Chapter 5: The Witch and the Prince

Near Riyadh, Capital of the Middle Eastern Federation

Britannian forces were making the final push on the Middle Eastern Federation. The Federation got intel of when the attack would come, so they mobilized what was left of their main military to protect the only base between them and the capital. Unfortunately, even that wasn't enough to even slow them down. Even their own Knightmares, the Bamides, weren't being effective, despite the terrain (long, open battlefields) being in their favor.

"Gloucesters?!" An Arabian soldier exclaimed from within the lead Bamide as he saw several purple Knightmares approaching fast.

"They're supposed to be in Serupham!" Another shrieked.

"Keep calm," The commander interjected, bringing his crew to order, "Resume firing. We have to hold the line no matter the cost!" Despite all their efforts, however, the Gloucesters were just to fast.

"Shoddy oversized imitation Knightmares!" A scarred man with brown hair and black eyes insulted.

"They would've been wise to surrender from the start." A black hair, blue eyed man, Guilford, replied as he maneuvered beneath the commanding Bamide. He fired a shot, taking out the central leg support, causing the Knightmare to fall to the ground, helpless. Not a moment later, the Federation base went up in a blaze.

"WHAT!?" The commander roared as he looked at the sensors aiming towards the base. He saw a single Gloucester, white with blue highlights to it, and massive cannons on both it's shoulders. The commander's eyes widened in fear.

"It's...it's one of the Twin Demons of Britannia, Pollux. A single Knightmare could take out the entire base!" He didn't get any farther as the Bamide erupted into flames, killing all inside. The Gloucesters in the field quickly dispersed as the Bamides exploded.

"And with that," from within the white Gloucester, a man with light blue hair and purple eyes, Pollux rui Britannia, boredly stated, "Area 18 is established."

"My Lord," the scarred man inquired over a video feed, "About our next course of action."

"Yes. Sorry for having you come clean up after my foolish big brother, Darlton."

"Do no apologize, my Lord," Guilford replied, "We live to serve, and our place is with you."

"Do you with Area 11 will need our usual treatment?"

"I believe so, my Lord."

"Good." Pollux then looked at the smoking carcass of a base.

'You two will fall, just like the rest.'

August 21st, Ashford Manor, Tokyo Settlement, 1:32 A.M

Cornelia

Cornelia had just entered Ruben's manor adjacent to the Academy, and was escorted by one of the servants to a room in the guest quarters.

'Okay, how am I gonna convince an unkillable woman to help?' Cornelia had very little leverage, and she hated that. She took a deep breath, and entered the room.

The room was simple, yet, even then, it looked fit for nobility. Queen sized bed, dressing mirror, the works. Not to mention the pizza boxe~

'Wait, what?' Cornelia noticed that there was at least three pizza boxes. Cheese, sausage, pepperoni, and other assortments.

"Yes," The mysterious girl dryly inquired, lying on the bed, "Do you require anything?"

"I trust the staff here have been accommodating you appropriately. I think these boxes should be disposed of after having been here for awhile."

"Yes, the people here are a marked improvement from Clovis's group. They even clean up after me at the end of each day." Cornelia had to fight the urge to widen her eyes.

'She had three boxes in one day? Wait, no, she said at the end of each day, so she had three boxes in a few HOURS! Looks like I found a hook.'

"So, did you enjoy your little show."

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh, please. I know your brother is Zero, and, by extension, you are Celaeno." Cornelia twitched her eye.

"And how do you know that. You've been kept out of any form of communication since you were brought here"

"That's my little secret. Though, I must say, you're taking this much more smoothly than I expected."

"What does that mean?"

"You were always such a staunch supporter of Britannia, yet, here you are, helping lead a rebellion against them. Quite a change, don't you think, princess."

"... I assume you know for the same reason as how you knew about Zero and Celaeno."

"Correct."

A long silence passed between the two. Both trying to gauge how the other will respond.

"Look," Cornelia said, breaking the silence, "You have two options: one, you stay in here, displaced from the outside world; or, if you answer whichever questions you wish to answer, you'll be able to attend this school. You appear the same age as most of the other students."

"And why would I take the second offer?"

"Because, even though you'll be confined to the school grounds, it will be a much better 'cage' than this room, fancy as it is."

"And you said only questions I want to answer?"

