"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

I'm sorry this took so long to get out and that it's not the multiple chapter release I promised. I have high standards for what I consider to be a chapter worth posting for this and other stories, but with how busy I have been with my classes this semester, trying to set up classes so I can graduate in the spring, and making sure my application to law schools are prepared, I just have very little free time to write quality material. And I refuse to deliver low quality material for the sake of a speedy update.

Still, I wanted to get something out on this date considering how special it is for Code Geass fans. October 21st is the date we get the first true new content we've gotten in almost a decade and I wanted to finish out Narita at the same standard as the original material I respect so much.

I hope you enjoy my chapter wrapping up Narita and the first compilation movie in equal measure (though I won't blame anyone for preferring the compilation movie to my story, as I will once I can watch it either subbed or dubbed).

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, despite how long it is.

Welcome, to the Battle of Narita where Britannia is forced to recognize the true might of the Black Knights.


Chapter 16: Baptized In Fire Part II


The Battle of Narita was… difficult. More difficult than I expected.

My strategy was executed to perfection by my soldiers, the enemy overrun and confused long enough for us to gain an insurmountable advantage despite how outnumbered we were by the total forces present on that mountain. In a world where infantry is being steadily replaced by Knightmare pilots, there were more Knightmare Frames deployed by Britannia in this battle since the final conquest of Area Eighteen.

That, combined with the number of Knightmare forces the JLF was capable of fielding, and did field for that battle, led to my forces being woefully outnumbered. If I had to estimate, I would say the forces of the Holy Britannian Empire and the Japan Liberation Front, both their Knightmare and non-Knightmare forces, outnumbered us by a ratio of at least fifteen to one for active personnel, it is still a genuine miracle the Black Knights were victorious in this battle today.

Were it not for my use of the terrain as a tactical weapon, I am certain we would have lost the day. My plan succeeded in reducing the enemy forces by an absurd degree, rumors have been spreading that say the Empire lost around eighty percent of the forces they fielded for that battle. As the numbers are unlikely to ever be released to the public, I may never know the full extent of damage that occurred.

The JLF didn't get in my way, and in fact had been rather useful during the battle, but after they had their glory usurped by the Black Knights, their power has waned as much as it could without outright vanishing. One more push, and the JLF will collapse, leaving only my forces as the clear choice to free these lands from the Empire's grasp.

However, that is not to say I succeeded.

I was thwarted during my attempt to capture Cornelia. I swear, whoever the pilot of that damn Lancelot is, they sure have a talent for showing up at the absolute worst possible time.

And his allies, those… Knightmares, if they can even be called such considering how human they appeared, forced me to reveal far more than I was comfortable with in order to survive. Truly, the Irregulars are a unique force within Britannia's military. They will present a problem to me in the future, I am certain of it.

Regardless, the Battle of Narita was the one that put the Black Knights on the map as a fighting force that can match the Britannian military machine, but I have learned that it is far more difficult to personally lead my forces than I originally thought.

These wounds of mine need more treatment, so I shall conclude this entry tonight. Even a miracle worker needs his rest after all.

~Chronicles of Zero: First Post-Narita Entry of Zero's Journal

Compiled by Ried; 1st Chair of Historical Records


(Narita Settlement, Area Eleven – Mt. Narita – Remains of Code R Facility – 1:13 pm – October 14 – 2017 a.t.b.)

The young girl entitled Subject: Refrain by the administrators of Code R groaned as she shook herself awake. Her eyes flickered open, though it was difficult to tell the difference since the lights weren't on and, with no natural light, the room she found herself awakening in was very much cloaked in darkness. She slowly pushed herself onto her hands and knees, coughing slightly as she breathed in the dust in the air. With difficulty, she managed to get her feet underneath her and raise herself up, though it appeared even a soft breeze might be able to blow her back down. None of her troubles were reflected in her eyes however, eyes that burned with a fury few could match as she finally managed to regain consciousness completely.

'Something must have happened to the facility.' She deduced easily enough, knowing those who kept her prisoner to harvest her blood for her curse would never allow her to move so freely. "But what?" She rasped quietly to herself, her voice raw from unconscious screaming and lack of general use. Suddenly, the sound of another person's coughing drew her attention over to an area that had once been a wall, but now only resembled a pile of earth. Her left eye flashed with crimson for a moment as she thought about the opportunity presented to her. A maniacal chuckle slipped through her lips as she slowly limped her way over to the man being crushed by the earth itself. "Well, well, well." The former prisoner rasped gleefully. "What wonderful misfortune seems to have befallen you…" Her eyes widened as she paused in her gloating, before they narrowed slightly in pity. "Oh, it's you." The green eyes of her caretaker stared up at her, a spark of something beyond her recognition alight within them.

Joseph Fenette laughed lightly despite his predicament. 'So, this is to be my fate for daring to trespass upon your sacred ground.' He thought to himself wryly as he stared up at the young girl who had been imprisoned and experimented upon by his colleagues.

He had removed her restraints after treating her and was preparing to take her to the transport arranged by the other administrators of Code R when he suddenly felt the world itself turn against him. Before he knew it, he found himself buried almost completely. The only parts of his body that were free were his right arm, the left being buried, and his head. Though by the looks of the room that wouldn't remain the case for long.

The young former prisoner stared at the man who was trapped by the dirt from above, wondering what to do. "You know," she began softly as she walked towards the man who had healed her after the experiments and had been generally the only individual involved in the project who treated her with a sense of basic dignity. "It would be so much easier to gloat if you were just like the rest of those sadistic bastards." Even though this man was a member of Code R, she was conflicted about her hatred for him. His concern for her wellbeing was genuine and he treated her well, but he still made no attempt to help her beyond what he was ordered to do.

