Behind the mask of Zero, Lelouch's eyes narrowed in disgust. Kallen had led him to the hangar of the Ikagura, only having told him that some of his command staff were calling for a meeting. Now he found himself at gun point, the sting of betrayal leaving a bitter taste in his mouth for the second time in as many days.

First Suzaku sells me out to the Britannian Empire… Again! Now even the Black Knights betray me.

'It's over Zero - no, Lelouch!' Tohdoh Kyoshirou, brilliant if not short sighted.

'How dare you deceive us all this time!' Chiba Nagia, the feckless bitch chasing after Tohdoh all this time.

'We know about Geass, Lelouch!' Kaname Ohgi, a soft-hearted fool better suited to peacetime than war.

Lelouch choked. This was a terrible time for this to have gotten out. If his command staff knew about his Geass, then they likely knew at least some of the more prominent times he had used it. Euphemia. Regret burned through him. If I could undo just one thing, it would be Euphemia. He had capitalized on his mistake; but here and now it would cost him dearly.

'I see…' Lelouch spoke softly, his voice barely above a whisper. His right hand came up to his mask. 'Then there isn't any more need for the mask, then…' With a clock the slide locks came undone, as he moved the hard shell of the mask away from his face, he pulled down the cloth underneath to reveal his face in full. 'Is there?'

A Britannian prince in exile.

'I can only assume that it was Kururugi that told you about my Geass then?' Lelouch turned his gaze towards the traitors, his eyes narrowed. 'Either that, or Kallen has betrayed me as well.'

'Kallen?!' Ohgi's voice carried out over the hangar, laced with a tone of accusation. 'You knew about Lelouch's Geass?!'

Q-One. My queen piece.

'Yes.' At my left, and a few steps behind, the red-haired half-breed spoke dejectedly after a short moment's hesitation. Her voice was quiet and subdued as she turned her head in shame. 'Since the end of the Black Rebellion.' Answering the 'when' before it could even be asked.

The rest of the fools stood, slack jawed and wide eyed, by her words. As though they are the ones that have been betrayed here!

'How… how could you not have told us that we were being used, Kallen!?'

'It's not like that!' Kallen screamed back, defiance in her voice. 'I just… Lelou - no… Zero isn't like that!'

Hmm. Q-One wasn't part of this after all… I can work with this then.

'Well then.' Lelouch spoke up, drawing their attention away from Kallen. 'Shall we go discuss terms of surrender. Or were you just going to have me executed without any sort of defense court?' A sneer twisted his face.

'I thought I taught you all better than that.' Idiots.

By Mine Eyes; Deceived,

By Mine Words; Mislead.

By Your Hands; Betrayed.

It took just under an hour for everyone relevant to the proceedings to file into the conference room. By the time they had, Lelouch had already taken a seat at the head of the table. He sat with his hands crossed in front of him, eyes closed. Alone. Kallen stood awkwardly off to one side of the room, halfway between him and the door. One by one the others came into the room and took their seats; Ohgi, Tohdoh, Chiba, Tamaki, Diethard - and surprisingly, after those fools came Schneizel and Cornelia of Britannia.

So. It was likely Schneizel who told them about Geass, no doubt hearing about it from Suzuaku himself. Cornelia was there at the order when I had it destroyed. Who knows how much she truly knows.

'I take it that it was you that informed them of my power, brother?' Lelouch spoked as Schneizel took his seat.

'Indeed.' The Second Prince answered, slightly adjusting his seat. 'Though I must thank Sir Kururugi for giving me such useful information. To think that such a power could possibly exist.'

'Oh?' Lelouch drew out slowly. 'Cornelia never informed you as such?' The young man turned his gaze towards his older sister. 'Strange thing that, considering you were there at the Geass Order when I had it wiped out.'

His statement caused everyone at the table to stop and stare at the second princess in shock. She knew about the Geass well before the others but had chosen to not inform the others.

'Schneizel already knew about it when I could finally get the time to talk to him.' She gave a slight shrug as she spoke. 'So the point was moot.'

'But you were missing for a full year, dear sister.' Lelouch gave a small smirk. 'Could you not have contacted Guilford at any time during your… search?'

Cornelia's mouth snapped shut. The Princess had nothing she could say about that, so she crossed her arms in a fit of defiance.

