Greetings, all. Here, I present to you the second chapter of Code Geass: Masquerade Redemption. I thank all those of you who have favorited, followed and reviewed this story. So once again, I say that the plot and OCs belong to me but Code Geass itself does not. Now without further ado, onto the chapter!

[Somewhere in Zilkhistan]

C.C looked out at the land before her. Land which was covered with sand. That was all it was. If you exclude the small number of roads, there was only sand everywhere. C.C's eyes momentarily widened and she grumbled. C.C couldn't believe she was marvelling at sand of all things.

Kicking the thoughts of sand out of her mind, she focused on what she came to this desert region for. Right, she was here for a gate into C's World. If her friend's information was correct, a gate would be in Zilkistan. And C.C had no reason to doubt her friend. After all, her friend had lived longer than her and had way more connections than her and she had no reason to believe that her friend was betraying her, either. She knew her friend and that they would never betray someone they had befriended with no ill intentions. Her friend's pride was too big for that. However, if they 'befriended' someone with such intentions...

C.C sighed. Either way, she was in Zilkhistan now. All she had to do was follow the coordinates her friend had given her and she could find a gate. C.C turned around to look at the small truck she had rented. It basically carried all her belongings from Australia and the outside of the truck was painted to be something like a commercial truck so as to not raise suspicion. C.C quickly opened her phone and put in the coordinates her friend had given her into the GPS. The address loaded as the GPS looked for the site. When the GPS displayed the location she was to go to, her eyes widened.

"You can't be serious," C.C grumbled and gave an exasperated sigh. "Why must all the things I need be so complicated!?" She trudged into the back of the truck where her cargo was stored and started to rummage through a suitcase. After a few minutes of fiddling around, she finally pulled out a white straightjacket. Not any ordinary one. The straightjacket. C.C's straightjacket.

"Looks like I'm gonna be wearing you sooner than I thought," C.C mumbled but her thoughts were soon interrupted by the ringing of a phone. Picking up the phone, she glanced at the number in recognition and spoke into it.

"Hello, Sayoko. I know it's been a long time, but I need your help with something,"

Geass 2: The Demon's Revival and The Serpent's Rise

"Seeking to forget makes exile all the longer. The secret of redemption lies in remembrance."

~Richard von Weizsaecker

[Unknown Location]

E.E and Yukio walked through the halls of the Intelligence Site briskly. E.E was stretching out her arms while walking much to the annoyance of Yukio.

"Could you please stop?"

E.E looked over to the taller one, amethyst eyes filled with mirth. "Why should I? I feel like stretching so I am. If you have a problem with it, walk further away from me."

Yukio grumbled, "And we all know what would happen if I did that."

Yes. Indeed they did know that E.E had a habit of wandering off and exploring other places. Even places that she had no right to enter and it made people annoyed. Very much so.

They soon reached a wooden door labelled Hollin's office and entered with a knock. Opening the door, they found the old man sitting in his chair staring out through the glass situated behind him. At the sound of the knock, Hollins turned around to face the two with his cold blue eyes. He gestured to the two chairs in front of his desk and E.E and Yukio took it as their cue to sit down. Hollins kept his eyes on them for a while before sighing.

"I will now tell you about the mission," Hollins began and the two in front of him steadied their attention onto him.

He pulled out a file from a drawer in his desk and presented it before them. Yukio pulled the folder closer to him as he began to observe its contents. Hollins continued, "I'm pretty sure you have already figured out where you will be sent."

E.E was the only one who nodded as Yukio continued to look through the folder, eventually pulling it onto his lap. She answered for the both of them, "Japan."

Hollins nodded, "It's time we announce ourselves to the world. For that, G.G will be kind enough to do it all by himself."

"So, he's going to be the media boy." Yukio mumbled.

"I guess you could call it that." Hollins sighed, "Just that he will make his own decisions. But of course, they will be decisions that benefit us."

E.E pursed her lips while Yukio looked up from the folder with a quick glance. Hollins noticed these actions but paid it no mind seeing as to how these two in particular were not very fond of G.G. He spoke once again, "Now, you will find the exact details of the mission in the folder that Yukio is currently holding. Other than that, you will be having a new addition to your unit."

This got reactions from both of them.

"New addition?"

Hollins nodded with an uncomfortable look, "His name is...um...Matthias."

E.E's eyebrow raised in curiosity, "What's with the hesitation?"

"His full profile is on the last page of the folder."