"I'm sorry." The young Doctor replied softly as he remained trapped on his back. His right hand trembled as he slowly found himself reaching for the silver crucifix he had around his neck. "I wanted to set you free." He admitted softly to the young girl as she stepped up and stood over his soon to be corpse. "But my family and I would have been killed." Tears dripped from his eyes as he thought of his wonderful wife and his dear Shirley. "I couldn't allow my daughter to die, I'm sorry." He repeated his soft apology as he clenched the symbol of his faith as tight as he could with his shaking hand.

The former Irregular's face was empty of all emotion at the man's admission. "I do not forgive you." She responded to his apology honestly, some part of her wanting to hurt him by giving him the brutal, unvarnished truth. "You worked with these people to keep me prisoner and worked to keep me alive so they could continue to experiment on me." The sweet relief of death would have been preferable to some of the things she had experienced in Code R's tender care, but this man consistently denied her that.

"I understand." Joseph carefully moved his hand to hold up the cross he wore around his neck. "I know this is God's punishment to me for daring to help commit these atrocities and I have no doubt of where I will end up as a result of my sins, but please." He felt tears drip from his eyes as he beheld the cool hazel staring down at him. "Please." He repeated softly, coughing as he choked on the air and what tasted a little like iron as he slowly began to realize that being trapped beneath the mound of earth was the least of his injuries. "Don't waste your freedom now that you have the chance to live your life free of the machinations of these madmen." Joseph held up his silver cross, beseeching her to take it from him as a token of his sincere apology.

The young girl knelt down beside the dying man and gently placed her hand in his own, causing a shudder to erupt throughout his body as she took the cross. With a tug, the pendant broke and she beheld the polished silver in her dusty hands as the man below her convulsed. "You have no right to tell me how to live my life." She declared softly, turning on her heel and walking towards the only opening she could see as she gently brushed her fingers over the metal. There were two words inscribed upon the cross, on the horizontal part and another, longer one, on the vertical.

When the words were combined, the cross held a message that was beyond her limited knowledge of both religion and other languages, but one that sent a chill down her spine nonetheless.

Memento Mori.

She wondered what that meant exactly, her musings private as she ignored the man convulsing behind her, drowning in memories long since passed. As she left the room, parts of the ceiling collapsing behind her as the facility's structural integrity deteriorated further, her The Refrain gave her former caretaker some respite before his demise.

For that was her curse. Hers was the domain of memory, a curse that, once inflicted, trapped the target in the past until they were no longer able to function in the present.

That was the gift given to her by Code R and the cells of that damned witch. And it was that gift that had seen her spirited away from her loved ones to be made a guinea pig for the sake of advancing the interests of the glorious Britannian Empire.

Unfortunately for all those who had been party to her misfortune, she was going to make sure they paid for what they had done. She was going to gleefully drown in their blood as she took her vengeance upon those who would dare to play God. As she placed the cross around her own neck, a mad grin split her face and her hazel eyes flashed a bloody red in tandem with the mark upon her forehead.

Mao of The Refrain was free and she wasn't about to let anything stop her from claiming the lives of those who had ruined hers.


(Narita Settlement, Area Eleven – Valleys of Narita – 2:08 pm – October 14 – 2017 a.t.b.)

A sadistic grin graced Lelouch's face as he watched Cornelia stand against Kallen in the Guren Mk-II. Her gun had been shot out of her Gloucester's hands by his own weapon, her lance destroyed by the Guren's Radiant Wave Surger, and she had nothing left except for her Slash Harkens. Cornelia was pinned, her forces were decimated by the landslide, Nemo was undoubtedly wreaking havoc, and the JLF had managed to serve as enough of a distraction to prevent the Britannians from being able to effectively counter his Black Knights. He had even managed to witness Orange Boy get destroyed by the Guren, for even if the ejection system had prevented him from being blown to bits with his Knightmare the radiation alone should be enough to kill a normal man. The Purists' disgrace was finally complete after that, it brought joy to Lelouch's heart to know the most ardent supporters of that ideology in Area Eleven had fallen so low. Everything was going exactly as he'd planned, if not even better than he had expected.

So, naturally, that's when everything went to Hell.

"Zero-sama, move!" The Mark Nemo burst forth behind Zero's Knightmare, lunging forward as it intercepted the blade of a strange looking Knightmare before it could pierce Zero's cockpit from behind.

As soon as he heard the external speakers blast behind his Knightmare, Zero shot his Burai forward, spinning around and observing the clash between the two Knightmares. An explosion blasted behind him, forcing him to redirect his attention yet again and he narrowed his eyes, glaring through the screen as he caught sight of the Lancelot again. "D-Did he just blast his way through the damn mountain?!" Zero shouted in disbelief as he saw the Lancelot appear from the smoke, holding an odd rifle in front of it. Suddenly, another Knightmare appeared in the Lancelot's shadow before the white Knightmare engaged in battle with the Guren, freeing up Cornelia's weakened Gloucester. The two Knightmares that had accompanied him and Kallen were fighting off another odd Knightmare while the one that had followed the Lancelot charged directly towards him. 'Damn it!' How could everything go so wrong?!

Sitting in her cockpit with a look of shock after seeing the Lancelot blast its way through the mountain, Cornelia recovered her bearings while the Irregulars began to take out Zero's forces and the Lancelot engaged that odd red Knightmare that had almost defeated her. "What are you doing here?!" She had given no such order to deploy Camelot or the Irregulars.

