many things: beautiful, strong, courageous, selfless, passionate, fiery, hot-headed, compassionate, but the one thing she certainly wasn't was a failure. And whoever said that about her… well, they were gonna rot away in prison for a very long time, with a lot of broken bones.

"Stop right there pretender!" A voice called from behind him.

In an instant, Batman pulled out a Batarang and held it high as he spun around to face the origin of the voice. The leader of this assemble was holding Kallen in his arms with an injection needle of that 'fear toxin' pointed at her neck. That only made Lelouch's blood boil hotter.

"Drop the weapon now!" He ordered with fury in his voice. Batman made no move to follow the order. "I said drop it!" He repeated. He then gestured to the woman he was holding hostage in his hands. "Or she dies!" He threatened, and Batman could tell from the tone and body language that he meant it.

Grudgingly, but compliant, Batman slowly lowered the Batarang and placed it back in his belt, and stood up straight.

The faux Zero then started laughing maniacally at his apparent victory. "This is why you fail pretender!" He insulted the dark knight. "Because with all your attempts to impersonate and be like Zero, you fail, because only a man such as Zero had the power and the spirit to sacrifice everything to achieve victory!"

"I'm not trying to impersonate Zero!" Batman corrected the false Zero, the fury still in his voice. "I know I'll never be like him!"

"Yes! You can't!" The false Zero immediately agreed with the caped crusader. "Because one so feeble-minded as you can't compare with the achievements of Zero!"

"NO!" Batman roared definitely at the man's statement. "That's not it at all! I know I'll never be Zero, but it's… because I don't want to be Zero, that's the reason why I'll never become like he was."

"Then why?!" The masked fake asked, angered. "Why are you trying to do what Zero did if you are not trying to be like him?!" That was the big question, wasn't it? Well, it was time to answer it.

Taking a deep breath, Batman then declared, "Because even though the things that Zero achieved and have done were amazing… they were all built on lies!"

The entire group in the room was taken aback by the words that the masked vigilante just said, those that were still conscious that is. The Zero that was currently holding Kallen was trembling also, he clearly didn't believe the words coming from this 'man's' mouth.

"N-n-no! NO!" The man began to stutter in disbelief. "NO! YOU LIE! You're just trying to ruin the name that Zero by claiming all he worked for was a lie!"

"But it was a lie!" Batman said bluntly, not even fazed by the accusations of the false Zero. "He claimed that he did this for a noble crusade, but in reality, all he wanted was the destruction of Britannia, no matter what happened to innocent people! He lied to all his followers so that they would believe in him! The only time he ever told the truth was after he told his biggest lie. It was small, unnoticed by others, but he sought for only one soul to hear the truth."


Kallen was in a whirlwind. This Batman had just declared that all the achievements of Zero were lies and he didn't just sound like he believed it. He sounded as if he knew it! But how could he possibly know that!

And another thing he said cut her heart. He said that right before his death, he told his only truth for one individual to hear. Did that mean that Lelouch's statement to her was genuine and that he wanted her to live and not die with him? That he truly did care for her?

But, how would Batman know of any of this? Are the two actually working together to stop crime or is-

"I don't wish to have my accomplishments built on lies or the death of others!" Batman declared with power in his voice. "So I will strive not to replace Zero, but to surpass him! I am Batman, and this is my vow: to be a true knight for justice in the way Zero never could be! I will strive to be better than Zero ever was!"

The false Zero was trembling greatly at the last statement that his grip on Kallen loosened up slightly. "Better than Zero?" He muttered softly to himself. "How is that even possible?!"

Batman looked down at that. "I don't know," He admitted, yet he raises his head and his face held a strong determination in it, "But I intend to find out."

Kallen was stunned, not by the declaration that Batman just made, but the power of his voice as he made it. She heard the strength of that voice before, so many time, had fallen in love with it. Could it be? Could it actually be him?

'Lelouch… is that you?'

Her eyes then caught the sight of a Zero with a rifle aimed at Batman's (Lelouch's?) head! "Batman look out!" She shouted as she acted instinctively.

Batman turned to see the sniper and dodged the bullet that fired. Kallen had twisted out of the Zero that was holding and kicked him to the ground.

She then reached for the Batarang that knocked the vile of the drug out of the Zero's hand. Taking aim, she then threw the object to the sniper and knocked him off his point of elevation.

Whirling around, Batman had a surprised look on his face at the action that Kallen just took before smiling the first smile that she ever saw the masked crusader making. "Nice work!" He complimented.

She didn't know why, but that praise somehow made her blush slightly. But then she remembered the theory she had. She was about to ask him when he called out with horror on his face.

"KALLEN LOOK OUT!" Was all the warning she received before she felt something sharp enter her neck. Then immediately afterward, a liquid entered her bloodstream. Turning her head, she saw the Zero she kicked down was holding the vile of that drug and was injecting it into her body. Her eyes then widened in sudden fear.