'And don't you find that odd, Cornelia?' Lelouch questioned.

'Do I find what odd, Lelouch?'

'That you and I should run into each other there of all places - and with both of us having the same goal as the other, no less.'

'And just what goal do you think it is that I had, Lelouch? I doubt you and I were there for any reason that could be remotely similar.'

'The goal of removing the source of Geass from this world.'

'I find that hard to believe considering you used that accursed power to taint Euphy's name!' Cornelia spat, venom lacing her voice. The two half siblings glared at each other for a brief moment at the mention of Euphemia. Lelouch let out a sigh.

'Just how much do you know about Geass?' Lelouch questioned, his eyes roaming over the gathered members of his tribunal. 'This charade will go all the much faster if I have a starting point of reference for your knowledge.'

'Geass lets you control people.' Tamaki spoke for the first time since sitting down. 'Kinda' is like hypnotism. Right?' A smug smile of satisfaction played across his face. Until Lelouch scoffed in response.

'And?' Lelouch asked. 'Is that all you know? What my Geass is, even if incorrectly? You know nothing about its limitations or drawbacks?'

'Limitations?' Ohgi asked, motioning for Tamaki to quiet down before he could even open his mouth to bite back.

'I'll get to those soon enough, I guess.' Lelouch spoke calmly as he leaned back in his chair and relaxed his posture. 'I should have figured that Suzaku and Cornelia would paint an incomplete picture.'

'We know enough.' Chiba hissed. 'You can pervert our thoughts and actions to suit your needs, heedless of our own wills.'

'I don't think you know anything at all, really. You don't even know what Geass is. You only barely know what my Geass can do.' Lelouch scoffed, emphasis clearly placed on certain words.

'Please then, brother.' Schneizel spoke, turning his hand over in invitation. 'What is Geass?'

Lelouch turned back to look at his brother. Clearly the Second Prince had picked up on the special emphasis in his speech - years of diplomacy showing true. Search not in the words for that they are spoken, search in the words for how they are spoken. Lelouch smiled a bit.

'Geass is quite simply, a wish.'

'Bullshit!' Tamaki shouted, rising to his feet and slamming his palms on the table.

'I assure you, Tamaki, that a wish is all that Geass is. A wish you make and that is granted when you receive your Geass. How it manifests itself is what differs from person to person. The source of their deepest wish becomes their Geass.' He leveled his gaze across the assembly.

'You mean… that there are more people out there with Geass besides just you?' Ohgi asked, once more stepping into the conversation.

'Indeed.' Lelouch answered. 'The people that I know of that currently have a Geass are ; from the Black Knights, Rolo and myself. From the Empire, I have my guesses but nothing has been confirmed yet.'

'I did have an encounter with a Chinese boy named Mao last year that had a Geass of his own. Though… he has since been disposed of.' Lelouch closed his eyes and let out a breath. 'Charles zi Britannia as well, though I should say he once had a Geass. That is no longer the case, however.'

Lelouch's proclamation was met with a stunned silence. Even Schneizel and Cornelia, both of whom were no doubt shaken by the information that their father had a Geass, were silent. The deafened air hung over the room for several minutes before anyone spoke up.

'Father… knew?' Schneizel's voice was soft, full of an unrecognizable emotion.

'Yes.' Lelouch responded solemnly. 'More than just that, however. He was partially in charge of the Geass Order.'

'You said that Geass is different from person to person?'

'Again, yes.'

'W-what is father's Geass, Lelouch?' A seed of worry crept into the Second Prince's question.

'Charles zi Britannia could use his Geass to erase and replace someone's memories; stealing from them their very lives as they knew it, and to make the person to be whomever he so desired. That is no longer so.'

'"No longer so", what do you mean by those words?' Cornelia asked, her face distraught.

'Father has since traded his Geass for V.V's Code; taking away his Geass and granting him immortality in its place.'

Once more a deafening silence fell on the room, though it was not to last. Chaos erupted as everyone present began shouting questions and leveling accusations, a cacophony of voices that fought for dominance for several minutes before it became clear to all that Lelouch was not going to continue until they stopped. Lelouch remained silent for a moment longer, before opening his eyes and seeing the disbelief and worry on all their faces.

