"I hereby renounce my claim to the throne!" – Regular speaking

'How dare the Emperor abandon Nunnally!' – Regular thinking; Italics not in singular quotations are used for emphasis

"Q-1, strike the left flank now!" – Speaking as heard over radios and other communication devices

"Lelouch vi Britannia commands you, DIE!" Speech influenced by using Geass

Disclaimer: I don't own any franchise that is used in this story nor do I make any profit from it whatsoever.

Thank you to everyone who helped me reach 100 reviews for this story. I genuinely appreciate your loyalty and enjoyment of the amount of work I put into each chapter.

Hope you enjoy the new chapter. This is the first one of the new story arc, I'll tell everyone the name of the previous one in my author's note at the end.


Chapter 7: The Prince of Japan


(Tokyo Settlement, Area Eleven – Ashford Academy – 10:13 am – September 16 – 2017 a.t.b.)

The few days after Zero's debut were hectic ones at Ashford Academy. Lelouch sat in his room, analyzing what the media was saying about Zero online while C.C. wore nothing save for one of his shirts eating the last of the pizza he had ordered for her as payment for going to the warehouse after Suzaku had left in order to pick him up.

She had not been happy about being forced to drive out so late at night to pick Lelouch up and demanded three large pizzas with cheese stuffed crust as payment. He obliged easily enough, but Lelouch had a feeling that would end up becoming a theme in their relationship.

"You really are a fascinating guy." C.C. marveled at the number of magazines featuring Zero's form on their covers. "You've thrown the entire world into chaos as they search for your identity." She leaned over and brushed away the crumbs from one of the covers before taking the last piece of her pizza. The witch savored the taste with closed eyes, enjoying the way the cheese melted in her mouth before continuing her line of thinking. "I do hope you don't plan to stop here." She finished her pizza and stood up behind the exiled Prince, brushing up against him as he pulled on his jacket. "What do you plan to do next?" She whispered in his ear.

Lelouch ignored the emerald haired woman as she pushed up against him wearing nothing but one of his spare button down shirts. He decided to leave his jacket open for now, it was a nice day after all. "I'm going to get some fresh air, it's the weekend after all." He walked away from her to pick up his portable computer. It was easily carried thanks to its similarities to a briefcase and it could still connect wirelessly anywhere on campus. "I also need to continue my research on the effects of Zero's debut, I don't want to be caught off guard." He looked at her, ignoring her pout. "Don't leave campus, alright?" He narrowed his eyes as her pout got worse, her eyes starting to tear up with fake tears. She blinked them away when she realized he wasn't going to change his mind and acquiesced to his order. "Oh, fine." C.C. grumbled.

"Thank you." Lelouch breathed a sigh of relief. C.C. was incredibly fickle and hard to read, he still didn't have her personality pinned down even after knowing her a few days. That was a disappointment since he usually had people mostly figured out by then.

C.C. was unlike anyone he had ever met before and he actually had someone around, aside from Nunnally, who he enjoyed being with for extended periods of time. Everyone else he knew he eventually grew tired of being around for one reason or another, it was nice to have someone around who could actually keep him interested throughout the day. He could do without the pizza obsession and the teasing, but they weren't flaws that were too hard to deal with.

He left the clubhouse after kissing Nunnally goodbye, leaving her to her arts and crafts project. She had recently gotten interested in origami thanks to Sayoko, Lelouch was glad she had something to occupy herself when he was busy. Sayoko really was a good choice to have as Nunnally's caretaker.

He took a deep breath, smelling the fresh air as he walked to a bench to continue his research. It was a really nice day today.


(Tokyo Settlement, Area Eleven – Ashford Courtyard – 12:37 pm – September 16 – 2017 a.t.b.)

Lelouch perused a few articles online, feeling somewhat strange about the fact they were all about him. Zero was by far the most public action he had ever taken and it felt strange to know that no one knew about his existence before that day and all of a sudden it was all any media outlet wanted to talk about. Even comedy news was getting in on the action, as he saw some of the more prominent comedians who hosted pseudo news shows cracking jokes about his alias.

He decided to click on one, just out of curiosity. But before he could, his attention was drawn by someone who walked in front of him. "Um, excuse me." Kallen said quietly, still in her guise as a sick student. "I was wondering if you could help me with something." Lelouch wondered what she was coming to him for, since the Student Council didn't meet on weekends unless Milly demanded it and she would've texted him had that been the case.

"I was wondering if you knew how to find out the caller ID for a phone here." She asked, causing Lelouch to realize what she was asking. "Remember the caller from when we were in–" Lelouch cut her off. "You mean the incident that didn't happen?" He corrected her, not trusting Milly to not have someone hiding around to find out dirt on him she could use as blackmail. "Yes, I remember the call. What do you want me to do about it?" He was curious why Kallen wanted to trace that call, but he had a feeling he knew why. Her response just confirmed his suspicions.

"Right." Kallen realized she almost mentioned they were in the bathroom together, while she was naked in the shower. She did not want to be the one responsible for that rumor going around school. "Well, I was just wondering if you could find out the caller ID from the phone, I'd like to get in touch with him again." Seriously, the phone she had used when they first met up with Zero had died. It stopped working almost immediately after she tried to call him again after they had saved Suzaku.

Lelouch knew her objective, but he couldn't help her. "I'm sorry, it's a school phone and those don't record caller ID." Which was how he had planned the whole thing. There was no way he'd be so careless as to expose his identity like that. His eyes widened as he saw C.C. twirling around in some of his clothes in the shadow of a tree. He grabbed Kallen's face to prevent her from turning around and she blushed. He managed to control himself, though he had a glared over her shoulder at C.C. who walked behind a tree. "Um, what are you doing?" Kallen stammered, red in the face.

'What indeed.' He thought to himself before coming up with an excuse. He raised a hand to Kallen's forehead. "I just thought you looked a little feverish, are you feeling okay?" He questioned in a concerned tone. She squeaked out an excuse and ran off. Lelouch watched her go before picking up his computer case and made his way behind the tree to glare at C.C. "What do you think you're doing?" He hissed, dragging her away so they could get to a roof on one of the buildings.

Once they arrived, he tossed her towards the railing. Watching as she caught herself and huffed. "I could've fallen you know." She said dryly.

"You'd survive." Lelouch deadpanned. "Why are you here?" She turned around, staring out across the courtyard.

"I haven't left the campus." She pointed out shrewdly. "I'm well within the boundary you set for me." She didn't turn around, but he easily heard the smirk in her tone. She hummed in thought. "What's that girl doing?" She asked, causing Lelouch to walk over and look at what she had seen.