E.E looked over to Yukio who was already flipping over to the last page. She waited for him to read through the name but she noticed that his eyes seemed to pause as he read. He looked up from the paper and at the General. "This is his full name?"

Hollins nodded.

"Peculiar," Yukio said before passing it over to E.E whose reaction was not unlike Yukio's.

"...Unique." E.E said before a slight grin spread over her face, "Were his parents fans of Shakespeare?"

"They're big fans,"

The three who were in the room looked over to the door where a boy with messy brown hair and onyx eyes stood. He looked fairly nervous as he spoke once again, "Sorry for coming in without knocking."

Hollins looked him over with that chilling gaze of his and the boy squirmed in his spot. "Might as well come in. However, I expect to have to allow you in next time otherwise you will be told to leave this room and not enter again for the rest of the day."

The boy gulped before slowly walking up towards the three. Once he reached the table, he saluted them stiffly, "M-Matthias Moth Peaseblossom, sir!"

Amethyst eyes stared back.

Matthias quickly rectified his previous statement, "I-I mean, Matthias Moth Peaseblossom, sirs and ma'am!"

Yukio turned away from the fretting boy and snatched the folder out of E.E's hands, who made no move to complain. He stared at the folder for a while before addressing Matthias, "Midsummer's Night Dream?"

"E-eh?" Matthias stumbled before he caught onto what Yukio meant. "Oh, y-yes, sir."

"So, he's going to be in my unit now?" E.E asked, slowly.

"Yes," Hollins answered.

The blue haired girl stared at the boy before sighing, "Gone to Japan before?"

Matthias blinked. "Uh, n-no, ma'am."

"First off, stop calling me ma'am. E.E is fine. Second, get rid of that stutter. It's annoying. Third, since you're a new addition to my unit, we'll be checking out your abilities..."

Matthias was sweating now as E.E's eyes warped sadistically.

"So, better not disappoint me, Shakespeare."

[Royal Palace, Zilkhistan]

A man with long raven hair strode through the halls of the palace. His gaze was filled with a burning fire and his aura radiated hatred. All those in the hall alongside him, quickly swerved out of his path of rampage.

It was too quiet. He couldn't bear this silence. He needed to hear something. Anything other than this peace. His ears hurt incredibly. The man felt as though his ear drums would burst from the silence. Yes, this man was not normal. If anything, he was far from normal. His subordinates and all those working with him would only have one word to describe him. Beast. Not only that, but he was also another person touched by that supernatural power. The one called Geass.

It had deprived him of his sanity. He no longer had the sense that any other person would have. Unrest was his drug. Screams were his salvation. War was his peace. Silence was his poison. Calm was his bane and peace was his war. No-one would have thought that the man who once enjoyed meditation would throw it away like it would kill him. Then again, it may have indeed killed him. His Geass was one which thrived when in stress and disorder. If it was peace that surrounded it, it would probably destroy him.

So what was it that possessed Lacus Brand to call the beast known as Muhal Shah?

What was it that Lacus Brand believed could change?

What was it that Crown thought they could tame?

[Somewhere in Zilkhistan]

It had been a few hours since C.C had taken the phone call and she now knew she had made the right choice by relying on the ninja maid known as Sayoko Shinozaki. Once C.C had finished explaining what she planned on doing to Sayoko, the maid had hurried over as fast as she could. And seeing as to how she wasn't far from Zilkhistan, that had been quite fast indeed. And that meant things could go all the more quicker.

The Japanese maid now sat in the front of the truck C.C had rented along with the green haired witch. Sayoko looked at her with curious eyes and asked, "Where are we headed?"

"A prison,"

Blunt as ever.

Sayoko's eyes widened slightly before she sighed and shook her head in exasperation. She supposed she shouldn't be surprised about anything anymore. After all, a lot of crazy things had happened in the past few years. "So, how did you reach this sudden breakthrough?"

"A friend helped me," C.C replied, glancing at the technically younger woman.

Sayoko looked puzzled for a moment, apparently surprised at the notion that the immortal had a friend.

"Is it really that hard to believe?" C.C asked.

"Oh, don't mind me." Sayoko said, "Though, I'm afraid it truly is that hard to believe."

C.C snorted at Sayoko's response. "You understood the gist of the plan, right?"

Sayoko nodded, "Yes. However, the end relies heavily on how the first part plays out."

"Yeah, well we'll just have to keep our fingers crossed, now won't we?"

"That's not reassuring in the least,"

"Do you want to back out?"