"Yes." 'This might get here to be less cautious, and I can get her to accidentally tell me important info.' The girl then sat up, giving a slight smirk.

"Okay, what do you want to know."

"We'll have a more detailed conversation later, but only question I want is simple. The power you gave Lelouch, what is it called?"

"Geass. The power is called Geass." With that, Cornelia left the room, leaving the girl by herself.

Viceroy Administration Building, 10:11 A.M.

Suzaku Kururugi

'What just happened.' Suzaku thought as he left the building. Once he returned, he was calmly led back to a cell, though he wasn't in a straight jacket like before. Afterwards, he was told that, due to 'lack of evidence', he was found 'Not Guilty' on all charges. Afterwards, he got a quick nap, then proceeded to gather his valuables that were taken from him when he was imprisoned. Now, here he was, carrying a duffle bag, contemplating his survival. He couldn't decide what was worse: that Prince Clovis tortured a girl, and tried to murder hundreds to keep it a secret, or that everything the terrorists said came true.

'Those bastards.' Suzaku growled. 'While I appreciate them saving me, the fact that they have thrown the entire Settlement into chaos CANNOT be forgiven. Their ways can only lead to sadness and failure.'

"Private Kururugi." A voice came from behind him. He turned, and his skin turned a few shades whiter.

"Lord Jeremiah!" Suzaku exclaimed, saluting the man. Surprisingly, Jeremiah saluted back at him.

'Why would the leader of the Purebloods salute an Eleven.'

"At ease, Private."

"My Lord, what do you need?"

"I actually have been looking for you."

"Me? Why?"

"Two reasons: First, I would like to apologize."

'WHAT?!' "I'm sorry, my Lord, but I must've misheard you."

"You heard correctly, Private Kururugi. I'm apologizing for my colleagues actions towards you, as well as forcing you to become our scapegoat."

"So," Suzaku replied, slight venom in his voice without realizing, "What they said was true. You really were gonna just through all the Honoraries out of the Settlement." 'Wait, what am I saying. Am I TRYING to get court martialed again.'

Jeremiah pinched the bridge of his nose, "Suzaku, you must understand the situation we were in: Clovis had just been killed, his killer nowhere to be found, and the Tokyo military was nearly crippled during the battle. If we didn't announce who his killer was immediately after we arrested the killer, then the other terrorist groups would've been galvanized into attacking more ferociously. If I didn't agree with whichever Eleven they chose, then my authority would be called into question, which would make the situation even worse. I'm not sorry about doing it, but I am sorry it had to be you."

'I don't like or agree with it, but that makes some sort of sense. There's just no honor in it, however. Wait, why me? Is it because of my father?' "Why are you sorry it was me that got chosen?"

Jeremiah's face then took a serious tone, and he looked around the area, as if he was making sure if they were the only ones there, "That leads to my second reason. I understand that you~"

"Look out BELOW!" A voice from above roared out. The two looked up, and saw a person falling towards them. They dodged out of the way, and Suzaku saw the man do a parachute roll, getting back up without looking worse for wear. He was wearing a black tuxedo, had light blue hair, and purple eyes. He didn't look any older than him. Suzaku looked back up, and saw some bed sheets tied together from a room up above. He saw that Lord Jeremiah had a very concerned look on his face, almost like has was about to pass out.

"Huh," the mystery man exclaimed as he dusted off his tux, "thanks for moving out of the way. Didn't want either of you to get hurt."

"And," Suzaku inquired, "why did you just jump out a building?"

"Oh," the man happily replied, "Simply: to get away from my bodyguard. My brother wanted me pretty much locked up until he arrives. But, when he does, it'll be nothing but work, work, work. So, before he got here, I decided to get a tour of the settlement."

"Shouldn't you have an escort, my Lord." Jeremiah hesitantly replied, which surprised Suzaku.

'This guy is higher up than Jeremiah!' Suzaku saw the man gave Jeremiah a look that screamed 'keep your lips zip'.

"If I did that," the man happily retorted, "Then what's the point of exploring. If you're so concerned, however, I can easily have the soldier here escort me." Jeremiah wanted to protest, but sighed, resigning to the teenager's decision.

"Private Kururugi, we'll have to continue this later. I'll get ahold of A.S.E.E.C. and, at your earliest convenience, I would like to continue this discussion." Suzaku saluted, and Jeremiah reentered the building.

