Code Jedi - R1: Lelouch of the Rebel Alliance Chapter 21: Cheering Mao, a Star Wars + Code Geass Crossover fanfic

I'm back!

Some things have happened since then, and sadly one of them had to be the passing of legend, Kevin Conroy (1955-2022). It's heartbreaking after 30 years since his debut as the dark knight. And there is his longstanding partnership with Mark Hamill, who was the Clown Prince of Crime to Conroy's Caped Crusader. Kevin's voice gave one of the best definitive voices of one of the greatest hero's seen on comic, tv, film, and game. Rest in Peace, for he will always be vengeance. Always be the night. Always be the Batman.

Anyway, I've been waiting for this chapter for some time. I've been so eager since this has one of my all-time favorite anime scenes! This chapter has become a lot bigger than expected.

Stage 21

Cheering Mao

Ashford Academy

The doors to the Student Council's clubhouse opened, and entering were five of the council members, counting Shirley, Rivalz, Nina, Suzaku, and Kallen, as they toured with their new honorary member: Human Cyborg Relations Protocol droid, C-3PO… or just Threepio.

"And this here is the club house where we the Student Council gather," Shirley declared as the golden-plated droid took in the room, especially the glass chandelier above.

"It's… quite beautiful," Threepio remarked.

"Lelouch said this place was built for special occasions," Kallen said. "And when were not in the council room, this were we gather to… well, hang out."

"From what I can tell from time here, is that nobody else comes here except us," Suzaku said, smiling at Threepio. "Look at it this way, besides Lelouch's house, you can hang out here where nobody will see you."

"Oh, I see," Threepio said.

"Since you're now an honorary member of the Student Council, it's out job to make you as comfortable as possible!" Rivalz said with a smile. "And if there's anything else you need, I'm the Council Secretary!"

"Why thank you, Master Rivalz," Threepio said.

"Um… Mister…" Nina whispered.

"Yes?" Threepio turned to Nina, who only gasped shyly when the droid's attention fell on her.

"I… I was wondering… since you're… a robot…" She twirled her fingers. "Well, you're more like an artificial intelligence…"

"I guess that is so," Kallen agreed.

"Oh, I see," Threepio said. "Well, I can say to your statement, Miss…"

MEOW!

"Huh?" Threepio said in confusion, before he turned to see the source of the sound coming towards him… in the form of… "Is that… a lothcat?!"

"Lothcat?" Suzaku said.

"This here is Arthur," Rivalz said as he lifted Arthur the cat in his arms.

"He's what we call just a cat," Shirley said.

"Threepio, you sound like… you know of cats where you come from," Suzaku said.

"So, is lothcat some sort of cat?" Shirley said.

"Oh, well, lothcats are natives from the Lothal System. Although, there are species from the outer rim that have similar features." Threepio explained.

"Really?!" Rivalz said excitedly. "There's cats in outer space, too?!"

"I wonder…" Kallen said.

"Like the Cat From Outer Space?" Nina asked.

"Aside from Suzaku," Shirley took Arthur from Rivalz's arms and showed him to Threepio. "Arthur here is our most recent member to the Student Council."

"Oh, I see," Threepio leaned towards the cat. "Arthur? That does sound like a handsome name." The droid extended his hand to the cat.

"Uh, wait! Threepio!" Suzaku called out, realizing with dread. "Don't…"

It was too late, when Arthur suddenly opened his furry jaws and bit Threepio's gold finger.

Millennium Falcon

"And all this time… you've been hanging around…" Rex said, as he, Sabine, Thane, Rai, Ohgi, and Tamaki stood and looked around the main room of the Millennium Falcon.

"Huh…" Rai looked around. "It's bigger than that other ship back at the base…"

"The Ghost may not be big…" Sabine said. "But it still beats this stackheap by a long shot."

"What?!"

"Well, you guys should have seen the Mighty Oak Apocalypse," Thane said. "At least the captain kept things clean… even when times are tough."

"May I remind all of you, this is MY ship you are standing on," Han reminded them.

"Hey, no pressure, Han," Tamaki said. "Were not the insensitive type for cleanliness. Some of us have to live in the ghettos for a long while. So, uh… we don't really have that so called necessity for… cleanliness."

"Well, that warms my heart. Thanks," Han said, without leaving any obvious sarcasm.

"I barely understand…" Rex said. "Out of all the places… it had to be here? Right next to… a school?"

Chewie roared.

"Well… it's complicated…" Leia said.

"So, according to what you told us," Sabine said. "When lightspeed you managed yourself in this galaxy. And out of the several planets of this system… this is the one you land… which apparently happens to be the only inhabited and civilized.

"And you the first piece of land you find… is this place. Area 11…" Thane said, then he noticed the dirty look Tamaki gave. "I mean Japan. And when you were being chased by the Britannian military… you somehow… perform some maneuver… and you managed to evade and crash land in these woods…"

"Which so happens to be right next to this school," Ohgi said. "Kallen's school."

"Well…" Luke rubbed his head. "Yeah… well, we didn't know she existed or what this place was."

"So, it would be coincidence?" Thane said. "Your story is getting me on the suspension of disbelief."

"It wasn't Kallen who I first met…" Luke said. "It was Lelouch. You see…" He looked at Leia and Han. Artoo made a beep. "Let me start explaining about him…"

Meanwhile, standing outside the clubhouse…

"Lelouch, are sure about this?" Milly questioned; a bit concerned. "Bringing a… robot. A talking robot… from space? I'll admit it does sound exciting, but still. Not just letting him stay here and being part of the council, but also letting him into your home?"

"I'm sure…" Lelouch nodded. "To be honest, I wasn't sure at first… taking in a stranger. Let alone… a literal robot… with actual artificial intelligence. But when Kallen and I met him… I could tell… he truly doesn't pose a threat or harbor any ill desire whatsoever."

"You're serious?" Milly asked, almost surprised by Lelouch's demeanor in this. "You really trust him? Threepio?"

"He'll be staying at the Clubhouse with Nunnally and I." Lelouch said. "That way, when Sayoko's not around," he almost smiled. "At least, Nunnally will have some company to watch over her."

"Oh, I see…" Milly made a sly smile. "A babysitter for Nunnally, hmm?"

"I've been thinking about it," Lelouch explained. "But it maybe it can work. "

"But wait a minute," Milly realized. "I've been meaning to ask."

"What is it?"

"Does he… you know, Threepio?" Milly said. "About… you know? Your secret?"

"That I am a Britannian Prince?" Lelouch said, before shaking his head. "No, of course not. That's not something I wish to extend to other people. It's something the Ashford Family has had to keep all these years."

"And not Kallen, right?" Milly asked.

"Why do ask about Kallen?"

"Well, you know…" Milly almost smirked. "The moment we found you the two of you in the kitchen… alone…"

"Don't let your imagination go wild on that, Madam Pres…" Lelouch sighed. "I was only helping Kallen in bring Threepio to the house, nothing more. Besides, I have no intention in partaking in any intimate relationships."

"Oh, Lelouch, that's just the way you are…" Milly looked up with a dreamy and sighed look on her face. "So carefree and…"

"Is something wrong?" Lelouch noticed something else in her expression.

Milly sighed. "My mother has gotten another blind date set up for me. I'm afraid I won't be able to wriggle my way out of this one."

"I see..." Lelouch's eyes narrowed. "Another attempt in order to bridge for the status the Ashford's had lost years ago."

"Well, that's a gloomy way of looking at it…"

"HEEELLLPPPP!" Then came Threepio's scream.

That caused the madam president and the vice president to quickly enter the ballroom… and were astonished by what they were seeing.

"Help me!" Threepio cried out as he was on the ground, with a familiar feline sticking on his chest. "I'm being attacked by an unknown specimen!"

"Well, I guess I'm not only one having trouble with Arthur…" Suzaku sighed. "I was afraid this would happen."

Arthur purred, before he went to rub himself against Threepio's gold plating.

"Ah! What is it doing?!" Threepio said, perplexed. "Anyone please, help me! Oh, where's Artoo when you need him most!"

Millennium Falcon

"Are you freaking joking me here?!" Tamaki exclaimed.

"No, it's no joke," Luke shook his head. "It's a fact concerning Zero's past we are sharing with all of you."

"That fact that he is a Prince?" Sabine said. "Of Britannia?"

"If that is true…" Rex realized. "Then that would mean his father is… the Britannian Emperor."

"Charles zi Britannia…" Ohgi breathed out with realization.

"Him?" Thane said. "That old man?"

"Are you pulling our legs here?" Tamaki exclaimed. "That old-white haired fancy high-horse Brit?! Even without his mask… Zero doesn't look anything at all like that tyrannous, warmongering bastard!"

"But you're saying… the Emperor… their father…" Rex said. "He banished Lelouch… I mean Zero… and his sister… when they were how old?"

"Lelouch said he was nine," Leia said. "And his sister was about six years old."

"And his sister… Nunnally…" Ohgi said. "She was both… blinded… and crippled?"

"Unfortunately, so…" Luke said with grimace. "Lelouch said his sister had been caught in the crossfire when their mother had been assassinated. And…"

"Holy cow…" Tamaki said, now disturbed. "And she was just six years old?"

"Blind and… crippled…" Rai said, the boy processing it with dread.

"And on top of that… of what happened to their mother?" Ohgi said, in the same manner.

"And all that happening in a day…" Thane said.

"It sounds… horrible…" Sabine said.

"Yes, it is…" Leia said.

Chewie whimpered a sad grunt in agreement.

"…" Rex pinched the bridge to his nose. "As horrible as it what happened… was there a reason why it happened? Did they find out who was responsible?"

"No," Luke shook his head. "Lelouch has been trying to find that out since then. He described how he went to his father for answers…"

"And you should know it didn't go so well…" Han said, looking away.

"You mean when his own father banished them?" Rex said with narrowed eyes. "His own children… as bargaining tools?"

"What kind of father does that?" Rai said, looking unnerved.

"Not of the good kind…" Sabine said, feeling the feelings of her exile from her home and family.

"I would know…" Thane crossed his arms with a scowl, the young man seeing Charles zi Britannia almost no different than how his parents and his brother treated him back home.

"Wait a sec?" Tamaki said. "You're saying they came to Japan before the invasion… but that means when the Britannian Emperor declared war…"

"Yeah, yeah…" Han said. "The kid said he and his sister were present when the invasion happened. And no doubt his dear old dad didn't care…"

"…!" Rai gasped, feeling shocked and appalled.

"That…" Rex gripped his fingers into a fist. "That sick…"

"Holy…" Tamaki balked. "You gotta being kidding me. I always knew Emperor Charles as the worst Britannian… and the worst bad guy ever that ever walked the earth… but doing that to his kids like that?!" The hothead growled. "WHAT AN ASSHOLE!"

"Yeah?" Thane said. "No wonder he and Palpatine shook hands. They are quite the pair."

"I remember years ago…" Ohgi said. "When I heard that Kyoto had received the prince and princess as hostages from Britannia. And…" The man then realized with wide eyes.

"What's wrong, Ohgi?" Tamaki said.

"Of course…" Ohgi realized. "Lord Kirihara. Kyoto." He looked at Luke and Leia. "That was how he knows about Zero. Back at the meeting. Both of you were present alongside him when he took off his mask for Lord Kirihara."

"That's right," Leia nodded.

"So, from what you told us about what happened to Zero… and his sister…" Sabine said. "So, that explains why Lord Kirihara declared him a true enemy of Britannia."

Lamperouge Residence

Lelouch was in the dining room, with his laptop in hand. Looking over the surveillance that he had set up with cameras around the house, and even in parts of Ashford, such as the ballroom and the council room. This was a necessary precaution… especially his unfriendly acquaintance from yesterday were to drop by and he didn't notice.

"Your tea, Miss Nunnally," Threepio said as he set the tray with the teapot and teacups on the table in front of Nunnally.

"Thank you, Threepio," The girl thanked the droid. "You did say your name was 'Threepio,' right? Short for C… Three?"

"Short for C-3PO, Miss Nunnally," Threepio said. "Protocol droid of Human Cyborg Relations."

"So, Threepio… are you…" Nunnally looked nervous to ask. "Are you truly a robot… from outer space?"

"Why yes, indeed, I am, Miss Nunnally," Threepio said. "Though I can understand if you may have skepticism during my introduction. I believe perhaps this is the first time you have encountered an artificial droid."

"Oh, no, it's not that," Nunnally said. "I believe you. I just… well, just as you mentioned… I never really met a robot… I mean droid."

"I understand, very well, Miss Nunnally," Threepio said.

Just the girl was about to reach for the tea… "Oh, allow me, please." Threepio went to pick up the teapot and poured tea into Nunnally's cup.

"Thank you, very much, Threepio," Nunnally smiled as she took the filled cup. "You're so much a gentleman."