Sayoko stared at C.C for a moment and turned her gaze back out towards the front, steely resolve in her eyes, "Absolutely not."

"Wonderful," C.C smiled slightly and at that moment, they saw the beginnings of the prison a fair distance away and stepped on the break of the truck. "We've reached."

And that was all Sayoko needed to break out from the confines of the front of the truck and she headed to the back, closely followed by C.C. The two picked out their separate outfits that were stashed in a red suitcase. C.C pulled out her prisoner straightjacket and Sayoko reached for her disguise. They quickly changed and C.C, being the first to finish, started to disguise the back of the truck. She quickly pulled out a long grey cloth that matched the colour of the inside of the truck and situated all the suitcases and her personal belongings to the very back. She attached the cloth to the ceiling and the base in such a way that appeared to make it seem like it was a wall of sorts.

C.C went back to Sayoko who looked at her through her disguise which looked like a fat man wearing the prison guard uniform. If one was to look between Sayoko and this disguised version, they would see absolutely nothing alike between the two.

C.C nodded at Sayoko who then set to work with setting up the outside of the truck to look like the ones which transported prisoners. C.C knew that she probably wouldn't be able to return the truck to its owner after this, but it mattered little to her. Once Sayoko was done, she sat down inside the back if the truck with her restraints on. Sayoko took the wheel and the truck's engines started up once again as it headed towards the prison which lied ahead.

[Black Knights Base]

Zero walked through the hangar where many Knightmares were being held. The Shinkiro, Zero's Knightmare, was currently prepped and ready to go. After thay had gotten news of the attack on the E.U, Cornelia and Nunnally had asked Zero and the Black Knights to go and look through the situation there and if possible, attain victory in the battle against the unknown forces. Since they didn't know who their enemy was and their abilities, the Black Knights would have to approach with their Knightmares for defence. However, this could bring the unknown forces' attention onto Britannia which would create problems. It was not that the Black Knights were letting this go. No. They would fight back against them when the time was right. Going up against an enemy they knew little about was foolhardiness.

The E.U was already engaged in battle with these wannabe invaders, but for some reason, they had not communicated with the Black Knights nor Britannia or any other country about what they learned. They probably thought they could handle the situation themselves. After all, which country would easily trust a country they had been in war with for so long. Still, the trust was building but Zero believed it would take longer to attain their entire trust.

Even then, something still felt wrong about this whole matter. Stubborn the E.U may be, but they certainly weren't stupid. If they required assistance, they would have asked by now and that was what set Britannia on edge. The E.U hadn't. The only thing they had received from the European country was the news that had been given to Nunnally during the meeting back then. If the battle was over, why had they not received any notice saying so? From the looks of it, the citizens of the E.U had not communicated with anyone either. The ones who had been 'evacuated' by Origin still had not returned to the country. Zero had checked and he was relieved to find that the ones that were 'evacuated' were still in other countries and living. It looked as though Origin didn't see this as the time to send them home. And that meant something was still happening in the E.U.

"Zero," The voice of Kyoshiro Tohdoh spoke as the masked man turned to face him.

"Yes?"

"Are you sure about going to the E.U like this?" Tohdoh asked, "We could have just sent drones."

Zero shook his head, "We could have. However, while this is risky, there are two things we could pull off. One, by going there personally, we'll be able to view their abilities for ourselves and understand their full magnitude. We'll also be able to make out their tactics in the slightest. Two, if the situation deems it capable, we can help the E.U finish this feud sooner than later and this would increase trust between our two nations."

"And if the situation does not favour us?"

"Then, we will have to retreat,"

Tohdoh closed his eyes, "So, a tactical retreat, is that right?"

"I suppose so,"

"Hm," Tohdoh smiled a bit confusing the masked man in front of him, "You know, this reminds me a bit of the first time I met Zero."

Zero went silent. He remembered that day as well. The day the Lancelot's pilot was exposed and the Miracle Worker escaped execution.

"That day, he retreated. Either because of finding out it was you in that Knightmare or because reinforcements arrived. I believe it's the former. Though, he made the others think it was becuase of the reinforcements. Even I fell for it." Tohdoh said, a wry smile on his face, "He lied and lied so much that even the truth felt like a lie from his mouth. We thought we were done falling for his lies on the day we betrayed him. But that boy...He fooled us all in the end, didn't he?"