"Well," the man exclaimed as he turned and began walking away, "Shall we get going, my impromptu bodyguard."

Ashford Academy, 1:13 P.M.

Cornelia

Cornelia had just entered her room at the manor that her sister and siblings lived in, nicknamed the Lamperouge Manor by Rivalz, despite her insistence that it shouldn't be called that. In a few hours she would ask the girl several more questions, most of them involving Geass, and then the girl would get started with 'school' the next day. But, for now, she just wanted to take a short nap, as she hasn't gotten any sleep for the past 24 hours. Normally, she would go to sleep in her quarters at the Ashford Security Center. However, for the past six months, she has been sleeping in her manor room for one particular reason.

She flopped down onto the bed, face smacking the pillow. She was still processing all that had occurred in the past week alone.

'All that I had feared has come to pass. I hoped we would never use Kingsglaive, but, now~'

"Meow!" Cornelia's eyes opened as she felt something jump onto her bed. She noticed a grey cat with a black spot around one of its eyes.

"Hey, Arthur." Cornelia calmly said as she stroked the cat's back.

Arthur, the unofficial mascot of the Student Council. Euphie found him over a year ago, with a damaged leg, and almost feral. Euphie being Euphie, she brought it home, and nursed it back to health. Then, three months ago, she decided to entrust his care to Cornelia. She can only guess that it was to put some kind of humanity back into her.

'Well, sister you jerk, you succeeded.'

Cornelia's phone then rang. She looked and saw it was from her brother.

"Yes," She tiredly answered, "What do you need, Lelouch?"

"Do..do you want me to call back? You sound tired."

"No, no," Cornelia retorted, sitting up with Arthur in her lap, "If it's important, then I can take this."

"It is. Ruben's network has uncovered info on Clovis's replacement."

"Who is it?"

"Viceroy Pollux rui Britannia will be here sometime today, while it seems his brother Castor has arrived sometime yesterday. He was already on his way here when we announced ourselves to the world, it seems."

Cornelia's face deepened. She didn't interact much with the Rui Britannian twins. All she remembered was when Castor asked Pollux for a duel with large branches. While Pollux was the better fighter, Castor seemed to enjoy the fight more than a person should.

"Bit young to be ruling an Area. Given their actions in the past few years, it's not the worst possibility, but it's not exactly a good thing, either."

"Please contact me after your talk with the woman. See you soon, Cornelia."

"Same to you, Lelouch." She then hung up. She then began to pet Arthur's chin.

'Is this still the right course? I've only ever gone with this so that I wouldn't break my promise to abandon him. I've always hoped that, over the years, I could convince Lelouch to abandon his plan, and simply take the four of us somewhere quiet and remote. Britannia is the stronge~"

CHOMP

"Guuh," Cornelia painfully gasped. She looked down and saw Arthur was biting her finger, "Oh, you little minx, not again."

After removing her finger from his grip, she pulled out a set of earphones from a bedside drawer. This was a habit she developed some time after the Second Pacific War. Whenever she was truly depressed, she would listen to music as a form of coping. She hadn't done so for three years.

'But, after all that's happened, maybe an old habit was just what she needed.' She looked through the songs she had. Seemed like Milly added a song or two, but all of the others were still there. She decided to pick one that seemed to fit the situation. After she placed the earphones in, she lied back down, and let the music drift her into sleep.

Tokyo Settlement, 3:37 P.M.

Suzaku

"Tell me, Suzaku," the mystery man inquired as they entered a local park, "Why are you a soldier?"

The man said his name was Castor, but not much did he give in the way of conversation. Suzaku was shocked, for multiple reasons. One, he never mentioned what his name was, so how did he know who he was. Two, it was such a random question that didn't seem to have an importance.

"Simple. I want to save lives in the best way possible. Being a soldier is just the best option for me."

"Yet you refuse to kill."

'!'

"I've looked up your military history, Suzaku. Despite your skill, even when given orders to kill, you've always tried to find an excuse to not take a life. That's a poor way to be a soldier. A knight, absolutely, but not a soldier."

"But, my Lord~"

"You can question the morality of taking a life while before and after the battle, but during it, a soldier is meant to follow orders. He may not like them, but he must follow them, or else he puts not only himself, but every other soldier on the battlefield at risk. If you were born Britannian, I would say that you'd be an officer by now if you didn't have this weakness."