"Oh, it's a pleasure, my lady," Threepio said.

"You're practically good at this, Threepio," Lelouch noted with a smile. The student had the concern that having Threepio staying at their house would be much akin to watching over a pet, yet it surprised him to how well Threepio held the tray and poured tea for Nunnally with barely any to no clumsiness.

"Well, Master Lelouch," Threepio said. "Besides my programing in translating and other protocols, I have had been assigned and had experience in household service before."

"Well, perhaps when Sayoko gets back, she can show you the way of the house and get you familiar," Lelouch said.

"Oh, that sounds like a wonderful idea, Master Lelouch!"

Camelot Division

"I don't know…" Cecile said with concern as she scrolled through her computer.

"Something wrong, Miss Croomy?" Gideon asked.

Cecile glanced back at the Gekka hanging in front of them… and the new data being input for it on her screen. The screen showed the exoskeleton of the Knightmare, being outfitted when a bulkier breastplate was slid on to it. Then the screen slid to show the look of the new arms. It then turned to show the back of the Gekka's cockpit being plugged in with a new piece of equipment.

"I understand the new outlier of design, but the modifications that are to be inputted are too many," Cecile cited.

"Hmm? Well, that is why I thought as well," Lloyd said, looking at the screen.

"We already took up the issue with Lord Vader, and he approved to go ahead with it," Pershing noted.

Gideon looked up to the Gekka, which was now plugged with wires. "Lord Vader made it specific that he wants his new Frame completed and mobile as soon as possible."

"I'm not saying it's impossible," Cecile said. "But I thought in order to make the modifications and equipment ready for this type of suit, it should take at least a month to go through it properly. If we were to rush this process, then think of the strain and risk the pilot will have take from it. It's concerning enough that Suzaku is able to pilot the Lancelot so relentlessly, but a rushed suit with that many modifications…"

Gideon sighed. "Well, you do seem to have a point there, Miss Croomy."

"You're worried that Lord Vader will have another episode is that correct, Cecile?" Pershing asked, almost shocking the woman.

"Well, I…" Cecile looked nervous. "Not that I wouldn't be concerned for the health of those who put our trust in us…"

"Your empathy is very much appreciated, Miss Croomy," Gideon said. "You should know Lord Vader is many things. Though, the last thing he wants is for anyone to be concerned about his wellbeing. He knows the risks all too well. Even without the availability of a Knightmare Frame, he is capable of going on to the battlefield, even against enemy Knightmare Frames… head on."

"…"

"Even if he prefers an old-fashion foot battle," Lloyd pulled on the screen a list of results. "His brief performance in the trials was exceptional. He seems to be the kind who can adapt well to any new machinery we might as well throw at him."

"Perhaps this will be a good time to use it," Pershing said.

"Huh?" Lloyd said.

"Use what?" Cecile said.

Gideon led the way into the next room where much of the Empire's equipment lay in store. They came upon a hard-sealed container before Gideon typed a combination on the keypad that started the process of unlocking it.

Mechanical shifts moved from inside and later outside. Before long the top of the container split in two, before a wave of cold mist let out. Everyone balked a bit at the freezing temperature the gas emitted.

Before long, the gas dissipated, revealing to the scientists something that widened their eyes.

Inside the container, was a metal humanoid figure. Black and bulky in chest, shoulders, and other things. What made it stand out the most was its head. The head not only look that of a heavy helmet, but it also had a face… if it resembled that of one.

"Oh… ho…." Lloyd adjusted his glasses. "And who might this handsome… yet intimidating piece of machinery be?"

"This is a project our division in the Empire has had for as long as when the Rebellion was on the rise…" Gideon said. "Over the years we had gone through phases in figuring on how we will make the perfect Dark Trooper."

"Dark Trooper?"

"Dark Troopers… are suits… that we envisioned and hoped… would be effective as Knightmare Frame suits Britannia's soldiers use in battle instead of fighting on foot." Pershing explained. "We were still not satisfied with the results… and we feared… that perhaps the human factor was the weakness, and we would have to go on converting it automatic droid programing. That is… until we have seen Britannia's Knightmare Frame in action."

"Ah, so you want to use the Dark Trooper's data in building the prototype for Lord Vader's new Frame, am I right?" Lloyd said.

"You catch on quite well, Lloyd, my friend." Gideon smiled.

"A question… why is this suit kept at such cold temperature?" Cecile noted.

"Because the troopers when active draw very massive amounts of power from their source, so it is best to keep them in stasis to conserve their power," Pershing explained.

"Aha…" Lloyd closely at the Dark Trooper's head, even staring into's blood-red photoreceptors. He sized it up with his fingers as if measuring the size of turtleneck.

"What are you doing, Lloyd?" Cecile asked.

"Hmm… I think it will fit quite nicely…" Lloyd turned to Gideon. "Gideon, my man, as valuable as it is, could we have permission to take a peek inside it… oh, and very least… may we use the head?"

Millennium Falcon

Everyone was present in the main room of the Falcon. That meant consisting of Lelouch, Luke, Han, Leia, Chewbacca, Artoo, and C.C. along with the new arrivals Kallen, Ohgi, Tamkai, Rex, Sabine, Thane, and Rai.

Lelouch had returned to the Falcon… where almost everyone was waiting.

Luke briefed on him that they were now aware of his identity… as well as his past. Lelouch was a bit unpleased at that, but it couldn't be helped now.

With that part out of the way, there was another vital thing left they had explained to the new arrivals on the Falcon. Something that concerned a contract.

"So, it's called… Geass?" Kallen said, upon hearing the name of it for the first time.

"And… it's a power… that allows you to control anyone?" Sabine said.

"That's crazy!" Tamaki exclaimed. "First you guys go on about Luke here being a warrior with the power of the Force thing… and now you go on about this whole new power thing?"

"More mumbo-jumbo in the fold than I can take," Thane sighed.

"And you…" Ohgi gestured at C.C. who leaned against the wall. "You were the one who gave it to him?"

"Lelouch and I made a contract," C.C. said.

"What kind of contract?" Rex said, with narrowed eyes.

"Not something you write with ink on paper, is it?" Kallen questioned.

"And you did this… contract?" Ohgi said. "That day in Shinjuku?"

"Yes," Lelouch nodded. "Luke and I… would have been dead if I had not formed it. It was because of it… I was able to overturn Clovis' onslaught."

"Seriously?!" Tamaki exclaimed. "That was how you did it? No wonder!"

"It was also how he was able to get Purebloods to release Suzaku that night," Luke said.

"No kidding…" Kallen said.

"I have to ask," Sabine said, looking at C.C. "You just formed this contract with Lelouch because you could. Could that mean… you can do it with anyone?"

"You mean like…" Thane said. "If so… any one of us can have this kind of power?"

"Really?" Rai said.

"Yes and no…" C.C. said, surprising them. "First of all, I don't as much make multiple contracts at once. And second… each Geass a person is given would be different from all the rest. The chance of next person I would form a contract within order to obtain the kind of power Lelouch has… is based on a scale of one to thousand."

"Well, sorry I had to ask," Thane grumbled.

"But it can still be any kind of power, right?" Kallen said, now intrigued.

"Well, I guess it depends," Luke said.

"So, maybe… perhaps something super?" Tamaki said, almost looking excited. "Like maybe… flying? Laser beams? Super strength?"

"Okay, slow down there, soldier," Rex put a hand on Tamaki's shoulder.

"Can those really be possible?" Rai said, almost intrigued.

Han sighed. "I think that's overstepping it, kid."

Chewie roared in agreement.

"But for this Geass to work…" Sabine said, now looking at Lelouch. "You need to look… directly… without the cover a mask or helmet… into someone's eyes?"

Lelouch almost frowned at the way Sabine was looking at him, as did some of the others, most especially Rex and Thane. Luke and the others could only cringe uncomfortably.

"That is right," Lelouch admitted.

Kallen almost narrowed her eyes at that. The girl figured that was just how Lelouch used it on her the first time they met.

Rai almost had an unreadable look on his face that nobody noticed.

"So, using it on Stromtroopers is a no-go," Rex said.

"Or even Sutherlands," Ohgi added.

"Ah, well that just sucks," Tamaki muttered.

"Not just that… but droids like Artoo here are immune to it," Luke gestured to the astromech, who beeped up.

"Many phenomenal powers have their limits," Leia said.

"Yeah?" Kallen said. "If there wasn't, then you could have used it on the whole Britannian army. Or… get rid another masked man on the other side."

That caused almost everyone to frown grimly at who the redhead was referring to.

"Vader…" Luke said.

"If it were that easy…" Rex said. "That kind of power." He looked at Lelouch. "You can order anyone to do anything? Even things they would be dead set against?"

"Other things like that… yes," Lelouch said. "If I ordered it… I can force a soldier to fight against his allies."

"That's the thing…" Rex narrowed his eyes. "To bend others… against their will."

Lelouch frowned at the growing tone behind Rex's tone. "What are you getting at?"

"What I'm getting at?" Rex said. "It sounds like this Geass you have… is like playing with fire."

"Rex…" Luke tried to say.

"Look kid…" Rex stopped. "I knew your father and so many other Jedi back in the day and what they could do with the Force. Many of them would use their powers for wise purposes, but there were some of them… who used them for the opposite."

"Know it firsthand," Sabine commented.

"It turned bad. But this kind of thing…" Rex looked with concern. "I don't like it. And most of all… of what it is capable."

"I get with what we told you…" Lelouch began. "You would feel that way…"

"Do you?" Thane said as he stepped up. "How do we know… you won't try to use your fancy power on us?"

"Thane!" Leia said.

"What point would have I to use my Geass on all of you for?" Lelouch said.

"Seriously?" Thane said. "Is it not too much to think that you could just use it on others to do what you like? Set up your own army?"

"A whole army of mindless slaves?" Lelouch said. "I hardly see that as necessary as I would see it working."

Rex cringed at that… almost feeling… rotten nostalgia rising in his gut.

"Yeah?" Thane challenged. "How do we know you haven't used on Leia, Luke, and the others here?"

"Lelouch has never used his Geass on us," Luke immediately said. "I mean… well…"

"Is there something else?" Sabine said.

"The only other people… at least in this room right now…" Lelouch said. "That I have already used my Geass on…" He looked at two certain people. "Are Kallen and Rai."

"What?!" Ohgi and Tamaki both said.

"Wait!" Kallen said. "He only used it on me to know if I could be trusted. He only asked questions, that's all."

"What about me?" Rai said. "I don't remember…"

"Lelouch put you on it, because…" Luke said. "We wanted to know what you were doing at the docks the other night."

"After that, I had you forget about the conversation," Lelouch said.

"So, that explains it," Sabine said.

"How do you we know you are telling the truth?" Thane said. "What if you could or have used that thing of yours and already wiped our memories? As many times as you need?"

"How can I make multiple commands…?" Lelouch said. "I can use my Geass only once on an individual."

"Only once?" Kallen said.

"So, a person who is… affected by this Geass… they would be immune to the next command?" Rex said.

"Oh, I see now!" Thane exclaimed. "You're just saving it in the case of any of us suspect you or get out of line and…"

"Okay, that's enough!" Han yelled as he got in between Thane and Lelouch. "No one's going to cause a brawl on my ship!"

"Listen…" Luke said as he came in the center in front of Lelouch. "I know anyone has the right to be suspicious… especially when it concerns Lelouch's Geass… but we are all here now. We're telling you what we know, and not keeping you in the dark any longer."

"We can't afford to have a division between us." Leia said. "Not now of all times. Not when there is someone out there who poses a threat to all of us."

"The very same man who forced us into his sick game the day before," Luke said, with grimace.

Artoo made a beep akin to angry mutter.

"You mean… the white-haired man?" Rai asked.

"Yeah… him…" Kallen growled. "The shade-faced rat who made me put Lelouch gunpoint…"

"And who put me a foot deep in the ground…" Tamaki scowled. "I might be having nightmares for months after that." Ohgi looked at his friend with sympathy, even putting a hand on his shoulder.

"We didn't even get his name after all that," Han said.

"By the way he instantly set his eyes on you and yelled out your name with joy when he was descending away in the railcar… he looked as though he had seen someone very precious to him come back from the grave," Lelouch said with narrowed eyes at C.C.

C.C. looked away for a moment, before she turned to confirm. "His name is Mao. He is from the Chinese Federation."

"China?!" Tamaki and Kallen exclaimed.

"The Federation?" Ohgi said.

"Is that a place?" Rai questioned.

"You mean one of the two other superpowers on the planet besides Britannia?" Sabine said.

"Yeah." Ohgi nodded.

"So, is he a spy?" Rex said.

"Mao is no spy," C.C. stated. "He is not affiliated with any higher powers or any of the sort."