"Oh her." Lelouch realized it was one of his test subjects. "I used my Geass to order her to mark that wall once every day at around the same time with a cross until she had marked every last brick. It was to test out the length of time an order would last." This was a good indicator that there was no time limit beyond any he set himself. "I hadn't realized it was that time of day." He didn't even know her, but she was providing a useful experiment for him so he appreciated it.

"How many people have you used your power on here?" C.C. asked, a little curious about what kind of tests the boy was running. She liked his initiative, so much better than some of her other partners in the past. He wanted to understand his powers, she respected that.

"Not many, though some strange things have been going on since I began testing my power." Lelouch estimated about two or three people had ended up hospitalized due to his poor choice of words however. They recovered, but it had taken until they had fulfilled the order for that to happen. That, mixed with the result he had to deal with after he botched the wording of his order to Jeremiah, made Lelouch determined to be more careful with his power.

Lelouch decided to return home, making sure to drag C.C with him so she wouldn't wander off again. When they arrived, Nunnally was at the kitchen table while Sayoko was whipping up a quick lunch. "Welcome home Onii-sama, C.C." Nunnally said cheerfully, referring to Lelouch as she normally did knowing that there wasn't anyone else who walked in with them. She had only heard two sets of footsteps and Nemo hadn't signaled it was anyone other than C.C. who was with her brother. "Do you want some lunch? Sayoko's making some food." Sayoko turned slightly and saw her young master's nod, turning from Nunnally's meal for the moment to get more ingredients.

Lelouch and C.C. joined Nunnally at the table, but Lelouch failed to realize a flaw in his plan of dragging C.C. away from the general public so she wouldn't cause any chaos. "C.C., why do you smell like Onii-sama?" Nunnally questioned curiously. She could still cause chaos in his home.

"I've been sleeping in his bed the past few days and I'm wearing some of his clothes right now." C.C. didn't even pretend she was trying to be tactful, smirking at Lelouch as she answered his sister. Sayoko froze slightly and Nunnally giggled slightly.

"What she means is she stole my bed and I either have to sleep on the floor or share my bed with her against my will." Lelouch deadpanned. "And as for the clothes, she stole them even though she bought a bunch the other day." He raised his eyebrow at her questioningly, reminding her of the purchases she had made with his money.

"Yes, but I bought those clothes because they were expensive, not because I wanted to wear them." She responded easily. "You were wasting my time so I wasted some of your money." She leaned on the table, holding her chin with her palm and resting her elbow on the tablecloth. "I figured that was fair compensation."

Lelouch sighed, giving the unspoken surrender declaring she had won this round. She seemed to be winning a lot against him, the last person he consistently lost arguments to, aside from Nunnally when they were children, had been Anya and he had forgotten how it felt.

Nemo and Nunnally watched and listened to the byplay, the astral girl laughing hard at how the dynamic between the two seemed to naturally lend itself towards comedy. "Your brother's hilarious Nunnally." Nemo declared through her snickers, drawing her contractor's attention along with C.C.'s, though the green-haired witch was subtle about it. The only indication she heard Nemo was her smirk widening a little bit.

'I know, Onii-sama sometimes gets these days where strange things seem to happen to him for no reason.' Nunnally directed to her twin as she giggled out loud at the conversation between her brother and C.C. 'They can be kind of fun, though a lot of the time the reason is Milly sometimes it's just his weird luck acting up.' She stopped speaking telepathically to Nemo, preparing to eat as she heard Sayoko walking over with a tray holding a couple plates of food.

Sayoko distributed each portion to the person she had made them for. She handed the plate with the pizza bagel to C.C., the woman's obsession with pizza was rather strange, but Sayoko wasn't one to judge, and set down the two plates that had the sandwiches she had made for her young charges. "Enjoy, young master, young mistress, miss C.C." Sayoko bowed before leaving to resume her cleaning and maintenance duties, leaving the three to their meal.

C.C. dug in, enjoying the melted cheese and pepperoni on the bagel the maid had given her. She savored the taste and mentally decided that Sayoko wasn't half bad at making a good pizza bagel. Nunnally and Lelouch ate in silence, enjoying the meal their maid had crafted for them. Sayoko wasn't usually one to make something so simple, but Nunnally hadn't been too hungry and she didn't want to make her young master and C.C. wait.

After the trio had wrapped up their lunch, Lelouch roped C.C. into watching a movie with himself and Nunnally to prevent her from even attempting to wander off.

As she settled down on the chair while Lelouch lifted Nunnally onto the couch, sitting next to her after he did so, C.C. felt her Code twinge slightly. She ignored the siblings as they debated on which movie to watch and subtly tapped into its power, not enough to cause it to glow but enough to figure out what had caused it to react. Seeing as Nemo was settling down between Nunnally and Lelouch's feet it couldn't have been her.

"Oh, that's so cute!" The voice of Marianne sounded off sharply in C.C.'s head, making the immortal want to drive a spike through her own skull. "Now, now, don't be like that C.C." Marianne admonished her, ignoring the ridiculousness of such an act. "I haven't seen my children in years, it's heartening to see them still so close to each other." C.C. heard another squeal of glee as Nunnally snuggled into Lelouch after he had popped in the movie they were going to watch.

'What do you want Marianne?' C.C. asked her former contractor, sensing the confusion as the Empress laid her eyes on Nemo.

"I don't remember having that one." She said humorously, but still curious as she ignored C.C.'s question. "What is she?" Marianne could tell, even through C.C.'s Code, that the girl who looked like Nunnally's twin wasn't human.

'You first.' C.C. retorted, shielding her mind as she felt Marianne trying to fish around her memories. 'Ah, ah, ah. You can't do that without my permission, you know that.' One of the downsides C.C. had discovered regarding Marianne's Geass of Absolute Existence was that the woman had access to her contractor's mind when she was in the body of another if she contacted C.C. through their contract. C.C. had quickly managed to learn a way to lock Marianne out of her memories, but it was still annoying to feel the woman probing around inside her mind.

C.C. pretended to watch the movie as Marianne huffed. "You're no fun, you know that?" Her mental representation shook its head inside C.C.'s mind. "Fine, I wanted to talk to you." Marianne answered. "Now spill, who is the girl who looks so much like my daughter?"

C.C. mentally shook her head. 'It's not that easy, why did you want to talk to me?' The witch wouldn't let the Empress skirt around the issue that easily. Hearing Marianne's groan, C.C. remembered part of the reason she had left Pendragon and the Directorate behind to go to Japan for a vacation all those years ago. Her former contractor drove the immortal absolutely crazy sometimes.