"The Irregulars and the Lancelot are here to protect you, Your Highness!" Dalque shouted over the internal communications in response to Cornelia's incredulous query. "Direct orders from Princess Euphemia!" She sped forward with her GX-01 Knightmare to attack Zero's Burai, easily identifiable by the headpiece upon its Factsphere. Cornelia's response went unheard by Dalque as she flared her power and punched forward. The punch was blocked by the Burai's arms, but as her forehead glowed with her curse, the arms of Zero's Burai were crushed, forcing him to eject lest his cockpit be next.

Grabbing his helmet as he shot backwards, just flying over the top of the Mark Nemo and the other Knightmare Nemo was dueling, Zero growled angrily. "Damn it!" He had been so close! He put his helmet back over his head and bounced in his cockpit as he was suddenly stopped. "What now?!" Angrily, he activated his armor's strength enhancement, boosting the power of his right arm. With a vicious shout, he punched his way through the side of his cockpit, ignoring the burning in his arm as he tore his way free of his steel coffin.

"I've got him!" Lucretia shouted as she adjusted her controls to keep a grip on the ejected cockpit from Zero's Burai, preparing to move to take the masked terrorist prisoner. Her eyes widened as she saw the man who had been causing so much chaos on Narita break out of his cockpit and fall to the forest floor. "Zero broke free of his cockpit!" Lucretia announced, tossing the remains of Zero's Knightmare in her Knightmare's hands towards the fleeing masked man.

Zero dove into the valley where he had trapped Cornelia, just managing to avoid being hit by his own cockpit. He landed on his feet, but not without falling to his knees as his cockpit crashed to the ground a few meters away. He rose to his feet quickly and gathered his bearings as best he could. Four odd Knightmares had appeared with the Lancelot. One had followed in its shadow before attacking him directly, another had taken out the other Black Knights that had followed him, forcing them to eject into the forest, while the one that had caught his cockpit jumped down into the valley. The one that had tried to stab him in the back was holding its own against the Mark Nemo, its incredible speed preventing Nemo from breaking to his side, and the other three surrounded him, leaving him one potential escape route.

An escape route that was completely blocked off by Cornelia's almost weaponless, but still dangerous Gloucester.

Zero felt his right arm burn as he concealed his body beneath his cloak. He deactivated his strength boost, determined to preserve all future options. As he stood in the center of the valleys of Narita, surrounded in each of the cardinal directions by four Knightmares with the sounds of the Guren and the Mark Nemo engaged in combat, only one thought went through the mind of the masked revolutionary.

'Well, I'll finally find out the full capabilities of my armor now.' A Mini Filler had been implanted the day before, the pink glow of Sakuradite that flowed from the center of his back through the armor concealed by the cloak as it draped over the front of his body. One of the three pilots of the odd Knightmares spoke, revealing at least one of them was a young woman.

"Surrender Zero, there's no way you can escape now." Sancia ordered through her external speakers, adjusting herself in her seat to prepare to subdue the terrorist. She was on the left wall of the valley, Lucretia was directly across from her while Dalque was directly behind the terrorist. Alice was currently engaged with the odd Knightmare that had warned Zero of their impending assault. "If you give up you will be treated as a prisoner of war, and afforded all the protections such a title holds." That… might be a lie, but if it could convince the masked madman to surrender then she the Captain of the Irregulars was willing to give it a shot.

"I'm assuming you didn't offer the same considerations to Kusakabe." Zero responded dryly, not making any threatening motions as he pretended to give consideration to the pilot's statement. 'I suppose it's time.' He was curious about how well this plan would work. "I thank you for your generosity, pilot, but I think I'll take my chances with this." Quickly, he raised his right arm, ignoring the pain of the burns he had undoubtedly gained from his reckless efforts to break out of his cockpit, and pointed it straight at Cornelia's Gloucester. "D.O.M. Hostia system, activate." For the first time in battle, the Zero Armor unleashed the power that its creators had once thought would be the salvation of their nation. As one of the Knightmares charged, he ran forward towards the incapacitated Gloucester. The words that left his lips next were the only thing that gave him a fighting chance to survive.

"Full Augmentation, activate."

Zero's body burned. In between the plates of the indestructible material that made up his armor, the glow of Sakuradite could be seen as it enhanced his physical capabilities beyond his natural limits. 'I can't use this long, but if I want to survive against Knightmares, I don't have much choice.' He had never used this before, but if he figured if the armor could enhance individual portions of his body then it should be possible for a full enhancement to be initiated. And, as he sped forward and punched a hole straight into Cornelia's cockpit, her Gloucester having fallen to its knees after its power went out, he knew he had been right.

Ignoring the shocked sounds of the pilots behind him, he forced his other hand into the hole and began ripping a hole straight to Cornelia only to be met with the barrel of her pistol. He chuckled as he stared at her eyes, wide in shock as they saw him break into her Knightmare with his bare hands. "Hello Viceroy." He growled, his voice tinged with darkness as he allowed his madness to surface in order to distract himself from the pain he was in. Zero twisted his head to the side in an instant, avoiding the bullet fired from Cornelia's gun with almost casual ease as he chuckled again. "Come here." He hissed with a twisted grin behind his mask, reaching in with one arm while the other held her wrist to keep her gun pointed over his shoulder. His ears were ringing slightly, but it was better than attempting to find out whether his helmet was also indestructible. His other hand was mere inches from being able to grab a better hold of the Second Princess in order to drag her out before he felt a giant steel hand wrap its fingers around his midsection and rip him away from his target.