"Just… how do you know this man, C.C.?" Luke said.

C.C. closed her eyes briefly before answering. "It's because… Mao… was my past contractor."

"WHAT?!" Many of the others looked surprised.

Chewie roared.

"Your contractor?!" Luke exclaimed.

"Wait a minute…" Rex said. "I thought you said Lelouch is your contractor."

"Yeah, if that's the term you use for your weird power or whatever it is…" Thane said.

"I said Mao was my contractor…" C.C. stated. "Before I made my contract with Lelouch."

"I see now!" Lelouch made a brief laugh. "So, he is my predecessor!"

"Predecessor?" Kallen said. "Does that mean…?"

"Yes, Kallen," C.C. said. "Like Lelouch… I bestowed the power of the king unto Mao."

"You were the one who gave that psycho a Geass?!" Han exclaimed.

"Han, please!" Leia said.

"No, he has a point," Thane said. "Why the hell would you give a power like that to some sick man?"

"Sick is a mild way of calling him after what he pulled," Kallen scowled, and so did Tamaki.

"Mao wasn't always like that. In fact…" C.C. looked away, a sorrowful look waved on her features. "He was once quite sweet."

"SWEET?!" Tamaki and Kallen exclaimed.

"Pfft… yeah, sure, he must have been a real little angel." Han scoffed. "I'm sure his baby pictures are adorable."

"C.C.?" Leia said. "How long have you known this… Mao?"

"Wait," Lelouch interrupted. "First we need to know… about his Geass."

"I see," C.C. said.

"From what we know… and what we experienced…" Luke said, looking back at Kallen, Tamaki, and Lelouch, all of them scowling a bit. "His Geass is different from Lelouch's. He can read minds."

"He can read minds?" Rai said.

"For real?" Ohgi said.

"That is right," C.C. said. "The way Geass manifests is different for each person."

"But does this Mao need to look into people's eyes like Lelouch does?" Rex questioned.

"No, he has no need of that," C.C. said. "Mao's Geass enables him to hear people's thoughts."

"Hear their thoughts?" Sabine said.

"If Mao concentrates… he can hear thoughts up to 500 hundred meters away."

"500 meters?!" Almost everyone exclaimed at that.

"500?" Rai said. "That sounds… pretty big…"

"Almost like… no… that's almost more than the size of a football field…" Ohgi remarked.

"Damn…" Tamaki commented.

"So that would explain how he could detect almost all of us in that area." Lelouch said, recollecting the other day. "Where we were. And what we were doing."

"And if we had come sooner to help Lelouch and Kallen he would have known since we were practically on his radar," Leia surmised.

"Yes," C.C. said. "And if so… he can even read clear down to your subconscious if he wants to."

"Thus, how he can expose… our deep, hidden secrets and feelings…" Kallen grimaced, almost shivering with frustration.

"That power sounds so much like… the mind probe trick…" Rex said, remembering the trick full.

"Something the Jedi would use…" Sabine said, with grimace. "Including those who practiced the dark side."

"The dark side…?" Rai said.

"Oh, brother…" Thane sighed.

"Yikes!" Tamaki almost balked in comical shock. "So, you're saying… no matter what we try… that guy could see all our darkest and hidden secrets whenever he wanted?!"

Chewie roared, the wookie clearly disturbed by the idea.

"Yeah, it sounds very freaky to me too, Tamaki," Ohgi said.

"Are you kidding me, it sounds worse!" Tamaki continued to exclaim. "It's like if I tried clearing my browser history that guy with his freaky mind powers can still see everything!"

"What?" Luke said, clearly confused.

"Uhh…" Tamaki paled, noticing the weird looks everyone was giving him.

"What do mean by… browsing history?" Rex said, almost confused as he was suspicious.

"What's that?" Thane asked.

"Ugh…" Ohgi sighed, while Kallen faced palmed and Lelouch shook his head.

"Something that is used to hide something?" Sabine raised an eyebrow.

"Wait! Wait! Wait! Wait! I didn't mean it like that!" Tamaki balked back while waving his hands repeatedly in a comical way. "I swear I'm not hiding anything!"

"Okay! Okay! We're not dealing with that now!" Han exclaimed.

"Thank you!" Tamaki smiled with relief, mentally thanking the smuggler.

"Especially, since we have a pretty good idea… who the hell we are dealing with," Han grimaced.

"I agree," Lelouch said.

"For those in this room who prefer to hide in the shadows and…" C.C. glanced in Lelouch's direction. "…those who prefer to fight with their mind…" She turned to face the whole group. "Mao is the worst possible enemy."

"Is there a reason why this guy is our enemy?" Luke asked. "Why is he targeting Lelouch, and putting up these… sick games to mess with him? And why would he take my lightsaber?"

"Mao is after me," C.C. said. "He may be your common enemy… but none of you are his targets."

"She has a point," Leia said. "If he were targeting Zero, Luke, or the whole Rebel Alliance… with his power he would know all our deep hidden secrets."

"Including the location of our hidden base, all our comrades, and all our names…" Sabine listed.

"With all of that…" Han said with crossed arms. "He would strike a fortune if he were to sell all of us out to both Britannia… and the Empire."

"But so…" Rai spoke, causing everyone to look at him. "How are… How can he be stopped… from doing just that?"

"If the guy can detect our thoughts from almost a mile away…" Thane growled. "Then he'll dash right before we even track down his hiding spot."

"I won't deny it, what this madman can do… sounds terrifying. However…" Rex said. "That cannot mean he is invincible."

"Every worm has their weakness, and so does he," Sabine said.

"A weakness?" Rai said.

"There is at least one weakness I spotted during our encounter with Mao," Lelouch noted as he glanced at Artoo. "Mao was so perplexed at Artoo's sudden arrival, he exclaimed out loud of not being able to sense him."

"Because Mao can't use his Geass on droids," Luke said, bringing up a smile. "Just like you can't use your Geass on them to obey any commands."

"That's right," Kallen said, starting to smile. "And it's because of that, it allowed Artoo to swoop undetected… and he slugged the bastard in the chest."

"Basically, saving Tamaki's life," Ohgi smiled.

Artoo beeped loudly.

"Really?!" Tamaki bent down to Artoo's level. "Is that true?!"

Artoo beeped with a proud tone.

"I don't know what you're saying, but what the hell!" Tamaki instantly flung his arms around the blue astromech, bringing him into a hug. "You're… You're… You're the best… alien robot I've met! Thank you!"

"Oh, look at you two," Sabine said, while she and the others smirked. "You're bonding."

"Oh, don't get the wrong idea," Tamaki turned to them. "I haven't forgotten you guys. I mean… you guys… you know… digging me out of my creepy-*ss grave. I didn't forget that. You're still my heroes." He glanced at Rai. "You too, kid."

"Uh…" Rai almost blushed at the praise. "Uh… thanks?"

"Can we all get back to the point?" Lelouch said, catching everyone's attention. He turned back to C.C. "Besides droids… what other weaknesses does Mao's Geass have?"

C.C. looked away. "If you all press me… then I would tell you the fact… is that he can't turn his power off."

It looked like another quiet day in one of Tokyo Settlement's public libraries.

People, most of them were students, who sat at desks reading or studying. And there were some who paced around the rows of books and made small talk with others.

All of them were quiet as they should be in a library.

But not for Mao.

The white-haired man staggard as he looked over the railing of the second floor. His eyes were bare, the gleaming Geass sigils burning brightly in each of his blue eyes.

Despite barely anyone talking out loud… he could hear all their voices crushing down on him.

"The square root that divides by… no that's not it."

"It reads that European Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte that where he plotted to enact his strategy in conquering Britannia's colonies…"

"Can you believe it! I'm going out with Kirk for the upcoming…"

"I doubt she even cares whoever she dates with…"

"Oh, we don't have that edition of Economics here. You can put it on hold…"

It was more than he could take with these many voices around. That… and the throbbing soreness he was feeling in his lower abdomen. He frowned so very hard remembering the burning sting the white-blue droid dealt him the other day. And what it led when he had to use the restroom.

It made the pain running through his head hit even harder…

He gasped as he felt he was ready to collapse… until he went to his to the recorder connected to his headphones and turned up the volume. To amplify the sound of the angel's voice in the phones.

Amid the relentless voices of the vermin ranting around him… her voice was the only thing that mattered.

All that should matter in this wasteland world filled with vermin.

"C.C…. I can't live without you." He said out loud as he looked at the precious recording in his hands; speaking at it as if it were phone connecting to his angel. "Just hold on, C.C., I'm coming to you!"

Millennium Falcon

"Are you serious?" Rex said, he and along with almost everyone feeling shocked and disturbed.

"You're saying he can't turn off his power?" Luke exclaimed.

"But that means… he would keep hearing people's thoughts in like mile around him nonstop?" Han said, clearly disturbed.

"That is correct," C.C. said.

"So, even if he went to a quiet place. If people weren't talking… he could still hear them?" Sabine said.

"So, say for example he was to go to a movie theater where people want it to be quiet in order to watch the film or if he wanted to sleep at a hotel… he would nonetheless still be hearing hundreds of people's thoughts going on around him at the same time?" Kallen said, clearly freaked out by that.

"Guy wouldn't have even a second of peace and quiet to even sleep," Ohgi said, sharing the same look.

"But wait…" Leia said, looking at C.C. "You said his Geass ranges to only 500 meters at best. So, what if…"

"He would have to move far and far away as he could any trace of civilization…" Lelouch realized it. "Far away until no one is around to trouble him with their thoughts."

"That basically cuts him off from everyone else. Leaving him alone. Isolated." Luke said, almost feeling…

"If it means getting at least some quiet… then… damn…" Han said.

"No wonder the guy is insane…"

"To go through something like that…" Sabine said.

"That's… kind of… sad…" Rai said.

"Oh, c'mon!" Tamaki went up to him. "Please don't tell you're pitying the guy! Not after what he pulled on us!"

"Well, Tamaki, the guy has been far away from everyone else… he didn't have time to bother to make some friends and care." Ohgi said.

"And it's due to the power he has," Leia said.

"This power seems more like a burden than a gift," Rex said, before turning to C.C. "And you're the one who gave it to him."

"It was never my intention that Mao would have been doomed to that fate." She spoke.

"How long has it been since he had that?" Luke asked.

"I made my contract with him eleven years ago," C.C. answered.

"Eleven years?" Kallen remarked. "More than a decade."

"But that would mean…" Sabine said. "How is old is he?"

"Mao would be seventeen years old with this year." C.C. answered.

"SEVENTEEEEEENN?!" Tamaki, Kallen, Thane, and Luke all exclaimed.

Even Chewie roared and exclaimed.

Artoo beeped flabbergasted.

"You're joking, right?" Han said.

"So, he's the same age as Lelouch and I?!" Kallen exclaimed.

"You all look like that's sounds crazy." Rai said.

"Of course, it is crazy!" Tamaki exclaimed. "He looks older than seventeen! The guy's taller than me and even Ohgi and he is still younger than I am?!"

"You're that old?" Sabine said. "By how much?"

"Wait a minute…" Tamaki paled and waved his hands when Sabine asked that question. "I… I didn't say anything!"

"Wait a minute," Rex interrupted. "If you say he is seventeen years old… and you said you gave him his Geass eleven years ago…"

"Then that means…" Leia said, before she and everyone realized with shock.

"HE WAS SIX YEARS OLD?!" Almost everybody exclaimed.

"That is accurately correct," C.C. said, not deterred at all by their shocked expressions. "That was the age he was when I met him."

"You gave a six-year old that kind of power?!" Han exclaimed.

"Just a few years older than a toddler and you gave something horrible as that for him to bear?!" Thane yelled.

"I never intended for him to go through that kind of suffering and pain…" C.C. spoke out. "It's just… his Geass… lost control."

"What?" Almost everyone said.

"Lost control?" Sabine said.

"What are you saying?" Lelouch said, feeling his gut had hit a sense of dread.

"Over time after manifesting…" C.C. began. "A Geass can become more powerful… depending on how often a user uses it."

"Almost like…" Luke said, almost realizing.

"The Force…" Sabine finished. Both she and Luke glanced at one another, which Rex noted, knowing very well from experience.

"But unfortunately…" C.C. continued. "There comes a time… if used too much… or recklessly without… or even by chance… when having grown too much... the Geass will become runaway. The point from then on when it will become permanently active."

"To the point it can't be turned off…" Leia surmised.

"Oh, my G*d…" Kallen said with horror.

"Is that… what happened to Mao?" Ohgi uttered.

"Damn…" Han said.

"Alright, I changed my mind," Tamaki said, clearly creeped out. "I was thinking about it… but I don't want a superpower. Thank you."

"Yeah, no kidding for you…" Thane said.

"But if Mao had that because his Geass…" Rai said, before looking at Lelouch. "Then that means…"

Luke looked at Lelouch… whose face had turned from dread… to burning fury.

