(One hour ago.)

Ohgi had been quite perplexed when Prince Schneizel, of all people, had requested to speak with the Black Knights' high command once again. But, since he was the acting military commander of the nation they currently had a ceasefire agreement with, it wouldn't be in their best interest to refuse. Even if he himself would rather stay and oversee relief efforts than talk to that opportunistic snake again.

So, the commanders and leaders of the various departments of the Black Knights assembled themselves in the control room of the Ikaruga, waiting for the virtual connection to the Avalon to connect.

Those that were there were himself, Kaguya, Tohdoh, Rakshata, Xingke, Kallen, Diethard, Villetta, Tamaki, Minami, and the three volunteers that worked as operators in the control room. The last four of those present had previously decided, as per usual, to stay silent during the coming conversation; simply being there to operate the ship and help with announcing or acquiring any vital information, might the need arise.

The rest of the people that filled the command structure were currently exhausting themselves in an effort to restore the order that had been lost in the remnants of the Tokyo settlement after the bright explosion caused by the F.L.E.I.J.A. warhead, which had only just occurred the night prior.

As he was beginning to think this was a waste of time that could have been spent saving the lives of civilians, the fashionably late Prince of Britannia finally appeared on the giant screen before them.

"Greetings, leaders of the Black Knights. I hope I'm not disturbing you?"

"Cut the pleasantries Schneizel, you know we're very busy, so what is it?" he answered, already fed up by all the unnecessary waiting.

Amused by this, the prince seemed to ignore the slight anger in the voice of the General Secretary of the Black Knights. "If you wish. Let me go straight to the point then. Come help me in putting down a rebellion on Kamine Island."

Silence followed between the two leaderships. Disbelief and pure confusion was the most prominent of the emotions that was displayed in the eyes of Ohgi and his comrades; closely followed by the feeling of indignation. After all, who was a Britannian prince to suddenly order them around when they just kicked one out.

Tamaki, as always, was the first to react with his loud mouth. Spouting incomprehensible sentences about 'lack of dignity' and 'the audacity' of the prince. Everyone ignored him however, Kallen 'gently' shoving an elbow in his side, making him shut up.

"And why do you think we would suddenly do whatever you say? We might have an agreement to not continue fighting each other for now, prioritizing on helping the population, but that does not mean we have become allies, let alone subordinates." Ohgi replied, deciding to leave out the part about their former leader having been exposed by him, Villetta and the man before them. They were present in the company of those who did not need to know this; namely the operators within the room.

"Oh, I just thought you might want to be involved in this. After all, Kamine island is not far from Tokyo. What if the chaos spreads?"

Although the prince said that, everyone there knew he was lying through his teeth. Of course, if he was willing to so clearly lie to justify his seemingly random and baseless order, or 'impolite request' as they would like to call it, there must be another motive behind this.

"Regardless, unless your forces suddenly realized they were all fighting for an evil cause, I doubt they would rebel in that great a number to warrant you to ask for our help, Prime Minister." Kaguya said, looking up at the giant screen in the control room. She emphasized on the word 'ask', to make clear she disagreed with how the prince seemed to gloss over the wording of his former 'request'.

"Perhaps not, Lady Sumeragi," Schneizel's formal tone strangely had a vague smugness laid within, which wasn't lost over the virtual connection, "but I doubt you would want to lose the chance to find the only one capable of causing such a mass rebellion."

It took only a second for even the slowest among them, perhaps for Tamaki a few more, to realize who the prince was talking about. Except of course, the three operators in front that were currently working with the Ikaruga's systems and filtering incoming information.

Although it would be an understatement to say they were shocked at such a sudden revelation, most of the leaders of the Black Knights kept their calm. They had experienced too many battles and hardships to be caught off guard by a simple assertion.