Zero didn't reply. Still, Tohdoh knew that the boy behind the mask agreed. Even Suzaku didn't know about the entire thing. After the Zero Requiem played out and when Suzaku finally had time to think about it, he realised quite a bit. Such as how a boy who died for his sister would never kill his other precious sister if he had any say in it. He thought Shirley's case was like that as well. But now, the answers he once again wanted were locked away in a place he would never be able to reach. He realised how many others felt like that at this time.

At the very moment the Zero Requiem came to an end, two people had figured it all out. One was Zero's Q-1, Kallen Kozuki and the other was The Miracle Worker, Kyoshiro Tohdoh. Nunnally had found out in her own way on that day and she had cried. Cried so much that Zero feared she no longer had any tears to shed. Kallen had blamed herself for not noticing it earlier and Tohdoh- well, Zero never found out what Tohdoh felt. It was almost as if the man had built a wall around himself for a few days. A month or so later, Tohdoh's wife, Nagisa Chiba, pieced it all together. She had thrown a tantrum and had demanded that Zero remove his mask just so she could confirm it. The woman had never forgived Lelouch but she held a newfound respect for him. Other than that, all the others had remained clueless with the lie that Lelouch had built around himself. In fact, Zero was surprised to see that Chiba of all people had found out and grudgingly accepted the fact.

Zero finally spoke. His voice was soft as he reminisced about his one true best friend, "He truly did."

"Well, I suppose we will have to stop this for him." Tohdoh spoke, his voice filled with determination that only those who knew him well would be able to make out. After all, the first Zero had been his student once and even if Tohdoh didn't admit it, the current Zero knew that the man still held a small fondness for the boy who managed to beat him in shogi after ten minutes of learning it.

The thought had Zero chuckle. After a second or two,he composed himself once again, "Ah, well-"

"ZERO!"

The two turned to find Tamaki running towards them, a paper in hand. Once the man reached them, he huffed for breath for a moment before handing the paper to the two. "This...had been...delivered here a couple...minutes ago from...Cornelia's henchmen."

Hearing this, Tohdoh looked at Zero who nodded at him before the man pulled the paper from Tamaki's hand and read through it. Zero watched as the man's eyes widened and a sinking feeling settled in his chest. Tohdoh looked up at him with steely eyes, "The E.U...is under siege."

Suzaku's eyes widened and he could only breath out one word, "Lelouch..."

[Zilkhistan Prison]

"A new prisoner?" A man in the Zilkhistan Prison guard uniform asked.

Sayoko, who was in her disguise, nodded. "We've got a girl here. Committed quite a crime, I must say."

"What would that crime happen to be?" The man asked as he looked at the restrained C.C in the back of the truck.

"Top secret, apparently. Haven't been told much except that she should be brought here."

"Do you have the papers?" The man asked and Sayoko handed a bundle to him. Obviously, it was fake but C.C's friend had carefully formed the fakes so as to not be suspicious. Of course, if the guards tried to pass the papers by a machine, they would be caught.

"It's all a game of psychology," C.C's friend had said, "Zilkhistan is a country well known for its warriors. It was able to hold off an entire Britannian invasion with a few number of soldiers. Those guards are assured that no-one would try to cross them and so they won't take any measures that any other country would. You'll get in easily."

And it all went down just how they wanted.

The guard's eyes skimmed through the paper and returned it to Sayoko, "Alright, you can go inside."

Nodding, Sayoko turned back towards C.C who was pulled out of the truck by the two guards who were supposed to accompany them.

Within a few minutes, the small group had reached the cells where real criminals were being held. One guard walked in the front and one in the back while Sayoko and C.C walked in the middle. That wouldn't be the case soon enough. Sayoko and C.C glanced at each other for a moment before giving each other an imperceptible nod. C.C turned to the guard behind her and Sayoko turned to the guard in front of her. C.C quickly put her handcuffed arms around the guards neck and brought him down to knee him in the gut while Sayoko kicked the guard in the shin causing him to trip and fall on his back and Sayoko delivered a gruesome blow to his temple causing the guard to pass out.

When C.C finished up with her own guard, she broke open her restraints so as to gain more mobility. She could feel the unbelieving stares of all the prisoners on her and Sayoko but she paid them no mind, off-handedly tossing a key card through one of the jail cells. The inmate who resided in the cell picked it up carefully. It was easy to see he was stunned. And the look in his eyes was C.C needed to confirm that these were actual prisoners and not dogs of the government.

