"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

Sorry this is so late, my summer classes were more intense than I first thought and it took me longer than I planned to write this out, but I do hope you enjoy the new chapters.

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

I hope you enjoy the new chapter. This is the first of two chapters.


Chapter 13: The Aftermath


(Pendragon, Britannia – Knights of the Round Conference Room – 10:05 am – October 3 – 2017 a.t.b.)

Bismarck Waldstein, the Knight of One, sat at the head of the round table that was in the center of the Knights of the Round's private conference room. He was supporting his head with his right hand, resisting the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose as he took note of the only ones who had actually arrived on time to this meeting he had scheduled in light of the events in Area Eleven.

Though his left eye was wired shut, he could still observe the Knight of Four's solemn demeanor as she sat silently with her arms crossed and eyes closed. Lady Dorothea Ernst was a woman who had earned her place as a Knight of the Round through valiant service in Egypt, where the fighting against the Europia backed forces was one of the most brutal campaigns the Britannian military had been involved in since the Second World War. Lady Ernst had, before being promoted, single handedly managed to lead an entire battalion, of about eight hundred men and women, back to safety after they had been cut off deep behind enemy lines.

The entire battalion had been considered lost, and they had been recorded as such in every official report. Not a single soul thought they would ever see the Fourth Battalion alive ever again. But when the battalion had returned under the leadership of Dorothea, who had only been a Captain at the time, the Britannian Empire had discovered a rather embarrassing oversight in regards to their management of death records for the military.

There was no way to legally restore the identity of someone who had been listed as "deceased" in military records. Legally speaking, every single one of the members of that battalion, alive or dead, was considered deceased.

Eventually, the Britannian Parliament had changed the law so that, in the event of something similar happening in the future, the soldiers who returned would be able to return home properly with their identities fully restored if they were able to prove they were who they said they were. But the Fourth Battalion had collectively developed one of the most morbid senses of humor as a result of their time behind enemy lines and decided to rechristen themselves the "Ghost Battalion" once they found out they were all legally considered dead for a time.

Regardless, once it was discovered who had led the "Ghost Battalion" back safely, Lady Ernst had found herself almost immediately promoted two ranks to Lieutenant-Colonel for the rest of her term of service in the area. Then she returned to Pendragon by the order of the Emperor to receive an honor only a select number had received throughout history.

The Ghost of Britannia, Dorothea Ernst, was named Knight of Four, in honor of the battalion she had led back to safety, and had claimed the Ghost Battalion as her personal fighting force. The Knights of the Round weren't back to full strength, as they had been before the Emblem of Blood Incident, but, with soldiers like Lady Ernst, Bismarck knew it would only be a matter of time before the legendary Knights once again numbered twelve.

"Where is she?" The Knight of Twelve, Monica Kruszewski, asked with irritation coloring her tone which drew Bismarck's attention. Bismarck knew who she was speaking of so he wasn't exactly surprised that she was annoyed. The Knight of Twelve and Knight of Nine did not get along very well, in part due to the rather blasé way the Knight of Nine treated her position in comparison to the Knight of Twelve.

Monica was the second most recent addition to the Knights and, as such, took her duties very seriously. Originally from Euro-Britannia, Lady Kruszewski had come up under the tutelage of the current Grand Master of the Knights of St. Michael, Michele Manfredi, who was a former Knight of the Round himself. Though, after Charles had ascended the Imperial Throne, Sir Manfredi had found himself facing a choice. Either serve the new Emperor, though not as a Knight of the Round, or die like the rest of his colleagues.

Sir Manfredi had declared something to Emperor Charles that Bismarck still found worthy of respect. According to the former Knight of Two, he was a man who was loyal to Britannia and her people, no matter who sat upon the throne. And, as such, he had sworn loyalty to Emperor Charles and peacefully departed to Euro-Britannia to serve his new post as Grand Master. Which allowed Marianne to move up to his position of Knight of Two from her former position of Knight of Six while Bismarck claimed the position of Knight of One after slaying the last to hold the title in Charles' bid for the throne.

It had been amusing, watching Marianne complain about having lost the bet they had, but he was glad she abided by the terms they had set rather than try to fight him for the position. During Charles' attempt to obtain the throne, they had agreed that whoever slew the former Knight of One would be the one to inherit the position if Charles indeed succeeded in becoming Emperor, but Bismarck hadn't been positive that he could have stopped Marianne if she truly sought the position.

The only person who had ever truly defeated the current Knight of One had been Lady Marianne and it had been she who inspired him to seal away his gift until he once again faced a foe who could challenge him like she did.

Regardless, though Lady Kruszewski didn't have a background as noble as Lady Ernst, the recommendation that she be appointed to the position of Knight of Twelve by Lord Manfredi had been good enough for her to be considered. Beyond the recommendation from the former Knight of Two, Monica's record spoke for itself and she quickly found herself moving to the Homeland rather than the puppet state she had been born and raised in so that she could claim the position that she had earned.

Monica's title was one that had been earned when her involvement in a number of different organizations and charities that worked towards ensuring the rights of everyone were protected by Britannia's legal system were revealed. Her ideal of "justice must be equal or it is not justice" had not been well received by the nobility, but the Angel of Britannia wasn't just a pretty face. She used her reputation, gained from many successful missions as a Knight under a Grand Master of a Knight Order from Euro-Britannia, to leverage stronger legal protections for everyone who was subject to Britannia's legal system.

It wasn't something Bismarck necessarily agreed with, firmly convinced as he was in Britannia's superiority as a nation, but he respected her convictions.

"Just be patient." Anya, the Knight of Six and youngest Knight of the Round in history, spoke in a dry tone of voice and sighed. "No, that's not good enough." Anya muttered to herself, shifting slightly in her seat as she deleted whatever she had been typing into her phone. "Hm, maybe." Anya bit her lip and her fingers flashed as she tried to update her blog.

It was adorable, watching the young woman known as the Shield of Britannia fuss around with her word choice on her personal blog. Bismarck himself probably wouldn't have picked the slight thing to take Lady Marianne's place as Knight of Six he couldn't deny her success on the battlefield.

Anya fiddled with her phone before deciding what to post.

Zero is different from the other terrorists in Area Eleven. This is not an endorsement of him or his methods, it is simply a statement of fact. None of the other groups would have lifted a finger to save the Britannian hostages that night.