Then a dark shadow passed her, and the next thing she knew, the Zero that drugged her was on the ground having his face smashed in by Batman! "You worthless piece of absolute-" Whatever Batman was gonna saw next didn't reach her as she crumpled to the ground and let the nightmares take hold.


They were shouting at her, condemning her to the depts of suffering. Her victims, her rescues, her mother, her brother, her friends, her comrades, her love, they all were condemning her for what she had done. And she wanted to comply with all of their requests. She wanted to die for betraying him and killing those people. She just wanted to die than to suffer the pain she was feeling.

But then she heard it.

A voice.

HIS voice!

It was calling her. Begging her to come back! To return to be beside him! To stay with him again! And she couldn't refuse! She reached with all her might to the source of the voice calling her name!

"KALLEN!"


"KALLEN!"

Said woman awoke her eyes to see a bat-like figure looming above her. She groaned as she began to rise from her slumber. When her eyes felt better, she glanced around at the location she was now in.

They were underground in some kind of bunker it seemed. Tech, very advanced tech, surrounded her. She then noticed that she was lying on a medical bed. She wonders briefly why that was when she recalled what happened. How long was she asleep?

"You were out for over 2 hours," Batman said, answering her unsaid question, "You were lucky too. If the fear toxin had been in your blood for a minute longer, then there would have been no way to cure you."

"How did you?" She asked a little sluggishly still a little sleep from the after-effects from the drug.

"I was able to grab an unused sample of the vile from the hands of that fake Zero." Batman began explaining. "Then do a quick analysis of the chemical components, I was able to synthesis an antidote to counter the toxin's own chemicals. And thankfully just in time!"

Kallen breathed a sigh of relief for Batman's action. She laid back down, which felt immensely better to her for the moment. She then caught a glance at his hands, which are supposed to be black but have the red stain of blood marked on them. She rose back up, slowly, as not to dizzy herself again. "Did you…?" She asked, not saying what she was asking.

Batman glanced down to his hands and signed. "No, I didn't. But I wanted to." He said darkly, which then reminded Kallen why he can be so frightening at times. "I wanted to kill him so badly. Because he took Zero's idea of justice and twisted it in a very wrong way that hurts so many people." It sounded like he wanted to say more but he seemed to stop himself before he said it. "But then I remembered that if I did that… if I allowed myself to go down into that place again… I'll never come back."

'Again?' Kallen frowned at the word as she looked to the man with a sense of realization. He had apparently been down the path of blood already and had managed to climb his way back out. So that gave an insight into his character.

Shen then recalled what he said back down into the sewer. "Did you mean what you said? About becoming better than Zero? And about his accomplishments being lies?" She asked him.

Batman gave a sigh. "For a long time, I believed what Zero was saying was righteous and true. But as time went on I saw the truth. That all Zero ever truly sought was vengeance. He may have had a few righteous reasons for doing this, but his main desire was vengeance against whatever injustice Britannia had forced upon him. He did awful things to innocent people, even though it granted him victory. He made mistakes that caused innocents blood to be spilled and some innocents to have that blood on their hands. Though he was noble in many of his actions, his darkness and hate still dominated him. And when he died, that's when I finally realized."

Kallen, who was listening intently, asked softly, "What?"

"That even though Zero inspired good and gave hope to those who were hopeless, he also sparked the flame for something worse than anything he could have predicted." Batman continued. "The Children of Zero are the example of this, as it the FLEJIA warhead. Zero's methods and his mistakes are what caused both to be born. They are the creations that were born of his hate and his arrogance. So in a way, the Children of Zero are his children, the children of his hate. And the FLEJIA is his ultimate weapon, even if he never used it."

"So what about you?"

"I vowed to clean the bloodstain legacy that Zero had. To create a world that Zero wanted to give the people. A world where people extend kindness to all those in need. I vowed to be a true knight of justice, better than he ever could be."

Kallen was stunned by the man's resolve. He was gonna change the world, by himself nonetheless. And Kallen just knew by the tone of his voice that he was gonna give it his all, or die trying.

Still, that knacking feeling was in the back of Kallen's mind. That beneath that mask was the man that she had fallen in love with. And that he now sought to create a world through different means. She wanted to ask him, but she didn't have the strength. Instead, she asked, "Did you know Zero?"

Batman looked at her for a moment. Then he answered. "You could say that I was created from Zero, or, more specifically, his ashes." He didn't answer the question. Seeing that Kallen wasn't understanding what he meant, he continued. "When Zero died, it allowed me to be born, to rise to the position that Zero claimed himself to be, yet failed to uphold. A knight for justice."