There was a long silence between the two. Suzaku couldn't think of a response.

"Don't mistake my harshness for malice, Suzaku. You're a skilled fighter, and an even better Knightmare pilot. I saw AARs of Shinjuku. If the performance requirement for the Lancelot is half as I'm guessing it is, then, even with no prior Knightmare pilot training, you've shown better skill than any of the Britannian pilots we have in the entire settlement, including myself."

'What!?' Suzaku thought as his eyes bulged in shock.

"So think on my words, Suzaku Kururugi. You can mourn for the dead when a battle is done. But, during it, you should not hesitate to take a life. For I guarantee they won't." With that, Castor continued through the park. For a moment, Suzaku just stood there, contemplating his words.

"My Lord~"

"We're alone in public, Suzaku, just Castor, especially since you don't actually know if I'm a Lord."

"Okay," he hesitantly replied, "Why do you fight? You mentioned you were a Knightmare pilot, so you must've had combat." For several moments, the two just stood in silence.

"I'm afraid I'd only tell my reason to two types of people: my brother, and whoever I find to be a worthy opponent. Sorry to disappoint you, Suzaku."

Administration Building, 6:02 P.M.

Jeremiah

Jeremiah was nervous, but not for Suzaku. He was a loyal soldier and wouldn't do anything to Castor. His actions, both at Shinjuku, and returning after Zero and Celaeno's appearance, proved that. No, what made him nervous was Zero himself.

'You wouldn't want the public to learn about Orange, do you?'

'How in HELL did he learn about Orange? Did me and Clovis slip up and someone knows about the search? Did he hack into our systems and download the info? Did...do we have a traitor in our ranks?'

The more Jeremiah thought about it, the more nervous he became. He had no idea if Zero only knew the name of Orange, or the reason for it. If it was the latter, then~

'Does he know where Lady Marianne's children and the Li Britannian's are!'

If that was the case, then he had to think carefully. He couldn't look further into the Tokyo Settlement for their location. Even if Jeremiah did find their location, Zero most likely has eyes on them, and would move to take them out if Jeremiah came within a mile of them. And, if there was a traitor, then he couldn't even more towards them without Zero finding out. So, first on his list~

'I need to find out how they knew, and sever that connection.'

"Lord Jeremiah," A soldier exclaimed as he entered Jeremiah's office, "There's been a sighting of Zero!"

"Where!?"

"Shinjuku Ghetto."

"Good, mobilize a few Knightmare. I'll be there in a moment." The soldier saluted, then left. Jeremiah pulled out his phone, and dialed a number.

"Well, well," a cheerful voice answered, "Jeremiah, what can I do for you?"

"Lloyd, I'd like to request your aid."

Ashford Academy

Cornelia

Cornelia had found the girl on the roof of one of the buildings, simply staring out over the school yard.

"I take it you've gotten accustomed to the layout."

"I will," she dryly replied, "In time."

"I would like you to answer some questions."

"Of course, where will you start?"

"Are you immortal, or simply heal fast."

"Immortal, and, no, I will not tell you how long I've lived."

"I take it that mark on your head has something to do with it?" The girl stepped back from the edge and moved some of her hair away, revealing the Geass symbol. She had seen the symbol once when Lelouch explained it to her back in Shinjuku.

"This is my Code. With it, I cannot die, and I can pass Geass onto others."

'So, she might've given Geass to others.' "Okay, so I'm guessing giving a Geass to someone does more for you than just 'giving a superpower to random people'." The girl smiled, which creeped Cornelia out, but she didn't show it.

"You catch on quickly. Yes, the moment I give someone a Geass, I form a...mental connection with them. I can use this connection to look into their memories. I usually only do it when I first form a Contract, such as Lelouch. Hence why I know that you and him are Royalty."

Cornelia was furious, but could understand the invasion of privacy. "And the other thing?"

"My connection allows me to 'get a feeling' on my Contractors. Despite your best efforts, I did get to see you and Lelouch's debut on the bridge. Using my connection, I could feel the pride coming from him, and deduced that he was Zero."

"...Could you communicate with him?" The girl shrugged.

"Only in unique scenarios."

"Is there anyone else that you've formed a contract with? Specifically ones that could pose a problem." There was a long silence between the two.