I have avoided posting about Zero, not because I feel anything, whether it be fear or something else, but because I didn't believe I had anything to add to the conversation. But after that speech I felt compelled to speak up and record my opinion.

The ideals that he spoke of, a "future of justice" and defending the weak from the abuses by the strong, are noble. If I could be certain that these ideals weren't just platitudes to gain the support of the masses I would feel more comfortable about distinguishing him from other terrorist groups. But the Black Knights are not revolutionaries, they're simply following a man who has a silver tongue and promised them the abstract concept of "justice".

I would not be surprised if they use the tactics of other terrorist groups and call it justice when they do it while condemning their contemporaries for using the same methods.

If I'm wrong, I'm wrong. But I doubt it.

I will not deny Zero is intelligent, to do so would downplay the threat he potentially presents to the Empire, nor will I deny that he appears to be a master orator, but his followers are the desperate and the downtrodden. If that trend continues, his "army" will fall in the face of Britannia's military might.

As many other so-called revolutions have fallen before him.

'And, done.' Anya thought to herself, posting the entry onto her blog. She was curious what the followers would have to say on the matter. There were already numerous pages dedicated to the Kawaguchi Incident, but this was the first time she was posting her opinion on the matter. Well, her public opinion.

She had saved her private opinion the other day, fearful that she might forget what she wanted to write if she didn't save it to her private record as fast as she could.

The Knightly Archives were a public blog, but there was a private section only she could access that also served as her personal record of memories. Not exactly a diary, like most would think, it was more of an external record she could consult if she believed her memories were failing her once again.

"Are you finished, Lady Alstreim?" Bismarck asked as he observed Anya develop a satisfied look in her eyes for a moment.

"Yup." She nodded to the Knight of One respectfully. "I just wanted to get the post out before the meeting started in case it went long." Her attention remained on her phone as she switched out from her blog to a different page and began editing the appearance of her blog to keep herself occupied. Suddenly, she heard the door open automatically and her lip twitched slightly as she heard Gino enter with the Knight of Nine.

"I told you we shouldn't have taken that turn." Gino Weinberg, Knight of Three, spoke with an exasperated tone. "Why the hell don't you use a GPS with your sense of direction?" The woman beside him cuffed him on the back of his head.

"Because a sense of direction is only absolutely needed on the battlefield." The eccentric Knight of Nine, Nonette Enneagram, spoke with a pout. "You're never really lost if you're on your way to the destination, you're simply taking an alternative route." She put her hands on her hips and threw her head back haughtily. "You've got to stop and smell the roses once and awhile or you'll end up going prematurely grey like Ol' Patchy over there." She nodded her head towards Bismarck, whose right eye twitched at the statement.

"You found one." The second most powerful man in the empire held up the index finger of his right hand. "You found one grey hair on my uniform once and you don't even know if it was mine in the first place." Bismarck resisted the urge to place his head in his hands in exasperation. "For all you know it could have been a cat hair!" He most certainly did not shout at his subordinate, as that would be undignified and something unbecoming of his station. "Why can't you just let it go?" Her rather… colorful personality and outlook on life had earned Nonette the nickname Kaleidoscope of Britannia due to the fact that she was virtually impossible to predict unless she was given direct orders.

"Because it's fun seeing you get worked up every time, Patchy." Nonette said as she plopped herself down in her traditional seat with a grin, Gino sitting down on the other side of the table.

The table was round, but the Knight of One's position was directly opposite the door so he could observe every other Knight as they entered. To the right of the Knight of One was the Knight of Twelve and to the left was the Knight of Two. From then on, the traditional seating arrangement was the Knight of Eleven sat next to the Knight of Twelve, the Knight of Ten next to them, followed by the Knights of Nine, Eight, and Seven. From the Knight of Two, the Knight of Three sat next to them, followed by the Knights of Four, Five, and Six.

The Knight of Six always sat next to the Knight of Seven, so neither one was ever directly across the Knight of One. The Knight of One was considered the representative of the Emperor at the table and thus considered the first among equals, but still without a counterpart unlike the other eleven Knights.

There had once been a Knight of Thirteen, but the last to hold that title had been Sir Mordred according to legend so it was considered bad luck to have more than twelve Knights at any one time period. And the only one who had been on the Knights of the Round before Charles had claimed the Imperial Throne that was still alive was Bismarck, as the Emperor's chief collaborator. The rest of the current Knights had all been appointed by Emperor Charles or they had been killed.

Though one was still missing. "Where is Sir Bradley?" The second oldest Knight of the Round was clearly absent. Bismarck's query was met with a groan from Gino.

"The Vampire said he'd rather pull teeth than come to this meeting." Gino answered, feeling irritated that he'd been the one Luciano contacted to send the message to the Knight of One. The Lion of Britannia wasn't fond of the Knight of Ten, finding his personality rather repulsive. If the sadistic bastard that was Luciano was actually pulling teeth, Gino was willing to bet that it was some poor sap stuck in his dungeons. "He's staying in his villa in the Andes and I'm willing to bet he's made it damn near impossible to connect with him without going through the Emperor's direct line."

There were two ways to contact the Knight of the Round if they weren't able to attend a meeting. The first was using the private connection based in the conference room that linked to the homes of all the Knights, allowing them to attend meetings from home on short notice. And the second was a private channel only the Emperor could authorize access to, though that one was solely intended for emergencies.

Bismarck sighed in irritation. "I suppose I can provide a transcript to our wayward Knight after our meeting has concluded." With that, he pressed a few keys on the pad on the right arm of his chair. In an instant, the room was scanned for any listening devices beyond the ones intended to record the meeting in accordance with the laws established by the Britannian Parliament and when none were found Bismarck pressed a second set of keys before he began to speak.

"I, Lord Bismarck Waldstein, Knight of One of the Holy Empire of Britannia, as appointed by Emperor Charles zi Britannia, hereby call this meeting of the Knights of the Round on the date of October Third in the year Two Thousand and Seventeen Ascension Throne Britannia at the time of ten in the morning and twenty-one minutes after, Pendragon time, to order." He took a deep breath before continuing the formal process. "Lord Bismarck Waldstein, Knight of One, present." With that, he looked to the Knight of Twelve and began to conduct roll call. "Is Lady Monica Kruszewski, Knight of Twelve, present?"

"Present." Monica announced clearly, her back straight in her seat.

"Let the record reflect that the position of Knight of Two remains vacant." Bismarck announced, feeling a flash of bitterness in his heart before continuing. "Is Lord Gino Weinberg, Knight of Three, present?"

