Hahahaha! Here we go, some CONVERSATIONS. Don't worry, the next chapter will contain some action, but for now, we'll get the plot set up.

Warnings: Not many warnings, except for a scene one might find disturbing, no graphic descriptions tho.

Disclaimers: Same as first chapter

Rating: K+ to T

Zero folded his arms and leveled the first prince with a glare. Not that he could see it with the mask and all, but as the other advisors around the table flinched, he could tell his aura was at least menacing enough.

"You what?" he asked, more annoyance than disbelief dripping in his voice.

"You heard correctly, Sir Zero." Said the First Prince. "While I do believe we must respect my late father's wishes, the question of a successor is quite obvious. My dear little sister is far too young and-"

"Then I'm assuming you volunteer yourself for the position?" Suzaku interrupted, already knowing the answer.

Schneizel A. recovered quickly enough. "Naturally," he said with a smile. "I am the oldest afterall, and as her big brother, it is my duty to keep Nelli's life as happy as possible."

Suzaku knew, without a doubt, that this wasn't about the princess's well being.

The second and third prince sat on Schneizel A's right and left respectively and the advisors proceeded to look prim and proper in their seats down the table. Suzaku himself was seated at the end of the table, opposite to the scheming prince.

"With the nation needing a leader by the end of the week, we need someone capable as soon as possible." the prince continued. "Pressure from the Chinese Federation and the EU have been pushing us to act quickly, thus having someone as young as my sister will not benefit us. However, I am willing to shoulder that stress. And with you by my side-"

"No."

The council went silent as the one word was spoken through the room, successfully cutting the Prince's meaningless explanation short.

All eyes turned towards the cloaked shadow that still had his arms crossed.

"Excuse me?" the prince asked, bewilderment evident in both his eyes and the eyes of his brothers.

Suzaku got on his feet, cape whirling in a dramatic way that screamed Lelouch. He flung his hand towards the blonde, gloved fingers splayed wide.

"I, Zero, do not approve of this disrespect towards his Majesty's will. Letting a coward like you, who is willing to walk over his father's final request and his sister's honor to lead the nation of Britannia will cause nothing but a world of pain and distrust. I will not stand beside you and let you do as you so wish. You are not the King, Cornelia Marianne vi Britannia is and I shall serve her till her last breath." Then with a swirl of his cloak, Suzaku made his way towards the exit. As he neared it, the second prince stood up with a shout.

"Sir Zero, just hold where you-"

"If I do not see an announcement in the next three days that Cornelia is to be named Queen then you can be assured that I no longer see you three as allies, but as threats to the peace of the nation and the world." he interrupted, clenching the door handle.

Then he left.

Back in his room, Suzaku let out an exasperated sigh.

"Shit." he cursed, which he didn't do much, a feat for someone living as long as he has. "This is not going to end well."

Back at the council room…

"How dare he!" hollered the second prince, his large fist banging on the table, dark indigo eyes ablaze with fury. "How dare he disrespect us!'

"Calm down brother." Schneizel A. hissed and rubbed his temples. "You too Vincent."

Said boy was growling under his breath, pale hands clenched tight around the table's edge. He was mere seconds away from exploding.

"Y-your highness?" began one of the advisors. "What shall we do now?"

"I'm thinking." the prince snapped and proceeded to steeple his fingers.

Well done Zero. He mused. You've officially put me in a place where my moves are limited to a few, all of which can lead to a trap. He cast his gaze at the men around the table. Do I announce my sister's right to the throne and risk losing the respect of everyone present at this table? He then let his gaze linger on the door. Or do I risk invoking your wraith, letting you fell my king before the game has even begun?

Schneizel A. proceeded to remain deep in thought as the rest of the room began to fill with whispers which got progressively louder.

Then an idea hit him.

Why not, combine the two.

It was risky, and could backfire at a moment's notice however, if he played his cards right, and Zero proceeded to remain as narrow minded as he remembered then….

"I have a plan." he announced and the room fell silent. It wasn't the impressive silence that the masked man had invoked but regardless, it stroked his ego.

"Tomorrow, I will announce the throne to my younger sister." The advisors looked surprised and the whispers started up once again.

"Brother…" but the first prince held up a hand, effectively silencing Charles W.

"Yes, I will declare Cornelia the future Queen however," he held up a finger revealing the way he attracted the attention of every man. "If an incident occurs and the Queen is taken out of the picture by, let's say, a certain troublesome nation, someone will have to step in."

Now the advisors were catching on, they nodded their approval, many not favoring the young princess due to her brothers' more promising qualities and, ahem, benefits they would award.