'She contemplating telling me which Contractors she has. She knows I wouldn't believe her if she said she didn't have any others.'

"There is...one that could give you some trouble. He's chinese man named Mao."

"And why would he give us trouble."

"He grew an obsession for me. He would see you and Lelouch as thieves that should die."

"His Geass?"

"He can read the minds of any person within a 500 meter radius. It drove him insane, and was the main contributor to his obsession for me." That got Cornelia's attention.

'A mind reader will be a serious problem if he comes close to Tokyo. What does she mean by that?'

"You said his Geass drove him insane. Couldn't he just turn his Geass off." The girl gave her a slightly sinister laugh.

"I'll keep this simple. When someone is given a Geass, they're on a time limit. Even when they aren't using it, it still goes down. Using their Geass makes the timer go down faster. When the timer hits zero, the Geass turns on, and stays on." Cornelia was dumbstrucked at such a critical issue.

'That's...that's not a power, it's a CURSE!'

"So," the girl slyly remarked, leaning against the side, "Anything else?"

That broke Cornelia out of her stupor. "No, not for now, at least." Cornelia turned around and was about to leave, but stopped just short of the door. "Actually, there is one more. What's your name?"

"C.C."

'Only her initials...she must've lived for so long she's abandoned almost her entire name behind.' "Look, if you're going to be participating in this school, you'll need to at least have a registered name. You don't need to use your real name if you hate it so much." Cornelia noticed the irritation when she mentioned hating her name.

"... Claudia Celeste. That's not my name, but that's what you'll write in the records."

"Fair enough." With that, Cornelia left the girl to her own devices.

Tokyo Settlement, 6:27 P.M.

Castor

'So skilled, yet won't kill. What a fun little matchup.' Caster thought as the two exited an arcade. He just told Suzaku wanted to see Shinjuku to pay his respects to those that died here.

'Such a waste of life. I don't mind if innocents are killed, that's war. But to actively hunt them down. Where's the fight in that?'

Out of nowhere, a large truck appeared in front of them. Castor recognized the label as A.S.E.E.C. A window lowered, revealing a man with lavender hair and grey blue eyes.

"Lloyd," Suzaku said as he moved past him, "What's wrong?"

"Better get in quickly, Kururugi," Lloyd joyfully replied, "Jerry called saying that they've spotted Zero in Shinjuku. He's requested the Lancelot for support."

"Alright. Sorry, Castor, but it seems that I'l~"

"No, no, go help Jeremiah. If it involves Zero, they'll need a pilot of your skills." With that, Suzaku enter the truck, and it sped off towards Shinjuku.

'If it's truly Zero, then I can't miss this.' He then pressed a finger onto the bracelet on his right wrist.

"This is Castor, pick me up. And prep the Volanus."

Shinjuku Ghetto, 7:07 P.M.

Jeremiah

'We've got a lead, and so quickly.' Jeremiah thought as he lead his squad into Shinjuku. Kewell had told him that an unknown Knightmare was inside Shinjuku, and was being the first to respond. So him, Jeremiah, and five other Pureblood Sutherlands were advancing into the ghetto. Lloyd had contacted him just moments ago saying the Lancelot was on their way.

'With the Lancelot, he won't escape this time.'

They entered an abandoned stadium where the sighting was reported. There was… nothing. Not any sign that there was a Knightmare, or any form of illegal activities.

'Was the report wrong? Were we too late? Did they know we were coming?' That last thought made him think more on the possibility of a traitor. Jeremiah then saw the Lancelot appear on the outer wall of the stadium.

'Well, even if this is a trap, they'll be no match for Su~'

"BEHIND YOU!" Suzaku roared as he jumped towards them. For a split second, Jeremiah looked at his radar… and saw Kewell's Knightmare speeding towards him. He spun around, and saw Kewell leveling a Knightmare lance, and rushing him.

'DAMNIT, I've been had again!' Jeremiah did the only thing he could do, and used one of his arms to grab the lance. This ended up destroying the arm, but it did push his Knightmare away from Kewell.

"Kewell, you bastard. That sighting was a lie, wasn't it." Jeremiah roared as the Lancelot got between him and the mutineers.

"You've brought shame to the Purebloods by allowing Zero and Celaeno to escape. We have to wipe our disgrace away before Pollux arrive to take office."