As the two proceeded further into the prison, they reached a fork in the path. Since they had studied the blueprints of the prison in detail before entering, they knew what they needed to do. With a quick nod to each other, they both set off on different paths.

Sayoko travelled through the left path quickly and she was swift as she had gotten rid of the uncomfortable disguise before. Going straight, she found two paths and racked her mind for which way to go before turning right. The prison walls were lined with orange light bulbs which were secured within wires on the ceiling. If Sayoko had any say in the matter, she would very much prefer white lights. The visibility was better. She soon reached a staircase which descended into yet another hallway illuminated with orange. Sayoko quickly went down the flight of stairs and found herself face-to-face with a dead end.

Or at least that was what any other person would think.

Sayoko kneeled down and started knocking down on the wall. Soft sounds reverbrated through the small cramped space and the heat was immense and Sayoko's determination was not something that could be broken easily. Moments later, her eyes widened and she proceeded to apply more pressure on the area she had just knocked on. To her relief, that area of the wall seemed to push back little by little until she finally saw a hallway on the other side. Once there was enough space, Sayoko began to crawl through the opening and emerged in another hallway. However, this one was different. There was a door at the end.

She hurried forward to the door and reached for the handle. Sayoko searched her pocket for a second before pulling out a key. Yet another fake made by C.C's friend and promptly delivered to the green-haired witch with no explanation before now. She positioned the key at the keyhole and pushed it in. She held her breath. Would the key work? It was a fake after all. Surely, the Zilkh people weren't all that simple to figure out.

A soft click reached her ears as the door opened.

Or maybe they were. Sayoko snorted and ran inside the room. It was lined with white tiles and the only source of light were the screens stationed up front illuminating the room with a bluish glow. That would be useful later. For now, the ninja maid's attention was not on them but what stood by them.

Knightmares Frames.

C.C walked in to a room. No, chamber? She didn't know about that but the thing in front of her was exactly was she was looking for. In front of her lied a chamber of water with solid ground on some places and at the end of it all was a gigantic door with a symbol etched onto it.

The symbol of Geass.

She turned her head to the the small statue of a pot that was stationed on the side. It caught her eye mainly because of one reason. It seemed out of place.

An idea popped in her mind and she sauntered up to the statue and shifted the pot. That simple motion caused the ground to tremble as the pieces pf ground scattered throughout in the middle were added with more from below the water and the water on the sides seemed to even out. The platform right before the gate was lined with something that resembled the symbol of Geass.

"So this is it?" C.C mumbled to herself. With a small sigh, she proceeded towards the doors, stepping lightly with anticipation. When she directly faced the door, her hands almost trembled. She was finally here. After so much searching, she had finally found it. The body of her former contractor may not be present with her but C's World was quite interesting. If she was right, Lelouch had been given a code. However, when he died, it did not activate. And so, C.C had only one reason for why this would have happened. Something was holding him back in C's World. And she had a pretty good idea as to who it might be.

She raised her hand to the door and she felt the effects immediately. The symbol of Geass on the door lit up as did the Code on her forehead. Her eyes widened and the world went white.

Imran Lodi was not pleased. The two women who had arrived had been kind enough to provide a keycard to open the cells to a man. A man who was older than him by a two decades but was obviously stupid. The man named Clyne. Clyne was someone who was feared by most of the inmates but that was only because of his physical ability. So when Clyne broke himself out of his cell and did the same to the others there as well and gathered Knightmares from the underground cellar, they had all been willing to join him in a prison break. All except for one brown haired boy.

Imran knew that the guards up front had already probably called for back up once they saw all the ruckus that was happening here. And so, he knew that government forces would be arriving soon. Clyne may have incredible physical ability but where the brain was involved, he was probably as good as a snail. In order to break out, they would require mental capability as well and that was not something that any of the prisoners there were very good at. Imran himself, was not good enough with tactics and he realized that sooner than anyone else.

"Come on, Imran. Your an ace pilot and that's what we need to get out of here," Clyne said, "If we have you on our side we'll be able to break through whatever they throw at us."

"How naive," Imran responded, "This won't work. They have way more people than we do and they are a trained bunch who can coordinate with each other. What makes you think you of all people could get us out of here?"

The young boy could see Clyne's eyes widen in anger, "I'm the one they rally behind. I am the one who can control them!"

Clyne was so fixated on Imran that he failed to see the other prisoner's eyes widen in anger and scowls claimed their faces.

"Yet you can't command them. No, you don't have the capability to command them!"

"I can!"