"I wanted to talk with you since I haven't been able to contact you since you were captured during the invasion." Marianne decided to answer to C.C.'s questions to get her own answered without the witch getting cryptic with her. "Charles felt the connection of your newest contract and I knew that must mean you were freed since there was no way you'd give Geass to someone who held you captive." Marianne then moved on to her main questions. "I wanted to find out who had held you prisoner for so long considering you're not usually one to be caught so easily and see who you contracted with."

'It was Clovis and one of his brothers, I don't know which one.' C.C. replied to Marianne regarding who held her prisoner. 'The Prince was wise enough to never say which one while he was inspecting the experiments they were conducting on me and I was conscious, but he did say his brother would not be happy with the slow pace of Code R.' Feeling Marianne's confusion, C.C. elaborated. 'That was how they referred to their research of my power and immortality.' C.C. sent a few memories to Marianne for her to experience regarding her lengthy confinement.

Marianne gasped and choked as she felt as though she were trapped in a sphere and drowning in anesthetic before C.C. blocked those memories from her once again. 'As you can see they kept me prisoner by forcing me into a half-conscious state at best and kept me confined as they ran experiments through the container they kept me in.' C.C. felt a small spark of satisfaction towards getting back at Marianne by sharing her experience with her old friend.

"You can be such a bitch you know that?" Marianne coughed slightly, readjusting after her little dive into C.C.'s memory. The downside of her Geass granting her access to C.C. through long distance telepathy was that C.C. could force her to experience her memories as she had and several of C.C.'s memories were anything but pleasant.

"I take it the contract you made recently was made with my son, which makes him Zero, correct?" Marianne changed the subject, not willing to antagonize C.C. any further. C.C. had a mastery of her own mind unlike any other and was essentially a God within her own mind. Marianne, as a visitor, had to be careful lest C.C. decide to torture her before she could escape back to Anya's subconscious.

Feeling C.C. get even more closed off Marianne let out an exasperated sigh. "I don't care if he's Zero, even though I know he is." She explained. "Charles and I don't care, he can run wild in this world for all we care. What I want to know is if he's a threat to the Ragnarök Connection?" That was the main reason she had contacted the witch in the first place. She had to assess all threats in order to ensure the Connection would succeed.

She did not enjoy going through puberty again and was somewhat eager to be able to escape Anya's mind and return to her own form.

'He is not a threat.' C.C. responded, but decided to add a stipulation. 'However, I most certainly am.' She ended up captured and tortured for nearly a decade thanks to V.V. tracking her down and encouraging Prince Clovis to try and use her to discover the secret to immortality. 'V.V. is the one responsible for influencing Clovis to capture and experiment on me.' The witch explained.

'So long as you two are still allied with him I am against you. I won't expose Ragnarök to Lelouch, but I won't prevent him from discovering it on his own.' She refused to even be tangentially allied with V.V. at this point. The imp had long since dug his own grave as far as she was concerned.

It would be interesting to see who got to the little bastard first, Charles and Marianne, herself, or Lelouch. Charles and Marianne could kill him any time, but he was still useful to them at this juncture which was the whole reason he was even alive right now even if he didn't know Marianne was still alive.

If C.C. found him she would use her expertise with her Code to drive the little fucker insane before killing him and she knew if Lelouch found him first she would witness torture beyond even her imagination and past experience.

V.V.'s days were numbered, no matter if he was immortal for the moment. He had pissed off his only allies and his enemies were willing and capable of killing him or making his life a living Hell at the very least. It was only a matter of time.

"Come on C.C. don't be like that." Marianne complained. "You know we can't do it with only one Code, we need yours as well." They had never found other Code Bearers, despite having looked after they lost contact with C.C. Based on their research, they believed that there had only been two Codes in existence at any point in time throughout history so there really were no replacements except for the ones who inherited the Code.

'I'm not going to change my mind.' C.C. declared. She hid it from Marianne, but she had begun to have second thoughts about Ragnarök so her stubbornness regarding supporting them while V.V. remained alive would give her time to sort out her own beliefs on the matter. And it wasn't like she was lying, she really was pissed off at them still being allies with V.V. even now.

"Fine." Marianne grumbled, once again directing her attention to her daughter's lookalike. "Now tell me about that girl and why she looks so much like my daughter." She was curious dammit.

'She's a doll made from my cells and some other materials that the people running Code R somehow created.' C.C. answered, still finding Nemo a strange creature that by all rights should not have existed. The immortal decided this was the end of the conversation as she felt herself grow weary of Marianne's presence in her mind. Her headache would be a pain for the next few hours at the very least.

"Huh, how interesting." Marianne murmured before feeling C.C. begin to reject her intrusion into her mind. "Oh, fine I'll go." She grumbled as her mental avatar began to fade. "Charles and I shouldn't need V.V. for much longer, a year or two at most, so I hope you'll reconsider and join us again in the future. We won't likely interfere with what goes on in Area Eleven beyond sending in a new Viceroy so you don't have much to worry about." She finished up as she disappeared from C.C.'s mind.

C.C. closed her eyes with a sigh before opening them to watch the movie. She shifted to make herself comfortable in the chair and decided to enjoy the rest of it even though she had missed a good chunk of the beginning.

Damn Lelouch and Nunnally for having perfected Marianne's manipulative skills at getting her to do something she didn't want to do. How the hell was she supposed to resist Nunnally tearing up when she asked why C.C. hadn't wanted to watch a movie with her? Lelouch had been the one to point the cute death ray that was Nunnally's pout at her so it was his fault as far as she was concerned.

C.C. suspected the pair had done this to others as well considering how well they coordinated the assault on her sense of decency. She didn't even know she still had one!

They relaxed for the next few hours until it was somewhat late into the evening as could be seen by the setting sun. Sayoko had brought them dinner about halfway through the movie, the siblings had selected a rather long one, and joined them near the climax. After the movie credits began to roll, Sayoko rose and turned the television off and gathered the dishes. "I'll clean up, you can get ready for bed young master." She said softly so as to not wake Nunnally who had fallen asleep near the end.

"I got her Sayoko, don't worry." Lelouch picked Nunnally up in a princess carry and began to walk towards her room. "I've cared for Nunnally before, I can do it again. You just finish up your duties and get some rest." He stopped at the doorway and half turned to his maid who had picked up the pizza box C.C. carelessly tossed onto the floor before leaving at the end of the movie. The maid was filling it with the garbage from their little gathering to make it easier to carry. "It's the weekend, you deserve a break. Thank you for all your help, as always." He walked down to his sister's bedroom and opened the door.