"Are you okay, Viceroy?!" Dalque shouted as she used her Knightmare to toss Zero back behind her. She had been shocked at the display of speed Zero had shown after he dodged her punch, the ground developing a crater due to her miss, but once she saw the terrorist begin to rip his way to the Princess, her training took over and she did the best she could to protect Cornelia.

Cornelia felt sweat drip down her cheek as her body shook, unnerved at how demonic the masked form of Zero had appeared as he attempted to take her captive. His dark mask had been bathed in the red light powered by the emergency functions of her cockpit and his voice, twisted by the voice modulator and tinged in a guttural tone of voice, had sparked a flicker of fear in her heart. Carefully, Cornelia placed her gun back in its holster on her side, ignoring the massive bruising on her wrist. "I'll live." She said, suppressing the tremor in her voice successfully. "Focus on Zero right now, but be careful." The Commander-General of the Holy Empire of Britannia, the Witch and Goddess that led her nation's forces to victory time and again, regained control over her faculties as she spoke her commands. "Zero's clearly got more tricks up his sleeve than just a silver tongue."

Even if the Irregulars were only Honorary Britannians, they were still undeniably useful and it would be a shame if they were defeated by whatever tricks Zero still had hidden beneath that cloak.

"Yes, Your Highness!" Dalque turned away from the damaged Gloucester that held the leader of Area Eleven and forced her Knightmare to stand tall, its fists out in front as she prepared to do her best to protect her per Euphemia's orders.

With a groan, Zero rose to his feet. He was forced to jump further back as the Knightmare that had engaged with the Mark Nemo jumped down into the valley, its blade directed right at him. He frowned behind his mask before he saw the Mark Nemo just a step behind, landing in front of him with an ease most pilots would never be able replicate. "Nemo, what's your status?" He asked, his mind running through his options. An explosion rang out further down the valley, where the Guren and Lancelot were fighting.

Nunnally panted as she clenched her fists in her cockpit, the crimson of her Geass shining stronger than it ever had before. She had chosen to use it in order to determine where she would be best suited to go after clearing yet another area of the forest and that was how she had been able to foresee the direct assault on Zero here in this valley. After dispatching the latest group of Sutherlands she found herself fighting with extreme prejudice, she had allowed her Geass to guide her as she rushed to her Onii-sama's side.

She had only just barely made it in time, her heart pounding and her blood froze as she screamed for her King to move. Whoever the pilots of these Knightmares were, their skills were not something she could afford to underestimate. There had been no time for talk as she dueled the one with the twin blades, but once it attempted to back into the valley to strike at Zero after he had been thrown back, and Nunnally dove in after to shield Zero, things began to slow down for the first time since the Lancelot and its allies appeared. At Zero's question she took a deep breath and sighed loudly, her external speakers activating as she wished. "I've been fighting a while, but I can continue, Zero-sama." It was difficult to respond without lying because she was exhausted after her earlier battles and her duel with this pilot across from her, but damn her to Hell if she abandoned her Onii-sama on the battlefield when he needed her.

'It's a girl.' Alice was surprised to hear the voice of a girl around her age come from the speakers of the Knightmare that had nearly killed her, and Dalque too, a few weeks ago. "You were in Saitama, weren't you?" Alice spoke from her Knightmare for the first time since her attempt to assassinate Zero had failed. "I remember that Knightmare of yours." A little bead of sweat dripped down her chin as she recalled just how close she had been to death when her cockpit had been speared by one of those yellow threads that floated menacingly around the dark Knightmare.

The Mark Nemo shifted, the katana blade held at a forty-five degree angle while the opposing Knightmare crossed its twin blades in an X-shaped guard, before its pilot responded. "Yes, I was." A smirk came across Nunnally's face as she felt some sweat drip down her neck. "I'm surprised you survived." The Blonde Knives waved around, taunting her opponents with the blood that coated the sharp whips. "Not many have been able to stand up to my assault and live to tell the tale." A twitch developed on her right cheek as she recalled the last one to survive her onslaught, the last of the Glaston Knights.

Nunnally hoped she'd be able to kill him herself in the future, leaving things unfinished on the battlefield really dampened her bloodlust. The White Witch didn't like that feeling.

"You shouldn't underestimate the Irregulars." Alice spoke, her Knightmare shifting as she waited for her opponent to begin her assault again. "What should we call you?" The wielder of The Speed asked, a taunting grin on her face. "I'd like to know so that I can fill out my casualty report later."

A dark laugh escaped Nunnally's lips at that statement. "You may call me Nemo." She answered, curious about her opponent despite herself. "And what should I call you?" A twisted grin split her face. "I'd like to know the name I should carve into your headstone." One of the Knightmares on the ledge of the valley shifted, aiming its large weapon at her and Zero.

"Nemo!" Zero's voice cut through the conversation, preventing the other pilot from responding as an explosion ripped from the device in one of the other Knightmare's hands. "Enough!" He shot back, his strength-enhanced legs burning as he managed to avoid the explosion while the Mark Nemo charged forward, one of the Blonde Knives deflecting any debris that was kicked up by the blast. "We need to capture Cornelia, now is not the time for conversation!" Digging his heels in, Zero shot through the legs of the Mark Nemo and the Irregular's Knightmare. Towards Cornelia's Gloucester and its guard.

The Irregulars, that's what the pilot had called her unit. 'So, these are the wielders of the artificial Geass.' Zero thought as he charged forward, prepared to dodge around the Knightmare in front of Cornelia's Gloucester with enhanced speed in order to get behind it and take his elder sister captive. His considerations about their identities, potential, and other things were helpful distractions as his body continued to suffer through the augmentations provided by his armor. Sakuradite continued to flow beneath the armor, through the internal circulatory system, and it felt almost as if someone was coating his body below the neck with some kind of acid.