"You're saying that if else… my Geass can become unhinged… just like Mao's?!" Lelouch growled.

"Is that the whole point of your contract?!" Han said. "Testing out if Lelouch can handle or what?!"

"Of course not," C.C. said. "My only concern is seeing my contract fulfilled."

"Your contract this, your contract that!" Kallen exclaimed. "Why the hell do you keep referring to it as a contract?!"

"Enough riddles and cryptic words, lady!" Tamaki exclaimed. "Just tell what it really is and be done with it?!"

"Just what kind of goal are plotting towards?" Sabine narrowed her eyes to the green-haired girl. "What is it you're after?"

C.C. closed her eyes, before opening them again. "It's only a wish. A wish that I had longed to achieve for so long."

"A wish?" Luke said, confusing almost everyone. "And what is it that you wish for C.C.?"

"Was it the same thing you asked of Mao?" Lelouch asked.

"In the end…" C.C. said. "Mao failed." That surprised everyone. "Because of that… I declared ourn contract null and void."

"You annulled your contract with him?" Rex said.

"And what happened after that?" Han asked.

"I left him." C.C. said.

"What?!" Kallen exclaimed.

"That's it?!" Thane said.

"You simply just left him?" Ohgi said.

"Did I stutter?" C.C. questioned.

"If he failed to fulfill your contract… what purpose was there to keep his Geass?" Luke said. "Couldn't you just… take it away?"

"It's not that simple," C.C. said. "When a Geass manifests in a person… it becomes a part of them… forever."

"Are you kidding me?!"

"I don't understand…" Lelouch seethed as he stared down at C.C. "All this time since we formed our contract… you knew all of this. The fact that there were more Geass users out there besides me! The fact that my Geass has the potential to go out of control! And all this time you sat quiet and observe everything unfold around us!"

"You never asked," C.C. said.

"Never asked?!" Han said. "Do you even know what a cheap excuse like that could cost us?!"

"Tell me this," Kallen said, now looking angry. "Did you bother to tell Mao of what would happen if he failed to uphold your contract?"

"I can't believe anyone would want to a contract with you," Lelouch growled. "You are such a selfish…"

"STOP!" Rai said as he stepped in front of C.C.

"Rai…" Sabine said.

"Just stop," Rai said. "We don't… have to fight…" That caused everyone to pause. "We're… we're supposed to be on the same side, right?"

"That depends on who we can trust at the moment," Thane grumbled, sharing a brief glare with Lelouch.

"No, he's right," Leia said, as he stepped beside Rai. "Right now… we can't afford this. It won't matter now that Mao is out there, and after what happened… he won't stop to get C.C…. even if it means getting us out of the way."

That caused everyone to look at each other and realize it.

"Mao has my lightsaber," Luke said as he stepped in. "And that could be dangerous for whatever he plans to do with it. Which is all the more reason we have stop him… before he does something we all fear…"

"Hold it right there!" The stormtrooper warned as he aimed his rifle at the white-haired man who stood a meter away from him at the front of the gate leading to the Viceroy's Palace. "This area is military zone only. It is off-limits to civilians. I suggest you back off."

"That I can't do," Mao said. "I want to meet with your leader. The one called… Lord Vader."

"What?" The stormtrooper looked baffled. "Who the hell are you to be making that demands?! What business do you have with Lord Vader?"

"I'll explain it to him when I meet with him. You can arrange that, can you? FN-115."

"WHAT?!" The stormtrooper balked back in shock.

"Or do you prefer to be called Wulfi?" Mao said. "That is your real name besides your military number."

"How the hell do you know that?!" The trooper threatened Mao with his rifle again. "Answer me!"

"Easy now," Mao waved his hands. "I'm not with the Black Knights or any of the rebels who are your obvious enemies." He grinned before he went to pull something from his pocket. "But I do have something of great value that belongs to them." He pulled out the Skywalker lightsaber for the trooper to see.

"…!" The trooper gasped. "Is… Is that…?!"

"You will accommodate me," Mao said, before he leaned and lowered his glasses to reveal the ever-glowing Geass sigil in both his eyes. "Won't you now?"

Darth Vader sat alone in his room, playing again the recording of his interview with Princess Euphemia the other day… detailing her experience at the hotel crisis.

And her unexpected meeting with Zero and Skywalker.

"He… He noted how I was willing to lay down my life for the sake of the commoners." Euphemia's voice said. "And at that… he said… I haven't changed."

Haven't changed?

That was the moment Vader kept replaying. Even going for minutes. Or sometimes revisiting it most often.

Vader couldn't prove it… but that part of Euphemia's testimony was vital.

Not of Skywalker… but of Zero.

He knew her.

Not by reputation… but personally.

That meant that put off the chance Zero was of the Elevens. He had to be… of Britannian origin. But of which kind exactly? At least a status that could get in touch with the Britannian royal family. Part of nobility. That is Vader would have to take more work in researching the line of nobilities in all Britannia… and that would be too much. He thought he would put chance on a commoner… that is if Zero had been a commoner boy that Euphemia had met by chance. And knowing the princess… she had a soft spot for people, regardless of their class or ethnicity. It was that part that that almost reminded Vader of…

He looked away.

He didn't forget that this testimony regarding Zero was what Euphemia recollected in her own words. Gideon expressed that there was a chance that Euphemia may not have been telling the truth of what happened at the hotel. Perhaps. Though, in some way… Vader could tell she wasn't lying... it was just…

"Lord Vader."

"I told you: no disturbances."

"Forgive me, my lord. But there happens to be a problem."

"What is it?" Vader annoyingly asked. If it was something so trivial, then there would be hell to pay for wasting his time.

"There is a stranger at the gate. He demands that he speak to you personally."

"Is that so?" That caught Vader's attention. "And pray tell… who is this man?"

"Nothing extraordinary… but… in his possession… is a lightsaber."

At that last part… the focus of this stranger had Vader's undivided attention.

Hidden Base

"I'm sorry," Inoue said to Rex, Luke, Han, Kallen, and Chewie. "We sent reports… but we haven't gotten anything yet on this Mao guy."

"It's only a start, but we have to find him," Rex said grimly.

"You say this Mao is from the Chinese Federation," Katase said as he stepped in. "Are you he is not some sort of spy?"

"He isn't a spy at all," Kallen stated.

"He may be one man, but we shouldn't let that have us underestimate him," Luke said. "Not only is he armed and dangerous… but what he can do… can be worse…"

"Are you serious?" Katase said, now looking concerned. "By what way?"

"Uh…" Han sighed. "A whole lot one guy like him can turns things into such a pain in the rear…"

Chewie roared.

Meanwhile, in another part of the base, Leia stood by as Lelouch looked over data sent by Diethard, who was on the phone with them.

"We've read through your proposal for reorganizing the Black Knights," Zero said to the comm.

"I think it's an excellent way, Diethard," Leia said on the comm on as well. "Although, I think we may have to make a few changes. Tomorrow, let's run through it through together."

"I thank you, both of you," Diethard said. "Princess, Zero, I appreciate it."

"Next draft we would like you to insert a chart that forecasts how the cell-based structure will be implemented." Zero said.

"Are you up for it, Diethard?" Leia questioned.

"Of course," Diethard said. "I am a Black Knight of the Rebellion. Whatever you say."

In an old part of the ghetto's C.C., Ohgi, and Sabine (who wore a hood and jacket instead of her armor) searched around to inquire about Mao's whereabouts. So far as they fear… there not much success.

They soon came upon a ragged man who was just finishing a bottle of whatever poor liquor he could scratch.

"What do I know of any Mao?!" The man angrily responded. "Who do I look like?! The police?!"

"He's of Chinese origin," Ohgi said, the women beside him keeping silent. "Perhaps that can help if you heard of any arrivals…"

"Oh, is that it? You and your friends want to get a shot of Refrain?" The man scoffed. "Good luck with that."

"We're not looking for Refrain," C.C. said, stepping forward. "Answer with any knowledge you may have of a person named Mao, and we may compensate you with any information you may have."

The man turned to C.C. and his angry frown turned to a sneer. "Compensate me, huh?"

Both Ohgi and Sabine noticed the way the man was leering at C.C.

"Oh, no…" Ohgi cringed very uncomfortably.

"Just what need…" Sabine curled her hands into fists, ready to strike.

"How about I tell you what I know…" He extended a hand towards C.C. "In exchange, sweet-argh!"

Both Sabine and Ohgi looked in shock when C.C. grabbed the man's wrist and twisted it back, causing him to cry out. She then went to stomp on his foot before delivering a kick to his stomach with unexpected reflexes. The kick caused the man back against the alley wall, where C.C. pinned him by swinging her leg up and putting the flat of her shoe against his throat.

"I want answers… now." C.C. demanded with an impatient tone in her voice.

"What the…" Ohgi could barely believe with wide eyes.

"Oh…" Sabine had the same expression as well.

"We are looking for a Chinese man named Mao," C.C. demanded.

"I don't know any Mao! I swear!" The man croaked as he struggled to speak with C.C.'s foot choking his throat. "The only Chinese around here the thugs or those forced into labor groups! Why don't you just go ask the cops?!"

"I don't like cops."

"Then… ask the Black Knights. The rebels or whatever they call themselves! They're the talk of the underground lately!"

"Everyone tells us the same thing!"

"Cause it's obvious!"

"Uh, C.C.?" Ohgi tried saying. "I think that's enough. You can… let him go now…"

"Gee…" Sabine shook her head. "Don't know if I needed to come… when she can take of herself quite well."

Camelot Division

"You want to meet with the Sub-Viceroy?" Cecile asked Suzaku as they stood with the others on the lift in front of the Lancelot and the Gekka.

"I thought you were already friends with Her Highness?" Nash said, as he, Ciena, and Berisse sat nearby.

"Uh, well, I wouldn't say we were, well…" Suzaku nervously said. "Maybe… but I don't I'm entitled to call and meet with her any time I wish it."

"Is there something you wish to ask her about?" Ciena said.

"Well, uh…" Suzaku said. "You see… my friends… in the Student Council… they just want to have an audience with so they could thank her for protecting them."

"That's what you're asking?" Berisse said. "For your friends?"

"As simple and nice as it sounds, Suzaku…" Lloyd said while he was at the computer. "At least according to dull, old tradition, to hold an audience with a member of the royal family, you have to at least be a Knight of Honor."

"What about myself, Lloyd?" Gideon asked. "You do know I am not a Knight of Honor, yet I am allowed to speak with the Viceroy…"

"Well, there's that…"

"But an Earl can arrange it as well." Cecile said.

"Who? Me?" Lloyd pointed to himself.

"Of course."

"An Earl?" Nash said, before pausing…

It was then the realization not only fell on Suzaku, but almost everyone around him save for Cecile and Lloyd.

"Lloyd! You're…" Suzaku's eyes widened. "You're… You're an earl?!"

"You're nobility?!" Ciena said, clearly flabbergasted.

"What?!" Berisse exclaimed. "After all this time… how come you never told anyone?!"

"Is that true, Lloyd?" Pershing said as he looked in surprise at his colleague.

"Ah-Hahaha!" Lloyd laughed. "Oh, I'm so embarrassed!"

"The prodigal son of nobles…" Cecile said.

"Huh…" Nash said.

That made Gideon laugh. "Lloyd, my friend. Are you so full of surprises?"

"Well, I do consider it part of my living," Lloyd said. "That's what makes a sociopath, right?"

RING!

Everyone paused, as Gideon took his comlink and put it to his ear.

"Pryde? Yes?" Gideon heard his comrade talk, and by the look forming on the agent's face… was concerning. "I understand. I'll be right there."

Vader stood in the sterile room when an Imperial Officer along with several stormtroopers escorted the strange white-haired man inside.

"This is the man who demanded to speak directly to you, Lord Vader," The officer said. "Although, he denies it, I suspect he may be a rebel trying to worm his way in here. He was armed… with this." The officer held out the lightsaber for Vader to take.

Luke Skywalker's lightsaber.

The dark lord took hold of the weapon and took time to feel the familiar feel of hilt.

"Leave us," Vader said, and the officer and his troopers complied. The room only occupied the dark lord… and the white-haired man, who almost grinned.

Vader turned the lightsaber on, emitting its sapphire blade right between him and the man. Vader wanted to be sure, even though he could feel the crystal's force as he held the hilt.

"A very beautiful weapon wouldn't you say?" The man commented.

Vader turned the saber off.

"Where did you get this?" Vader demanded.

"Oh, that's the first question, hmm?" The man said. "No asking for introductions? I'm hurt."

"Then who are you, then?" Vader asked, irritated.

"My name is Mao," The man said. "And don't worry. I wasn't sent here by the rebels, nor am I some spy set up by Cornelia. The latter assumption is something you might suspect."