After tucking Nunnally into bed Lelouch left for his room. When he arrived, he was not at all surprised to find C.C. sprawled across his bed, wearing only a set of underwear that looked vaguely like a white one-piece swimsuit. Only a swimsuit may have been more decent.

"Where are the clothes you stole from me?" Lelouch asked, already feeling a headache coming on. She gestured to the door, and he turned to see them in a pile right next to his feet. He sighed. "Why can't you clean up after yourself?" He asked plaintively as he picked up his clothes and tossed them into the basket in his closet.

"Why should I when I have you?" C.C. retorted, shifting on his bed to get more comfortable. She knew Lelouch well enough by now to know he liked his room clean more than he wanted her to be the one to clean up her messes. She was only petulant like this when she was annoyed, but she had been stuck for hours in front of a movie that, while she ended up liking it, she had not wanted to watch in the first place.

Lelouch just sighed and made his way to his computer, ignoring C.C. as she moved from his bed to get dressed in her prison uniform again. "What other tests have you done to discover more about your power?" C.C. asked as Lelouch heard cloth shifting mixed with the sound of clanking chains.

He leaned back after opening his computer and skimmed through some more links regarding his masked persona. He shifted slightly in the chair before answering noncommittally. "Not much worth talking about. I managed to discover that reflected surfaces can help me get around the direct eye contact requirement and that I can't transmit orders through writing." He lifted his hand toward his face and rubbed his eye, feeling some exhaustion as the day started to wane. "Although they don't need to hear me so long as they see my Geass, the order is transmitted through the power itself." That had been an interesting experiment, using his Geass on someone so obviously out of earshot to jump into the school pool despite the fact they were still in their uniform.

That boy still had no idea what happened or why, but quite a few teachers had tested him to see if he had been drunk before concluding it was a freak occurrence.

"You've done quite a bit of testing." C.C. said as she draped herself over his shoulders, staring at the screen. She wrapped her arms around him, tugging at some of his shirt buttons playfully. "You use it for anything fun?" She whispered breathily into his ear. Lelouch stood up and shook her off as he made his way to his closet to pull out his pajamas to get changed. Sensing she had somehow offended him, C.C. asked, "Did I say something wrong?" She was curious about his response since he was a teenager with the power to compel anyone to obey him, but she seemed to have hit a sore spot.

"Do you really think I'm capable of doing that?" Lelouch asked rhetorically, having caught her implication easily enough, as he removed his shirt and pants, pulling on some more comfortable clothing so he could try and get a good night's sleep. He had been working through the night the past few days and needed to get some rest for classes. "Using this power for something like that would be nothing less than rape." He snorted. "I could never do something like that." He turned and stared at C.C. who was smiling at him slightly.

"Good answer." She said with a small smile. "I'm still curious though, why are you testing so much of your power out right now?" The witch sat down and spun around a little in his desk chair as Lelouch walked over to a chessboard, glancing at it before staring out of the window at the sunset.

"My enemy is an Empire that controls over one third of the planet." Lelouch began. "I need to work out all of my weaknesses before I do something that can't be undone." He narrowed his eyes slightly, considering some of the worst-case scenarios he had devised.

"You think you can beat the Holy Britannian Empire with this power and your armor?" C.C. asked, slightly incredulous. Lelouch's chuckle reassured her that he wasn't an idiot and his answer helped confirm that reassurance.

"Of course not," Lelouch chuckled. "They are merely two tools within my arsenal, albeit extremely useful tools, but tools nonetheless. I'd never change the world with this power alone."

"Change the world?" C.C. questioned, truly enjoying where this conversation was going. She loved how interesting her life had become.

Lelouch turned and leaned against his windowsill to stare at C.C. as he answered her question. "The world has so much pain and suffering in it. Poverty, illness, death, I'm not so arrogant as to claim I can fix those things. But…" Lelouch paused with a sigh closing his eyes as he explained his dream solemnly. "A world without war, that is what I seek." He opened them to gauge C.C.'s response and was glad to see she hadn't dismissed him out of hand.

"How do you plan to accomplish that?" C.C. was curious since she had heard a dream just like that many times before. The most recent version of that wish she had heard before now came what felt like a lifetime ago.

From the boy's Father.

"That answer is simple." Lelouch said with a deep breath, as he moved to the chessboard and picked up the remaining Black Knight to check the White King. "When someone wins, the fighting will end." He grinned slightly and walked to his bed, climbing under the covers to get comfortable.

"Someone." C.C. murmured, curious at that particular choice of words. That hinted at the level of self-acceptance she had come to expect from Lelouch.

So long as the world he desired was born, he didn't care who won.

'How… fascinating.' C.C. thought with a grin as she made to join Lelouch in bed.


(Tokyo Settlement, Area Eleven – Rooftop of Viceroy Palace – 11:00 pm – September 16 – 2017 a.t.b.)

A plane carrying the Second Princess of the Empire landed in her new domain, though Cornelia li Britannia looked pensive as she landed in the nation that had claimed the lives of three of her beloved siblings in the past seven years. "We have arrived, Your Highness." One of her honored guard announced, she assumed it was one of Darlton's sons.

"I see, thank you." She stood up, gripping her gun blade with anger as she walked down the platform to the roof. Her grip loosened once she saw her beloved sister, though she'd needed to remind Euphie of the necessary formalities that were required of their positions.

Her sister was smart, but too informal sometimes. She would learn eventually, as Cornelia had, but for now she had a bit of work to do. She pointed her weapon at the guard who dared suggest they hold a welcome party while the man who killed her brother was allowed to roam free.

"Where is the enemy of the Empire?!" She declared with rage. "I want ZERO!" Her declaration shook the prissy nobles who were used to politicking around issues to placate the masses without doing any real work. She sneered. She had more work than she thought if she was going to rid this Area of corruption.

She could practically smell the fear wafting off these animals. 'Pathetic.' Her mind supplied as she searched for the best adjective to describe these worms. "I want the generals in charge here to submit for a report over what has gone on under my brother's tenure within the next three days." She ordered, holstering her weapon and glaring at the man who had it directed at him as he sighed in relief. He almost looked like he would have preferred her gun pointed at him when he saw her glare.

"Any who do not submit either a written report or schedule an appointment to meet with me in person will be fired and stripped of their rank to be sent to the Homeland in disgrace." She turned the full force of her glare on all those assembled, only Euphemia standing strong against it. Her lip curled slightly in a smile. 'Good job Euphie.' She thought proudly. That should cement her sister as one of the few who could stand up to her temper in the world of Area Eleven politics.