Unfortunately, he would never reach Cornelia's Gloucester as the white leg of the Lancelot made contact with his chest and kicked the masked man into the sky over the forests of the burning mountain.


Suzaku blinked as he panted, realizing what he had just done. "Holy shit." A nervous laugh escaped his lips as he cursed. The Knightmare that had been fighting Alice sped off with a scream of "Zero-sama!" as the armored man went flying deep into the forest of Narita. "Uh, how are you all holding up?" He asked, his heart hammering in his chest as his adrenaline slowly began to fade away.

That red Knightmare had one hell of a pilot, whoever they were. The Lancelot had been pristine save for a little bit of dirt and debris from his trip through the mountain after he blasted a shortcut to the Viceroy. Now, it was missing a Sand Panel, one of the MVS blades had been destroyed by the red Knightmare's right hand after it unleashed some kind of energy pulse, and if his opponent hadn't fallen down the side of a cliff Suzaku was sure he'd still be fighting that pilot.

The last thing he had expected to happen when he rushed back to try and help out the Irregulars and protect Cornelia was to reflexively lash out at the charging figure of Zero and kick the poor son of a bitch over the forest. Sure, the guy was a terrorist and he was forcing Suzaku into an ideological battle with his homeland as the warzone, but the Lancelot's kick was meant for Knightmares, not humans.

Suzaku wanted to bring Zero in so he could be punished by the system he sought to destroy rather than change, killing him would only turn the man into a martyr and Suzaku didn't want to be responsible for the chaos that would result from what the Black Knights would do without Zero's guidance. The zealotry of the Black Knights would be taken to new heights if Zero became a dead martyr and things would only get worse in Area Eleven, but if Zero was tried and convicted, forced to face justice under the system, then perhaps things would end in a different, peaceful, way.

"We're good." Alice blinked after she watched the dark form of Nemo's Knightmare vanish into the distance. 'So fast.' No wonder it could keep up with her, even when she was using her The Speed. A deep sigh escaped her lips, though she had to repress a grunt as she felt the veins in her neck twitch. 'I'm gonna need another dose much sooner than I thought.' Alice had gotten the shot that prevented the witch's cells from destroying her only a little while ago, it wasn't supposed to be needed more than once a month, but since she had been forced to use her curse for such a long period of time during her battle against Nemo the cells were "awakening" again.

Occasionally the side-effects of the shot would make it difficult for her to attend school, she hoped that wouldn't be the case like it had been a little over a month ago.

"Okay." The Lancelot shifted as Suzaku regripped his controls and prepared to speed off in the direction he had kicked Zero. "I'll go recover the target, you all cover the Viceroy and get her to safety." He didn't know how the rest of the battle was going, but Cornelia wouldn't be able to fight in that Gloucester. With the affirmation from the Irregulars, the pilot of the Lancelot sped off to find the man who had plunged his homeland into chaos.


The first thing he noticed once he regained consciousness after he blacked out for a few seconds was the fact the land and sky kept alternating positions. The second thing he noticed was the pain. He began to descend after he his arc peaked, but he still didn't stop spinning literally head over heels until he managed to try and force himself to move despite the pain. Before Zero knew it, he hit the forest floor on his back and tumbled to a stop into a boulder, leaving a trail that revealed both his landing spot and how far he skidded after said landing. The boulder caved in after the impact of his back against it, giving the masked revolutionary a whole new concept of pain on top of the one he had just learned.

"Full… Augmentation deactivate." Zero wheezed painfully, the burning that signaled his armor's enhancements faded, leaving only a dull sort of tingle. In comparison to the massive bootprint the Lancelot had presumably left on his chest however, the pain that served as a side-effect of his armor's enhancing capabilities was negligible.

Slowly, very slowly, Zero breathed in and out in order to regain his bearings. He began assessing his injuries in order to get the full picture of the potential damage. It hurt to breathe, but it didn't feel like anything was broken. His armor must have taken the brunt of the blow and that, combined with the Sakuradite actively enhancing every aspect of his body, had likely protected him. 'When I find out who pilots that damn Lancelot, I'm going to make them pay.' He didn't know how, as he currently began to wiggle his toes before slowly working his way up his legs as he assessed any potential damage there, but Zero was going to find some way to make that pilot pay for doing what he did. Once he discovered that his legs were, for the most part, okay, he moved on to his arms. The only pain he could feel below his waist was the burning from the earlier enhancements. His arms on the other hand, felt more sore than usual.

Not all that surprising considering he had torn his way through solid steel. Twice.

Zero slowly gripped the dirt and shifted, his fingers barely responding as he made a fist and forced himself to sit up straight. "Zero-sama!" Nemo's voice resonated as the Mark Nemo disappeared in a bright light, leaving the young Witch in her usual attire as she rushed to his side. "My King, where does it hurt?" Nemo whispered as she gently tried to help him sit. Placing her finger on the communicator she had been given at the beginning of the battle, she tapped the second button to speak with the individual who had the third communicator. "S-01, our King is injured, please respond." There was a slight crackle before the assassin/maid replied.

"What are the nature of the injuries?" Sayoko's voice sounded both Lelouch and Nunnally's ears.

"Severe blunt force trauma." Lelouch grunted out through his own communicator that he activated inside his helmet, holding on to Nemo's shoulder as he attempted to stand. "If it weren't for my armor, I'd be paste right now." His arm was draped over the girl's shoulder as he rose, his cloak wrapped over both of them protectively. "What's the status of the battle?" Sayoko had chosen to remain there and oversee the battlefield with the rest of the support personnel, in order to assist with organizing their efforts. She also had access to information he no longer did with the loss of his Knightmare earlier in battle.