"Schneizel, dear brother." Vincent pipped up in his child-like voice, long dirty-blond hair slipping over his shoulder. "Are you saying you want to kill our lovely little sister?"

"Of course not." Schneizel A. scoffed. "Simply place her aside for the time being."

"And Zero?" Charles W. asked a knowing glint in his small eyes.

The first prince smirked, looking as pleased as a cat that got the cream.

"Oh, we'll take care of him. Perhaps he would even be interested in our little project."

Charles chuckled while Vincent nearly began foaming at his mouth at the mention of their tiny secret.

Schneizel, pleased with the turn things had taken, leaned back in his chair.

Soon Zero. Soon, after all these years, I finally have you in checkmate."

Two days later, Suzaku found himself outside the Princess's room ready to enter and continue discussing the issue of crowning. Cornelia had been rather stoic about the entire affair but she took up the responsibility with very little hesitance. For a fourteen year old, her maturity levels were sky high. They had gone over some of the basics, Suzaku purposely leaving out the bits where her brothers disagreed, however, she did have her suspicions. They decided to proceed the following morning, specifically on planning the announcement and most likely, to arrange something with the princes.

The princes who were very quiet.

It unnerved Suzaku. They were never known for being very subtle, but when they went silent a scheme was most definitely occurring.

Which is why his guard went up the moment the sound of distinct footfalls reached his ears. Suzaku, in his Zero garb, turned towards the approaching first prince who had a, dare he say it, gentle smile on his face.

"Sir Zero." he acknowledged.

"Your Highness." Suzaku nodded back, making sure to position himself between the blonde and the door. "Is there something wrong?"

The prince blinked before ducking his head. It wasn't a moment of weakness of any kind, he looked far to regal for that.

"I'm here to apologize. About yesterday that is."

Under the mask, green eyes blinked.

Huh!?

Th-the first prince…was apologizing?!

"I understand this may seem out of character," ya no shit. "But regardless, he believe putting aside my pride for a moment will deem beneficial." His lavender eyes looked at the knight solemnly. "I do not wish to make an enemy out of you Zero."

Suzaku felt his guard falter.

Schneizel A. was a masterful tactician. He was dangerous. He knew how to play his part. He had fooled many government officials by twisting his words and having them agree to things they didn't know they were agreeing to.

But… Suzaku had never heard him sound like this.

It was far too sincere and, while detached, contained an amount of emotion that was a lot for someone like the first prince.

The brunette took a deep breath.

"So you will announce the Princess as the successor?" he asked, waiting with a baited breath.

"Yes."

The one world both calmed and agitated the immortal.

It's a trap. Hissed a voice sounding like his best friend. It's obviously a trap you idiot!

And if it's not? The other voice sounded like Euphy. Thus, giving an apology to the mental image of his childhood friend, Suzaku listened to the reasoning of his dead lover.

"Very well, then. I trust you can take care of the preparations?"

Schneizel A. smirked, a brief shadow passing over his face.

"Already completed."

"I..see." Suzaku replied hesitantly. "Then I shall inform the princess. We will announce it to the public today. After all, it has been a week since the king's passing. It is high time the people had some hope." Then he opened the door and entered. The pink tresses of the princess spun around as she turned towards him, violet eyes flashing with something that resembled the Cornelia of old.

Resigning himself to a long talk, Suzaku took a seat.

Schneizel A. frowned as he made his way down the passage. It was dark, damp, and completely forgotten. An escape route built by a paranoid king who felt as though everyone was out to get him. Including his beloved knight, Zero.

Zero. The blonde seethed at just the thought of the name. Always running my plans. But not this time. This time, I'll make sure to win. Afterall, he reached a set of doors that, with the input of a password, swung forwards.

You have no clue about this.

The doors revealed an underground chamber. A chamber filled with sterilized metal walls, and pale white floors. The doors themselves let out onto a balcony that looked down into the center of the room which contained an unusual contraption. Much like its surroundings, the machine was snow white, the only difference being in the black wires. It contained a dome-like cover with multiple tubes leading in and out placed over a circular raised platform that had larger and thicker wires leading to and fro between it and walls. In the center of it all was a reclined chair, resembling that found in a dentist office. The main difference being the manacles on its arm and leg rests.

Oh and the unfortunate soul currently screaming in it.

"Ah, brother!" came the joyous call of a certain third prince. Schneiziel A. turned towards him with an amused look on his face.

"Vincent. Care to explain."

The dirty blonde cackled, sounding every bit as insane as he looked. His bright purple eyes flashed dangerously, pupils constantly twitching while his shoulders shook in excitement. He had always been a little unnerving, even to Schneizel. But regardless, without his youngest brother's contributions, all they were now would be impossible.