'Schneizel.' Lelouch said.

'I find that hard to believe. A supernatural power to manipulate people is one thing - and I still would not believe that had I not the evidence we have to support it - but… immortality? How gullible do you think we are, Lelouch?' The Second Prince's statement carried with it the sound of haughty derision.

'What would I gain, lying about such a thing?' Lelouch rebutted. 'How about you, Cornelia? What do you think about the concept of immortality?' A glint of smugness showed on his face. You were there, after all.

'That little blond boy.' Cornelia began before pausing a moment to think. 'I threw a knife at him. It went through his skull and into his brain - but he pulled it out and shrugged the whole thing off after a few minutes.'

'Ah. You met V.V.' Lelouch told her. 'He was one of two immortals that I am aware of, and the one that had granted Charles his Geass. My Geass was given to me by C.C only seconds after I watched her gunned down by Clovis' Royal Guard.' The Black Knights at the table all let out a gasp at the mention of C.C. They were well aware of the strange women that many had thought to be Zero's mistress.

'Did you know that?' Lelouch asked the room. 'The entire Shinjuku ghetto incident that saw Clovis die by my hands, that same single incident that sparked my revolution and the creation of the Black Knights. That all of this was caused by his, by Clovis' desperate vanity. He couldn't risk the knowledge that he had been experimenting on C.C, to replicate her immortality in himself most likely, from reaching the Emperor. He ordered the destruction of the ghetto, and the wholesale slaughter of the local Japanese just to control that information. Just to protect himself from Father.'

'For only that-' Cornelia began to shout at Lelouch.

'For only that… What? Do you still regard the Japanese as inferior Cornelia? Do you ignore the fact that they've since proven to be just as able as Britannians, only with their humanity intact?' Lelouch shouted right back, cutting his sister off. 'But we've digressed. Where were we, again?'

'You said that Geass is something that differs from person to person, but that we were incorrect to call your Geass hypnotism.' Ohgi spoke up with a dryness to his voice. 'If not that, then what is your Geass, Lelouch?'

'My Geass falls into, what I call, the Realm of Absolute.' Lelouch sighed softly, shifting in his seat. 'I personally call mine the Geass of Absolute Obedience. With it, I can give a person any one order that they can not disobey.' There was clear emphasis on the word one.

'So it is hypnotism!' Tamaki exclaimed as he pointed a finger at Lelouch. 'You've hypnotized us!'

'Sometimes, Tamaki, I wish I could forget how much of an idiot you are.' Lelouch spoke, exasperatedly.

'Hey!'

'Hypnosis has limitations. Borders and ceilings that cannot be overcome, no matter how complete it is. For example, you cannot be hypnotized into killing yourself. Not unless you were already suicidal.' Lelouch tilted his head back as he spoke. 'My Geass can and has. I have ordered people to die with it, and they all did that. Simply, they killed themselves. Happily, even.' Unease washed over the room.

'That still sounds like hypnosis to me, Lelouch.' Ohgi replied. Though there was a look to his face that Lelouch could not quite place.

'Hmm… how best to explain this then. Hypnotism isn't absolute. If you were commanded by the hypnotist to do something that you wouldn't normally do, such as stealing from someone, or murder, you simply wouldn't do it. All hypnotism does is reduce the inhibitions on your actions set by your personality ; much the same way as alcohol and psychoactive drugs do.'

'My Geass will have you do anything I order you to whether you'd like to do it or not. IN the case of Jeramiah Gottwald, he did everything in his power to let myself and Suzaku walk free.' Lelouch grew a vicious smirk as he bore his gaze directly at Cornelia. 'Or in the case of some settlement workers - they collapsed the settlement plates for me.'

'Euphemia ordering the slaughter of the Japanese!" Tohdoh said with force in his voice, realization dawned on him.

'Suzaku Kururugi abandoning his orders to restrain you to save his own life.' Schneizel understanding his meaning as well.

'Yes. Though in my defense, as poor as it is, the Euphemia incident wasn't what you would call intentional.' Lelouch said, his voice coming out tighter than he liked. 'That brings us to the limitations and drawbacks of Geass.'

'First, I'm curious, Lelouch.' Schneizel drew his attention. 'You said you Geass falls into the "Realm of the Absolute". Are there other types of Geass then?'