Tohdoh and Xingke both frowned at the prince's reply. They realized almost immediately that they were being used. Not to mention that if they were to accept to come to Kamine Island, splitting their forces in doing so, they would be open to betrayal by the Britannians. Possibly wanting to resume the battle, to finish what the F.L.E.I.J.A. had temporarily put on hold.

"And how do we know you're not lying, trying to lure us to the island and ambush us? Is that so called rebellion even real?" Ohgi said, trying very hard not to scowl.

He knew what the prince was doing, he just didn't care. The only thing that mattered was making sure that evil manipulator was dead. But he wasn't just going to risk their entire hold over Tokyo just for a possibly empty promise of killing him.

"Oh, it is very real. Though most of them have already been eliminated by the Imperial Guard, they are quite tenacious, even willing to give their life for their newfound cause. Does that sound familiar to you?" Schneizel said as multiple images of a bloody conflict between Britannian knightmares in the sky appeared on the screen. It seemed to have been recorded at night, which would make this footage a few hours old at least.

"Although that's quite entertaining, seeing Britannians kill their own for once, that doesn't prove anything about where Z-" Ohgi sent Tamaki a vicious glare when he heard him try to call that demon by his former title, daring him to continue. "Um, Lelouch, I mean." Tamaki finished, slightly perturbed by the strong emotion of hatred he saw in his eyes, forgetting to even properly finish his sentence.

Though Ohgi mainly did this because of the aforementioned reason, Diethard soon realized it might be best to keep this conversation more private. As such, he ordered the three operators to leave the room.

While this was going on, the conversation continued.

"My, he actually said something reasonable, how rare. I didn't know he had it in him." Rakshata said with fascination. "Hey I'm-" Tamaki had wanted to retort, but was interrupted by Tohdoh.

"How can you prove what you say is true, and not some underhanded ploy to trick us?"

To which Schneizel just shrugged, "Please, don't think so highly of yourselves. If I wanted you eliminated I could have simply fired off another F.L.E.I.J.A. It would cause even more destruction sure, but that wouldn't alter the result now would it?"

Not knowing if he was bluffing, they remained silent. Unsure of what to say to such a nonchalant, yet obvious threat.

It was Kallen who decided to break the silence, "I'll go.". Which didn't seem to surprise most of those there. They knew she still had some attachment to Lelouch, even if she were to deny it. Ohgi, however, wasn't one of them.

"What? Kallen, why?"

"Because unlike all of you, I want to know why he did what he did. Or at least hear him out." She scoffed, before turning around and walking away, most likely to the hanger to check up on her newly enhanced Guren.

Schneizel didn't comment on this and just watched her go. He already expected the ace pilot to be the first to agree. Though he was still a little surprised by the lack of emotional awareness by their general secretary. Not that he minded of course. The more division among his enemies, the easier it will be for him in the future. After all, 'divide and conquer' wasn't just some fancy quote.

A little flustered, Ohgi tried to put the matter aside for now, keeping in mind he'll need to talk to her about that later. And so, as Kallen walked away and left an awkward silence behind, Tamaki, finally free of his oppressor, decided to make use of this and started speaking again.

"Well, I don't know about you guys but I'm getting bored of carrying boxes of supplies around, so I guess I'll join the fun when we get there!" he said before starting to walk towards the door.

"Tamaki-!" Ohgi tried to stop his wildcard of a friend, but couldn't say much before he turned around and began arguing.

"Oh come on, Ohgi. I'm bored, and this is the perfect chance to kick some Britannian butt. Besides, as Internal Cleaning Supporter I am perfect for this kind of job!"

"That's not what it mea-"

"I mean, surely I am the best choice in handling this. Why else would I have been appointed that title? Handling and cleaning up internal problems is in the description!"

'Does it even have a description?' Ohgi thought, before casting the useless question away, never to be answered.

"He really has the mind of an infant, doesn't he?" he could hear Rakshata mutter in disbelief.

Luckily, Tamaki didn't seem to notice that as he just kept on rambling how only Zero saw the potential in him, making him deserving of the apparently prestigious title.