"Present, Lord Bismarck." Gino declared, his usual playful tone absent, though he remained slouched slightly.

The Knight of One was pleased that Gino had kept his playfulness under control. Formality was important in these proceedings. He turned to the next one on the list. "Is Lady Dorothea Ernst, Knight of Four, present?"

"Present, Sir." Dorothea's response was curt, but professional.

"Let the record reflect that the position of Knight of Eleven remains vacant." Bismarck resisted the urge to growl as he turned to the empty seat where the Knight of Ten would normally sit. "Let the record reflect that Lord Luciano Bradley, Knight of Ten, is absent for this meeting." 'Because he thinks he has something better to do than discuss a new terrorist uprising in one of the Empire's Areas.' Bismarck thought snidely to himself before he continued. "Let the record reflect that the position of Knight of Five remains vacant. Is Lady Nonette Enneagram, Knight of Nine, present?" He hoped she would avoid saying something informal or insulting that would force him to start the entire formal process over.

To Bismarck's internal relief, Nonette treated the situation respectfully. "Present, Sir Bismarck." Her playful grin stretched as she lounged comfortably on her chair when she heard Bismarck's sigh of relief.

"Let the record reflect that the position of Knight of Eight remains vacant. Let the record reflect that the position of Knight of Seven remains vacant." Bismarck turned to Anya, who was still fiddling with her phone as she curled up on her seat like a cat. "Is Lady Anya Alstreim, Knight of Six, present?" He asked, his voice drawing the pink-haired teenager from her phone.

"Hm, oh yeah. Present." Anya mumbled before she returned her attention to her phone.

A sharp sigh escaped Bismarck's nose before he decided to move on. 'Close enough, I guess.' He closed his eye and mentally went over the agenda he had prepared for this meeting. "This meeting has been called to order for the purpose of discussing the rise of the terrorist known only by the alias of Zero as well as to create strategies to defeat both him and his terrorist organization, known as the Black Knights." That was all he had on the agenda, but he was positive it would be more complicated as the meeting wore on.

"As Knight of One, I shall begin." Bismarck took a deep breath and sighed, allowing his eye to scan the table to see if there were any objections. "Zero was first sighted the night of Kururugi's trial, but, as he is responsible for Prince Clovis' death during the Shinjuku debacle, his period of activity predates our knowledge of his alias by a few days." Bismarck paused to collect his thoughts before continuing. "Prior to his actions at Lake Kawaguchi, we had no reason to believe his influence would extend further than the edges of Area Eleven at best." A small smirk came across the Knight's face for a moment. "In fact, prior to that event, we believe the only large scale operation he conducted was the Battle of Saitama and Princess Cornelia managed to handle him well enough." Now, Bismarck frowned.

"However, his speech at Kawaguchi has changed things. The other nations were watching the Sakuradite Accords carefully and, when it became a hostage situation, even more people began to pay attention. Zero's message, his so-called Grand Proclamation, has been heard all around the world." Bismarck folded his hands together pensively. "Terrorists all around the world, whether in our territories or not, have been conducting operations with more vigor than before, emboldened by Zero's success." Even in the Homeland. Just yesterday, the Wings of Talleyrand attempted a coup and were it not for the Glinda Knights they actually had a chance of succeeding considering no one had expected the group to be active so early.

Schneizel, in a conference with him, a few other Generals, and the Emperor, had predicted that the Wings wouldn't strike for another few months as they continued to gather resources, but it appeared that Zero's speech had inspired them to strike earlier than they planned. It had been foolish, but it was one of the rare times that one of Schneizel's predictions was that wrong.

And that wasn't even getting into the renewed terrorist attacks in Area Eighteen.

"The question remains, how to end Zero's so-called revolution without turning him into a martyr." Bismarck looked at everyone seriously. "I have some ideas, but I would like to hear the perspectives of each of you." He turned to Gino, as the next highest ranked member he was entitled to speak next if he chose.

Gino caught his eye and leaned back into his chair, staring contemplatively at the ceiling. "If we want to avoid turning him into a martyr we need to discredit him first." Gino began outlining his thoughts. "Figuring out his identity would be helpful with that, but that's not necessarily important. I think we need a measured response to quell the storm before it grows any further. Perhaps we can turn other terrorist groups against Zero." It would take a bit of luck since, even if terrorist groups were afraid Zero would come after them for retribution, it was more likely than not that they'd rather take their chances with Zero than the Empire.

"I think that'd be risky." Dorothea spoke up, once it became clear Gino had finished. "I don't think relying on terrorists attempting to take out one of their own is the best idea. We should be more cautious, if the manipulation was discovered it would only increase their hatred for the Empire."

"Zero's message appeals to large portions of the population. It'd take more than just a little luck to be able to turn people against him." Anya spoke up bluntly. "Even if they don't join his Black Knights, their tacit support will allow them to act with impunity throughout the Area unless he or they do something to enrage the local populace." She could tell that Numbers and Honorary Britannians didn't like being under the Empire's rule, but she also knew that the vast majority of them refused to condone terrorists. Zero was dangerously close to successfully bridging that gap by distinguishing himself from other terrorists.

"We should just let Nelly handle it." The Knight of Nine spoke fondly of Cornelia. "She can handle just about anything, she is the one who delivered Area Eighteen to the Empire after years of conflict with the Middle Eastern Federation after all." That wasn't even counting the years of service that earned Cornelia her promotion to Commander-General prior to her delivering Area Eighteen to Britannia.

"You shouldn't speak so informally about Princess Cornelia, Lady Enneagram." Monica's tone was cold. "Regardless I disagree with all of you. I say we bring down the entire force of the Knights of the Round to eliminate Zero and his Knights." The Knight of Twelve spat the last word out with disgust.

That was the last thing Anya heard. She blacked out as red rings flashed around her eyes, unbeknownst to the rest of the room.

"Right." Marianne snorted lightly. "Because that wouldn't be overkill." She deadpanned before moving on to a separate point she wanted to make. "Besides, have any of you received the Knightmare that's been commissioned for you from the Camelot Project yet?" The entire purpose of the project was to create the perfect Knightmares suited to each individual Knight of the Round. As Monica's eyes avoided her own, Marianne continued to speak through Anya. "Exactly my point, even if we all went to Area Eleven the best technology we'd have is the Gloucester model, unless we used one of the experimental Frames, but there's a reason they're not cleared for combat." With that, Anya was allowed to regain control, but the room went silent at the point by point dissection of what was wrong with Monica's suggestion.