"Tell me where and how did you come by this?" Vader held up the saber.

"Oh, that…? Oh, I kinda snooped in behind a guy when he wasn't looking and tased him before I took it," Mao said.

"What?"

"You have doubts, of course." Mao said. "But you do know that is Luke Skywalker's lightsaber. Or rather… according to him… it belonged to his father…"

Mao then paused abruptly, and somehow… Vader felt as if the man felt a streak going through his head. It felt strange. It was something else.

Before long, Mao's paused confused face turned with his jaw opening in awe… before it curled back in a wide grin. He then started to chuckle. And the chuckling turned into a giggling.

"Gee… ehHeeheeheeheehee… ehHa-HA-HAHAHAHAHAHAA!" With throttle of maniacal laughter, the white-haired man started clapping as well.

"What is so amusing?" Vader demanded.

"Eh-HAHA!" Mao's laughter toned down. "I'm almost surprised by you. I can barely tell what's going on with you. Your mind is all fuzzy… I can barely skim through it! But just one slip of the thought… and now I completely understand!"

"DO NOT PLAY GAMES WITH ME!" Vader demanded as he stomped close to Mao, holding up the saber in his hand. "ANSWER MY QUESTION: WHERE DID YOU GET THIS LIGHTSABER?!"

"You mean…" Mao composed himself. "This lightsaber belonging to Luke or…" Mao then grinned. "Having belonged… to you?"

"…?!"

It was then as a silent bomb had been set off in the room, and the explosion was so loud… Vader could barely hear or feel anything.

"W… W… What…?" The dark lord said.

"That's right…" Mao continued to grin. "Accurately, this is the second lightsaber you built, after you lost the first one. Isn't that right, Lord Vader… or should I call you by your previous identity?" The white-haired man leaned in close to the dark lord's mask… to whisper a name…

Most unexpectedly… Vader felt himself balk and step back from Mao. His body feeling waves of shock and borderline horror coursing through him. Just hearing that name… the name that should no longer mean anything… hitting back at him… from the mouth of this stranger, who started chuckling.

"Oh, man! Just look at you! If you only you could yourself! Your reaction!" Mao clapped. "For days, I only heard as much about it from Luke. You have no idea how often he thinks about his father. His perfect, heroic, Jedi father who was a war hero and died tragically at hands of the treacherous Darth Vader. As for Vader, he loathes his character to the core after what he had apparently done… and for all the trouble he has caused him and his friends.

"But actually… as I now realize… Luke could not be far from the truth!" Mao grinned again. "It all makes sense now! Perfect sense! It's why you dragged your Empire here to this world! Why you are so obsessed with finding him! And Luke truly doesn't understand why? It's not because he is your biggest enemy… it is because his father and Darth Vader… are the…."

SLAM!

Vader growled like the sound of mutant lion's roar as he forced chocked Mao in the air before telekinetically came into his grip, before he slammed the man to the wall.

"Argh… okay…" Mao groaned.

"WHO-ARE-YOU?!" Vader demanded as he started to press his hands around Mao's neck. A second later, Mao's glasses fell… revealing Vader a new sight.

The sight of the strange sigil in both of Mao's eyes.

"Your… eyes…" Vader said, before starting to loosen up his voice.

"I see…" Mao then grinned. "You have seen this symbol before, haven't you?" He pointed to one of his eyes.

"What?" Vader said.

"Just… loosen up a bit… and I'll talk…" Mao said.

Vader still kept his grip around the man's neck, now thinking. Mao's eyes staring back at the emotionless lens of the dark lord's mask. Yet, even so, Mao barely looked afraid… as he put up his confident grin.

Before long, the dark lord released him.

"Ah… that's much better."

"Are you ready to talk?" Vader growled.

"Yes, yes, go ahead."

"Who are you… exactly? And how… do you know… about… that?"

"I told you… my name is Mao. And for further information… I'm neither Britannian nor an Eleven. I'm not from around here. I come from the Chinese Federation."

"The Federation?"

"Yes, that if you know much about tension between Britannia and that nation."

"Tell me… how is it possible? What is it that you possess… that allowed you to…?"

"To hear your thoughts?" Mao finished, catching Vader off-guard. "I'll just go and spill it. You see I have the ability… to read minds."

"…"

"I know what you're starting to think. I see that of those of your kind… you can do it, too. But as far I know… my ability has little to nothing to do with the almighty Force. I'm not a Jedi. The fact is… the power I have…" He pointed to one of the sigils in his eye. "It's called Geass."

"Geass?"

"Yes. A power that not all people are familiar with. And it was given to me… by someone. Someone very special."

"Someone special?"

"Yes. Yes, she is."

"…"

She?

Vader then thought by instinct at who the man maybe referring to. The dark lord then pulled out a projector from his belt and materialized a small hologram of a certain green-haired girl.

"Would this person be of any familiarity to you?"

"YES!" Mao jumped in joy at the sight of the girl. "It's her! Oh, my! Just having her picture in the palm of your hand I can just watch her forever…" Vader then dematerialized the holo. "Hey!"

"Tell me who she is. Now."

"Oh, alright. Her name… is C.C."

"C.C.?"

"Yes. A beautiful name, isn't it?" Mao asked, which Vader ignored to answer.

"She was the one who grant you… your Geass?"

"That's right."

"And you came to Area 11 to search for her? Why?"

"Because she belongs to me, and I belong to her. She doesn't realize it, it would be simpler there wasn't someone standing in the way."

"Someone…" Vader surmised. "Zero."

"Yes."

"You of know Zero?" Vader said. "As well as Skywalker and the Rebellion?"

"All too well," Mao grinned. "In fact, I even know… who Zero truly is."

"I see now…" Vader understood. "So, you have come to bargain?"

"Well, yes, that's a way of looking at it," Mao said. "It's a term saying… I scratch your back… and you scratch…"

"Tell me why I would agree to any request?" Vader then loomed over Mao again. "If you truly read my thoughts as well… as my memories…" The dark lord growled at that. "…then you should fully be aware… of what I can do… and what I am capable of. You may have only just walked into the jaws of death itself. What is to stop me from taking what I need from you by force? What is to stop me from locking you up and taking the answers I want from your head? Even without laying a finger on you…" He began to lift a hand. "I can take every answer you have easily… as painful and excruciating as I see fit."

A moment passed…

Mao only grinned.

"You could do it. But I also know… you wouldn't put such an opportunity to waste."

"What?"

"I can tell from your thoughts… that you are curious."

"…?"

"You could easily do what you have mentioned, but you're curious to see what I have proposed."

"What is it that you propose?"

"I can serve you in any way you need in order deal with your situation. You want Skywalker, well, I want C.C. There's just one little pest who stands in the way of who we want, and that is Zero. He presents himself as a genius… but with what I have… I know how he thinks. I know everyone he is affiliated with. That includes Luke and the rest of his friends.

"Before I had arrived… I had already orchestrated a plan of my own design… to catch C.C. When I have her… I will grant you Zero's identity… and with your assistance and that of your army…"

"You see Lord Vader… if that is what you wish that I call you?" Mao explained. "With my willing cooperation… I can give you what you truly desire…"

"And what would that be?"

"With my power… I can not only give both Skywalker and Zero, along with the location of the Black Knights' hidden base… but I have the knowledge… of where the Rebel Alliance and their allies are hiding." That caught Vader's attention. "I can give what you truly seek. I can give you the means… to bring about the total and final destruction… of the entire Rebel Alliance."

Millennium Falcon

"It's no good," Ohgi said as everyone had gathered again on board the Coreillian Freighter. "Even with going around town, we haven't at least got a trace of the guy."

"It's only been a day," Rex said. "There is still a chance."

"And what if there isn't?" Han asked.

Chewie roared with concern.

"Grr…" Lelouch looked down in frustration.

"Aren't all of us forgetting how long his range goes," Luke said. "With his Geass he may detect our thoughts from within a mile's range."

"Well, how can we mask ourselves in order to find him?" Sabine said.

"I got it!" Tamaki exclaimed, catching everyone's attention to fall on him.

"You do?" Leia said, now curious.

"Yeah! I just realized!" Tamaki explained. "We need those kinds of helmets!"

"What helmets?" Rai asked.

"The ones out of tin-foil."

"TIN-FOIL?!" Kallen, Lelouch, and Ohgi exclaimed.

"What's that supposed to be?" Luke asked. "Some kind of metal?"

"Just forget it, Luke," Ohgi sighed. "It's nothing…"

"Of course, it is!" Tamaki protested. "It's the hat that people wear so the aliens can't read their minds!"

"Really?" Rai said.

"Mao is not an alien, Tamaki," Kallen said.

"Well, he can read minds like them!" Tamaki said.

"Where the hell you even come up with that kind of idea?!" Han exclaimed.

"It wasn't me." Tamaki said. "It's the stuff scientists figured out! They have proof of it! I've seen it."

"Right, right… you mean from the movie?" Ohgi said.

"Movie?" Rex said.

"Tamaki… you're proposing that we take after the prop hats they had in Signs?" Ohgi said.

"It wasn't just from that movie! I'm serious!" Tamaki said. "C'mon, unless you can think of any other alternatives we can use to track down Mao, then I'm all ears!"

"You're really for real?" Sabine said.

"That is the most stupid idea I have ever heard in all the galaxies!" Thane shook his head.

"Get in line…" Han grumbled, and that caused Tamaki to sulk.

RING! RING!

"Is that your phone?" Kallen asked Lelouch.

Lelouch pulled out his phone to see it was an unknown number calling him. He opened it up and put to his ear.

"Yes?"

"It's me… Zero."

Lelouch narrowed his eyes in anger. "Mao…" That caught everyone except C.C. by surprise.

"Patch me up with C.C." Mao said. "I want to talk with her alone."

Viceroy Palace

Cornelia knocked on the door to one of the rooms of her close subordinates.

"Marika, are you there?" Cornelia called out.

"Viceroy? Is that you?"

"May I come in?"

"Uh… yes! Yes, of course!"

The door slid open, and Cornelia entered the quarters.

Sitting on the bed was Marika, the teenage girl looked up at her superior very attentively.

"Is there something that I could be of service, Your Highness?"

"It's nothing. I just wanted to check in on you."

That surprised the girl. "You… did…?"

"Lilianna mentioned how you haven't left your room all day," Cornelia walked inside. "Are you not feeling well?"

"Oh, it's nothing," Marika shook her head. "I'm not up with the flu or anything. I just…" The girl looked down. "I just wanted to gather my thoughts by myself… at least for a while." She then shook her head. "I apologize if I'm making excuses to not be on active duty…"

"It's nothing." Cornelia said, before she went to sit down on the bed next to Marika, much to the girl's surprise. "Marika… I understand these have been a very rough few weeks for you. I doubt nothing I can say can give you much comfort to what you are going through."

"Oh, no, Viceroy, I…" Marika tried saying. "I… I appreciate it, but…"

"I've been meaning to ask something." Cornelia said.

"What is it, Your Highness?"

"I had thought you would have been ready to take a leave of absence," Cornelia said. "I thought you would been ready to depart for the homeland temporarily, in order for you and your family to arrange… your brother's funeral?"

"Oh, yes…" Marika said. "Well, you see… I was ready to, but… I received a call from my mother. The funeral has been… postponed."

"…?" Cornelia looked at Marika in surprise at that.

"My mother said it is because things have been rough at home," Marika looked down. "She and father and their holders are dealing with a bit of backlash due to what happened to Kewell… and… I'm just… I'm sorry if…"

"There's nothing to be sorry about, Marika," The girl looked at Cornelia. "Believe me…" The woman looked at the ceiling. "I know the pain very well. You should know… I have lost brothers. And sisters as well. Three of them… having died right here in this area." The Viceroy closed her eyes at that. "And what is worse, as their older sister, I was not there for them when they needed me."

"Viceroy…" Marika looked at superior, surprised at even witnessing this side of her.

"They are gone… and there is nothing I can do to bring them back," Cornelia opened her eyes. "The only thing I can do for them… is to avenge them."

"…"

"It's why I fight. Why we are fighting against the rotten core that has infested this land." Cornelia looked at Marika. "I barely considered your feelings when I punished your brother, along with his subordinates. But I do know he was still a son of Britannia. And his death along many others at the hands of the rebels will not go unnoticed. It's why I… and no doubt you as well… will see to it that they are punished."

"…" Marika barely knew what to say. "I… forgive me, Viceroy. I'm… so thankful that you are considerate of me. I'm grateful that you feel the need… to avenge my brother, including your own. Though… I'm sorry if… I'm putting more burden than you need to carry."