Finally, after talking for a full minute detailing his 'great accomplishments', while everyone else was just watching on in befuddlement, Tamaki decided he was hungry and began his quest for food. But not before giving some parting words.

"Anyway, tell me when we arrive at the island. Bye mr. Britannia!" And so he walked towards the door, waving behind him as he did so.

"We haven't even decided yet!" Ohgi nearly shouted after his friend, horrified by the fact this terrible display of discipline was being shown to the Prime Minister of their enemies.

Speaking of which, the prince didn't seem all that fazed by the disorganized state the upper echelons of the Black Knights appeared to find themselves in.

In actuality however, he was only barely holding on to his composure. He had seen many idiots in his time at social events and ceremonies, but this one surely trumps them all. If not for wanting to keep this conversation confidential, and him needing to keep his professional image, he would have surely recorded and handed it over to the propaganda ministry, who would've had a field day with it.

Nonetheless, he didn't react to the absurdity transpiring before him. 'It would seem without a centralized command who actually knows what he's doing in the form of the military but also diplomacy, the Black Knights are nothing more than simple terrorists with similar amounts of equipment to our own.'

Although, he should give credit where its due. They have talented people at their disposal. Rakshata Chawla is extremely competent in her research, rivaling that of Dr. Asplund. Their commanders, Kyoshiro Tohdoh and Li Xingke, are capable in military affairs, yet lacking in diplomacy. The heiress to the Sumeragi family, Kaguya Sumeragi, although technically not employed by the Black Knights, seems to be the opposite. Skilled with words, yet rather ignorant in the art of war.

And then you have their current spokesperson, Kaname Ohgi, who is mediocre in both at best. Nor did the man seem to have any talent in leadership, which didn't do him any favors in Schneizel's eyes.

All in all, it proved to him that exposing his brother's power to them has certainly bore fruit, weakening the capabilities of his enemies.

Of course, he couldn't stay silent forever, so he decided to chime in. "Does that mean you agree?"

"Well, uhm…" Ohgi, still a little dazed by his embarrassment, tried to give a decisive answer yet failed to do so. To everyone's relief, Kaguya decided to interfere and save the little dignity they had left.

"Even though I would want to say yes, as I would like to see my husband again, there is no way we could spare enough troops to completely put down a rebellion on a nearby island. Especially one of the scale you just showed. We are already exhausting ourselves with organizing humanitarian actions as it is."

It was a nice excuse to simply say they didn't trust the Britannians enough to completely split their forces. Even though the argument itself also had some truth to it, as was made clear by the masses who were still in a state of disarray below.

Schneizel understood the meaning behind her words, yet still pressed the issue anyway. "And that's fine, Lady Sumeragi, I am not asking for your entire army to come and help. Simply a few squadrons and perhaps your flagship to help the Avalon in the search would be more than enough."

Kaguya, at that, looked back at the remaining people in the room. Tohdoh and Xingke seemed to want to agree to the request, as they didn't really need the Ikaruga for helping the civilians, nor will a few squadrons of knightmares that were predominantly made for killing rather than saving make much of a difference to the relief effort.

Ohgi looked like he was hesitating at first, but couldn't get the temptation of eliminating the monster that, he felt, had played them like a fiddle. So, he nodded towards her, conveying his agreement.

Diethard was already on board with the plan the moment he heard who they were really after, and so expressed his approval in the same way.

Rakshata didn't really seem to care about it, as the only thing that would make her truly interested in the subject at hand is if it had something to do with her research. Which she could temporarily relocate to the facilities that had been prepared in the settlement, continuing her work there while the Ikaruga was on a manhunt.

Then there was Villetta, who stayed completely quiet during this whole conversation. She didn't really feel like she should be there, but Ohgi had insisted on it. It would seem her involvement with acquiring evidence against Zero had gained her more trust than could be considered normal.