It was all on a laptop she could carry, so the screen was much smaller, but it ran the same program that the G-1 Command Centers the Britannian military used to track enemy combatants as well as allies in order to direct them with greater accuracy.

"Everything has gone according to your plan save for the attempt to capture Princess Cornelia." Sayoko's response was curt as she quickly changed the subject. "Milord, please do not move, I will direct someone to your location ASAP." With that, Sayoko deactivated her communicator, leaving the Black Devil and the White Witch alone in one another's pseudo embrace.

Lelouch groaned behind his mask, grasping at his chest with his right hand while the left remained draped over Nemo's petite body. "Thank you, Nemo, for saving my life." He spoke softly, careful to avoid aggravating his injury any further. If it hadn't been for her quick warning, he likely would have been stabbed in the back by that Irregular.

"I will always protect you, no matter what." Nunnally responded, her right arm wrapping itself around her Onii-sama's waist around his back while the other held his wrist as he draped his arm across her shoulders. "I love you, My King." Her voice was soft, but her words were powerful as she said them for the first time as Nemo, not Nunnally.

The moment was ruined by the sound of a Knightmare approaching, putting the pair on guard as a white Knightmare burst through the tree line and skidded to a stop a few meters away. Lelouch growled in the back of his throat. "Lancelot." There was a slight shift as Nemo adjusted her hold on him while responding to his short statement. "So, that's what it's called." Nemo's voice was quiet as her muscles grew tense.

Silently, the Lancelot pointed its rifle at the two individuals in its sights, but it didn't fire. Suzaku remained silent as he stared at the young girl holding up the masked madman, his eyes narrowed. 'Who is that?' Why was such a young girl fighting with terrorists? It wasn't right. Regardless, Suzaku had concerns more important than finding out the answer to that question. "Zero." Suzaku's distorted voice sounded from the Lancelot's external speakers. "In the name of Viceroy Cornelia and Sub-Viceroy Euphemia, the two of you are under arrest."

Both Zero and Nemo glared at the pilot for his statement as he pointed the rifle at them. Nemo's body tensed as she prepared to summon her Knightmare and run away with her King, but the three of them stopped as someone stepped between the Lancelot and its prey. "I'm afraid I can't let you do that." C.C.'s voice was soft as she stared at the white Knightmare before her.

'That girl…' Suzaku's eyes widened as he recognized the emerald-haired woman from Shinjuku. "Who are you?!" He shouted through the speakers, only just managing to conceal the fear in his voice. Suzaku remembered what Lelouch had said happened to the girl when they got separated. "She got shot in the head." Lelouch had said disinterestedly, no sign of a lie on his face as he spoke with Suzaku on the roof. But here she was, right in front of him. Suzaku felt himself shiver slightly as he watched the girl stand between him and Zero with a cold look in her golden eyes. The Lancelot's weapon shifted slightly in response to his movement in the cockpit, the VARIS moving slightly away from his original targets.

C.C. didn't bother to respond as she stood before the Knightmare that had forced Lelouch to retreat back in Shinjuku. She wasn't certain what she was planning would work, but it was better than allowing Lelouch to die on this mountain. Slowly, the immortal began to walk towards the Knightmare before she carefully placed her palm on the shin of the white machine.

Her Code flared as she willed her cursed power to life, pouring a power beyond humanity through the Knightmare and into the pilot. A scream erupted from the cockpit and C.C. turned to look over her shoulder as she heard someone walking up behind her.

"What are you doing?" Lelouch demanded an answer as he grit his teeth behind his mask, limping forward to where C.C. was doing whatever it was she was doing. "Are you offering that pilot a Geass?" His injuries were still grave so walking was difficult, even at this short distance, but his irritation at the immortal's actions was rather clear.

"No, I'm simply feeding him some shock images." C.C. turned back to focus on her task, doing her best to prevent the body inside the cockpit from moving and thus causing havoc as the Knightmare would respond to his involuntary movements. "This should buy you and Nemo enough time to escape." Suddenly she felt her shoulder being grasped and heard Nemo shout something loudly behind her.

"I'm not abandoning you here." Lelouch said as he grasped for her shoulder, gasping as whatever power C.C. was using began coursing through his veins, dragging him to the depths and away from Nemo's voice before it could reach him.

With a gasp, Nunnally screamed, "No! Don't touch her!" The odd power emanating from the emerald-haired Witch had caused her Geass to activate and a vision was planted in her brain. A vision that was proven to be made reality just as Zero's hand touched C.C.'s shoulder.

"No." Lelouch heard C.C. gasp as he felt her power coursing through his veins for the second time in his life. "I'm too… open." Suddenly, he found himself engulfed in energy, drowning him in the same type of images that were flying through the pilot's mind. He only just barely managed to bite back a scream as scenes from the past, a world long since gone, flashed through his mind.

A church with the symbol upon C.C.'s forehead engraved into the stone being attacked by a mob of angry peasants.

"What? This is different." The revolutionary realized in shock. As Lelouch watched on in horror, the scene shifted to a nun bathed in a white light, kneeling in prayer. With a spark of recognition he saw the glowing symbol on her forehead before he was once again dragged into the chaos of the cobalt void.

The next image startled him and he gasped as he beheld the vision of a young girl with short emerald hair knelt before the nun he had seen earlier.

A young voice, trembling with fear spoke out as Lelouch bore witness to these images of centuries past.

"What's a name? Am I supposed to have one?"