"Marika…"

"I wouldn't want someone to feel the pain that… I may be feeling… for Kewell. Another thing is… a part of me is glad that the funeral is postponed. It's just… I can't stand the fact that… when we do… there won't be much to bury of my brother." Cornelia listened closely. "They said how my brother fought against the Black Knights… and how he was quickly subdued… and how… that a red knightmare frame…" the girl shuddered. "Burned him alive. Burned him to a crisp…"

Cornelia looked in sympathy as the young girl breath started to shake.

"I abhor the need for revenge… but…" Marika tried wiping her face. "I can't stand that my brother had to die… in such a cruel way. I just… I just can't…"

Cornelia quickly pulled the girl into arms before the latter started crying all out. The Viceroy somberly looked at her as she caressed her back, feeling the pain she was going through. It was okay for the last Soresi heir to let her emotions out.

Chewie roared with protest.

"Where do you think you're going?!" Han said.

"I have no choice…" C.C. said as she turned to face everyone. "If I don't meet with Mao now… he'll be ready to expose everyone… starting with Lelouch… to the Empire."

"So, you're just going to give up to him without a fight, is that it?!" Lelouch yelled.

"What about your contract to Lelouch, huh?!" Kallen said. "Are you going to do with him like did with Mao?! Throw him away like garbage?!"

"I'm going to make sure Mao won't cause any trouble for any of you again," C.C. said. "You already have your hands full with both Britannia and the Empire. Along someone far worse."

"C.C…." Luke said. "Why are you sounding like this is good-bye?"

"Am I truly that vital to you? To your rebellion?" C.C. asked. "I'm not a soldier. Nor am I a Jedi of the Force like you, Luke."

"But… I thought…" Rai said. "I thought you were a friend."

"A friend…" C.C. made something of a sad smile. "Maybe that would be nice… but… the truth is… I don't think I am worthy of that."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Sabine said, with her arms crossed.

"That you couldn't have been far from the truth about you said about Mao," C.C. said. "I am only a selfish girl wanting nothing more than to have her contract fulfilled, and I would barely shed a tear for those who would be hurt because of it. It's also because I am the reason Mao is willing to target every one of you to get to me. That is why I can't stay."

"Even so, you know too much, C.C." Lelouch said, turning on his eye. "Which is why I am ordering you to stay."

Almost everyone gasped as they saw Lelouch turn on his power and directed it at C.C…. who merely shrugged.

"Have really forgotten?" C.C. said, "Geass doesn't work on me." That caused Lelouch to groan in frustration.

"C.C…." Leia said. "You don't have to do this… we can find a way…"

"If any of you don't wish for me to leave… then why not force me not to?" That surprised them. "I am only one… and you all outnumber me. You can even have Chewie keep in place."

Chewie roared.

"Nice way to hurt Chewie's feelings, lady," Han scowled.

"C.C…" Luke said. "We… we won't force into anything like that…"

"But you can't just leave and…" Lelouch tried saying.

"Why are you so irritated, Lelouch?" C.C. asked. "I thought you be relieved. Without me, you won't to be burdened with the contract I put on Mao. And you get to worry about one less problem."

As C.C. got ready to leave the room, she paused by Chewie who made a sad noise. She looked at him with a sympathetic look. She pulled from her pocket a paper and handed it to the wookie. "The paper with the number and info to Pizza Hut. You can have Threepio to make the calls. That is if Lelouch lets spend his money as I have." Chewie still whimpered. "I won't forget you, Chewbacca. It has been fun." She patted his hand, and before long, exited the Millennium Falcon.

"I can't believe we just let her go like that," Thane shook his head with disbelief.

"She's walking right into his trap," Rex said. "It has to be a trap."

"You really think Mao already contacted the Empire?" Ohgi said, now concerned.

"It could be a lie he made up," Kallen said. "It wouldn't put it past that sicko."

"So, are we just going to leave to him?" Rai said.

"She didn't say much as to where she was meeting him," Luke said, now looking down.

"We have this…" Lelouch said as he held up his phone for everyone to see.

"What is it?" Leia said.

"One voicemail?" Kallen said as she looked close to it.

Lelouch played the voicemail.

"It's me, C.C." Mao's voice said.

"Mao…" C.C.'s responded.

"You recorded their conversation?" Han questioned, to which Lelouch nodded.

"I'll be at Clovisland, come alone." Mao said.

"Clovisland?" Sabine said. "Is that a place."

"Clovis as in Prince Clovis, your brother?" Rex questioned, to which Lelouch nodded.

"Clovisland is one of most popular amusement parks in the Settlement," Kallen explained. "A park that Clovis… apparently named after himself." She rolled her eyes at that.

"An amusement park?" Rai said.

"You've been to this place before?" Luke said.

"Not us," Ohgi said, gestured to him and Tamaki.

"Yeah…" Tamaki said. "Apparently, fun parks like those… are off limits to… Elevens…" The hothead looked annoyed at that.

"But now we know where she is going, right?" Thane said.

"Let's keep listening to rest of the recording," Leia said, before Lelouch resumed the recording.

"You're as selfish as ever I see." C.C.'s voice said.

"If you don't come… I'll tell the Galactic Empire… or maybe… I'll tell it straight to Darth Vader who Lelouch is. And not just that… I'll tell him also about Kallen. About every Black Knight, rebel, and the location of their hidden base! I can have them all eliminated anytime I want!"

"Your voice sounds like that of a sadist…" C.C.'s voice growled with disappointment.

"I'm only seeing that sinners be punished," Mao's voice said. "Just come alone, I will forget their transgressions."

At that, the voicemail stopped.

"That son of a *itch…" Han growled.

"That's just exactly who he is…" Kallen said with disdain.

"Even if C.C. submits to Mao, there's no telling he won't keep his promise to her," Luke said. "He might as well tell the Empire about Lelouch and us regardless."

"Which is why can't stand by and let this be," Leia said, now determined.

"What can we do?" Tamaki said. "Have you guys already forgot what Psycho Psychic can do?"

"Psycho Psychic…?" Rex said.

"Yeah, it fits him," Tamaki explained. "I made a supervillain name for him! His Geass thing makes him a Psychic… but also Psycho, which is short for Psychopath!"

"Oh, I see…" Rai said.

"This is not helping, Tamaki!" Kallen yelled, causing Tamaki to go into a comic shudder.

"He's still a got a point," Han said with crossed arms. "Mao is still a human radar. Just how are we going to get him without him noticing?"

Luke looked at Lelouch, who looked stoic as he looked at the phone in his hand. Before long, he spoke…

"I do have something in mind."

Clovisland

At night, the amusement park was apparently empty, and all the rides were shut down until the next morning. That is until C.C. walked into the area. The park being where her former contractor said to specifically meet. Now she just needed to see when he would pop up and…

SWOOM!

The lights of the park turned on, including the ones for the rides. C.C. turned to see the merry-go-round ride turned on and started spin the horse rides round and round. It was when it turned more that it revealed that of the horses was being ridden by a familiar face.

"C.C.!" Mao greeted as he road on the toy horse. "Your mind is so quiet! It's the only one I can't read! You really are the best there is!"

"All these years…" C.C. kept stoic, not impressed by his praise. "You're still as childish as ever."

"Not so!" Mao waved his hand as his other kept hold of the pole, acting as if he truly was galloping on a horse. "I feel happier and braver than I've ever felt in a long time! I'm a prince riding upon a white stallion, and you, my dear C.C…." He gestured at her. "You are my divine princess. One so much in distress. And the prince must always rescue the princess!" There came a flash of a sneering grin on his lips. "Especially from such rebel brigands. HeHAHAHAHA!" With a laugh, he hopped off the horse just as the merry-go-round suddenly stopped. "Does that make you happy, C.C.?"

The girl still looked unamused.

"Mao, we talked about this before. I told you, our contract…"

"Those are all lies. Lies." Mao walked forward, just a meter away from her. "C.C. you love me! I know you do! And this is how I know." The man unhooked the headphones from his and held it out, allowing her to hear the recording play out loud.

"Thank you, Mao." C.C. voice echoed out. "Mao. Mao."

"STOP IT!" C.C. yelled; her stoic mask now broken.

"BE QUIETTT!" The young white-haired boy screamed as he kneeled in the midst of the bustling crowd around him.

He quivered and held his head almost like he was in pain when…

"Don't listen to them. Just listen to the sound of my voice," That calmed the boy, even as he felt the arms of the angel around him.

"That's it. Since my mind is the only one you can't read, and you can only be happy when you're with me—I will stay with you always. Yes, I'm right here. So, you don't need to worry."

"I said STOP IT!" C.C. demanded.

"But why?" Mao asked as he put down the headphones. "Don't you understand, C.C. I love you!" His face lit up as he professed it. "All this time since we've been apart has made me realize it. You're the only one! The only one I want forever!"

"Don't…" C.C. shook her head.

"Why?! What is holding you back?!" Mao said, as he begun taking steps towards her. "Lelouch doesn't matter! Skywalker doesn't matter! The Rebellion doesn't matter at all! All they care about is fighting to no end! But with me… we can go somewhere far, far away from all that. Just you and me, together, as it always should be!" He began to close the gap between them and stretched out with his arms, causing her to balk back. "If you just come with me…"

"STOP IT!" C.C. yelled as he slapped his hands away before she pulled out a blaster and aimed it at him. Mao stood back with an expression of shock and hurt as C.C. kept him at gunpoint. "I should have done this right from the start."

BANG!

A moment had passed… and then came the sound of a blaster bolt firing. Its sound echoed throughout the empty park.

C.C. kneeled, her hat falling off, as she gripped at the wound on her arm where the blaster bolt hit her. Standing over her, Mao held up a blaster of his own. An Imperial-class blaster. Specifically, an RK-3 model type.

"I knew it! I knew you couldn't pull the trigger! That's because you REALLY do love me, C.C.!" Mao started clap while triumphantly laughing with a deranged twist to it.

"No, you're wrong! I never loved you!" C.C. shouted. "You were only a means to my own ends, right from the start!"

That caused Mao to stop and frown. "Why would you say that? You shouldn't lie to me, you really shouldn't!"

BANG!

Mao shot another blaster bolt again at C.C., causing her to fall back on the ground.

"You were the one who told me never to lie! EVER!" Mao exclaimed as he paced around her, while shaking his head very disapprovingly. "Lies are very, very wicked! WICKED LIES!"

BANG!

Mao shot more blaster blots all over her, causing the girl cry out in pain each time, further causing her to fall to the ground again, with little chance of pulling strength to get back up and run away.

"C.C…. you must understand…" Mao lowered his blaster. "I made a bargain with Darth Vader." He looked up as he continued his explanation. "You see… he and I have come to an understanding. He wants someone so badly just as I want you. And that person is Luke Skywalker." C.C. groaned in pain, but she listened to what Mao was saying. "There is one person who stands in the way of getting who we want…" His face turned to a scowl. "And that one person is… Lelouch. Along with all his pathetic Black Knights and rebel friends.

"Once I deliver him along with Luke and the whole Rebel Alliance to him… he will see to it to reward me. He will give us a planet to live on. One of the moons around the planet, Yavin. Yavin 4. It's in the galaxy of the Galactic Empire. In the Outer Rim as he described it. Vader told me it was once the Rebel's hidden base, but since they had left it a while back, the planet is practically empty. Barely any intelligent lifeforms live there. So, it's the perfect place, where nobody will be around to disturb us! It will be just you and me forever!"

C.C. groaned, almost trying to crawl, but couldn't.

"But before we can get to Yavin 4… there's just one little problem with the deal," Mao said. "You see the thing is C.C…. after what happened in Narita… you made Vader mad. Really, really mad. He not only wants to punish you… but he wants to know more about you. To study you. I'm not that much thrilled by him taking you away from me… but…" He turned away from you. "Considering that you can't you die and all your parts can grow back in no time. I guess it won't hurt to wait a while… once he's takes time doing some surgery on you."

C.C. gasped. Her eyes widened in horror at what he implied.

"So, in the meantime…" Mao turned back to face her, and he pulled out Luke's lightsaber. The man turned it on, emitting its sapphire blade. "I'LL GOING TO GO AHEAD AND SUBTRACT A SAMPLE FOR HIM!"

Now C.C.'s eyes trembled in terror as she stared at the glowing blade in Mao's hands as he laughed again.

"HeHAHAHAHA! These lightsabers are so incredible!" Mao paced around, while swinging his newly, acquired weapon. "I admit I almost killed myself when turning it on, but when I got the hang of it… IT JUST MAKES ANYTHING I HIT FEEL LIKE BUTTER!"

SLASH!

With a swing, Mao slashed through the pole of a warning sign nearby. The action was done so effortlessly with the burning azure saber in his hands.

"Hehaha! I guess that with this thing I'm as strong as any Jedi!"

"Is this… your revenge?" C.C. spoke out. "You're punishing me?"