So, she just stayed where she was, not trying to interfere in matters she felt she didn't deserve to have a voice in. As such, when Kaguya glanced her way, she didn't give any indication she would like to give her opinion, nor cast a vote.

With that, it seemed to be unanimous. Kaguya turned back to lock her gaze with the Britannian Prime Minister once again.

"Very well, Schneizel el Britannia, we accept."

…

"Is this really necessary?" C.C. asked with an irritated expression as she walked behind him. They were currently walking through a series of tunnels under the island that were once used by the soldiers of the outpost in the case of an attack above ground, which would make traversing to other sections of the outpost near impossible, if not for these tunnels.

Ironically, that is exactly what they are used for today too, although not by the intended personnel.

The reason for her irritation however was the state these underground structures were in. They were stable and relatively safe, sure, but they were extremely filthy. There wasn't even any proper metal foundation or walls made to reinforce them, just dirt and steel beams to make sure it didn't cave in.

Puddles of mud lay everywhere and due to a lack of sufficient lighting, they almost fell in a few of them, splashing filthy water on her precious Cheese-kun. She only hoped it could be washed out or there would be hell to pay.

"Why do you ask that? Do you expect me to take all of those soldiers on alone? The Shinkiro may be advanced compared to the standard models, but taking on an army with two flagships would be a bit much." he retorted, not sure what she expected of him.

"Well yes of course, but you have your geass don't you? Just use it and make them slaughter their own again instead of hiding underground like some lost mole."

"Well, first of all, we're not hiding, I have a destination in mind." he began explaining while looking at the digital map one of his geassed soldiers generously gave him before running of and dying a meaningless death like his comrades before him.

"Second of all, most of their forces are in knightmares so, as you are already aware, I can't use my geass on them. And those that aren't wouldn't be of any use to fight those that are. And even if they for some miraculous reason decided to leave their knightmares before making Swiss cheese out of us, I'm sure my brother has already installed countermeasures among his forces in the form of visors and the likes."

C.C. didn't speak for a couple of seconds as she thought about how long it had been since she'd eaten Swiss cheese. She responded soon after coming out of her reverie, but not before putting 'Eating Swiss cheese' a bit higher on her mental to-do list. "Okay, so if you can't geass them, and we can't just fly away because they'll just chase us, what's the plan?"

"They won't find the Shinkiro, and the Mordred, that easily now that we've hidden them. So now we have to make a ruckus so that their attention is pulled away long enough for us to fly off." Lelouch began to analyze the requirements to get off the island without getting captured.

"So, if we want to draw them to a particular place, my first guess is that a big explosion would do the trick…" he said as he pointed at a particular dot on the screen of the map.

She looked at what he was pointing at and couldn't help but smirk a little, though she had to ask, "Are you sure? Civilians could still be there you know."

To which he just shrugged as a response. "If they didn't evacuate an active warzone it's their own fault. I'm not going to constrict my options just because some idiots didn't feel like living."

They walked in silence for a while, C.C. staring at his back as if trying to find something. "You've changed." she said, more as an observation than a question. "Usually you wouldn't throw away innocent lives like that, or at least hesitate."

"I don't have the luxury to save those that are too ignorant to help themselves, not on an individual scale at least." he answered, not really surprised his witch would be the first to notice something was different.

"Why? Is it because of Nunnally? You seem to still have the goal of a gentler world. So why the sudden change in morals?" Her tone was one of curiosity, but there was also some concern.

"I have come to realize that there is much more at stake than just a harsher or gentler world. If I don't do whatever I can to stop humanity from blowing itself up with its own creations, there won't be a world left to change." he paused for a moment, sighing. As they continued to walk through the long tunnels, he contemplated his next words and spoke.

"I did everything in my power to change the world for the better… to make something my sister would want to live in. But it's only recently I realized that I was just a narrow minded fool playing revolutionary for a people I didn't really care about, all just to hurt someone else. If I want to make the world better, I'll have to tear down the old and build it anew under a stable, single nation. Only then is there time for kindness and compassion. You can't remove a tumor without cutting the body. And you can't start healing before it's gone. Losses are inevitable, innocent or not. But I won't let the human race be extinguished because I wasn't determined enough to do what was necessary."