Another shift revealed the young girl, now a young woman, with heterochromatic eyes smiling as she spent time with the nun who served as her caretaker.

"Thank you, Mother Guinevere."

Without warning, the scene shifted to a memory Lelouch could recognize. The image of the torii that served as the entrance gate to the Kururugi Shrine many years ago flashed into existence before him. Immediately after he found himself bathed in the whiteness of a void he had seen once before.

A portrait of a landscape he had never seen dragged him back into C.C.'s memories, for what else could these visions be, and he witnessed C.C. bathing herself in the lake as she looked at her reflection mournfully, staring at the scar beneath her left breast. Over her heart.

"Wh-Why would you do this to me? Why would you curse me like this?!"

A young girl alone on an ancient battlefield, staring up at a woman. A woman whose eyes were no longer red, but a jaded amber. A woman who bore a mark upon her forehead as revealed when she lowered the hood of her cloak.

"Hello, young Jeanne. My name is–"

"Stop it!" C.C. begged, her voice clouding the memories Lelouch found himself bearing witness to. "Stay! Out! Of my! Mind!" With a psychic force, Lelouch found himself forced to bear witness to horrors of a different sort than he experienced.

A war said to have lasted one hundred years.

"Stop it." She begged again, tears flowing from her eyes as she tried to break the feedback loop. "Don't find that." Her begging was having no effect, forcing all of her most painful memories to the forefront for her contractor to witness. The eternally young woman grasped at her heart as she tried to fight off the intrusion. "You're… hurting me."

Visions of two people forced their way into Lelouch's mind, attempting to distract him from what he was witnessing. An older Japanese man he recognized as Genbu Kururugi and the one that startled him the most, almost managing to break the chain reaction, was an image of his mother standing upon the staircase in the Aries Villa.

Two memories he could barely recall witnessing didn't do nearly enough to prevent him from uncovering the truth however. The memories shifted after a brief spell in the white void where Lelouch felt he saw something familiar for but a moment as a chorus of screams erupted from the others dragged into this flood of ancient power. Faces that might have been familiar faded away as he bore witness to a final memory.

A war that changed the course of history, all because of a single young girl who bore the Power of the King granted to her by an immortal witch named–

Suddenly, a second strangled scream erupted from the pilot, dragging Lelouch and C.C. back to the present. "I had no choice! Please, forgive me!" The pilot inside begged sorrowfully, pulling Lelouch from the visions one final time as the feedback loop was shattered. The Lancelot jerked away from the immortal and the revolutionary, speeding away and firing its weapon randomly causing massive amounts of debris to erupt all over the hillside.

C.C. stood in front of Zero to shield him, but found herself struck fatally by a sharp stone, forcing the masked man to catch her in his arms as they both erupted into another flash of light as her powers reacted to the renewed physical contact.

A burst of red light illuminated the clearing, with guttural screams and mad laughter echoing in the air as it slowly faded to reveal the masked man and the injured woman had vanished.


Deep in a cave presumably still upon Narita, Lelouch was staring contemplatively at a bloodstained rag that had once been part of C.C.'s clothing. The immortal had fallen unconscious, no doubt in order to heal her fatal wound, but her clothing had been shredded by the debris before she had done whatever that was with her power to transport them to safety. He had covered her with his cloak after detaching it from his armor, but decided to take a bit of the bloodied portion of her clothes. He wasn't certain what he would do with it, it just felt like something he needed to consider. 'Perhaps analyzing the blood samples?' Half a thought formed in his mind before he turned.

Looking back over his shoulder to where C.C. was resting, Lelouch thought quietly to himself. 'Just who or what are you?' Those memories, they were firsthand accounts of history that had shaped the modern world. Picking up his helmet, he held it against his hip as he slowly walked over and sat down to observe C.C.'s unconscious form.

As he was deep in thought, he gently brushed his fingers over the mark upon her forehead that was normally covered by her bangs. Another vision pierced his mind and he knew the truth.

A man lit by simple candlelight as he wrote quickly on old pieces of parchment, scrawling out his thoughts with genius and madness glinting in his crimson eyes.

"What do you dream of, George?"

Moments stolen in the darkness of tents and in the cold beneath a starry sky, futures that never happened discussed between two lovers centuries ago.

"Really? A United States of America… Sounds rather fanciful if you ask me."

The same man resting on a simple cot, waiting for judgment to be rendered upon him.

"Goodbye, I'm sorry for everything."

"Don't be, these have been some of the happiest moments of my life. There was never a future where you and I could be happy, so I'm glad I got to enjoy this while it lasted, even if my dream disappeared because of it. You've truly made me happy–."

For the first time, he heard someone else speak in these visions and Lelouch finally understood what he was hearing for the first time.

He knew C.C.'s true name.

Tearing himself away, Lelouch walked over to the pool that made up the underground reservoir in the cave. "She's human." He murmured quietly to himself as he tossed the bloody rags into the depths of the underground lake. The raw emotion he felt, the whimsical nature of her desires, the passion, love, and regret. C.C. concealed it well behind the mask of a Witch, but deep in the heart of hearts she had accidentally opened to him, she was all too human.

Lelouch refused to turn her into an experiment like his elder brother had for so many years. C.C., she deserved better than that. The sound of a gasp signaled her awakening and Lelouch turned to see the woman grasping the cloak to protect her modesty.