Just because she didn't like it as much as Schneizel didn't mean she couldn't play politician when she needed to.

"Well, have I made myself clear?!" She yelled one last time, causing the assembled soldiers and nobles to give a hasty salute and simultaneously exclaim, "Yes Princess Cornelia!" in either fear, awe, or respect. Some a mixture of all three.

Cornelia withheld her satisfied smile, for now. 'Zero, your days are numbered.' Cornelia mentally promised. 'I will avenge my family. You shall pay in blood for your sins against the Imperial Family.'


(Tokyo Settlement, Area Eleven – Ashford Academy – 8:03 am – September 18 – 2017 a.t.b.)

Lelouch stared in shock as he watched his closest friend introduce himself at the front of the class. What the hell was Suzaku doing at Ashford Academy?! It had been announced that the charges were dismissed for lack of evidence, but there had been no hint whatsoever that Suzaku would be enrolling in a school, much less Ashford Academy.

Lelouch stared at his friend as he walked down, he tapped the pen he had been spinning out of boredom twice on the desk, drawing Suzaku's attention. 'Good, he still remembers the signals.' Lelouch thought with a small smile. "Why don't you sit next to me?" He offered as he gestured to the empty space on the bench next to him. "I can give you a tour of the school later." This reaction drew quite a bit of attention from the rest of the class, as well as the teacher.

"Mister Lamperouge," the teacher began. "What's with this sudden kindness of yours towards an Eleven?" He asked suspiciously. Lelouch just smiled brightly at his teacher, only Suzaku recognizing it as a fake.

"Well, I figured as the Vice President of the Student Council I should be the one to give Mister Kururugi a tour and a warm welcome to our illustrious school." He closed his eyes to prevent the teacher from seeing the contempt Lelouch held as a result of his teacher's statement. "It wouldn't be fair to expect a new student to be able to find his way around Ashford without help after all, Honorary Britannian or not." He answered, drawing attention to Suzaku's status even if he wished his friend were still Japanese. Throughout his response Lelouch's smile didn't fall, if anything it became almost predatory. As if he were daring the teacher to question him further.

That crack about Suzaku being an Eleven angered Lelouch. While Ashford as a whole was rather progressive politically with how it believed in human rights for Numbers, it was still an Academy that catered to the sons and daughters of the nobility. As a result, the inherent prejudice a vast majority of the nobility had would leak into the school in ways that anyone who was observant enough could notice.

There were a few Fractions, children between a Britannian and a Number after an Area had been conquered, but Suzaku was the first instance Lelouch could recall of a full-fledged "Number" being admitted into Ashford Academy. Whoever had sponsored him clearly had some influence.

'He's pissed off.' Suzaku noticed before he realized he hadn't yet responded to Lelouch's gesture of kindness. "Thank you Mister?" He paused, letting Lelouch introduce himself in case he had chosen an alias. "The name's Lelouch Lamperouge, Mister Kururugi, I hope you enjoy your time at Ashford." So he had chosen to keep his given name after all. That likely meant Nunnally was the same then. "Nice to meet you Mister Lamperouge." Suzaku replied, shaking the offered hand once before sitting down near his closest friend. "I look forward to your tour."

After a few more seconds as the rest of the class tried to decipher the sudden change in Lelouch's demeanor, he had never offered to do more work before, class began. And that day felt like the longest day of classes Lelouch had to deal with in quite some time. Throughout each class break, Lelouch delivered a short tour of each relevant area of the campus for Suzaku's schedule. They didn't have all the same classes, so they'd needed to meet up again in between classes so he could continue the tour.

All throughout he was testing Suzaku's responses to his old signals, trying to see if the Japanese boy remembered them. There were a number of miscues, but that was to be expected after seven years of absence. It was nothing they couldn't fix with a little practice. Every mistake was acknowledged with a glance from Lelouch and a sheepish shrug from Suzaku, but it just helped Lelouch know what he'd need to work on to get his friend back up to their usual fluency. By the end of the day, Lelouch had confirmed a slim majority of the signals, there were only so many ways he could use them without drawing too much attention with unnecessary actions after all, but he felt comfortable that Suzaku would recall the one he had been planning to use all day.

After the last class ended, Lelouch packed up his materials and walked passed Suzaku, rapping his knuckle once on his friend's shoulder to tell him 'look at the door'. Before he left the room, he glanced back and tugged on his collar upwards a single time. Seeing his old friend's eyes widen, Lelouch knew they'd be seeing each other soon.

After a few minutes, Lelouch was relaxing on the roof of one of Ashford Academy's buildings. He stared out across the vast campus, enjoying the view and the soothing breeze. He heard the door creak open and click shut, causing him to turn slightly and catch Suzaku's eye. He jerked his head, directing the brunette to his right side. The former Prince remained silent as he heard his closest friend step up beside him. "Much better than our last run-in, isn't it?" Lelouch asked rhetorically as he turned around, leaning against the railing. "It's been seven years since we truly had a chance to talk like this." He spoke solemnly despite his smile, tugging playfully at his collar.

"Come up to the roof or other highest point." Suzaku quote the rule for the gesture, mimicking it by pulling at his own collar. "The reverse if you tug down and not up." He returned his hand to his side and chuckled. "With you testing me all day how could I not recall one of your more basic signals?" Lelouch had a habit of making things overly complicated sometimes, still the testing throughout the tour had helped him recall a number of the secret signals he had thought forgotten. Lost in distant memories of a summer that was the last time he could recall being truly happy.

"I'm so glad you're okay." Suzaku admitted, grasping the former Prince's shoulder. "I was really worried you wouldn't be able to escape Shinjuku." He whispered, admitting his fears. After getting shot and waking up in the Special Corps' base of operations, he had been worried about Lelouch and the girl the pair of them had saved. "What happened to the girl we found?" He asked, curious about her.

Lelouch closed his eyes and thought carefully about how to respond to that question. "She got shot in the head." He answered truthfully, deciding against saying she died as that would feel too close to a lie for his comfort. He didn't want to lie to his closest friend. Misleading him with phrasing on the other hand? Far too easy. "I only escaped the Ghetto thanks to Zero." He said, wondering where this conversation would go after admitting that to the soldier he had made a deal with.

"I'm sorry about the girl, I really wish she could've been saved." He felt bad that all the work they had put in had been for nothing. "He mentioned that." Suzaku said, somewhat surprised his friend would admit to owing his life to anyone, causing Lelouch to stiffen. "I don't think he knows who you really are, though." Lelouch relaxed at that and Suzaku reassured his friend further. "He would have bragged about saving the life of an exiled Prince." He whispered that so only Lelouch could hear it. He didn't plan on exposing his friend's secret.