"Oh, no…" Mao denied as he turned back to her. "I'm not. I'M NOT! I'M NOT! I'M NOT! I'M NOT! I'M NOT AT ALL!" He walked towards her, raising the lightsaber high, ready to make the first slash. "In fact, C.C… I'm showing you, my gratitude!"

"So, this is the place that you picked."

A familiar voice echoed from the speakers nearby, causing Mao to pause, and scowl as he recognized the voice. A voice he came to loathe.

"Clovisland," The theater screen on top of the podium right in front of Mao and C.C. turned on and buffered a bit. "By day, a lively place full of people… an environment that would usually be your worst nightmare. But by night, it's a place closed and empty with no one else's thoughts to hear but your own. That's what narrowed it down to here." The screen finally became clear, revealing it to be the masked figure known as Zero.

"Lelouch…" Mao growled, while C.C. looked at the screen in shock.

"Since your Geass has a total maximum range of 500 meters…" Zero on the screen said. "It can't reach me here at the Millennium Falcon."

That caused Mao to laugh and clap, the lightsaber still in his hand. "HaHaHa! That's true! That's very true!" He stopped and turned to focus on the image of Zero on the screen. "But what can you do from all the way over there, Lelouch? And what's with that stupid mask? You think that's all you need to prevent your secret from being spilled out? How do you know the Empire is not watching this moment?" Mao held a finger. "Just one word… your full name… and it will be game over for you. For you and all your rebel friends.

"So, tell me, Lelouch, what is your ultimate strategy against me? After learning I can't sense droids, do you intend send of your own mechanical minions to sneak up and ambush me? Not that wouldn't be glad to see your little friend again…" Mao scowled. "I've been wanting to get back after his little stunt the other day.

"Or if you do not go with that option, do you intend to use that silver tongue you are so proud and use it to psychologically taunt me into submission, hmm?"

The image of Zero on the screen still said nothing.

"Oh, I see… cat got your tongue." Mao sneered. "Well, if you want C.C. you better have to…"

"Mao, think!" Zero finally spoke. "You don't think C.C. is her name, do you? She doesn't even whisper it to anyone."

That caught Mao off guard, and the man slowly turned to look on C.C.'s injured form.

(The First Signature – Code Geass OST)

"Until now that is…" Zero revealed. "Yes. To two people alone. Myself… and Luke Skywalker. She told us her true name!"

That fact caused Mao's eyes to shrink as he stared back at C.C. "C.C…. is that true? Your… Your true name? You never told me ever, ever." His face filled with a look of heartbreak and betrayal. "But you told it to them?!"

"You know why?" Zero said. "Because C.C. is mine." That made Mao glared back at the screen. "C.C. belongs to me in every possible way."

"NO!" Mao yelled as he got up on the podium, directly facing the screen. "She doesn't! SHE DOESN'T! SHE DOESN'T! SHE DOESN'T! She was mine long before she met you!"

"I have gained every single thing from her. Including the parts you have never seen." Mao balked back in dumbfounded shock at hearing those words… and what they were supposed to mean. "All of them…"

Just hearing those words, let alone the sound of Lelouch's voice caused Mao to grit his teeth hard and turned his face into an ugly snarl. His eyes fuming even more as they glared back at the image with a mixture of rage and upmost jealousy.

"Lelouch…!"

The next moment… Mao ignited Luke's lightsaber again.

"FACE ME!" The enraged man yelled as he lunged and slashed at the screen with the saber. Repeatedly slashing burning marks across the glass screen. "LELOUCH! COME HERE! Come here so I can look into your mind! I'll cut your arms! I'll cut your legs! I'll fit you in a box and send you straight to you Vader! And then everyone in the world will see what a fraud you are! What a liar you are! YOU LIAR! LIAARRRRR!"

"Mao… you've lost…"

"What are you talking about?!" Mao exclaimed. "I don't care… I'm taking C.C. with me! And I'm taking her far, far away from you…!"

"Right this way…"

"Should we secure the perimeter?"

"Get ready?"

"Lock and loaded!"

Mao paused… as he could hear the voices… again.

"What the?!" Mao said in confusion. "Is that… Is that Lelouch?! No, he's too far away! Is it Luke? The Black Knights?" His face then frowned with worry as the voices started growing louder. "Sounds… everywhere! All those voices!"

"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!"

A bright light was then shown on him, causing him to cringe back. He then took in the rows of soldiers surrounding him with shields and guns.

"What?! Stormtroopers?! No… it's… it's the police!"

"REMAIN WHERE YOU ARE! DROP THE WEAPON!" Soldiers surround Mao still at the center of the podium. Coming behind the police were two Knightpolice Models aiming their guns at him.

"What are they doing here?!" Mao balked back in complete shock. "Who contacted them?!"

Two police officers came upon C.C. and carried her up. She then looked in shock at who they were. "Lelouch? Rex? What are both of you doing here?"

"That's impossible!" Mao stared in shock as he noticed Lelouch. "He was just at the Millennium Falcon! He can't be here now!"

"Heh…" Rex made a grin as he glanced at Mao. "Guy really is in for quite a shock…"

"What was that?!" Mao yelled.

"Are you that slow?" Lelouch looked at Mao with a smirk. "That was all a recording… that I had Artoo upload into the system."

"THAT'S A LIE!" Mao yelled. "You were talking to me! Answering my questions!"

"Your thoughts were so slow and so easy predict… since you could read minds you never felt the need to resort to cunning."

"WHAT?!" Mao said, as he balked. "You… predicted every one of my answers?! That's it?!"

"I would have thought it impossible… but…" Rex thought. "Knowing the obsessive love-sick boy you are… you're even more easier to read than a clanker."

"Clanker…?!" Mao exclaimed. "No… you lie. You lie! This can't be just it! Why just have you and Rex come down here?! Where's the rest of your rebel friends and Black Knights?!"

"Only a handful dropped to lend a hand." Lelouch said in his thoughts. "Not just Rex, but a few you might recognize." Lelouch gestured at one of the police vans nearby. Mao looked and his eyes widened to see who was waving from the driver's seat…

Tamaki, wearing a police uniform, but wearing what appeared to be a tin-foil hat on his head. The hothead was now grinning… while flipping the middle finger at Mao.

"Just them?! Where's Skywalker?! Why isn't he here? I have his lightsaber! Are he and the rest of his friends so scared to even show up and face me?!"

"Don't delude yourself," Lelouch chided in his thoughts. "For the past two days… you've only proven to childish nuisance for the Rebellion." That made Mao irked. "It starts to make me think otherwise… why someone as dangerous as Darth Vader… would actually waste his time and effort with a hopeless man-child like you."

"Grr…! You… You dare… You… little punk!" Mao irked again, and he glared back at Lelouch, while gripping the lightsaber in his hands. "So, what if I am?! Do you really think this will stop me?!" He gestured to the huge police force surrounding him. "I know who you are! I know everything to know about you and all your rebel friends! If the cops arrest me, Vader will know! And he'll have me out in a heartbeat!"

"What's he saying?"

"Shut up, Mister Lasersword!"

"Did he say Vader?"

"I just wanna go home, man…"

"Who the hell is this guy?!"

"He's a nut out from the nuthouse."

"No way this guy is getting out anytime soon."

"Why would anyone want to do with a freak like him?"

"SHUT UP!" Mao cried out as he held his head. "PLEASE! JUST STOP TAUNTING ME!"

"Heh… C.C. told us you can't turn off your Geass." Lelouch smiled. "And your reach is erratic. If you don't concentrate… the range gets very short."

"So, you used the monitor to keep me distracted?" Mao concluded. "You think that means you have won?! You think all is well? You underestimate me! I can still beat you! I'll have you ruined!"

"Don't try it… the moment you do… is the moment you die." Lelouch mentally warned, before he and Rex started walking away with C.C.

"Wait!" C.C. then pleaded. "If I can talk to him… I can get through to him!"

"Sorry, kid," Rex whispered. "But I don't think he is anywhere near to reason."

"You'll think I'll die?! You are so mistaken! DARTH VADER!" Mao yelled out in the air. "If you can hear me then hear me well, let me uphold my part in our bargain! You want to know who Zero really is? His name is…!"

"FIRE!"

With a wave of his hand, the leading police officer waved his hand for all the soldiers to fire their guns at Mao.

Both Rex and Lelouch crouched and covered C.C. from the scene. Tamaki in the van, balked back in shock at the ensuing scene before him.

Streams of bullets rained in front of Mao, hitting him in several places. The man balked back at each shot he felt. With a fling of his wrist, he dropped the lightsaber in the air. Before long he fell back down to the ground in pain.

"Oh, Mao!" C.C. cried out in horror.

Luke's lightsaber rolled on the ground for a while before Rex kneeled and picked it up. The clone went to join Lelouch and C.C. in the van before Tamaki pressed the gas and sped out of the scene.

While on the ground, Mao could only look in distress at the van drove further and further away from him.

"C… C.C…." He uttered before his head fell back on the ground.

While the whole scene unfolded, not very far, hovering and having broadcasted the entire scene… a probe droid buzzed its usual chatter.

From his room, Vader had watched the entire scene that the probe droid had recorded at Clovisland. In the end… he had interesting thoughts regarding the result.

He had begrudgingly agreed to Mao's request in his plan to get this… C.C.

Vader had listened closely… as much as the probe droid could record from a distance.

Vader almost glared at the way Mao swung the lightsaber like a toy, and how he proclaimed himself as powerful as Jedi. It almost made him ready to reach out and strangle the lunatic right there.

Just as things looked to ready to turn for the worst for the girl… Zero had shown up, wearing his mask.

Vader was almost astounded and in awe by that diversion Zero pulled on Mao. To use a recording acting as though he knew what the white-haired lunatic was going to say next. He didn't know how he got the police to come and corner Mao… either they were rebels in disguised or they were easily fooled.

In end… what Vader could say about Zero was…

"Impressive," Vader said out loud. "Most impressive, Zero."

The dark lord had been… in some way worried that Zero may have lost his edge since their last encounter. Vader may want the mysterious masked leader to fear him… but not too much to break him quickly. That would mean the masked man would be no longer interesting or worth Vader taking his time to track down.

Vader even smiled when he heard Mao shout out Rex's name. It meant the mind-reader detected Rex with Zero in the park.

Rex.

The dark lord assumed that Zero had by now accommodated well this old clone captain, even trusting him now to work alongside him.

Reminded him of the good old days…

The only person that didn't impressed him… was Mao.

Disappointing… as he had expected.

For all the bragging and confidence that lunatic swayed… the tremendous power he had… only made him…

"Brash. Foolish. Overconfident. And overly predictable…" Vader voiced out with disdain. No wonder it wasn't difficult for Zero to trap him so easily.

As much as the dark lord held disdain for the white-haired man… he would not deny the potential his power held. It would have been a far useful asset against the Rebel Alliance.

It was perhaps a stupid idea to let Mao go when Vader should dragged him to the cell and get ready to probe his mind… until he had everything he needed. To know where the Black Knights were. To know where Luke was. And… to know where Zero was…

What was he thinking?

Yes, perhaps it would have been logical… but that would have been easy. Too easy.

Vader was not in need of a man-child to help him bring down the Rebellion. He was not in need of such broken things. He will do it as he saw fit.

Although… while Mao had left him without the desired bargain… the dark lord at least gained something from this ordeal.

The dark lord went to type several buttons to playback the recording.

"Lelouch…! FACE ME! LELOUCH!"

Well now… this wasn't a complete waste after all.

A name. Not the full name. But Vader could tell by the way Mao said it…

"So, that… is his name…" Vader said. "Lelouch…"

It was when Vader said the name aloud, the eyes behind his mask widened in revelation.

No… it couldn't… could it?

RING! RING!

Vader's train of thoughts were interrupted by the hologram of Gideon popping in front of him.

"What is it, Gideon?" Vader questioned.

"Sorry to interrupt, my lord," Gideon bowed his head apologetically. "But we have discovered something you should see right away."

"What is it?"

"Pryde has called for something he has uncovered. It concerns the Pureblood woman we were instructed to monitor… Villetta Nu."

Millennium Falcon

"Yahoo!" Tamaki cheered. "We sure showed Psychic Psycho who's the boss, tonight!"

It was a celebratory mood now in the Millennium Falcon, as everyone gathered, even Threepio was present. Everyone was practically relieved that Mao had been taken care of… but also in awe by how Lelouch's scheme had worked. Many of the others were caught in awe by how Zero pulled the recording to stall Mao.

Apparently, thanks to Artoo's tinkering, they were able to see a broadcast of what had transpired in the park… and it was nothing short of impressive and awe.

"Still beats that I couldn't been there to see the bastard get it," Kallen said with a shake of her head.

"Yeah," Han said. "Well, what matters is that he is longer up and running to spread any secrets."