'Dammit, again?' Anya thought to herself as she caught sight of the clock on the wall. The time had shifted without her awareness. That meant she had blacked out again. Anya sighed, observing the room. Monica wasn't looking at her, Nonette was nodding, as was Gino, Dorothea was still leaning back in her chair, and Bismarck was staring at her. Whatever she had said before she regained consciousness, it had clearly made an impact.

'I hate this.' Anya hated it when she couldn't remember what was going on around her. It had happened a lot on the battlefield and it had occasionally happened when she was giving a report to the Emperor. She would give anything to be able to have stable memories again, especially as she could feel herself losing more and more as time went by.

She could no longer remember her parents' faces and their names had faded long ago. She knew she had a past, but she couldn't remember it beyond what was in her private records.

Feeling melancholic, she fiddled around with her phone, finishing off the edits and saving it before she started going through old pictures and entries. Going back sometimes brought her comfort, even if she didn't recognize the entries she had made when she was a child.

Bismarck sighed in relief as the bickering came to a stop once Anya refocused her attention on her phone. 'That girl is sharp.' He thought to himself. Blunt as a hammer and about as delicate, that summed Anya up rather well. That, and a general lack of common courtesy from time to time. "Thank you all for your input, I have to say you all made strong points." Leaning back into his seat, Bismarck shared his own position.

"I doubt Cornelia would enjoy our interference in her war on terror in Area Eleven, but we will definitely be keeping our forces on standby in Area Seven in case things deteriorate unexpectedly quickly." A cautious pragmatic approach with minimal interference in Cornelia's affairs would probably be the best option. The Commander-General of the Britannian military was roughly equal in rank to the Knights of the Round, but add on to the fact that Cornelia was the Second Princess and it was clear that the best decision would be to avoid stepping into her war and on her pride without her permission if it wasn't absolutely necessary.

Princess Cornelia had always been independent and the Sword of Britannia would respect her wishes so long as they didn't conflict with the defense of the Empire.


(Paris, Europia United – Command-General Private Office – 3:53 pm – 12 Vendémiaire – Revolutionary Year 227)

Gene Smilas observed his two subordinates two days after the events in Kawaguchi. He had allowed them a day off so that they could rest before they gave their report, though he had requested they write down as much as they could recall informally on their day off so that the information would be as accurate as possible. It was best to get a report from someone when it was fresh in their minds after all.

Akito was lounging on his office couch, feet kicked up on the coffee table as he stared up at the ceiling contemplatively. His hands were clasped over his stomach as he relaxed comfortably. Leila was sitting next to him, sitting up straight with her hands holding a cup of some tea that she had been sipping on for the past few minutes. Both were dressed in their W-01 uniforms, though not up to typical regulation standard.

"I've read your informal reports and I will be expecting your formal ones later this week, for now I want to talk about Zero and your encounter with him." Smilas broke the silence, noticing Leila pause for a moment before she took another drink from her tea. "I also want to hear your perspectives on the Kawaguchi speech." At that, the Commander-General noticed a slight twitch from Akito and filed that reaction away for later.

He wouldn't like it, but if Akito was having second thoughts regarding his loyalty to Europia then he would have to relieve him of his duties, despite being the best pilot in the W-0 unit.

"I misjudged him, slightly." Akito spoke first, admitting he had been wrong regarding his first impression. "When we met, I could tell by the way he spoke with us that he wasn't all talk like I thought when I watched his first appearance at Kururugi's death parade." A smirk graced his face for a moment. "I think he hams it up for the camera more than anything else, but off camera he holds himself almost like you, General." He looked at the Commander-General out of the corner of his eye at that. "There wasn't any part of that situation Zero didn't have a plan for, even if our appearance was unexpected." Akito admired the kind of skill that took, considering there were so many unexpected variables surrounding the events of that night. Zero hadn't panicked, even when the building began crumbling to the ground.

"I agree with my Lieutenant's assessment, General." Leila spoke, swirling her tea as she thought about that night. "Zero holds himself like a performer when he's in front of a camera, but when he's in charge of an operation he holds himself like an experienced commander. I don't believe that it would be smart to underestimate him just because of his theatrics." Indeed, underestimating Zero was a mistake she didn't think anyone intelligent would be making after that night.

The speech he gave, it gave her chills down her spine. It almost felt like he was declaring war on the world with that declaration, rather than just Britannia. And the rhetoric he used, it was certainly powerful if it could move even her. Leila knew she was loyal to Europia, but even she couldn't help but agree with some of the ideals Zero had shared in that speech.

Akito remained silent, going over that night once again. When he heard that speech, the pilot had gotten a sense that the man behind that mask was someone who could change the world. His words and his convictions, they were powerful. The Lieutenant of W-0 wondered if this was what it would be like to have heard a speech made by a man like Napoleon.

Zero's insistence that his fight was a revolution certainly lent itself to certain parallels.

Smilas closed his eyes, leaning back into his chair as he considered their words. "Zero is an interesting man, watching him and his revolution will certainly be an interesting experience." He had studied Napoleon and other famous revolutionaries throughout history, but he hadn't expected one to be born in his lifetime. Zero would shake the world to its core if he continued to follow his path. Smilas wasn't sure how he felt about that, despite knowing that the revolutionary was currently focused on Britannia.

Revolution wasn't exactly something that could be contained within one nation. Though that was a consideration for another time.

"Tell me about this girl you mentioned, Nemo was it?" Smilas skimmed over some of his papers, trying to find the sheet with that name.

"Yeah, it's almost certainly an alias." Leila spoke, considering she was the one who brought up her conversation with Nemo before the lifeboat had cut her off from further questioning. "I don't believe that she is a well-known member of his Black Knights, but Zero certainly appeared to trust her enough to watch his back." It still bothered Leila that a girl two years younger than her was so deeply involved in terrorist activities. Nemo, whoever she was, should be worrying about boys and who she wanted to date, not how many people she would be killing on the next operation.

"I believe you mentioned a conversation with her in your report, but you didn't detail it." Gene looked seriously at Leila, who was staring down at her empty cup pensively. "What did you talk about?" He suspected it was something his subordinate didn't want on the record, but he still needed to know if he was going to be able to operate with all the information.

