Lelouch, Kallen, Milly, and Arthur waited patiently at Omotesandō Mall for their new ally to arrive. Even as they pretended to be ordinary teenagers out shopping (and their pet in the case of Arthur), they passed the time performing tasks for the Black Knights. Lelouch took the opportunity to surreptitiously pawn off the valuables they had taken from Clovis' Palace. Kallen left and returned with a bag that doubtlessly contained more ammunition underneath her ostensible purchases. Unlike Lelouch and Kallen, Milly's task, buying medical supplies, was not illegal in of itself, but it was still for the benefit of an outlaw organization. As a cat, Arthur couldn't buy or sell things for the Black Knights himself, but he instead maintained a lookout for them.

They regrouped at a table amid the food court's outside seating, engaging in chitchat as they ate some fast food, but they remained ever watchful of their surroundings, looking for any sign of Leila… or those who might listen too closely to their conversation.

Eventually, the young countess arrived. It was clear that Leila had taken pains not to be recognized in public, which was natural given all of the media attention surrounding her supposed relationship with the Viceroy. She had undone her trademark egg-like buns, drawing up and rearranging her flowing light blonde hair into a thick pair of twin tails instead. She also wore a dark pair of sunglasses, concealing her amethyst eyes. It would be enough to throw off casual observers, but Lelouch saw through the disguise easily, in part because he was expecting her, and because there wasn't anyone else he knew personally with such voluminous blonde hair in that particular shade.

As for her attire, Leila was dressed in her school uniform, as were the other Black Knights, but instead of the creamy yellow jacket with black cuffs that Kallen and Milly wore as part of Ashford Academy's uniform for female students, Leila had a dark blue blazer with red cuffs. Otherwise, her uniform was quite similar to those of his classmates, with a short black skirt, loafers, and long socks, cutting off above the knee like Kallen's, whereas Milly's fell below.

"I hope I didn't keep you waiting for too long," Leila said, taking a seat.

"It's not a problem," Lelouch replied. "I'm glad you could make it."

"I haven't seen that uniform before," Milly said. "What school do you go to?"

"St. Lucy's," Leila replied. "It's a girls' school."

"Ooh," Milly started to say, but Lelouch cut her off before she could sidetrack the conversation.

"You must still be tired from yesterday," he said to Leila.

She nodded. " A bit."

"It seems that awakening to one's Persona always takes a lot out of you," he said quietly. Kallen and Milly nodded. "Now that we're all here, let's take this somewhere else."

He led the Black Knights to the train station, and a quick use of the Metaverse Navigator whisked them away into Mementos, away from any prying eyes or ears.

"What is this place?" Leila asked, now dressed in her thief costume, as were the other Black Knights.

"It's called Mementos," Arthur replied. "It's another Palace, only for the general public. We should be safe as long as we stay near the entrance. The Shadows never come up here."

She nodded.

"Now, you said that you first awakened to your power when you were young?" Lelouch asked.

Leila nodded again. "I did. It came to me in a dream… I can't remember most of it… but I saw butterflies, and heard a woman's voice…" She shook her head. "I didn't know the name of my Persona, and never needed to call upon her, but Jeanne d'Arc was there within me for so many years, until I had almost forgotten about her. Yet she was like a guardian angel to me, unconsciously protecting me from harm. It was only recently that I began to dream of butterflies again… And then that strange app appeared on my phone, right around the time that my parents were investigating the Viceroy's Cognitive Psience research. Or, I should say, reappeared... I'd gotten rid of it many times before, but it always seemed to keep coming back no matter what I did. But this time, I decided to use it."

Butterflies… Lelouch recalled seeing such imagery too, and he had also heard a woman's voice before forging his pact with Arsene. Neither Kallen nor Milly had reported such for themselves, so Leila's awakening was more similar to his own in that regard, but there were still questions that remained unanswered. Then again, given that he wasn't being completely honest with his teammates about the nature of his own powers, could they also be concealing aspects of theirs?

"You mentioned your parents were looking into cognitive science," Kallen spoke up. "Why's it so important to the Viceroy?"

"Cognitive Psience," Leila corrected gently. "Psi, as in the Greek letter, or psionics. You might think of it as parapsychology, but they started calling it Cognitive Psience to differentiate it from what had come before," she whispered. "While parapsychology grasped at fragments of the truth, its approach was largely unscientific, mere speculation without any real evidence to back it up. That changed when Clovis' scientists discovered evidence of the cognitive world."