He stopped and turned around, looking her in the eyes. They were silent, as C.C. didn't do anything but stare as if she was looking into his soul, searching for anything that might indicate he still held some doubt about what he planned to do. Her search however, yielded no such thing.

"If you are going to do this, you and I both know the world will hate you for it." she finally responded.

"Let them. They may hate me, or love me. I don't care. The only thing that matters is what will be left standing after I'm done."

A small smile came across her face after he said that. "Then I suppose I might as well help you, I've yet to see a nation that conquers the entire world. Might be interesting."

Chuckling, he started walking towards his destination again. "I'll be sure to make it a spectacle then."

"Oh I'm sure you will my warlock," Following close behind, C.C.'s smile became a light smirk.

"I'm sure you will."

…

AN:

BEHOLD! More dialogue!

P.S. I consider the scene in S2 Ep. 20, at around 18:35 – 19:15 as total bullshit (the one where Schneizel informs Kaguya of the Kamine Island Rebellion), considering nothing of consequence comes of this scene and those in the next episode. They (Black Knights and Schneizel) go to the island and kill some geassed soldiers, but they weren't shown again, as if they were just forgotten by the script. After Lelouch kills the emperor they just cut to 'one month later' which is quite lazy. Of course, perhaps it had a reason, but I can't seem to find it… So I'll consider it non-canon here and the black knights weren't informed in the original (first) timeline here in my story, so they didn't go to Kamine Island back then.

I know, I know, 'you can't just change the original as you wish when it's at your convenience' but these scenes were a little illogical as there was no result and Lelouch & co seemed to have just teleported out of there no problem. If any of you know what the hell these scenes were supposed to do except fill up screen time, let me know. It's too late now, but it's really bugging me.

Review(s):

BlueKing: Thanks for the suggestions and the advice! I already plan on doing something about the lack of a powerful fighter, though you obviously can't find many others equal in skill to Suzaku, it'll definitely make it more balanced.

…

(Some time into the future, don't take it too seriously)

In a courtyard of the imperial palace, a certain emperor and a cyborg were dueling with swords. Although the word 'dueling' would only be applicable for Lord Jeremiah, as the demon emperor, feared by all, was wielding the deadly weapon more like a conductor would a baton during a very violent orchestra.

Being disarmed for the 16th time that day, Lelouch seemed to change his mind about learning how to wield a sword. "You know Jeremiah, I would like to rescind my previous order under the clause that it was given under duress by my wife." he stated, dodging another blow only because his opponent was purposely slowing himself down.

"I'm afraid I can't do that your highness. As you have ordered me to ignore you if you were to give such a command." the cyborg replied dutifully while laying pressure on his master.

"But that was under duress too!" Lelouch retorted, outraged at the unfair treatment he had been subject to for the last hour.

Having been disarmed once again, his sword clattered against the ground a couple meters away. "Look, it's obvious I have no talent for this sort of thing as this is already the 17th time you have disarmed me today." he tried to argue, gesticulating around him to make his point clear.

"Fear not, your highness," the loyal soldier replied, "what I always used to get me motivated during my training was simply thinking 'I have ONLY been disarmed 17 times during my training session'. This way you can stay motivated to train for the rest of the day." he stated proudly, as if he had just found the perfect solution.

"Yeah," Lelouch replied. "And that would have been very motivational-" he began as you could notice his voice becoming louder with every word "if it wasn't 6 IN THE MORNING!" he shouted with all his might in the small hope someone would hear his cry for salvation from the evil that was physical exertion.

Yet to the demon emperor's dismay, no-one came to his rescue. As everyone in the palace complex knew that even though the emperor was to be feared if one knew what was best for them, his wife was another matter entirely.

…