"We talked about why she was following him." Leila answered honestly, wondering whether or not she should mention the last part of their conversation. Ultimately, she decided that it was necessary for her superior to know, but she wanted it kept under wraps. "She's younger than me, but I can tell that she will follow Zero to the end." A sigh escaped her lips, as she recalled what the fourteen-year-old had told her. "She referred to him as her "King" and said that she truly believed that he was the future of this world. Her faith in him is unshakeable."

Smilas felt his forehead begin to sweat slightly, a sense of unease overcoming him as he asked for clarification. "Did Zero give any hint that you believe would point towards him desiring to become a King or anything similar?" He needed to know, if Zero desired to become King of this world, then he needed to be aware as soon as possible.

The last thing he wanted was for her of all beings to get involved right now, when things were so unstable.

"No, I believe that it was simply her own choice of words." Leila answered, as she was honestly relieved. While the child Empress of the Chinese Federation was a just ruler, the Emperor of Britannia ranked among the worst of history's monarchs in her mind.

Leila wasn't eager to see a third monarch in the world rise in Japan, she had no clue what kind of King Zero would be, but she wasn't eager to find out.

"I see." Gene smiled slightly before dismissing his worry. It appeared it was simple zealotry on Nemo's part and not actual ambition on Zero's. 'That's good.' He thought to himself before moving on to the simplest area of the report.

"Did Cornelia give you any issues when you delivered Kusakabe to her on Zero's behalf?" Smilas hadn't appreciated the masked man using his subordinates to hand over his own prisoner, though he could understand why the man had done it.

Getting near Cornelia after that speech would have been extremely stupid as there was no way she wouldn't take him into custody.

"She merely wanted to know if we had any intention of supporting him beyond giving her his prisoner." Leila answered, ignoring Akito's snort. Her Lieutenant was of the opinion that Cornelia would have loved to have the excuse to arrest them as collaborators after she saw his race. "I told her that the E.U. has never had the policy to help terrorists and that this was the only contact we had with Zero. It was helpful to have Euphemia to back us up on our claims." That conversation had been frosty, but it hadn't been too bad.

"I see, you gave a good answer." Smilas wasn't happy about the incident at Kawaguchi, but at least his people had managed to get out of it relatively unscathed. And with Zero causing havoc in Japan, Britannia would be less able to conduct their war against Europia.

It looked like Zero would be inadvertently helping them, and yet they would be unable to return the favor.


(Tokyo Settlement, Area Eleven – Viceroy Palace – October 3 – 5:05 pm – 2017 a.t.b.)

The Viceroy placed the preliminary reports down on her desk and looked at her two Knights of Honor and her sister as she leaned back in her seat. "Please, begin your official report." She ordered her two Knights, having asked them to prepare another analysis of Zero based on the events a few days ago. She was planning on meeting with the Lloyd and Madd separately later in the week, she had barely been able to slip this meeting in at the end of the day.

Her schedule was pretty much booked until the week ended since she had to deal with the international fallout from the Sakuradite Accords being hijacked. She was lucky the other members of the Accords had accepted her proposal of a video-conference meeting at the end of the week. If Britannia wasn't the one in control of Area Eleven she had no doubt they would have been shut out of negotiations for their failure to protect the diplomats.

Darlton held his head up with his fist on his cheek as he closed his eyes in thought. "Zero is even more opportunistic than we originally thought, able to take the situation and turn it into an unparalleled advantage for himself." Darlton sighed. "And then there's the content of his message, I would not be surprised if the ranks of the Black Knights swell with new blood after that speech of his. And even if they increase less than our projections he has essentially ensured that no Number would be willing to report on Black Knight activities by separating himself from other terrorist groups like the JLF." Policing the Ghettoes was already a nightmare, it would be damn near impossible to get strong intel on Zero's organization from the Elevens now.

Guilford nodded in agreement with Darlton's assessment before he gave his own. "Darlton is right." He began slowly. "We have already experienced three confirmed terrorist attacks in the days after the Kawaguchi Incident, with seven remaining unconfirmed. Though none of the attacks appear to be perpetrated by the Black Knights." He frowned in consternation. "It appears that they're sticking to their message of being different, out of all of the attacks only one claimed to be operating on behalf of the Black Knights and today he was hung in the public square in one of the Ghettoes with a placard listing his crimes stapled to his chest." Guilford paled and gulped for a moment. "His throat was slit deep and the list was written in his blood." The Knight of Honor had a feeling that few other groups would take that foolish course of action.

It was clear Zero didn't tolerate those acting in his name without his explicit orders.

"Zero runs a tight ship it seems." Cornelia murmured, a sense of respect arising within her for a moment before she squashed it. Still, it would be easier to keep track of what wasn't a Black Knights related incident this way. "Alright, thanks to your preliminary report I already have the updated personality profile, you may leave." It was annoying, but if she wanted to speak with her sister about her encounter with Zero she needed to rely more on the preliminary reports of her Knights than their oral one.

Cornelia preferred to speak with her subordinates when they gave her reports because that way she could question any assumptions they were making or ensure they clarified a point she thought important. But her time was limited and only one of the people in this room had met with Zero alone and that was her sister, so it was time for her report.

Cornelia dismissed her Knights of Honor and stared down at her desk before taking a deep breath. "Okay then, time for your report Sub-Viceroy." The Second Princess had given her sister a day off to recover from the Kawaguchi ordeal, but now it was time to get the report from her sister regarding what had gone on within the hotel.

"Understood Sis–, I mean, Viceroy." Euphemia stuttered for a moment before she regained her composure. "The JLF arrived about an hour before the meeting was to begin, I was walking around observing the local landscape when five armed men forced my guard and myself into a storage room where they contained nearly a dozen individuals." The Third Princess shifted in her seat, uncomfortable with the formal tone she had to use, but she pushed through despite her discomfort.

"Over the next hour they kept bringing in more and more hostages, unfortunately I lost count of the total in the chaos. We were all left alone surrounded by guards for about an hour before two men came in and brought one of the hostages out." Euphemia squeezed her hands together on her lap as she thought about that man and the others who had been taken. "From that point forward, they would take out one person every half hour." A shuddered breath escaped the pink-haired Princess' lips as she repressed her sadness to continue.

"A little after the fourth hostage had been taken, there was word that Zero had appeared, spreading around the hostages and the guards." Euphemia closed her eyes, remembering the strange meeting she had with the masked revolutionary on that boat. "There was a young girl, perhaps around my age or a little younger."