"By which you mean the Metaverse," Kallen interjected.

"Yes. As I was saying," Leila continued, "the cognitive world, or Metaverse, made studying a range of paranormal phenomena possible. For the first time, their predictions could be properly quantified and experimentally verified."

"Do you know when my half brother started displaying an interest in the occult?" Lelouch asked. "He was always interested in the arts, even when we were children, but this is a new development for him."

"No," Leila replied, shaking her head. "Though if it's unfamiliar to you, it must have started after you came to Japan. My parents didn't learn much beyond the existence of the Viceroy's research program and the object of its study… though you wouldn't believe how much he's poured into it over the years, even as he continues to pursue his construction projects. A little bit here, and a little bit there… but it all adds up. I'm surprised someone else didn't discover it sooner."

Kallen clenched a fist. "People starving in the ghettos while the Viceroy builds amusement parks is bad enough… and he keeps razing them to build more projects, making countless Japanese homeless in the process. Yet the Britannian public doesn't care at all! But I bet they would if he knew he was spending their tax money on a secret project. Even others in the Royal Family might take notice if he's embezzling funds that they think should be going into Britannia's coffers," she spat.

"Of course, most nobles will cheat where they can, if they think they can get away with it," Lelouch murmured. "They're parasites by nature." Milly, Kallen, and Leila nodded in agreement. "Britannian society is corrupt from the top down. You might even say that it is even encouraged to an extent under the Empire's philosophy of Social Darwinism. Playing by the rules is for the weak, as long as you're strong enough to avoid any real consequences for it, or can at least hide your duplicity from those who can punish you. Pair that with a rigid class system, and cheating becomes one of the few ways to move up if you're dissatisfied with your position. We saw that with Coach Nu, when she had to resort to framing Suzaku, and I wouldn't be surprised if many other royals are secretly skimming tax revenue to fund their own pet projects."

"How can Clovis be dissatisfied with his position?" Kallen fumed. "He's a prince, rules over an entire nation, and clearly has enough wealth and free time to pursue his precious hobbies at his leisure."

"You didn't grow up in the Royal Family," Lelouch told her. "Save for a few members from branches of the family that have allied with your own, everyone's scheming against each other, ruthlessly pursuing their own advancement…. All encouraged by the Emperor, of course. The li Britannias, and Clovis' family, the la Britannias, were the closest royal allies that the vi Britannias had at the Imperial Court at Pendragon. They actually cared when we were exiled, and saw Nunnally and myself off. "Marrybell was there too… she wasn't quite as close to us as I was to Clovis, Euphemia, and Cornelia, but she still showed up for us. Then there was Carine… but she never liked Nunnally…. I think she was just sad she couldn't push my sister around anymore. And Schniezel… he was the one among us who was the most loved and feared of the Emperor's heirs. Even back then, I saw him more as a rival… But the others… they couldn't care less if we were gone, or welcomed our exile… They would say good riddance to the children of the commoner Empress…. Even if I was to meet those who had been my allies back in Pendragon today, it would be a mistake to assume that they're still our friends. Britannia doesn't work that way. Clovis is living proof of that."

"If Clovis' research into the Metaverse comes to fruition, he could gain unparalleled power over his siblings, possibly enough to dominate Britannia and reshape it according to his own desires," Leila murmured. "He's already using it to murder his enemies in Area 11 with mental shutdowns. And that brings us to what I wanted to talk about. You said we could stop him if we 'steal his heart'? How does that work?"

"When a person's desires are highly distorted, it gives rise to a Palace," Arthur explained. "At the core of that Palace lies the Treasure, an embodiment of those distorted desires. If that Treasure is removed, then the person will lose those desires, and their personality would change accordingly."

"That's why you said he would be crushed by guilt," Leila said, turning to Lelouch. "Because he would no longer desire those terrible things, but he would still remember doing them."

"I'm glad you understand."

"I will admit, the idea of doing that to someone else is not something that I entirely agree with," she said quietly. "But if it will put a stop to the Viceroy's crimes without further bloodshed, I can see no better alternative." She looked up, her eyes momentarily hopeful. "Might he go back to being the kinder half-brother you once knew, who was your friend back in Pendragon?"