'Heh.' A small chuckle escaped Lelouch's lips. 'I should have known that you'd ask about that. Very well.' Lelouch leaned forward, tenting his hands and resting his chin on them. 'I personally classify Geass into two separate realms based on their powers. The Realm of the Absolute, and the Realm of the Isolated. The former are Geass powers that affect people other than its user, while the latter affects the user instead.'

'For an example of the Absolute, you need only look to my own Geass. For an example of the Isolated, Mao's Geass allowed him to read the minds of anyone within 500 meters.' The look of shock on everyone's faces amused Lelouch. 'I'm sure that when he received his Geass, it didn't work in exactly that manner, but I've taken to calling his Geass the Power of Absolute Understanding. Even with the contradiction to its realm and name. Rolo's Geass, as well, is irony in and of itself. The Power of Isolated Existence is from the Realm of the Absolute. With it, he can stop everyone's, within a limited area of effect, sense of time. To the affected, his movements become instantaneous - and for combatants, without defense.'

'That knightmare in the Babel Tower!' Kallen shouted.

'Yes, actually.' Lelouch responded, amusement in obvious. 'That was Rolo back when he was still working for the Geass Order.'

'Mao's Geass changed over time?' Schneizel drew the conversation back to their original goal.

'Yes. Geass rampancy is a very real danger to its users. The more one uses their Geass, the stronger their Geass becomes. Eventually, it evolves in one way or another; but ultimately everyone bows to the same fate.' Lelouch responded, his voice growing ever more tired. 'Rampancy, or the loss of control over the Geass.'

'Meaning what, exactly?'

'The Geass becomes permanently active and the user can no longer turn it off. For Mao, he became unable to not read everyone's minds and this drove him to insanity.'

'And yourself?' Cornelia asked as her eyes narrowed.

'Clever, Cornelia.' Lelouch spoke with a lopsided grin. 'But yes. I too have fallen prey to Rampancy.' Everyone in the room looked fairly uneasy at that declaration. 'Ironically enough, if only for the purpose of this conference, it happened while I was explaining my power to Euphy. I told her I could order her to slaughter the Japanese if I wanted her to, and she'd have no choice but to obey.'

Silence once more fell over the assembled crowd. No one could believe what they had heard so far. Some supernatural power existed that could do anything from erase memories to subsume a person's will to another. That Lelouch was rationalizing his involvement in the Euphemia Massacre as some uncontrollable, unfortunate mistake.

'That doesn't absolve you of your crimes against the Japanese, Lelouch.' Tohdoh's voice cut the air harshly. 'It doesn't matter if you lost control or not. You are still the person directly responsible for that genocide!'

'Did I say that it cleared me of all wrongdoing, Tohdoh!?' Lelouch bit back. 'I only said that I did not mean for it to happen! Not that I'm not the one to blame. I fully intended to give my life for my cause and penance.'

'Then… Euphy.' Cornelia sagged into her seat, her face awash with some sense of relief.

'Indeed, sister. Dear Euphemia li Birtannia is in no way responsible for that tragedy. Though she may have died with blood staining her hands and her name; she died innocent. For that, there are no words to express just how sorry I am. Truly.' Lelouch closed his eyes as his shoulders fell. Would that I could…

'Putting aside that for now, and that we believe you did not mean for it to happen.' Ohgi spoke after a moment of silence. 'That doesn't take away the guilt for using it on us, on the Black Knights. You do not get to wash that away. You made us follow you without our consent!'

'Are you so blind and stupid to still believe that I used it on you all?' Lelouch asked with a sincere look of surprise on his face. 'On my own Black Knights, of all people? I made you my second in command because I thought you were smarter than this, Ohgi.'

'Lelouch!' Ohgi hissed through clenched teeth.

'Absolute Obedience,' was Lelouch's response. Everyone in the room looked towards Lelouch as though he had grown a second head. It wasn't until a minute later, when the Second Prince began to laugh gently, that people realized the meaning of that statement.

'Absolute Obedience indeed.' Schneizel said as his laughter calmed down. 'That they could even question your authority is proof that you never used Geass on them. Isn't it, Lelouch?' The older prince closed his eyes and sighed. 'It seems I went into this endeavor with far, far too little information.'