"I see." Lelouch had stiffened when Suzaku brought up Zero knowing Lelouch. He had reacted that way out of nervousness that Suzaku had seen through his act, but relaxed when his friend stated his opinion on how Zero would have reacted if he knew Lelouch was a Prince. It was an amusing guess, likely based on the grandiose persona he crafted.

"How did he save you?" Suzaku asked, trying to gain more intel on his opponent. He was shut off from that avenue of questioning though as Lelouch responded.

"I don't want to talk about it." Lelouch was being honest with that, he didn't want to talk about it because any further conversation would necessitate him lying to Suzaku or talking about Shinjuku in general. "It reminded me of the war." He admitted, feeling like a weight disappeared from his shoulders as he finally had someone to talk to about this without being caustic like C.C. or making him feel awful for discussing such details like with Nunnally.

He'd had countless nightmares about the war over the years and one of the only ones who understood had been Nunnally, but he never liked discussing the war with his little sister. He felt like doing that was something that would rob her of her idealistic view of the world, a view he wanted the world to reflect for her sake.

"I understand." Suzaku said sympathetically, wrapping his arm around his friend's shoulder in a half hug for comfort. "I have nightmares about that time too." He admitted, though many of his nightmares nowadays consisted of his actions as a soldier alongside his nightmares of the war. He didn't think he would ever get used to the sight of his people's dead bodies strewn about a street without any care or respect for the dead. He let go of Lelouch and let their conversation lapse into silence for a few minutes of peace as they enjoyed the clear weather.

"What do you think of Zero?" Lelouch asked Suzaku choosing to break the silence, curious about the perspective he would give his friend and not Zero. He could learn many more things from Suzaku as Lelouch compared to if he was acting as Zero. Both identities had separate connotations in Suzaku's mind so his reactions would vary depending on the persona he adopted at the time. It provided ample opportunity to gather information on how to potentially sway the young man to his side.

Suzaku stayed silent for a few moments and considered his answer carefully, knowing Lelouch would expect an intelligent answer and not a knee-jerk reaction. "At first glance?" Suzaku began. "I'd say he's arrogant. He used an incredibly reckless plan during his rescue mission and put a lot of people at risk with his little gas stunt." He closed his eyes and recalled what had made him decide against joining Zero. "He's someone who could hurt a lot of people if he thought his actions would have the results he desired, even if there were innocent people in his way."

Suzaku chuckled slightly. "He offered me the chance to join him." He admitted, still feeling somewhat compelled by the masked man's charisma. "But I could never join someone who only cared about results without care for the consequences." He ignored the flash of steel and the scent of blood that burst through his mind with a betrayed scream echoing before it faded. "Results gained through contemptible means are worthless." He said to his friend what he had said to Zero.

Lelouch carefully considered Suzaku's argument, treating it with the merit it deserved as his equal. His friend. "But Zero saved your life." He began his counterargument. "Doesn't that mean his results had a positive outcome?" He looked to his friend who was staring at him curiously. "Your life was saved. That result matters to me, I don't care about how it was done." Lelouch admitted. "You are my closest friend and even now I am not as close to others as I am to you and Nunnally." C.C. was currently included in that list in part due to her nature as his confidant, but he couldn't very well tell Suzaku that.

"I haven't seen Kaguya since before the war, and the only one here who knows about my true past is Milly and she and I are too different to be as close as we once were." He tried, he really tried for Milly's sake, but his experiences had made it difficult for him to truly let loose no matter what she tried to do to help him enjoy himself. "You're the only one aside from Nunnally who understands what we went through together." And, consequently, one of the only ones who could understand the Hell they had witnessed as children.

"Lelouch, you're talking about my life as if it means more to you than the people that Zero could have hurt with his actions." Suzaku felt shock at his friend's reply to his observation.

"That's because it does." Lelouch admitted simply. He chuckled slightly, trying to repress the emotion so he didn't start crying tears of joy. "I'm just so happy you're alive after I saw you get shot. I was so nervous I had lost my closest friend after suddenly finding him again." He admitted, feeling his eyes burn before blinking away any tears that built up.

The emotion that filled his friend's voice surprised Suzaku. Lelouch was normally far more collected, it looked like his near death had affected his friend a lot. Still, it made Suzaku uncomfortable. "Lelouch, that's Clovis' killer you're talking about." He said, trying to draw his friend's attention to the fact that Zero had killed his half-brother. "Doesn't that mean anything to you?" Suzaku remembered Clovis among the list that Lelouch had given of the siblings he had been close to, enjoying some of the stories about how Lelouch had beaten Clovis even faster than he had beaten Suzaku. It had made him feel better that there was another person who had suffered humiliating defeat at Lelouch's brilliance in chess.

"Clovis made his choices." Lelouch spoke, regaining his composure as soon as Clovis was brought up. "He ordered an extermination of the Ghetto, Suzaku." Lelouch whispered with venom lacing his quiet tone. "He deserved what he got. He was no longer the brother I once knew." If anything, Lelouch felt he should have suffered even more, but he had still felt love for his elder brother and decided to end it quick. In honor of the memories he held for him.

Suzaku sighed, he hadn't wanted to admit it, but Lelouch had a point there. "I understand." Still, he felt that, if the terrorists hadn't stolen that damn capsule in the first place, none of this would have happened. "I understand you are satisfied with the results of Zero's actions this time, but what if he puts others at even greater risk than he did today to accomplish some mysterious goal of his?" Suzaku decided to use one of Lelouch's favorite argument tactics against him. "Would you still be satisfied with his results then?" The hypothetical scenario that would discredit the opposing argument. Lelouch had loved to turn that one on him when they were children.

"If that goal is destroying Britannia?" Lelouch chuckled and gave a knowing look to his friend. "You heard my oath when I was a child Suzaku, you know I would kill the Emperor with my own hands if I had the resources." He had made an oath before fleeing to hide with the Ashfords, an oath to obliterate Britannia. "I might be able to settle for another person ending his life if I have the satisfaction of knowing he's dead."

That was very close to a lie because the list of individuals he would accept killing his father was very small. One was right in front of him, the other was himself, and the third was in their home probably making paper cranes. Suzaku, himself, and Nunnally were the only ones who he would accept being the person to end the bastard's life. "Besides, what would you do, Suzaku?" Lelouch asked, curious if Suzaku would reply the same way as the other day. It would give him the chance to respond in a way he had been unable to as Zero and perhaps change Suzaku's mind.