Lelouch looked at her incredulously. He knew that she didn't want to kill anyone, but hoping for reconciliation between him and the one who had ordered her parents' deaths? She really was far too kind for her own good. The world was not kind in turn to idealists.

"He might…," he admitted after a moment. "But some things can't be forgiven. No matter how much we may wish it, we simply can't turn back time like that."

"Ummm… okay!" Milly said. "On that cheerful note… GUTS!"

Leila looked utterly confused.

"Don't mind her," Lelouch told her. "It's just a 'magic spell' that Madam President uses to get everyone fired up."

"I see…"

"There's one other thing," Kallen said. "I've already alerted my friends in Shinjuku about the Viceroy's plans, so they'll be able to organize some resistance if it comes to that, and hopefully evacuate some of the civilian population. But I'd like you to see Shinjuku, so you know exactly what we're fighting to protect."

Lelouch nodded.

"I've averted my eyes for too long," Milly said. "Count me in."

"I admit that my own upbringing has been rather sheltered. Count me in as well," Leila added.

"I'm already familiar with Shinjuku, but no sense in splitting up," Arthur added. "I'll accompany you there."

They left Mementos and returned to the real world, heading out to the border of the Tokyo Settlement. Soon, they had left behind the shining Britannian city and arrived at the outskirts of the Shinjuku Ghetto. Decrepit office buildings and bombed-out skyscrapers stretched across the landscape, and, if the rumors were true, the remnants of a long-abandoned red light district lay among them. According to Kallen, in spite of the squalid conditions, thousands of Japanese still lived here. Mostly they were those who had refused to become Honorary Britannians, the unemployed or those who could not afford housing in the Settlement, and the elderly. The utilities were unreliable, with the ghetto experiencing frequent brownouts, as much of the necessary infrastructure had been damaged during the war, and the Britannians couldn't be bothered to spend much on those who they considered little more than squatters in their own homes.

"Stay close to me," Kallen cautioned. "A lot of people here don't take kindly to Britannians who come wandering in. Most who do are up to no good, gawking at the 'Elevens' like they're animals in a zoo, or coming to play some sort of prank or on a dare, so you can't exactly blame them."

Indeed, the air seemed to be filled with a mix of unease and hostility as they entered the ghetto. The streets were largely empty, but they had the sense that there were many sets of eyes anxiously watching them as they made their way through the streets. They passed a number of street vendors, operating stalls that seemed as ramshackle as the buildings surrounding them, all of which appeared to be in varying states of disrepair. A few vendors tried to call over to them, hoping to make a much-needed sale to a clearly affluent group of Britannians, but most just eyed them warily in silence, not wanting to make the first move.

"This is awful…" Milly murmured.

"Tell me about it," Arthur said. "I used to hunt and scavenge here, but the pickings were pretty slim. Even the rats were pretty scrawny."

Leila looked down at him curiously.

"Yes, I can talk in the real world too now," Arthur shrugged. "But unless someone's heard me in the Metaverse before, it just sounds like purring."

Without warning, a ball bounced around a corner. A small girl came bounding after it and bent down to retrieve it, but as she started to rise she noticed them and froze like a deer in the headlights.

"It's okay…" Leila said. "We aren't going to hurt you."

The girl let out a small cry, and quickly scurried off.

"There are children here too…" Milly frowned.

"What did you expect?" Kallen asked. "People raise their families in the ghettos, because they have nowhere else to go. It's not much, but it's still their home, and they'll cling to whatever they have left."

"Hey, what's the big idea?" a loud voice said in accented Britannian. A Japanese man with scruffy brown hair, an purple jacket that looked as if had seen better days, and a red headband appeared, shaking a fist at them. "What do you think you dumb Brits are doing, waltzing in like here like you own the place?" His voice was slightly slurred, as if he had recently had a bit too much to drink. "I'll show you!'

"Tamaki!" A black-haired man and a blue-haired woman rushed after him. They were both Japanese, and they also wore red headbands like the first man, evidently named Tamaki, did.

"What are you doing?" Tamaki shouted. "I don't need your help to scare off some Brits!"

"Oh, Tamaki, you never change," Arthur sighed.