She recounted the incident that followed as detachedly as she could, though she couldn't prevent her anger from escaping into her tone completely. "A guard was about to harm her, so I stood up and demanded to speak with their leader." A soft smile graced her face as she recalled the support she got and the look of gratitude on the girl's face. "Three others rose to support me and we were escorted to the room where they were hiding their leader."

Her smile vanished as she recalled the grisly scene from that night. "There was blood everywhere and Zero was standing by a man who was unconscious, two of the others who stood with me k-killed the guards that had escorted us into the room." Euphemia shuddered slightly at how brutally efficient the two of them had been.

"Zero recognized me instantly, but not the three others. They introduced themselves as Leila, Akito, and Xingke." Cornelia raised an eyebrow at the names so she explained further at her sister's unspoken question before continuing. "Leila and Akito were guards for the delegation from the E.U. and Xingke was the guard for the Chinese Federation's delegation. After that, Zero didn't bother to introduce himself, but he gestured down to his prisoner and said he was Kusakabe, the man responsible for the incident." Euphemia paused momentarily, before continuing despite her misgivings.

"There was another person with Zero, a young girl who stood by his side without any hesitation." Cornelia's eyes widened in surprise at that. "He introduced her as 'Nemo' but she didn't say anything to me. From there, everything went so fast and the building started to come down." Euphemia started to hyperventilate, her words coming out faster than normal. "Zero took us down to his ship and before I knew it, he and I were alone and talking." The Third Princess gulped slightly, feeling herself begin to sweat. "I-I asked why he killed our brother, and he said it was because of the "blood running in his veins" I think he has something against the Imperial Family." Euphemia felt herself become lightheaded, leaning forward in her seat to try and recover her sense of balance.

"I was so scared that he was going to kill me." She rasped with her heart pounding in her chest, blinking rapidly. "But he said a Devil always keeps their word and that he had promised to rescue me, so he wouldn't kill me."

A fluttering sound marked Cornelia's rapid response to Euphemia's distress, her cloak flaring behind her as she left the seat behind her desk to hold onto her sister tightly, offering a comforting presence. "It's okay Euphie, it's okay." The Second Princess whispered softly, running her fingers through the pink tresses of her beloved little sister. "You're safe now, I promise." Her eyes flared with rage at Zero for how he had terrified Euphie, her violet eyes glowing with murder.

Devil was indeed an apt description of the masked man Cornelia believed, especially if he could invoke such fear in her sister without even being present, but it was interesting that he chose to refer to himself as such in a private conversation. She recalled a statement that Zero had made a moment before he had finished moving through her blockade, something along the lines of what Euphemia had shared with her.

Cornelia herself wasn't religious, but that didn't mean she was unaware of the entity that punished the wicked down in Hell. 'Does he have some sort of complex or does he hate himself so much that he doesn't see a problem comparing himself to the being that supposedly is the greatest evil?' Cornelia dismissed these thoughts for another time, knowing that there was some underlying reason why a man who spoke of justice was so willing to compare himself to a Devil.

This "Nemo" individual would be one to watch for as well, if Zero trusted her enough to watch his back so readily.

"Come on, let's get you some fresh air." Cornelia spoke, directing Euphemia towards an elevator. "I think you would enjoy the gardens Clovis has on the roof." Her brother, despite his fallen reputation, was still an artistic genius. When Cornelia had seen his gardens, she had stood in shock for a good hour, her mouth gaping wide as she beheld the sight of some of her happiest, and saddest, memories.

The Aries Villa had been closed off ever since Lelouch and Nunnally's exile, but Clovis had managed to recreate it from sheer memory after being appointed Viceroy.

After they arrived, Cornelia shifted herself and Euphemia so that they comfortably relaxing on one of the many hills of the rooftop replica. Cornelia rested Euphemia's head in her lap, allowing her the chance to calmingly caress the Third Princess to help her relax.

As the Viceroy stared down at her sister's face, a rare smile graced her own. "I know I shouldn't be, but I truly am happy Zero managed to save your life." Cornelia had scolded Euphemia for her actions the day before, but she knew that, if her sister could go back and do it all over again, there wasn't any way her brave little sister would behave differently.

"As am I, dear sister." Euphemia responded, still a little disoriented from her near panic attack. However, she felt herself begin to calm down once she started to recognize her surroundings, causing a soft smile to spread across her face.

Switching subjects to the prisoner she had been given, Cornelia shared some information. "I should be able to get the information regarding the base of the JLF soon thanks to that prisoner as well." Truly, she had been genuinely surprised when the three guards from the E.U. delegation and the Chinese Federation delegation gave her an unconscious Kusakabe, calling him a gift from Zero. Still, it hadn't been much of a surprise that Zero hadn't delivered the man himself, but she still had to question the three to determine whether or not they were working for Zero. She hadn't gotten that impression from that short conversation, thankfully, though she had been immediately suspicious of the Eleven man who had apparently emigrated to Europia after the invasion.

Still, despite her uneasy feeling around him, she didn't think he worked with or for Zero.

"I will soon be able to finally rid this Area of those relics." Her eyes shifted slightly, looking up as her thoughts shifted gears again. 'Although, the Black Knights will almost certainly take their place, and with Zero by their side.' She closed her eyes and brushed a few fingers through Euphemia's hair. 'That man will be difficult to defeat.' The message Zero shared with the world in that speech of his was one that appealed to people from almost all walks of life. And his charisma and theatrics would ensure everyone paid attention to his words.

Even the title given by the Britannian media, Zero's Grand Proclamation, was something that signaled even they were reluctant to insult the ideals Zero had espoused.

"Doesn't this place look familiar, Cornelia?" Euphemia asked, sensing her sister's dark musings and wanting to cheer her up. "It looks a lot like Aries."

Indeed. "I found a few documents leftover from Clovis' time as Viceroy, apparently he had the landscapers recreate Aries Villa from his memories." Cornelia smiled softly. "They worked from a painting he had crafted in less than a week." Clovis had been a good man once, whatever had sparked him to consider a massacre to be the right solution had been something that terrified him. She couldn't believe that her brother, who had always been so soft and so kind, could have changed so much.

"It reminds me of the time we spent playing with Lelouch and Nunnally." Euphemia admitted, a sad smile spreading across her face from her position in her elder sister's lap. "I miss them so much." A few tears dripped down her face, sliding from her cheeks to her sister's legs. "I just wish their bodies had been recovered."