Suzaku considered what Lelouch had said, ignoring the chills he got down his spine at his friend's bloodlust. 'Still bloodthirsty as ever I see.' Suzaku thought with some melancholy. His friend's hatred for his father still burned as bright as ever it seemed. When his friend asked the question of what he would do Suzaku looked up at the sky in contemplation. "I would work hard to change Britannia from the inside." He admitted his dream, looking at his friend to gauge his reaction.

"How would you do that?" Lelouch pressed, trying to get Suzaku to answer more than just that.

"I would work hard enough to get promoted and prove that I can stand with the best in order to change the minds of the people around me." Suzaku shared his goal. "Then I would begin working to enact the reforms necessary to change the system that Britannia currently has so that no one has to suffer at the hands of another." Perhaps it was naïve, but Suzaku believed that it was necessary to change a system from within to prevent the chaos that would result should an entire system of government be toppled.

Lelouch chuckled, suppressing his contempt for the belief as best he could out of respect for his friend. "Suzaku, you would need to become a Knight of the Round at the very least to even begin to accomplish your goals." Lelouch began, resisting the urge to snort derisively. "Britannia is an absolute monarchy with shades of a meritocracy. The Emperor has absolute power to determine the course of the nation with the Imperial Parliament, consisting of the Imperial Senate and the House of Lords, serving as a formality for the most part. Even the Prime Minister, a position currently held by Schneizel, is only formally on par with the Emperor in political influence."

Lelouch tossed his hand back and forth, throwing out his own opinion on the matter of his brother's position. "And even then, the position is only as powerful as it is because he's the Second Prince of the Empire and his elder brother, Odysseus who is the Crown Prince, along with the Emperor let him use that influence. Odysseus is not the type to seek the Imperial Throne, leaving Schneizel as the leading candidate for the Emperor's successor."

Lelouch returned his arms to their crossed position as he wrapped up his summation of the political situation in Britannia. "Unless you wanted to get into politics and challenge Schneizel's supremacy in that area, which would be extremely stupid, the only path you have to gaining influence is if you somehow become a Knight of the Round. And even if you were appointed a Knight of the Round by the current Emperor, he wouldn't likely listen to you as the only one he seriously considers is his Knight of One, Bismarck Waldstein. Who, might I add, has held the position of Knight of One ever since my Father ascended the Imperial Throne during the Emblem of Blood Incident." His mother had held the position Knight of Two before she officially retired to become the Fifth Empress.

He sighed, beginning to finish up his impromptu speech. "Your best chance of getting the kind of influence you need is for you to swear to become the Knight of Honor to a candidate for the Imperial Throne, who is willing to go through the bloody succession battle it always is in Pendragon, and is sympathetic to your goals and make you their Knight of One as my Father did with Bismarck." He looked at his friend, who was staring at him with a slightly gaping mouth. "Do you see how unlikely that path for you is, Suzaku?" Lelouch asked softly as Suzaku clicked his teeth closing his mouth.

"That's more complicated than I thought." Suzaku admitted. He forgot sometimes just how intelligent his friend truly was, to pay attention to the political situation in the Homeland on the other side of the world and be able to recite it so clearly. He was impressed. But he still refused to back down. "Still, no matter how difficult it is I think it's still better than outright destroying the system. The chaos that would result from that could hurt far too many people." He set his jaw stubbornly, looking at his friend who was staring at him in exasperation. "I'm not going to change my mind." He said, he couldn't afford to. Not after all he had sacrificed for his goal.

'You idiot.' Lelouch thought with a mix of fondness and exasperation. Suzaku was still the same stubborn ass that Lelouch remembered from when they were children. "Fine, I can tell when you start to dig in." When Suzaku got like this it was almost impossible to reason with him. "Just… come to me if you need any advice." At least this way he kept the door open, letting him gain some insight into Suzaku and maybe try to change his mind in the future.

Suzaku was far too valuable a resource to leave in Britannia's hands. He belonged on Lelouch's side, where the friends could watch each other's backs.

"How did you end up in Ashford Academy in the first place?" Lelouch asked curiously, changing he subject to a lighter topic. Suzaku knew that he had been planning on hiding out at the Ashfords when they split up seven years ago, but he doubted the boy remembered the name of the family after all this time.

"After my trial," Suzaku answered with a chuckle, "I ran into someone rather interesting." He winked at Lelouch teasingly. "You were right by the way, Euphie truly is one of the kindest people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting." He grinned at Lelouch's visible surprise, it was a rare sight.

"I didn't recognize her right away," he admitted awkwardly. "But she was nothing but kind to me as I gave her a small tour of the Settlement at her request. She got this crazy idea that a seventeen-year-old should be in school and found the best school she could on short notice." He shrugged noncommittally. "I guess she picked Ashford because she remembered the family back from when you guys were kids, she enrolled me and before I knew it here I am." He looked at his friend who was chuckling. "I had forgotten that this was the same family who you went to after the invasion, but I don't mind the coincidence." He declared with a smile.

'Euphie's got a new pet project.' Lelouch thought with a grin. "I don't mind it either." Lelouch said as he finished laughing at his friend's predicament. "It's good to have you back by my side, Prince of Japan." He said quietly, causing Suzaku to chuckle quietly in remembrance.

"Right back at ya, Demon of the Forest." Suzaku riposted, using the childhood nickname Kaguya had given Lelouch in return.

Suzaku had hated Lelouch at first, thinking somewhat hypocritically that he was a spoiled brat who acted like he could have anything he wanted as the Prince of Britannia. Lelouch had replied he was no different, being essentially the Prince of Japan. The young Kururugi had almost instantly rejected the title, despising its monarchic implications, and Lelouch used it to insult him whenever they spoke until they had become friends and it developed into a symbol of their friendship.

The Demon of the Forest nickname had arisen as a result of Kaguya, Suzaku's cousin, running off into the forest one day and stumbling across a shadowed Lelouch. He decided to play along with her assumption that he was a Demon of the Forest in order to torment her for his own amusement, but that had hilarious repercussions the next time she had seen the Prince. Kaguya saw Suzaku and Nunnally playing with Lelouch one day and tackled him to the ground, shouting for him to take the little girl and run while she held off the Demon. When the situation was cleared up, Suzaku and Nunnally had laughed long and hard while Lelouch was tormented by Kaguya calling him a Demon every time they were around each other. Eventually it developed into a friendly nickname once they became closer and soon enough Kaguya and Nunnally demanded nicknames as well.