The man restrained him. "Think before you act, Tamaki!"

"You'll have to excuse our companion," the woman said with a gentle voice. "But this isn't a safe place for Britannians. You should return to your nice, clean homes."

"I appreciate the advice, Inoue," Kallen said, switching to Japanese as she stepped forward. "I was about to lead them back myself. And thank you, Nagata. I was afraid Tamaki was about to do something stupid."

"Kallen? What are you doing, bringing Brits here, let alone introducing us to them?" Tamaki spluttered.

"Are these your classmates, Kallen?" Inoue asked calmly, though she still seemed to be eyeing them warily. "It's good to see that you're making friends at school. It's what your brother would have wanted. But you know they shouldn't be here."

"It's okay," Kallen said. "They're the ones I spoke about earlier. We can trust them. Besides, they know what will happen if they talk," she said as she casually moved her fingers across her neck.

Lelouch nodded. The threat hardly seemed necessary at this point, but she understood Kallen was making it both for the benefit of her friends in the resistance, and to Leila, the newest member of the Black Knights.

"I know you spoke to Oghi about it," Nagata frowned. "But you've been getting more distant lately. You used to come here all the time, but now we rarely see you. Come to think of it, we didn't see much of Naoto either, before he…". His voice trailed off.

"We're worried about you, Kallen," Inoue said, filling the awkward silence.

"Besides, you're the - hic! Best pilot we have," Tamaki said drunkenly. "Besides me, of course."

"Quiet, Tamaki," Nagata warned.

"You're carrying on your brother's mission, aren't you?" Inoue asked. "I wish you could tell us what exactly you were trying to do. We'd be only too happy to help you."

Kallen hung her head. "I can't. Even if I could explain it, you and the others wouldn't be able to help, and you would only be in more danger. This is something I have to do… or else my brother will never be able to rest in peace."

"We can't help but they can, Kallen? Are you saying we're not good enough for you?" Tamaki said, continuing to run his mouth. "And who's this guy?" he jeered, glaring at Lelouch. "Don't tell me this Brit is your boyfriend!"

"That's not true at all!" Kallen replied heatedly, tears starting to flow from her eyes, even as her cheeks flushed red.

Lelouch stepped forward, meeting Tamaki's gaze. "Who are you to say such things about her?"

"Well… I…" Tamaki started, an idiotic look on his face. "I was her brother's best buddy! Next to Oghi, that is…. Kallen's like a little sister to me! I have to look out for her!"

"What I heard was you being as bigoted as any Britannian. Kallen is half Britannian, and she looks like a Britannian, yet she considers herself Japanese, and you accepted her as such. Isn't that proof enough that there's more to things than shallow appearances?"

"Shit! She told you that much? You speak well, but don't think that gives you the right to look down upon us, Brit!"

"I'm sorry for my friend's rudeness," Inoue said, frowning . "As you can see, he's clearly inebriated. We had best bring him home before he makes even more of a fool of himself."

"We all looked up to your brother," Nagata told Kallen as they prepared to go. "I won't pretend that I like this, but if he thought that whatever you're working on was important enough for him to give his life for, and if you're carrying on that wish, I will do my best to respect it. But I hope you know what you're doing, bringing them into it," he said, eyeing Lelouch and the other Britannians. "Be careful, Kallen. We can't afford to lose you too."

"I will," she replied firmly, regaining her composure.

"Long live Japan!" he saluted.

"Long live Japan!" Kallen returned, filled with conviction.

"That's the Kallen we all know," Nagata smiled.

"Take care! If you need anything, you know where to find us, Kallen!" Inoue called.

"Tamaki's usually not that boorish," Kallen said quietly as they walked out of Shinjuku. "He can be an idiot, but he pitches in like anyone else, and I can't fault him for his tenacity in a fight… though it might be better described as recklessness."

"They're like family to you, aren't they?" Milly asked.

"After Naoto died, they were pretty much all I had left… I can't say I'm on good terms with the rest of my family. I'm not about to let some stuck-up prince take them away from me."

"I agree. He has hurt too many people already," Leila nodded.

"None of us is strong enough to defeat Britannia alone," Lelouch said, "and toppling Clovis will be just the first step. But together, we will change the world."

"Hey, don't forget me!" Arthur complained.