Kallen was surprised. Not by his words, or his determination. But more of the fact that she didn't slap him upside the head for degrading Zero and his accomplishments like he was doing now. But instead, she admired his goal and his desire to become what Zero claimed to be. But there was more in that determination than he was letting on. A more personal reason why he's seeking to become greater than Zero was.

But before she could press any more, he rose from where he was sitting and pulled another syringe from his belt. Kallen's faced morphed to fear for a brief moment before Batman soothed her, "Don't worry. This is only to keep you unconscious for a while, it won't hurt you. I just don't want to take any chances. You understand?"

She nodded. She completely understood his reasoning for secrecy. She then allowed him to approach her with the syringe. He then placed the needle into her skin, very gently she might add, and pressed down on the needle. Immediately she felt the liquid doing its job and sending her off to sleep. But as she was about to enter unconsciousness, she heard him speaking to her.

"I'm grateful your alive, Kallen." He said in that exact same tone when she last saw him!

Kallen then found herself fighting back against the desire to rest, to reach out to him and call him to her. But no, he was smart. He put her in a position where she was powerless and could do nothing after he said those words. But still, with all her fading strength, she gripped his arm and muttered his name.


"Lelouch…" Kallen muttered, drowsily, as she finally slipped into unconsciousness due to the effects of the drug.

Once he was sure she was out, Lelouch took off his mask and gazed down at her. He felt a tinge of guilt for doing this to her, but it had to be done. She couldn't know, in order to keep her safe, she could never know. At least, not yet, hopefully.

As he moved his now bare fingers across her cheek, he could only think of how beautiful the woman layin in front of him was. And how on earth he deserved to be in the presence of this angel. Maybe it was his reward for saving the Collective Unconscious from his parents? Or maybe it was how he risked everything to try and change the world?

Again, he felt the temptation to let her in. to let her into his small circle of trust and show her the real Lelouch, not that she hasn't seen most of it, she is probably one of the few who has seen most of who he really is.

He sighed heavily. But again, he resisted. Not now. Not with what he was suspected was going on with Schneizal. He had to keep her at a distance to keep her from dying like all the other women who got close to his heart. Euphie, Shirley, C.C., Nunnally, and so on. He couldn't lose another, especially not her.

And he just knew Schneizal was up to something. After analyzing the fear toxin that the Children of Zero had, he discovered that the toxin was made from chemicals that could be traced back to the owner's transactions that originated within the Viceroy Palace. Lelouch frowned. What on earth was Schneizal doing supplying dangerous chemicals to a cult that will hunt down members of his own military and advanced weaponry to criminals? What did he hope to gain from all of this? Not money. And power never held much interest for Schneizal unless he needed it to accomplish his goals. So what?

He had too many questions and not enough answers. He needed more information before he ever made a move against Schnezial. And he couldn't let Kallen be caught in the crossfire. She needed to be safe, more than he needed, wanted her. He had to keep her away, at least until this was over. And… maybe when it was, they could get to know each other even better, like normal people. Or as close to normal as they could get.

He smiled as he began to imagine. All of them together again at Asford Academy. He chuckled as he thought of Arthur biting Suzaku again. No one knew why, but for some reason Arthur found Suzaku to be quite tasty. Perhaps that could be his next great case to solve when this was over.

Then sadness came over his features again as he realized it all of them wouldn't be there. Shirley had died because she knew his secret. Rolo had sacrificed himself by pushing himself beyond his limit to save Lelouch. Nina held scars because of what she had created. Nunnally was killed. C.C. died to destroy Geass.

It took a moment for Lelouch to realize that he was now crying. He quickly wiped away the tears, even though no one would be able to register them. All of those people, all of those innocent souls had died to protect him.

Maybe it was his Geass that caused all this. C.C. had said this power condemns them to a life of solitude, but Lelouch always figured that it was because no one wanted to be around them. But instead, it was because of the power that the user sought to stay away from others. But he had lost his Geass over three months ago. Would things be different, could they be different?

He scoffed as he shook his head. He could try all the logic in the world. Come up with reason after reason why he could allow himself to have feelings like that again. But not now. Not with Kallen.

But at the moment, none of that mattered. What mattered right now is that Kallen was safe, and he had to keep her that way by keeping her far away from him. "Goodnight Kallen." He whispered, knowing she couldn't hear him.

On impulse, he leaned over and kissed her gently on the forehead.


When Kallen awoke the second time after being put to sleep by a drug, she noted that it was much more pleasant waking up. She then recalled what led up to her falling unconscious a second time. Batman had taken her to his secret hideaway, where he saved her from that fatal fear toxin. Then he placed her asleep again to make sure his secret location stayed a secret.