"This fight is pointless," Suzaku exclaimed, drawing two blades from the Lancelot, "Please, stand down. You're on the same side."

"SILENCE, Eleven! You'll die alongside this traitor!"

"Um, Kewell, this might not be the best idea."

"Quiet, Ivan. We're too far in now. Take them out!" With that, the other five Sutherlands readied their lances.

"Private, Kururgi, I request your assistance in dealing with these mutineers! Don't kill them. They need to be trialled and questioned."

"Acknowledged." With that, Suzaku charged forward, slicing through one of the lances, and cutting a Sutherland's torso off. Two others charged him, but the Lancelot simply dodged the two, then proceeded to cut off a leg each. Jeremiah was dumbstrucked at the speed it was going.

'And Lloyd said I was going to be the pilot if I hadn't refused to return to base at Shinjuku? Honestly, I don't think I could've done those moves, however.'

He was so focused on the Lancelot he didn't even noticed a Sutherland coming straight at him.

"I've got you now!" Jeremiah noticed the Sutherland, but he was too close for Jeremiah to get away. Then, the head and one of the arms of the Sutherland blew off, dropping the lance and causing the auto-eject function to activate.

'What the?'

"Lord Jeremiah," a familiar voice called out, "I got here as soon as I could." Jeremiah turned and saw another Sutherland, though this one had familiar markings.

"Thank you, Villetta. Kewell, you're on your own. Surrender."

"...Men, pull back."

"Then you understa~" Suzaku tried to exclaimed.

"I'm using a Chaos Mine."

'What!' "Don't do it, Kewell!"

"DEATH TO TRAITORS!"

However, before he could throw it into the air, something pierced through the arm, tearing it off, and pinning it to the ground.

"What!" Villetta exclaimed. Jeremiah turned, and saw a Gloucester on top of the stadium wall. It was red with orange highlights, an orange cape, as well as another spear just like the one thrown. (Regalis Knightmare for reference on what the spears look like, not the Knightmare itself)

"THAT'S ENOUGH! I am Castor rui Britannian, Fifteenth Prince of the Holy Britannian Empire, and I ORDER you all to stand down NOW!" With that roar, it took a moment for the remaining combatants to realize who just spoke to them. But when they did, they immediately knelt down.

"Forgive us, your Highness." Kewell exclaimed.

'Good.' Jeremiah thought, 'He knows that, since Prince Castor is on our side (of this fight), he'd be committing treason if he continued this fight.'

"Castor?" Suzaku hesitantly inquired.

"Forgive me, Suzaku. The deception was necessary for me to explore without concern. I hope your opinion hasn't been soured." Jeremiah smirked when he saw the Lancelot immediately kneel down.

"Of course not, your Highness."

"Jeremiah. We'll have things to discuss concerning Zero. However, for now, you are still the leader of the Purebloods. As such, these mutineers will be jailed and, unless you say otherwise, punished accordingly."

"Of course, your grace." With that, after several more Sutherlands arrived, the mutineers were taken into custody, and their Knightmare retrieved. All the while never noticing a small object hovering on top of a building, it's camera recording the whole battle.

Administration Building, 9:39 P.M.

Prince Pollux's aircraft had just landed, and Castor came to greet his older brother.

"What up, little brother." Castor casually remarked. Pollux let out a deep sigh.

"Sub-Viceroy, please be more formal when in front of the troops."

"Sure thing." Pollux could taste the sarcasm in his voice, but that's how he's always been.

"Now," Pollux stated as he turned to one of the officials that helped Clovis run Area 11, "Report."

"Yes, my Lord," the official stated, "Our first order of business is a welcome party we've arranged for your arri~" He then noticed the Prince raise his arm to him. He flicked his wrist downward, revealing some kind of arm brace...with gun barrels on it.

"Sloppy, senile, corrupt...looks like my elder brother hasn't changed. I don't care about any of that right now.

I want ZERO AND CELAENO!"

Author's Notes: So, Chapter 5 has been published. Really glad the reviews are positive. It's been half a decade since I wrote a fanfiction, and I've never done one on this site, so I'm still getting used to the way things work.

Castor and Pollux are characters introduced in the Nintendo DS game, which I have no info about. So, I decided to get a little OC with them.

As always, leave your opinion in the reviews, and criticism is always welcomed.