"Of course not. Where would we be if you hadn't guided Kallen into the Metaverse?"

"You held your own pretty well against that Shadow the other day too," Leila said, bending down to pet Arthur behind the ears.

"T-that tickles!"

It was a curious feeling, this ever growing sense of camaraderie between himself and the other Black Knights. It was not an unpleasant one. As much as he had grown up to be distrustful of others back in Pendragon, now he could confide in and rely upon his partners in crime. After visiting Shinjuku, their shared resolve to bring Clovis to justice had strengthened, and Lelouch felt that strength flowing in turn into the sea of his soul. Nowhere was this more evident than his bond with Kallen, the Chariot. By bringing them to Shinjuku and introducing them to some of the members of her local Resistance cell, it demonstrated a heightened level of trust from her, imbuing the Chariot with new power.

After agreeing to infiltrate Clovis' Palace again on the following day, they parted ways upon re-entering the Tokyo Settlement. Lelouch soon found his way back to the Ashford Academy Clubhouse, where he was greeted by Sayoko.

"Welcome back, Master Lelouch," she said with a bow. "I assume you were out on another daring escapade?"

That sounded like a double entendre, but he ignored it. "Nothing so dramatic today," he told her. "Just making preparations for tomorrow."

"A heist?" Sayoko asked. "The calling card you left for your teacher the last time said something about 'stealing her heart', and the calling cards you left for the members of the SSDF bore similar language about 'stealing their desires'. I know you're quite the charmer, Master Lelouch, but you really are stealing something from them, aren't you?"

Her mind really was as filthy as Milly's at times, wasn't it? No wonder Nunnally got such strange ideas at times. He had both Milly and Sayoko to contend with there. Still, Sayoko's help was invaluable for taking care of Nunnally, so it wasn't to be spurned easily.

"You might say that," Lelouch replied. "We take their Treasures, that which they value above all else."

"If it would be helpful, Master Lelouch, I could give you instruction on the finer points of infiltration. While my primary role as an SP was to ensure the protection of VIPs, sometimes it may be necessary to perform a retrieval from within or otherwise move through enemy territory as quickly and silently as possible."

"That would indeed be useful." He doubted he would ever match Sayoko's seemingly superhuman skills, even in the Metaverse, but any advantage he could obtain was a welcome one.

"Such lessons are not casually undertaken though," Sayoko continued. "Even if I focus on just the essentials, they will take the better parts of your afternoons. Of course, whether you accept or decline, I shall continue to faithfully fulfill all my duties where Mistress Nunnally is concerned. You need not worry about the training compromising that in the least."

"I really don't know what I would do without you, Sayoko."

"The pleasure is mine, Master Lelouch. But I shouldn't hold you. Doubtlessly you will want to be well-rested before your caper tomorrow."

"Thank you, Sayoko."

Before retiring for the night, Lelouch went to see Nunnally.

"Sayoko told me you were out earlier," she said.

"I was. I was doing some errands for the Student Council with Milly and Kallen. We had to pick some things up in town," he told her, twisting the truth.

"Is that what you would call a double date?" she asked.

"Not at all."

Nunnally looked disappointed. "Well, I hope the three of you had fun."

"It was a productive outing."

"Have you heard that brother Clovis is dating someone? They say her name's Leila. It's a nice name. I hear that she's really pretty too." She frowned. "I wish I could see her for myself. She could be our half sister-in-law one day."

It was now Lelouch's turn to frown, but Nunnally's blindness meant that she couldn't see the change in his expression. Nunnally was of course ignorant of Clovis' crimes, and knew him only as the loving half brother he had been back in their childhood, and not the Viceroy who was nothing if not an expert at manipulating the media to constantly present himself in the best possible light. He couldn't break the truth to Nunnally without admitting to his own involvement in matters that she wouldn't approve of.

Besides, she would be learning the truth from Clovis' own mouth soon enough anyway.

In any case, Leila's face was public knowledge these days; the media had latched onto the story quickly, and such trivialities were a good way of distracting the public from the corruption within their own government, or the deplorable conditions of the Japanese. So Lelouch described Leila's appearance to Nunnally. It helped that he had met the Countess in person.