"I miss those days." Lelouch admitted softly as he remembered the last summer he had with Nunnally, Suzaku, and Kaguya

"The four of us against the world." Suzaku agreed wistfully. That summer was the happiest he had ever been, before or since.

It was a better time for all of them, before they had known the horrors of war.


(Tokyo Settlement, Area Eleven – Ashford Gymnasium –6:33 pm – September 18 – 2017 a.t.b.)

Lelouch glared darkly at the broadcast on the enormous television screen as he stood a face amongst the crowd watching Prince Clovis' funeral being broadcast across the nation. It had already aired in the Homeland, the time difference being far too great for it to be broadcast live to Area Eleven, but he still felt a surge of hatred flood his soul as he witnessed the Emperor's speech turn Clovis' funeral into a political rally.

Admittedly, since he pulled it off without it being in poor taste, it was a masterful political move, but Lelouch was still disgusted. The man hadn't changed at all in the past seven near eight years, still turning his children into political pawns to suit his own purposes. He hated that attendance at this damn thing was mandatory for everyone enrolled who was healthy enough to attend, otherwise he would much rather be with Nunnally as she could easily turn off the radio and they could spend some time together while the Emperor expounded on their glorious Empire while denigrating the other two competing superpowers.

He clenched his fist, glancing over at Suzaku and Kallen, realizing he wasn't the only one enraged by the Emperor's words espousing the doctrine of Britannian Social Darwinism. He flexed his fingers, imagining he was strangling the bastard who was heartless enough to abandon his children as soon as they no longer suited him. When the chant began following the end of the Emperor's speech, Lelouch refused to join in.

Lelouch would never take part in hailing the Holy Empire of Britannia. He would see it burn first.

After the funeral service turned rally ended, he caught up with Suzaku. "Hey, can I talk to you for a minute?" He tried to be discrete, but he inevitably drew attention to himself again after going out of his way to spend time with Suzaku a second time. When Suzaku agreed, he led his friend away from the crowds. "There's someone who will want to meet you." He hinted, waiting for it to sink in. "Someone who you should see before you leave." Suzaku's eyes widened and a small smile crossed his face. Lelouch smiled in turn as his friend caught on to what he was saying.

It took a little while, but eventually they reached the clubhouse and Lelouch let himself and Suzaku in. He sighed in relief as he noticed C.C. remained in his room as he'd requested. "You'll need to be a bit quiet, I want to surprise her." He whispered to Suzaku before he walked to the kitchen, waiting knowing that Nunnally would be coming back from her appointment with the Ashford's private physician soon.

Nunnally had been exhausted the past week or so, so Lelouch had asked for the doctor to take a look at her. Ruben had only hired the best he could find for his staff and his private doctor was no different, she knew how to be discrete and ensure that any records of Nunnally's visits were kept secure to prevent anyone from learning her identity.

"I'm home Lelouch." Nunnally sounded a little tired after her appointment, but Lelouch smiled as he saw Sayoko wheel her into the room. He had missed the sound of the automatic door, so he was grateful for her drawing his attention back to what mattered most.

Her.

"I have a surprise for you." He announced happily after welcoming her back. "Just a second, okay?" He walked over, ignoring her confusion, and gestured with a wave to draw Suzaku into the room. Sayoko saw him and hummed in recognition, giving a small bow to the heir of the Kururugi name from her position behind Nunnally's chair.

Suzaku's eyes softened as he beheld the teenaged Nunnally. 'She's grown up so much.' She looked so much taller than he remembered her, despite being unable to stand. The young man walked over carefully. He kneeled down and placed his hands over one of Nunnally's.

Nunnally heard surprise and got curious because, while it wasn't unusual for Lelouch to surprise her on days she wouldn't expect, she didn't have a single clue what this surprise would be. Then she heard a pair of shoes on the hard wood floor. 'Is it someone from Ashford?' She asked Nemo who reacted with a gasp, ignoring Nunnally's question. She frowned slightly, trying to guess who was visiting her.

Then she felt his hand and tears slipped out almost reflexively. "This hand." She gasped with tears running down her face. "Suzaku!" She lunged out and hugged him close, sobbing into his chest. "I'm so glad you're alive, Suzaku." She cried. While she had seen him in many different versions of the future once Zero escaped with him, she was still scared that he wouldn't return alive. Having proof that one of her oldest friends was still alive, right in front of her, it was just too much to take. "Welcome home." She sniffled slightly as she welcomed Suzaku back into their family.

"It's good to be home." Suzaku replied softly as he set her carefully back into her chair.

'This is where Suzaku belongs.' Lelouch thought as he joined him in kneeling in front of Nunnally, wiping her tears away with his hand. 'He belongs with the two of us. Not Britannia.'

"Suzaku's going to be staying with us for dinner, right?" Lelouch asked putting him on the spot with that question, but Suzaku didn't mind. There was only one answer he could give to a question like that at a time like this.

"Of course." Suzaku smiled. "I'd love to stay for dinner with you guys." He could spend a little time having dinner with some old friends.

It had been far too long since he'd come home.


Here's the first chapter of my new story arc. The first arc that ended with "Reactions" was titled "Fall & Rise" while this next one that begins with this chapter is called "Sovereigns of the Battlefield". I've finally got enough of a general idea of where I'm going, instead of just broad strokes, to feel comfortable enough to establish story arcs.

I hope you enjoyed the new chapter as well as the little bit of extra world building I threw in regarding Britannia since I already did so much for Europia and the Chinese Federation.

Incidentally, I recently wrote a small crossover between Code Geass canon and Highschool DxD and thought if you like this story you may like that one. I've been really inspired to write that for some reason, my muse is unpredictable even to me sometimes, so I've decided to split my focus between this story and my newest one.

It's not the stereotypical "The Collective Unconscious likes Lelouch for saving it from the Sword of Akasha so it sends him to another world." kind of crossover however. I've seen enough of those "back in time" stories to have a distaste for that kind of contrived plot device. There actually is a reason Lelouch ended up there, but he won't know for quite some time as powers much stronger than he are at play behind the scenes.

The basic gist is that, after being killed by a Fallen Angel after living as a normal student for a few months, developing a few acquaintances along the way, Lelouch is resurrected as a Devil and as Rias' Knight (the title is Rias' Black Knight, not very subtle I know) and seeks to gain power and influence in this new supernatural world he's discovered in order to ensure he has enough power to act on his own.

Feel free to check it out.

This will be my last chapter in 2016 so I hope everyone has a Happy New Year! Good riddance to 2016 as far as I'm concerned.

King Draconias Over and Out.