Cornelia stared quietly at her crying sister, uncomfortable with that line of conversation. There had been pictures of their bodies strung up on the shrine gates, but Cornelia had never allowed her sister to see them. But she was right, the bodies, they had never been found. "I swear Euphie, once I have cleansed Area Eleven of the terrorists that disturb the peace, I will personally hold a memorial service for them." Their deaths had been announced, but their names had remained hidden from the public as was Britannian policy regarding children of the Imperial Family under the age of fourteen.

It would be appropriate, she felt, to dedicate the end of violence in Area Eleven to her beloved half-siblings.

"I hope Nunna and Lelou are happy." Euphie sat up before she was enveloped in a hug from Cornelia. She turned wrapped her arms around her elder sister and cried, just thinking about how close it was to the date of Marianne's assassination made her emotional.

"I'm sure they and Lady Marianne are all happy, spending time together in the heavens." Cornelia reassured her sister, despite her lack of religious belief. While she was an atheist, she knew what her beloved sister needed right now was comfort.

A little white lie on her part, but it was worth it to see Euphie smile in happiness.


(Forbidden City, Chinese Federation – Empress Private Chambers – 11:07 pm – October 3 – Restoration Year 100)

Xingke opened the door before him and leaned against the wall after shutting it, feeling content as he watched over his dear Empress as she prepared for bed. Lihua was brushing her long white hair carefully as she looked at his reflection in her mirror.

"Hello, Xingke, I'm glad you made it home safe." The Tianzi spoke quietly, a smile on her face. "I hope the Eunuchs didn't give you too much trouble when you gave your report." Her face flickered slightly and her smile faded as she recalled being shut out of the meeting because discussing such matters wasn't appropriate for her young ears, according to the Eunuchs. She had no doubt they'd be giving her a heavily censored version of Xingke's report, if they even kept his report in his own words at all.

If it weren't for Xingke she'd have no idea of the truth that the Eunuchs hid from her every day. He always made an effort to help her uncover reality beneath the lies of her advisors.

"It is good to see you, Your Majesty." Xingke bowed at the waist. "You honor me with your kind words." He was glad he had been able to return to her safely. He swore to himself once more, he would protect Jiang Lihua till his dying breath. "My report went about as smooth as could be expected." The Eunuchs kept implying he was collaborating with Zero to take down the Empress during the meeting, but they had tried to trick him into saying something treasonous on a regular basis so it wasn't hard to avoid the obvious traps they set for him.

The Empress slid off her stool and shuffled over to Xingke as he remained bowed. She cupped his chin and tilted his face up, giving him a smile. "We are friends, Xingke, you don't need to bow to me in private like this." Lihua had no friends aside from memories and Xingke, she didn't want him to act formal like this in private too. With a giggle, she removed her hand and skipped to her bed, plopping herself down on to her back with her arms spread wide. "Now, please tell me what it was like." The Tianzi rolled herself over on her bed until her chin was supported by her hands and her feet kicking in the air. "What was it like? Meeting Zero in person." Her voice was glowing with giddiness, her admiration for Zero had only grown after the events two nights ago.

The Eunuchs had been unable to change the television to a channel that wasn't showing Zero's speech, which meant they had been utterly unable to hide the truth from her. It had been difficult, preventing herself from reacting but her heart had been filled with joy and admiration for what Zero had said and done.

Xingke smiled indulgently, all too happy to share what little he had managed to learn about the man who was already giving hope to his Empress for the first time in so long. "I have to admit, I was wrong about him when we first discussed him." After that night, everything had changed. "If there is anyone who can stand against Britannia it is definitely Zero and his Black Knights. I didn't have the chance to speak with him." Xingke admitted, drawing a pout from Lihua. "But from what I could gather while observing him, I could tell that he is far more capable than I originally gave him credit for."

"What else can you tell me about him?" Lihua asked through a yawn, shifting in her bed to slip under the covers. She fluffed up a pair of her pillows and laid down as Xingke continued to regale her with his encounter with her hero.

"I believe Zero can succeed with his revolution." Xingke whispered quietly as the young Tianzi began to drift off. "And, if the ideals he shared in his message to the world were true, I believe he can help save our nation." Lihua's breath evened out as she nodded off, having stayed up later than normal to welcome him home.

As Xingke watched his dear Empress sleep, he held onto the hope Zero had ignited in him for the first time in a long time. 'I swear, one day My Empress, one day you will sit upon your Dragon Throne without the parasites in the shadows sucking our nation dry.' He swore to himself.

Even if it cost him his life, he would see to it that Jiang Lihua was able to reign as the kind Empress he knew she could be once she was no longer chained down by the High Eunuchs.


(Tokyo Settlement, Area Eleven – Ashford Academy Rooftop – 12:23 pm – October 3 – 2017 a.t.b.)

Suzaku breathed deeply as he rested his arms on the railing on the roof of an Ashford Academy building. 'Why would you defend Zero, Lelouch?' He wondered silently to himself as he looked out over the school he attended. He had just had an argument with his best friend about Zero and what he and the Black Knights were trying to accomplish, and when they were interrupted by Shirley, who had a box filled with more toys for Arthur, he chose to leave so that he could get a little fresh air.

Suzaku was of the belief that if they wanted to create meaningful change the Black Knights needed to do it from within existing systems so that there would be as little instability as possible. Instability would lead to a massive loss of life, to see the proof of this Suzaku only had to look at how many people had died due to terrorist attacks in the past seven years. If people had just accepted reality and bowed their heads so many people would still be alive.

Lelouch disagreed. Vehemently. He said that no true change could be made within Britannia's system and so it was better to just burn it all to the ground. Or so Suzaku had assumed based on Lelouch's apparent belief that Zero and his followers were taking the only route that would actually change the system by fighting to tear it down.

Their debate had been close to getting heated, so Suzaku was glad he managed to leave before things escalated further.

On the plus side, maybe Shirley would be able to ask Lelouch out now. Something always seemed to get in the way whenever the girl tried so Suzaku tried to set things up as soon as he saw a chance for her. He hoped Nunnally would approve, Lelouch deserved a little happiness in his life.

"Why are you up here, Suzaku?" Alice's voice sounded behind him, prompting him to turn. Alice had one hand on the door as she shut it, her eyes curious as she looked at him. "Classes will be starting soon." The door clicked shut as the fifteen-year-old blonde walked over and stood beside him. "I won't be late for classes, I just needed to be alone for a bit." Suzaku didn't understand why Lelouch was so willing to watch as his nation was burned to the ground. "Lelouch and I were arguing about Zero, things were getting heated so I left."