"Oh, then pray tell, what is your brilliant plan to get us out?"

Silence roamed. The prisoners were shifting in their places and many of them were disappointed to see that Clyne didn't really have an answer to Imran's question. Clyne's eyes looked around at all the inmates and Imran could make out one thing on the older man's face. Fear.

And that was when the ground shook harshly and some of the lights on the ceiling blinked in and out. The people there could slightly make out the sound of wheels and everyone knew what was happening. Reinforcements had arrived.

And a scramble began as the inmates ran around in disorder. Some headed to their Knightmares while some looked for orders while some simply looked for a hiding spot.

Through the corner of his eyes, he could see the burly figure of Clyne running farther inside the prison. His eyes narrowed.

"Pathetic,"

[C's World]

White. And then objects began to appear in her vision. Black water droplets surrounded the green-haired immortal on the white plane that stretched out before her. This confused C.C. C's World had never looked like this before. Giving in to curiosity, she picked at one black buble and gave out a startled gasp when the bubble engulfed her finger and slid back into its original shape with a blue colour. C.C blinked as she retracted her finger.

Was this because the one who watched over C's World had changed? Before, it had been V.V and so the immortal next in line would be the one to take over the position. And that meant...

C.C's eyes widened.

"No wonder," she whispered before she shook the thoughts out of her head. She was here for a reason and she must focus on it. Looking around, she finally spotted a large purple orb that was surrounded by purple rings at the middle. It seemed to shine with an aura that felt incredibly familiar to the witch.

She slowly floated over the orb and she could feel her heart beat incredibly fast in her chest. This was it. It was him. She could finally do it now. C.C felt her breath quicken as she reached out with one hand and slightly touched the orb.

And that was all she could do.

Right when she came in contact with the orb, a powerful pressure forced her back and she flew back, her eyes wide as all the black droplets were pushed back along with her. The pressure didn't fall. It kept pushing her back with all its might not allowing even one second for her to try to and make it back to the orb. Her eyes widened in disarray and horror at the fact that she couldn't reach the orb. She tried exerting pressure against the force but it was all useless as she failed to move even a single muscle.

"No, no, no!" C.C cried out. She willed her muscles to move more than anything. She needed to get back. C.C tried and tried but not even a single twitch rewarded her. She felt paralysed and she didn't like it. No, she hated it. This was her only chance to bring him back. She couldn't fail now! "Please, Charles! Please let him go!"

A single tear escaped her eyes and unknown to her, a figure smiled. The droplet turned a deep blue...

And travelled away from C.C.

[Zilkhistan Prison, Underground]

A pair of golden eyes snapped open at the sound of footsteps. At first, she couldn't focus on anything. All she knew was that she failed. C.C had failed in what she had counted on. Tears threatened to spill from her eyes. This couldn't be, could it? Please let it not be true.

"No," The tears finally escaped while C.C brought a hand up to her mouth. "Oh, please no."

"A girl? Wait, no, it's you." A voice spoke and that instantly darted C.C out of her misery.

She quickly stood up and wiped her tears and put on the mask that had only ever been broken by one person. C.C turned to see the burly man she had given the keycard to. A mask of indifference was plastered on her face and betrayed none of her real emotions to the stranger.

Clyne had been surprised when he found the girl crouched down in front of the big doors but that quickly turned into fear. Even though C.C didn't realize it, her Code was still shining in correspondence to the gate. Clyne, a person who had no connection to Geass whatsoever was spooked by this. After all, the man was someone who was born in a society of priests. Though he had no interest in becoming one, he had grown up with the superstitions passed on to them. However, unlike normal priests, Clyne was twisted.

The cocking of a gun was heard.

C.C's eyes widened to an unnoticeable degree as Clyne pointed a gun at her. Don't tell me, C.C thought, he had this gun with him the entire time?

A twisted smirk marred his already dismantled features and his eyes gained an insane gleam. C.C pursed her lips and scowled. This was not good. While she may be an immortal, she relied on C's World to replace her body. However, for some reason, C's World was not functioning as usual. Its supply to replace immortal bodies was currently limited until the problem causing it was fixed. That meant that C.C only had a limited number of times to regenerate quickly. If it ran out, it meant that C.C would have to wait a long time to be alive again. And that was not favourable at the moment.

"Damn it," C.C grumbled as she backed away a bit but a loud sound soon entered her ears. Her eyes widened as she fell to the floor on her back. Her straightjacket was now stained with red around where her heart was supposed to be.