"Luke…" Luke turned to see Rex facing him, holding up a familiar object. "I think you'll be needing this."

"My father's lightsaber…" Luke said as he took it in his hands. "Rex, thank you. Thank you for getting this back."

"Well, piece of advice for you, kid," Rex chuckled. "Your father went through the same thing. That from what I heard from Obi-wan, for being a bit too reckless at times. You better keep on hold to that. It's one thing that you have from him. And I know he would want his son to have his lightsaber to protect him."

"You got it, Captain," Luke nodded.

"Oh, my stars, Miss C.C.!" Threepio cried out as he saw the bloody stains on C.C.'s attire. "You are hurt… should I apply the medical kit…"

"Threepio…" Leia put a hand on the droid's shoulder.

Everyone now directed their attention on C.C…. who had her back facing them, having not said a word since they returned.

"C.C…." Lelouch addressed her.

"When many of you accused of me of placing such a burden on Mao…" C.C. said. "You were not wrong."

She had their attention.

"When I gave the Geass power to Mao it indeed isolated him. In his mind… I became his only friend… and his lover."

"Uh…?" Rai said in confusion.

"Okay… that is… messed up…" Thane said.

"Totally…" Sabine said.

"Urgh…" Tamaki balked at that. "Okay that seriously packing Norman Bates vibes there… ow!" The hothead winced when Kallen elbowed him.

"Yet all the while… in our time together…" C.C. continued. "I was still the perfect stranger. I'm the only one he even thought of as human. I was Mao's entire world."

There came a silence between all of them. Everyone now… looking at the green-haired girl… with sympathy…

She no longer appeared stoic and careless when they first met her… it seemed… there was different side of her they were seeing.

(The Rise of Skywalker – The Rise of Skywalker OST)

"C.C. listen to me," Lelouch said. "I won't let Geass destroy me. I will conquer its power and bend it to my will. And use it to change this world… and if else… the universe. I'll fulfill your desire and my own. And I will complete the contract he couldn't achieve. So, please…"

"Lelouch…" C.C. said. "How can you be so certain?"

Lelouch fell silent at that, but before he could reply.

"Because he's not alone," Luke said, catching everyone's attention. "I may not have a Geass nor am I bound to any contract… but I'm not going to let what happened to Mao happen to Lelouch."

"Luke…" Lelouch said.

"It's no different than what I aim to be," Luke looked at Lelouch. "And that is to learn the ways of the Force… and become a Jedi… like my father before me. That… and defeating the Empire. Both Empires."

"And that's what we'll do," Leia said as she stepped forward. "We'll stand with them… together." She looked behind at everyone. "I know… today… and what all of you now know… it seems unexpected. And complicated."

"Wait a moment…" Kallen said. "Is this the part where we are all supposed to forget today happened and go about the usual."

"Of course not, Kallen," Luke said. "No one is forcing anyone. All of you are here… but that is for all of you to decide. Anyone who wishes to stay… it's their choice."

There was a silence of contemplation of what Leia meant.

"Heh…" Han chuckled stepped forward. "Real subtle, kid. Real subtle."

"Is that supposed to be a yes or a no, laser brain?" Leia questioned.

"Oh, you know I'm not the kind to give a direct answer," Han said. "Though you can tell… we are standing on my ship… and for what is transpiring… I at least have a say. So…" Han looked at Lelouch and Luke. "So, yeah. Not going anytime soon and sticking around… for whatever the boys plan here."

Chewie roared as he stepped forward.

"Chewbacca means to say he won't stay behind and leave his friends," Threepio said. Artoo beeped.

"Neither will I…" Kallen stepped forward. "You kept it secret from me… to most of us… but I understand now. Even before then… you not only helped us. You saved us… that day in Shinjuku. And you only continued to do so then. There's no I'm backing out of this."

"Us, too…" Ohgi said as he and Tamaki stepped up. "Before then… we were just… a ragtag resistance group. Terrorists. Thieves. Killers. The worst Britannia would call us. And we were just one bad day away from being cornered and quartered. But you helped us. You saved us at the moment we thought all was lost."

"And hell, you guys went to save my ass from an early grave!" Tamaki said. "For that and all the times we've been through, we're still Black Knights! And whatever this… no way I'm missing this! Just make sure we get to take the fight to Britannia and take back Japan for real!"

"Spoken like true soldier…" Rex stepped forward. "All my life… has been dedicated to fighting on the battlefield. I lost count of how many times it should have been the end for me… just like it had for many of my brothers." He looked at Luke. "Your father… and others… were the ones who showed me that we could be more than just soldiers. The war never stopped for me… and I'm going to see it to the end. And if by life or death… if I can fight alongside you… I will."

Sabine stepped up. "I spent years trying to free places that I considered my homes. My homeworld… and the place that has become a second to me. In doing so… I was met with sacrifices. People I love. People I can never forget, nor can I ever replace. I would have thought after all that… I would be ready to lay down my helmet… and wait for the end. But now… I know what I want to fight for now. The war is not over yet. I was there when it started… and I will see it through. And if it means going through saving another planet from the Empire… count me in."

Thane sighed before he stepped forward. "Not long ago… I left the Empire… because I realized it was not what I thought it was. It was something I could no longer be a part of. So, I ran away. Away from everything I worked for. Everyone I loved." The man looked away a bit. "I joined the Rebellion that didn't think I would ever join because… because I wanted to make a difference. I want to fix the galaxy and fight for what is right. And now… here I am… with all of you." He looked at Lelouch and Luke. "If you would have me… then I want you to know I will still fight alongside you. See it that the Empire is defeated and turn things the right way."

That caused everyone to smile.

There was one last person who had yet to speak…

"I…" Rai said, then feeling everyone's gaze at him. "I…"

"Rai…" Sabine put a hand on his shoulder. "You don't have to…"

"I do…" Rai said, now determined. "I want to. I don't know… who I am. I don't know what my real name is… or where I come from. But I do know… is that it was you… all of you… who found me. And took me in. I've seen what you are fighting for. And I want to help. I really do. So… if you would have me… I would like to be a part of your Rebellion. To be a Black Knight like you. That's what I really want."

"Are you certain about this, kid?" Rex said. "Just think for a moment… because I can tell you… it won't be smooth trail ahead…"

"I know…" Rai said. "But I still will. And I will."

Everyone looked astonished by the strong will the silver-haired boy was showing. Even without a prior memory, the young man was determined to fight alongside them in ongoing conflict ahead.

"You see, C.C?" Luke said to the green-haired girl. "We all decided that we are in this together."

"Is this some sort of promise you aim to keep?" C.C. said. "All of you?"

"Consider this… our contract," Lelouch said, extending a hand to her.

For a moment, the green-haired girl looked at not only Lelouch, but to everyone around her. She no longer felt the animosity and distrust from earlier. She realized they could have let her be easily when she walked in Mao's trap, but they followed Lelouch's plan to save her.

The girl realized the emotion she was feeling.

It was a very familiar one. Rarely in all the years she lived… she had felt it.

Now she felt it strongly… in this room of a spaceship.

She looked back at Lelouch, who still had his hand extended.

She finally smiled.

"Very well… I accept your contract."

She took Lelouch's hand. Before long, Luke went to place his hand on top of theirs. Then came Leia's. Then Han's. Chewbacca's

Artoo beeped as he went forward to stretch out his little hand from his compartment.

"Oh, may I as well?" Threepio said, as he stepped forward and placed his golden hand in the growing clasp of hands. Then came Kallen's, Ohgi's, Tamaki's, Rex's, Sabine's, and Rai's.

The contract was sealed by the clasps of many hands.

"Well, look at this…" Han said. "By the look of things… we're going to need a bigger ship."

At the rebels all laughed.

Even when others barely noticed… C.C. made another smile.

It was on this night… things had changed.

They had all come from different worlds. Different lives. Different stories.

Even from across the universe.

It was here… inside the Millennium Falcon…that the heart of the Rebellion had started to grow brighter than when it was sparked.

Though at that moment… while they were few in the face of two empires that numbered together in trillions… their united heart and new bonds will shine brighter than a thousand stars.

No matter how small they were… their bonds will transcend the expectations of many. And the great adventure that awaits them.

For they were the Spark that will light fire… that will transcend across the stars…

(Binary Star – Hiroyuki Sawano – 1:30 version)

As a pink crane flies through the sky, then ascending through the clouds into the space is the Millennium Falcon, before being joined by the Ghost

An adorable star we can see from afar

But a truth it bellies

The faces of Luke and Lelouch look up in the sky

All who enters her dies

Hear the beating of wings as the pendulum swings

An image shows Luke staring into the Twin Suns on Tatooine.

And we can't believe it's ever gonna end

Staring into another sunset are the young forms of Lelouch and Suzaku, standing on both sides of Nunnally in her wheelchair.

You know blood is thicker than water

The image shows an army of Sutherlands in front of the Britannian Palace. Charles sitting on his throne. Then it changes to an army of stormtroopers, with Palpatine sitting on his throne.

But you just want everyone to get along

Images come of C.C.'s forehead sigil glowing. Rai looking with a glow in his eye. Then of Nunnally, the blind girl looking up, somehow feeling the sunlight on her face. She sat alone in the wide room, where paper cranes were scattered about.

For the candles in the darkness

A great navy of Star Destroyers fly above the earth, all starting to fire an array of green laser fire.

Burning up the sorrow

On the bridge, Colonel Yularen was standing with Gideon, who smirked.

There's no end to sadness

A great starfighter battle occurs as X-wings and Tie-Fighters are locked in a dogfight between their fleets. Zooming in to show Thane in the X-wing's cockpit, then showing Ciena in a Tie-Fighter.

We didn't learn

Then comes the view of the medical frigate approaching.

For the broken-hearted people

An array of clips showing the united Black Knights: Ohgi, Tamaki, Kallen, Sabine, Rex, Chewbacca, Han, and then Leia.

Diamonds now surround us

Before long it showed Vader crossing his arms at the ensuing battle happening in the sky, an emotionless look on his face.

So out of our mind

Leave the past behind

This is…

Code Jedi

Lelouch of the Re;bel Alliance

Binary

A centrifugal force

Crushing us

Gravity is our eternity

Now, so glad that I could do this. Now, the inner circle of the Black Knights/Rebel Alliance has grown exponentially! The Falcon Crew is now joined by Kallen, Ohgi, Tamaki, Rex, Sabine, Thane, and Rai. All of them now know Lelouch's past, his reason for fighting against Britannia, and his contract with C.C.

With how Lelouch planned the plan to beat Mao, he has taken steps in deepening the trust between them.

I have taken some time to have Threepio get settled in with in his new home with his new friends and is gotten acquainted with Arthur and Nunnally! Expect so much more!

And it seems are taking a new turn with the A.S.E.E.C.'s project. Gideon introduces a very familiar trooper model… one we have seen recently in The Mandolorian. And what it will play in the development of the Knightmare Frame in the making.

The tin-foil hats are a nod to the movie, Signs (2002), by M. Night Shyamalan. Even Nina references The Cat From Outer Space (1978).

I had so much fun and satisfaction doing the Clovisland scene. It's one of my favorite scenes from the anime, was just so in awe and surprise at Lelouch outsmarted Mao's overwhelming power and saved C.C.

Another big thing was how I handled Vader's role here. That and his meeting with Mao. Just know, there was something that made Mao not able to see through Vader's mind. Though, he was able to piece together from the thoughts Vader was thinking at the moment. And then with that reveal he made… I didn't have Mao say that identity out loud… because you know. ;)

Even with what Mao offered, Vader is far from needing help to defeat his own enemies. Which also leads to this post-credit scene now…

"Villetta Nu has not reported to her post in over two days, my lord."

"We figured that she may be missing in action. It was reported that she had anticipated in some degree at the skirmish at docks. But after that…"

"She is missing, then?"

"Apparently, so," Pryde said. "We then took the time to look for answers by scavenging her quarters. We made sure no one knows about it."

"What have you found?"

"It didn't look like she made ready to pack up and escape," Pryde said. "We practically tore the place apart for anything we could find… and we found these…"

He gestured to the paper material on the table.

The dark lord inspected through them. He caught hold of a printed paper.

"What is this?"

"It looks like she may print it from her computer," Pryde said. "It regards… something about an institution. An… Ashford Academy."

"Ashford?" The dark lord said.

"Ashford Academy you say?" Gideon said. "That… that is the same institution that…"

"Indeed… it gets even more interesting than that…" Pryde pulled out a folder to show the contents to Vader. "It seemed this woman took time for some investigating…"

Vader looked through what appeared to be a collection of printed pictures… from a camera.

They showed teenagers in school uniforms, even with a pristine building in the background, no doubt the institute itself.

It was when Vader came upon one of the photos… that he stood still at what it depicted… and who was in it.

To be continued…