"What?" Alice blinked, feeling surprised. "Why were you arguing?" She would've thought Lelouch would be against Zero considering how destructive he had the potential to be.

"Lelouch isn't fond of Britannia's Social Darwinism, he considers that belief system to be repugnant because according to it Nunnally has no place in a world where Britannia rules." Suzaku explained as best he could without revealing any of Lelouch's secrets.

"Ah." Alice understood now. "That makes sense, I can understand why he would be against it, but why does he think Zero is a better option than Britannia?" Even if Zero had said some pretty words at Kawaguchi he was still a terrorist.

"I don't think he believes Zero is a better option." Suzaku defended his friend. "I believe Lelouch is better than that." Still, Suzaku did have to concede one point to his friend.

If it hadn't been for the Black Knights their friends would probably be dead. That left a bitter taste in Suzaku's mouth, considering it had been due to his failure that their friends had needed to rely on the Black Knights.

Alice pat Suzaku on the back. "Let's just head to class, everyone here has been talking about Zero and the Black Knights too much for my tastes." Alice grinned as she took Suzaku by the hand and dragged him off the roof. "Let's just focus on the hell of school before we have to get back to training." Alice noticed that Colonel Madd had increased the pace of their training a lot after what had happened two nights ago.

Suzaku's training had also increased in light of Zero's speech, strictly enforced by Lloyd in order to keep up with the Irregulars, or so Alice had found out when they both showed up to school tired to the bone this morning.

Still, Alice couldn't get what her Colonel had said about the Black Knights' flag. How similar it looked to a sigil they had discovered on the Witch's body. The Irregulars had been ordered by Colonel Madd to keep it to themselves. Even from Cornelia since she was only aware of the artificial Geass powers they all had and not the traditional kind they had discovered were possible, they didn't want the Viceroy asking questions.

'Just how many people does Zero have with the power of Geass?' Alice wondered in slight fear as she and Suzaku made their way to their classes, splitting up once they reached the divide between middle school and high school. 'Could Zero be the Witch whose cells have cursed me with this power?' She wondered as she looked at the palm of her hand, clenching her fist as her veins pulsed out uncontrollably for a moment. She'd need to get her shots soon, or her body would begin fighting with her curse again.

Walking into the classroom, Alice dismissed thoughts relating to her life beyond Ashford Academy, not wanting to think about that part of her life right now.

She just wanted to be with her friend.


(Pendragon, Britannia – Thought Elevator – 6:16 pm – October 3 – 2017 a.t.b.)

Charles zi Britannia, Emperor of the Holy Britannian Empire, felt the signs of someone entering the Thought Elevator. The identity of the individual was made obvious when he heard the small steps of a child behind him. "V.V., to what do I owe the pleasure?"

V.V. smiled as he walked up next to his younger sibling, his childlike face giving him a cherubic appearance. His long blond hair flowed behind him like a golden waterfall as he stood beside his beloved brother and stared up at the magnificent sky. The sun, as always, was setting on the horizon, shading this realm in perpetual twilight.

The immortal boy pulled a folder with a stack of papers concealed within from his robes before he handed it to the Emperor. "Here is a list of operatives who could take care of our Zero problem, I feel it is best if we try to nip this so-called revolution in the bud." V.V. wasn't one to take risks when it came to the Ragnarök Connection and Zero, no matter if he was limited to a single nation for the moment, represented a threat.

The symbol on his flag symbolized that clearly enough, V.V. was willing to bet C.C. had managed to give whoever was behind that mask a rather powerful Geass. The immortal blond frowned at that thought, knowing it would be some time before he reached C.C.'s effectiveness with contracts, his were still flawed from time to time.

She had the Code for centuries, he had his for merely decades. Compared to the mastery she held over her power, he was a novice fumbling blindly in the dark. If she had accepted his request to teach him rather than making him find out on his own, he probably wouldn't have been petulant enough to tell Clovis how to imprison her for over half a decade.

Or maybe he would have, he could be impulsive like that sometimes.

The Emperor accepted the folder and skimmed through it before he handed it back to his elder brother. "I don't believe this will be necessary. Zero is confined to Area Eleven and will be for some time. Killing him now would simply make him a martyr and destabilize the region further, perhaps putting our Sakuradite exports at risk."

That would be unacceptable. Britannia relied heavily on Sakuradite for weapons development and if the Empire wanted to continue its domination of the world for the sake of obtaining more Thought Elevators then they would need the Sakuradite resources the island colony was filled with.

Seventy percent of the world supply lay within that Area. That, combined with the resources Britannia already had access too, gave them an unparalleled advantage even if they had to split the spoils with the other two superpowers.

V.V. sighed. "Yes, but don't you think a little short term instability is better than risking that man succeeding? He obviously has a Geass, the damn sigil is on his flag." The immortal ten-year-old most certainly did not pout. He was too dignified for that. "C.C. is in Area Eleven, if we send an operative in to kill Zero we may find her and be able to bring her back in the fold." V.V. really wanted to do something to hurt C.C., she was always taunting him with his inexperience as a Code Bearer or hiding something from him.

She pissed him off. A lot.

"C.C. will return soon enough, that woman is fickle but I know what she desires most in this world." Charles smirked as he looked out of the corner of his eye at his immortal sibling. "Her desperate wish to die will eventually bring her to our side once more."

V.V. huffed before he put the folder back in his robes. He turned on his heel and began walking back to the exit, needing to handle something as Director. "Don't blame me if this comes back to bite us, you should listen to your elder brother more often, My Lord Emperor." V.V.'s childish taunting faded away as he teleported out of the realm of Gods to the world of men.

Charles clenched his fist as he stared at where his brother had vanished, one thought ringing through his mind. 'Soon, dear brother. Soon, you will pay for what you did to my beloved Marianne.'

His brother would pay in blood for what he did to the one woman on the planet that he honestly, truly loved.


I thought it would be appropriate to include another chapter in the same vein as my "Reactions" chapter and I think I will do it for a few other major instances down the road. Don't worry though, I won't have a "reactions" styled chapter for every chapter, just what I feel are the most major events in the story so that I can build on the world and showcase more characters for the sake of my story.

Hope you enjoyed the first chapter today, please read and review if you liked it.

King Draconias Over and Out.