"I wish that we could see the others again," Nunnally said wistfully. "I miss Clovis, Euphy, and all of the others…"

"Nunnally, you know why that can't happen… we'd just be used as political pawns again. Even if they meant well, we'd be drawn into the schemes of the others…"

"I know…" she said sadly. "But I'll always have you, Lelouch!" Her expression brightened.

"That's right, Nunnally."

"And remember our pinky promise!" She said in a cheery voice. "You'll have to eat a thousand needles if you lie!"

Lelouch took no pleasure in continually lying to his sister, and he certainly didn't look forward to the punishment she had promised. But he didn't want to trouble Nunnnally, and so he would continue to project the persona of the perfect big brother, who was always honest with her. But as much as that itself was a lie, at its core was the truth that he loved his sister, and he would do anything necessary to ensure her wellbeing.

And for that, Britannia had to fall.

Days until Shinjuku is Demolished: 16

A/N:

Leila's alternate twintailed hairstyle in this chapter is based on the style her canonical counterpart uses when she joins the Wyvern Squadron in battle in the second Akito the Exiled movie. The design of her school uniform in this chapter is a cross between her canonical E.U. military uniform (particularly with the red highlights) and the dark blue uniforms worn by the Kosei High School Students (e.g. Yusuke and Hifumi) in Persona 5.

As for St. Lucy's, it does not exist in either Code Geass or Persona 5, and is an invention for this story, but it is intended to serve roughly the same role as Kosei High in Persona 5. It however needed to be a Britannian school, so a different name was needed. I chose the name St. Lucy's for three reasons. Firstly, Kosei High, the P5 counterpart which it is modeled on, has some hints of possibly being a religious school for Japanese Christians, so I wanted the religious theme to carry over (which also fits with Leila's Arcana and Persona). Such an institution would not seem out of place in Britannia either, as the formal title of the nation is the "Holy Britannian Empire", and there are some scattered references made to some form of Christianity being practiced in Britannia throughout Code Geass. Secondly, Kosei High is speculated to have been given its name as a pun on "rehabilitation" in Persona 5. St. Lucy is said to have have refused to make a sacrifice to the Roman Emperor, which gives the name of the school a subversive feel, and ties it to the theme of "rebellion" in this story. Lastly, the name is a call back to another character of the Priestess Arcana in Persona 3. Namely, Fukka Yamagishi's Persona was Lucia, which was the Roman name for St. Lucy, who was further associated with sight, again fitting for Leila's abilities as the Priestess in this story.

When Lelouch recounts his exile, Marrybel is a nod to Marrybel mel Britannia, who was originally depicted in Oz of the Reflection, and who the recap movies showed to have been one of those royals present to see Lelouch and Nunnally off. Interestingly, Carine, who does appear in the canon of the original show, also appears among those gathered, but given that Carine is also established to not like Nunnally, I came up with my own explanation for her presence.

If anyone familar with Code Geass forgets who Nagata was, he was member of the resistance working with Kallen and driving the truck in episode 1, who was mortally wounded by fire from Villetta's Knightmare. However, because the events of this story are currently several months before the skirmish in Shinjuku in the original canon, he would likely be still alive and well at this point in the story, so I decided to give him an appearance.

Tamaki, as noted, is not quite is usual self in this chapter, but it is an established part of his character that he does like to go drinking, so it's perfectly conceivable that he might get drunk from time to time. And drunk or not, he is still a bit of an egotist and a fool through and through.

Inoue is another of the canonical members of the Resistance and Black Knights in the original show. Of course, the Black Knights in this story are fundamentally different organization. From those scenes in which Inoue appears, she is consistently portrayed as being kindhearted, which is further reinforced by her Japanese voice actor, Kikuko Inoue (who she is named after), being typecast as playing motherly or dignified characters, and so I had her behave accordingly.

It is well established that virtually all members of Kallen's resistance cell held her brother, who helped found it, in the highest regard, and their desire to see his dream reach fruition helped lead them to follow the canonical Zero. Here, that tendency somewhat pacifies their response to learning that Kallen is working with Lelouch and the others, but it goes without saying that they're distrustful of Britannians, which is why Lelouch had to wear as mask in canon in the first place.

In other news, this story finally has a TVTropes page, graciously provided by one of my readers. It's still a very nascent page, but I hope to see it grow as the story continues!

Next up, back to infiltrating Clovis' Palace!