Clyne has shot the bullet and his face looked to be even mote gleeful than before. "You know, I used to be the son of a priest before."

C.C wasn't paying attention. She was too busy trying to puch herself up.

"I was horrible at the family business. Being a priest was simply something I wasn't capable of. But my family wanted me to be. So I ran away from home."

C.C had almost pushed herself up but then yet another shot pierced her chest and she fell back.

"And you can see where that landed me. In prison. I always regretted running away from home." Clyne spoke, his voice slightly turning hysterical. "But now I see a witch like you."

Yet another try and another shot.

"And you know how that makes me feel?" The man asked, his smile almost splitting his face in half, "It makes me feel like I can make my parents proud by ending you."

And another shot.

Sick. That was all C.C could use to describe the face- could she even call it a face anymore- in front of her. It disgusted her. His face clearly screamed madness. Another shot made her thoughts go still. It hurt. Usually, she would not try to hold on for so long. After all she always knew she would come back in the end. But this time...

"This truly didn't work out in the end, did it?" C.C whispered.

"I'm afraid you're wrong about that,"

C.C's breath hitched. That voice...!

"On the contrary, it worked perfectly."

And then, she saw it. Black hair, amethyst eyes, slender build, an aura that radiated confidence. A smile broke out on her face. It was him. He was here!

Clyne stared at the boy who stood before him with widened eyes, "Y-you're the Demon Emperor! You're-!"

"Lelouch vi Britannia, yes." The calm yet chilling voice of Lelouch said, "However, I'd rather not converse with you any longer."

"Are you trying to pick a fight!?" Clyne yelled as he pointed the gun to his new target, "I thought you were smarter than that! You're unarmed, just like that witch over there!"

"First, the only one who calls her a witch is me." Lelouch corrected before he started to pull his hand closer to his left eye, "And second, as my direct subordinates would know, I am far from unarmed." And with that, he raised his hand towards Clyne and spoke with a smile, "Lelouch vi Britannia commands you, to die, right here, right now." The Geass symbol formed in his left eye and flew out towards its target.

Clyne's face formed a smirk as he began to say, "Why would I ki-"

His words were promptly stopped when the Geass reached and implanted itself in the insane man's head. "Yes, your majesty."

Clyne put his gun to his head and without the slightest bit of hesitation, he fired.

C.C pushed herself up from her spot on the pathway and when she reached a sitting position, a hand reached out to her. She looked up and saw the face she hadn't seen for so long.

"Hello there, C.C." Lelouch smiled. This time it was sincere. "I'm back."

C.C smiled. "Welcome back."

Indeed, Lelouch vi Britannia had returned.

[CCTV and Knightmare Room, Zilkhistan Prison]

Sayoko paced the room with ever increasing worry. It was time. C.C should have come over with Lelouch by now. So where were they?

She could hear the sounds of Knightmares above ground but since both destinations Sayoko and C.C had were underground, there should have been a passage to reach this room without interfering with the battle overhead while arriving in this room.

The ninja maid was quickly soothed when the door opened, revealing the green-haired witch and a face that the woman had not seen for a long time. Lelouch peered at her from the door with a smile while C.C worked to put the fake key of the room back into her pocket.

"Nice to see you again, Sayoko." The familiar voice spoke.

And that was when Sayoko's emotions erupted. Tears spilled from her eyes as she smiled in happiness. After all, she was the one who took care of Lelouch and Nunnally like a mother figure for so long. "Master Lelouch,"

Lelouch sighed before he looked at the two people in the room besides him, "So, you two infiltrated this prison yourselves? With no help whatsoever?"

C.C looked at Lelouch with a straight face, "No, I had help from a friend."

"A friend?" Lelouch's eyes were wide and C.C could see he was genuinely surprised.

"Even you find it hard to believe?"

Lelouch looked sheepish for a moment, "Well, it kind of is something I didn't expect."

C.C caught Sayoko giving her a look saying, You see now?

C.C sighed and rolled her eyes, "Anyways, now that the uneventful reunion is over, let's plan on how to get out of here, shall we?"

Lelouch looked at her in disbelief for a moment before looking over to Sayoko who sighed and nodded her head. Lelouch blinked, "Wait, so you mean you came in here with no plan to go out?"

"We were kind of hoping you would be able to come up with one," C.C said.

"No, you did." Sayoko retorted.