Tohdoh and Oghi, along with most of the rest of the assembled Black Knights, starred in utter silence. They had thought themselves betrayed and misled; ruled under false assumptions. Instead they found themselves to be the betrayers, fooled by honeyed words and false information.

'Quite so.' Lelouch responded with mirth. 'For the sake of transparency though, of the people in this room,' he swept his gaze over everyone present, 'I have used my Geass on Kallen and Cornelia.'

'What?' Kallen began to ask in a whispered voice before being cut off by Lelouch continuing.

'Both were simply told to answer my questions without reservations. Kallen, to find out if my classmate really was the pilot of the Glasgow I commanded in the Shinjuku incident. Cornelia, to answer questions I had in regards to my mother's murder.'

'That isn't really any guarantee, Lelouch.' Ohgi spoke after regaining his thoughts. 'I suppose we can leave that for now, however. You said there were also limitations to Geass?'

'Yes. Influence, range, usage requirements and so forth. I can only really speak of the full limitations to my Geass, so I'll explain those.' At this, everyone in the room perked up a bit. 'I must have direct eye contact with the target, and commands must be issued verbally. It can only affect people up to two hundred seventy two meters away. During its effects, it renders the target unable to form memories. Additionally, there can be some resistance to the command if the target could not possibly fathom such an action normally; though they fall to it regardless.'

'D-direct eye contact?' There was a hint of nervousness to the question.

'Yes. The mask I wore as Zero prevented me from using my Geass unintentionally on anyone. Additionally, I wear specially designed contacts that accomplish much the same thing.' Lelouch's countenance twisted a bit as he spoke, his left hand coming to rest on his cheek. 'Though you may feel that point moot now that you've asked me to unmask.'

Diethard looked around the room as the assembly grimaced by that revelation. By demanding the Lelouch remove his mask, they thought to take away the symbolic power of his position. Instead, they gave him unfettered access to his Geass. He turned towards Lelouch.

'How many times can you use it on someone?'

'Once per person. After that, they become immune to its effects. I can thank Kallen for that little piece of information, actually.' The exiled prince turned towards his ace pilot. 'She became quite defensive, almost aggressive even, after I ordered her to 'say nothing about Shinjuku', after the effects of the initial questioning wore off. My commands must be… specific.'

'Questioning?' Kallen asked with a quiver to her voice.

'Yes. I approached you during school hours to verify my suspicions. As I said, I used my Geass on you to answer some questions. Once it wore off, as you had carried out the command, I tried to use it again to make you remain silent. Needless to say, that backfired on me as it only made you suspicious of me.'

'Then that phone call…'

'Was a prerecorded message to get you off of my back.' Lelouch smiled as he recalled that day. 'Still… seeing you in the shower was to my benefit. Q-One.' Kallen's face turned the same colour as her hair while the rest of the room turned her way with mixed looks. A softly whispered 'Nice,' from Tamaki was answered by a slap from Chiba.

'Now,' Lelouch spoke with a chuckle, 'is this where you decided to execute me. Or am I allowed to go back to my merry way and get some sleep?' Lelouch rubbed at his left eye as he spoke with a soft yawn. 'Either way, this conversation is over.'

'We still have questions, Lelouch!' Cornelia said, standing up from her seat.

'That's nice, sister.' Lelouch responded, as he opened his eyes from after his yawn. An eerie glow met her gaze, the sigil of a bird in flight burning in his eye. A wicked smile played across his face. 'Q-One.' A command in his voice, as Kallen moved from her place against the wall.

'Lelouch vi Britannia commands you…'

By mine grace and guidance didst thou ascend to power in this world. By mine words and actions didst thine enemies fall before thee.

By mine hands were their leaders felled, one before the next - and by mine majesty didst they bow. Bent knee before thee.

So why, now armed by false knowledge, have thou forsaken me. Tossing all I had accomplished by the wayside ; all by the words from the lips of thine enemies.

What fools thou hath been on this morn. To heed another and usurp mine authority unto thyselves. One wouldst have hope that thine very lives did hang over thine heads. Or the actions thou hast taken this day have been foolish beyond measure.

Let us wipe clean the slate

And start anew.

With vigor and passion,

I slink from my grave

Tread hallowed ground,

A tale told, renewed.