When the first prince had been thirteen, he had stumbled across a photo album stashed away with the relics of old. In it were two people whom he concluded had to be related to him.

One was a boy with dark locks and vivid violet eyes, so much like his sisters.

The other was a young girl confined to a wheelchair.

The photo album apparently belonged to the girl as there were photos that followed where the boy was no longer present. What had been shocking, was that after a while, the photo's of school life were replaced by that of a growing nation. And amidst the pictures of smiling officials and maturing children, was the Knight of Justice himself. Zero.

His thirteen year old self, already obsessed with discovering who was the illusive man that hid behind the mask, the mask that stared at him with indifference, yet gave the blonde the impression that he was being looked down upon. Him, a prince. So, in a fit of passion, the young teen had stolen the book and sourced every page for any clue. Two weeks later, he had nothing but pictures. In fact, it wasn't until his crazy-brained brother had found it and discovered a page with writing. Writing in invisible ink. It was ingenious really, such a simple trick and Schneziel A. hadn't even thought of it. But the secrets those words revealed change everything. It told stories of an ancient power that Empress Nunnally vi Britannia herself had witnessed.

The Geass.

The three princes had then come together to attempt to find this power and after four years, on Schneizel A's. seventeenth birthday, they found a solid lead. A destroyed civilization in China that they visited in secret. There, they found remains of a research on the Geass and with it, the knowledge of Code Bearers. Code Beares were able to give the Geass to anyone they deemed fit. They held powers of endless healing and on top of that…

They were immortal.

With that kind of power, Schneizel had imagined all the possibilities.

They were endless.

Thus, with new determination, he and his brothers picked up where the destroyed civilization left off and began their experimentation deep beneath the castles in an attempt to recreate the Geass Code.

Because without a Code Bearer, there would be no Geass to obtain. And there were only two Code Bearer's whose location and identity were unknown.

In order to cover more ground, Vincent focused on the more research based aspect, trying to create their own Code, while Charles went up searching for the Code Bearers. Schenizel himself alternated between the two, but paid most attention to hiding their little project from a certain Zero. The blonde had a strong feeling that the masked man would do his damn best to destroy it all if he ever found out.

Well, the first prince wasn't about to let that happen.

And now they were so close. So close to finding out the secret of the Code. The secret of immortality.

"I'm close." the young man whispered, looking absolutely elated. "I'm so, so close big brother."

He led the way to the railing, pale hands twitching and white lab coat decorated with flecks of blood. His lips curled upwards, revealing sharp canines that gave him an even more animalistic look.

"Subject 036 has been showing relatively positive results. He can withstand large amounts of pain, and can recover fairly quickly. The chemical formula simulates his brain in a way that allows his body to stop severe bleeding and heal some internal injuries."

Then the youngest prince's demeanor changed. His excitement disappeared and a dark scowl fell over his face.

"But that's it."

He pressed a button on one of the panels and the dome sparked. The person strapped to the chair screeched even louder if possible before his restraining suit was painted red. He went limp seconds later.

"Any subject I inject with this new formula gives the same results. But they all die!"

Vincent slammed his hands down and hunched over the control panel, a few other scientists down below, paid large sums of money mind you, proceeded to remove the body and deal with the clean up. A few shot worrying looks towards the railing but the first prince ignored them. Instead he eyed his brother, already too used to his emotional outbursts.

"They keep dying. Succumbing to their mortality."

Schneizel A. frowned. That really was a set-back. For years now, they have been trying but the results were always the same. If only they could get a hold of a Code Bearer. The record speaked of a C.C and V.V but nothing of their location.

"I need you to calm yourself, brother." The first prince began turning his back on the porcelain room stained red. "Unfortunately, we need to postpone our research for a few days, just until we have this whole succession thing handled."

Vincent bolted upright, a retort on the tip of his tongue but Schenizel A. continued.

"If all goes well, I'll be able to present you with a new test subject. One that should last longer than the others even if it's only for a few days."

His brother fell quiet, irked by the promise of something that could potentially assist his endeavors.

"Three days Vincent. Just wait three days." Then the blonde left through the double doors, a bounce in his step that betrayed the seriousness on his face.

Vincent sighed and dragged his hand down his face at his brother's dramatic exit.

Bastard always had to look so cool.

"Ah well." he said to no one in particular, smiling as his loyal minions finished up their jobs. "Let's get on with it, shall we?"

And that's it for today, I have chapter 4 typed up for tomorrow, but we have three new characters introduced. Yes, I used Schneizel's and Charle's names. Vincent is what I think V.V would be like. But as you can see they're a little different. I just didn't want to make a completely new OC, plus, they were good villains.

Siya

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