He then spoke five words in the same sincerity that Lelouch once spoke to her when he disappeared: "Kallen, you have to live." "I'm grateful you're alive, Kallen." Two different sentences, five words each, spoken with the same sincerity, spoken by two different people. Or are they really two different…

She then took in her surroundings. She was placed on a comfortable mattress and had a warm blanket draped over her. She then noticed that she was in the same warehouse where she had parked the Guren when she left for lunch earlier today. She then felt a buzz come from her pants, her phone, she reached down and pulled out the device. '86 missed calls' it read on the screen. She pressed the pick up button and held the device to her ear. "Hello?"

"Kallen?!" Came Ohgi's very concerned voice on the other end of the line. It was so loud that Kallen had to extend her arm away from her ear. She then brought the device back when Ohgi continued his rant of worry. "Where are you?! Why haven't you been picking up?! Everyone here has been trying to contact you?!"

"Ohgi! Calm down! I'm alright! I'm fine, okay." Kallen finally voiced in after she found an opening in his worry. "I'm in the warehouse where I parked the Guren. I'm okay!"

"We-Well where have you been?! Why haven't you been answering our calls?!" Ohgi asked. Kallen hesitated before responding. If she told him the whole truth, then he might get overprotective and not let her out again. So she might as well tell him the big parts, without her getting captured and drugged.

"Well," She began, uncertain on how to explain this, "I saw Lelouch-"

"What?!" Ohgi interrupted, "What did he do to you?! I swear if he hurt, so help me I will tear that sonofa-"

"Nothing! Nothing! He didn't do anything to me! I just followed him around for a bit in a market place in the rebuilt section of the Tokyo Settlement before I lost him." Kallen quickly explained before Ohgi could have the chance to interrupt her again.

"But why didn't you call it in?! If you told us where you saw him, we could be on that liar in an instant and get Japan back!" Kallen rolled her eyes at that statement. It was completely selfish of them to do this to get Japan back.

"I thought that maybe if it was one person following him I could have the better chance at jumping him," Kallen said though it was half the truth. She hoped and prayed that Ohgi would believe it.

After a moment of silence, Ohgi finally spoke, "Well, next time call it in. I don't anyone, especially you, to confront that piece of garbage alone." Kallen sighed, yet held the phone away from her so he wouldn't hear it.

"But I didn't just see Lelouch," Kallen continued as she brought the phone back to her, "I also met Batman."

"WHAT?!" Again Kallen had to hold the phone away from her ear at the volume of his voice. "How?! When?!"

"I was walking down the street after searching aimlessly for Lelouch when this group of cultist jumped me, they didn't hurt me!" Kallen said quickly so Ohgi wouldn't go into a higher overprotective mode. "That's when Batman came and made short work of the fanatics like they were nothing. You should have seen him and how he moved! This guy's everything they say he is, and more."

"Afterward, as I was recovering in his care, I wanted to speak with him, and he complied" Kallen explained, though it was slightly off of what actually happened, "I wanted to ask him what his motivation was. And what he said baffled me."

"What'd he say?"

Kallen took a deep breath before answering him. "He said that he desired to be greater than Zero ever was. That he wanted to stand what Zero failed to be. He also said that he was 'born from Zero's ashes' whatever that means." She recalled his words.

"Why though?" Ohgi asked, more to himself than her. "Why does he hope to become greater than Zero ever was?"

"I don't know. But-" Kallen stopped herself before she could continue. Should she tell Ohgi about her theory regarding Lelouch and Batman? She shook her head and instead said, "He seems to genuinely want to be a greater hero than Zero ever was."

After a moment of silence with both sides of the phone contemplating what was said, until Ohgi finally broke the silence. "Well, this means we can't put this off anymore. We need to talk to Batman. Come back and we'll discuss how we can get into contact with him."

"On my way," Kallen responded unenthusiastically as she closed down the phone and walked up to the Guren. As she began the start-up process her mind wandered back to the raven-haired boy that had captured her heart, and a masked vigilante that had saved both her and her mother.

In her mind's image, the two figures overlapped to create one being. No matter how much logic could be put into it, she could not separate the two from each other. However, these thoughts would have to wait. Right now she needed to return to the Black Knights and find Batman. Hopefully, then, she could get her answers.

A/N: another chapter done. As I said, I already have written the story on paper, I just have to revise on Google docs, and post it here. So updates will be spread out.

Also with the Children of Zero. What do you all think? I figured that a man like Zero would have some sort of cult that would be dedicated to following his ideals (in a twisted way that it is). I got the inspiration for them from the children of Arkham from Batman the telltale series video game. Great game you should play it! If I do a sequel of this story, I have plans for the Children of Zero and their twisted way of thinking.

Anywho, I hope you're enjoying the story and leave some reviews.

Next time, Batman learns the reason for Schneizel's alliance with the underworld, while the Black Knights come to Batman with a request that shakes him to his core. Meanwhile, Suzaku finds a dark secret inside the Viceroy Palace that reveals a dark secret about the Second Prince and his goal for the world.