C.C shot Sayoko a glare which was paid no mind to. Lelouch sauntered over to the computers lined up at the side of the room, paying a glance at the Knightmares that lined up the wall. He took a seat in front of the computers and his amethyst eyes were drawn to a recording which detailed the encounter between the inmates and one of them rejecting the authority of the other. Lelouch quickly identified the defending party as the man who had assaulted C.C and whole-heartedly agreed with the boy who opposed Clyne after hearing their supposed plan.

"So someone who can actually think, eh?" Lelouch whispered to himself and C.C and Sayoko stood by watching the recording along with him. Lelouch then turned his attention to the screen showing the current events. He was kind of surprised that none of the government officials had bothered to look down here. He could see Knightmares entering the prison and the prisoners barely putting up a fight.

The room shook as another explosion took place upstairs. As he continued watching to gain an understanding of the situation, a thought popped into his head.

"Has anything happened lately?"

C.C and Sayoko jerked at the question. They shared a glance before Sayoko started to speak, "Actually, there has been something."

Lelouch's attention shifted to Sayoko, "Hmm?"

But before anything could progress further, the screens which were showing the feed of the prison switched to static. The three people in the room turned to the screen at the sound of static. The static then warped into something different.

It showed a man with long white hair that was held into a low ponytail and twirled around his broad shoulder. The man wore light blue robes with a dark blue scarf that was lightly put around his shoulders. Blood red eyes stared back through the screen as a polite smile was spread over the man's face.

He spoke as he threw his arms out to the sides, "Greetings, world!"

Lelouch's eyebrow raised in curiosity, "A recording?"

"Is it being broadcasted only in Zilkhistan right now?" C.C asked. She could see that the fighting upstairs had come to a standstill. She assumed that they were also seeing this recording on their monitors in the Knightmares.

"I assume it would be playing in the same time zone right now," Lelouch said, "But he did say world."

The man continued, "I am here to announce quite a development to you all which I believe, no doubt, is being covered up at the moment. You all might know about the blast which took place in Euserphor a couple days ago."

Lelouch frowned, "Blast?"

"Recently, a war had occurred in the E.U at St. Petersburg. And you will be quite surprised to know that E.U is under siege by the ones you call 'unknown forces'."

C.C and Sayoko gasped in disbelief. The E.U lost? It was a country which had avoided coming under complete Britannian reign for so long and they had lost to these people in such a short amount of time?

"Well, today I shall put a proper name to the ones who took over the E.U!" The man said and the polite smile turned sharp, "We are the ones who do not stand for this supposed peace! Different nationalities and different cultures! We all saw for ourselves what that brought us! Britannia took over numerous nations and discriminated against them for the simple fact that their nationality was different and even though that issue has been resolved for now, that does not mean it will not arise again! Therefore, to prevent this, we shall be the ones to unite the world and bring forth true peace! So, world, remember our name!"

Lelouch leaned back in his chair, intently staring at the screen.

"We are Jormungand!"

And with that, the recording cut off and the screen once again went back to showing the events occurring upstairs which was not much as it all stood still.

The first sentence to break this silence was that of Lelouch vi Britannia, "Jormungand...How arrogant."

Next Chapter:

Geass 3: Prison Break

A/N: Aaaaaaaand Lelouch is back in action! This was Chapter 2 of Code Geass: Masquerade Redemption. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. This update was early but hey, who doesn't like early updates?

Anyways, here the main character and the main antagonist have appeared. The idea of the name Jormungand actually came to me when I was doing my English Project. I had to research powerful snakes in mythology and I came across one called Jormungandr. It's a snake from Norse Mythology. It was originally one of the children of the shape-shifting god Loki. Jormungandr was thrown into the sea by Odin, the father of Thor. In the end, the serpent grew so big that it was able to surround the whole earth and still put its tail in its mouth. So, if you guys remember, I kind of hinted this last chapter.

Now you might have noticed that I have been taking some things from the Resurrection movie but that was only for this chapter. I have introduced characters who will be having a bigger part in the following chapters and most of them start from the very next one. And since this time there is only C.C, Sayoko and Lelouch, the prison break is going to be way different from the movie. The next chapter is probably the last chapter in which you'll see any similarities with the movie.

Other than that, I thank all the people who reviewed this story for your positive comments.

If any of you have any questions, I will try to answer them without spoiling any of the story.

Next chapter, as I've already said will be the prison break. If you guys would like to know when the next chapter is coming out, you can visit the 'Updates on Ongoing Stories' section of my profile.

Stay tuned~