C.C. looked over to the side, staring at Lelouch as he held his helmet against his hip while his cloak covered her form. "I removed the shrapnel and cleaned your wounds." He spoke, his tone holding no change despite the things he had witnessed deep in her mind. "That wasn't necessary." She replied, grasping the cloak tightly, feeling more naked than she had in a long time. "Apparently not." He shot back, still not facing her as he stared out across the underground lake. "So there was no point in protecting me at all." She spoke melancholically, knowing Lelouch had come to the same conclusion many others she had contracted with had.

Her immortality made any such protections unnecessary. "Your pride always gets in the way in the most ridiculous moments." She sniped, feeling petty as the man refused to turn to face her after invading her soul.

Lelouch snorted quietly as he finally turned to face C.C. after her insult. "But then I learned something today." Quietly, he spoke her name to her and for the first time in centuries the Witch known only as C.C. heard her name spoken to her by another human being.

A quiet gasp of shock escaped her lips, but it carried easily enough in this cavern the pair had found themselves in.

Lelouch slowly walked over and stood a short distance away from the eternally young woman's side. "That's your name, isn't it?" He asked quietly, looking her in the eye as he awaited her reply.

The woman who fashioned herself a witch was very displeased. "You have a bad habit of prying into people's minds." Her sharp response elicited no change from her accomplice, used to her bluntness as he was.

Looking away after not seeing any reaction other than annoyance from the woman, Lelouch responded honestly. "Well, it's a good name. It's a lot more human than C.C."

Huffing angrily as she tried to fight back tears, C.C.'s response was heated. "Oh that's a joke. As if I want to be more human." She spat, trying to convince herself she was disgusted with the very concept. "After all, I-I've…" Choking, she failed to stem the sorrow she held inside. Her recent exposure tearing away all her masks. "I've forgotten so much. So much of what mattered to me, memories of loved ones I had, they're all gone." Grasping at the scar over her heart, she continued. "What's the use of it? A name? But why?" Tears dripped from her eyes as she tried to regain control over herself.

Lelouch turned, not looking directly at her to spare C.C. from the knowledge that he witnessed her at her weakest point. "It's a good time to say this." He muttered quietly, drawing her attention. "You saved me today, you did that before. And you gave me Geass." Speaking softly, he did something he rarely ever did for anyone other than those he trusted with his life.

"Thank you, –."

The immortal's eyes were stinging as she looked to the armored man standing above her in shock. Blinking the tears away she stared down at the cavern floor. "No one's… ever thanked me before." Rather, it had been so long that she honestly couldn't recall the last time someone showed genuine gratitude to her. This was the first time in her memory that she had someone show genuine gratefulness without a hint of any other emotion coloring the gesture. Her body trembled as her lips curled into a small smile as she wrapped the cloak around herself tighter. "Well then, can you show me your appreciation?" She asked, her voice trembling somewhat timidly. "Say it again. Like you did before." It had been so long since she heard her name spoken lovingly, she just wanted to hear it like that one last time.

Lelouch grunted at the odd request, before thinking over just how he had spoken C.C.'s name a moment ago. "Oh, you mean the name." He said, trying to stall to recapture the momentary emotion he'd had when he thanked her.

"Just this once. With tenderness, like you treasure it in your heart." She implored him, desiring to hear her name spoken with love. C.C. didn't know how having her name spoken with such care sounded, but she tried her best to describe her desires to Lelouch.

Lelouch turned and repressed a sigh. 'Who knew C.C. would be so sensitive about this sort of thing.' He thought to himself before speaking aloud. "Very well then."

When he tried to speak her name, C.C. gave a sad smile.

"How was that?" Lelouch asked, curious if he had managed to fulfill C.C.'s wish.

"It was bad." C.C. replied bluntly, her lips twitching as she tried and failed to repress a sorrowful laugh. "It was completely bad, it wasn't tender, there was no honesty or sympathy in it." Truly, she wished she could hear her name spoken like Lelouch spoke her name. The one who she could tell he loved most in the world. "You spoke it oddly and worst of all it was cold." So cold and unfeeling, she had never heard her name spoken so awfully before. It made her laugh again, just out of the sheer absurdity at how Lelouch managed to do the exact opposite of what she wanted.

Hopping down from his perch, Lelouch responded to C.C.'s assessment. "Everyone's a critic, you're a picky girl." He knelt before her, waiting for her to open her eyes.

"Exactly," C.C. huffed proudly, closing her eyes for a moment to allow herself to regain control over her inner turmoil. "That's why I go by the name C.C." She said as she opened her eyes, gasping quietly as she saw how close Lelouch's face was to her own. His lips moved slowly as he spoke one final time to her, and this time she heard what she so desperately desired.

Her name, spoken with unmatched care and tenderness.

"Thank you, Catherine, for everything."


It's pronounced Kat-er-een for those who want to know how to read C.C.'s true name and that's why Lelouch "spoke it oddly" in the anime (or at least my interpretation of C.C.'s name and how it has some different pronunciations).

This chapter has been fighting me for months. Not only because of my issue with studying for the LSAT (got a good score this time around, not perfect, but enough so I won't be taking it again), but because Narita is such a pivotal moment between Lelouch and C.C. I wanted to get it right.

I added a few things to deepen the connection between them and thought throwing in what I believe to be C.C.'s real name there at the end as a treat.

Not much else I can say given I have no idea when I'll be able to post another chapter, but I'll do my best to get at least one out before the new year. That much I can promise.

If you enjoyed the new chapter, please review. I do appreciate feedback on my work and it was nice to reach the 200 review milestone while I was on my mini-hiatus. Just note, guest reviews will be deleted. I'm not gonna pad my review count like that. I have to have some standards.

Found out that the second Code Geass compilation movie will be coming out on February 10th, 2018. I can't wait!

On that note.

King Draconias Over and Out.