Chapter 12 Sins of the Past

I don't own Code Geass. Anything I use is property of its creators. Anything I use from other sources is also their property.

C.C's past is revealed at last.

(Ashford Academy)

As the sun shone on a bright Sunday at Ashford Academy Lelouch vi Britannia was starting his day just as most red-blooded men would want to, with a beautiful young woman bobbing her head up and down his shaft. "What a way to wake me up C.C" Lelouch smiled happily enjoying the feeling of C.C's tongue on his shaft.

C.C stopped her efforts in order to explain just what she meant, "I'm doing this because I want you to remember the good times before I tell you everything." C.C said calmly causing Lelouch to widen his eyes.

"What do you mean by that" Lelouch said with a hint of annoyance as he propped himself up slightly so he could look his newest lover in the eyes.

C.C looked at Lelouch solemnly knowing he wouldn't like what she was about to say, "The news I'm going to reveal to you today involves not only my past, but about my connection the Britannian royal family and by extension you. I want you to gather the council along with Princess Euphemia and Jeremiah since it is news that they'll want to know." C.C requested.

Lelouch knew C.C was hiding something but for her to have him reveal the news to Jeremiah and Euphemia means that it's a major deal, "Alright but this better be good" Lelouch replied.

"Believe me it will be." C.C said solemnly before resuming her work on Lelouch's rod. Given what she was about to reveal, it was very possible that she might never have a moment like this again.

(Scene Skip)

Later that afternoon everybody was gathered in the Student Council Office with the Council taking their place at the table and Euphemia and Jeremiah to the side. Nunnally over in her room with Sayoko since this was a very private affair. Everyone was in casual clothes aside from Jeremiah who was forced to wear his uniform. "Okay Lelouch you've gathered all of us here for something important so what's up." Euphemia said angrily. Her sister was not in a good mood and she was very hesitant to allow her to come in the first place. The fact that Jeremiah volunteered to take her eased the problem slightly but Cornelia was clearly getting suspicious of her activities.

Lelouch had a very good idea of why his sister was annoyed but blew it off, "Actually I'm the one who called you all here and it's because I have a story that is important to all of you." C.C said calmly.

The group's eyes widened since it was one of the few times C.C. offered any information about herself. "What's this story about C.C" Rivalz said calmly. Since they were in a private setting they referred to her by C.C instead of the fake name they used in school.

"Well it's about me and about nature of the power I've given to some of you." C.C said calmly before standing up and making her way to the center of the room. With everyone's gaze on her C.C focused calmly and a very familiar red crane symbol appeared on her forehead.

"What's that?" Euphemia gasped having never seen the symbol.

"This is called the Geass Code and it's the final evolution of the power I gave to Lelouch and the other members of the Council. As you all know already I am immortal and this code is the reason why." C.C said calmly.

"So if you don't mind my asking. What was your life like before you received this code and what does this have to do with Princess Euphemia and I being here specifically?" Jeremiah said shrewdly. He was no fool and him and Euphemia were called in for a reason.

"I'll get to why it involves you and Princess Euphemia later, but let me start by telling you about myself." C.C smiled. As the group all nodded she continued, "Before I was given my Geass I was actually a slave girl. It's been so long ago that I've forgotten most of the details, but I can tell you that the women who gave me my Code was a nun that lived in the town I was staying at. She took me in when I stumbled into her church and after teaching me about the world, gave me my Geass." The group was shocked by the revelation that C.C was once a slave, since slavery hadn't been a thing for a long time even with Britannia. You could argue that the Number System was slavery in a sense, but not a true slave

"What was your Geass" Milly wondered though from the expressions in the room, she was far from the only one.

"Rather ironically, my original power gave me the ability to make anybody I wanted fall in love with me. As a slave, I was treated horribly by everybody and my desire was to be loved, to be given affection by somebody and Geass made it happen" C.C chuckled causing a few of the girls to blush heavily. "That's right girls. It didn't matter how stubborn the person was or how against his nature it might've been, but if I wished it they would love me unconditionally."

Lelouch twitched since he was certain this was a shot at him of some kind, but maintained his focus, "So then what."

C.C smiled since this was a part of her life she did enjoy. "At first I didn't really use my power choosing to live with the nun who taught me everything I could know about the world, but years passed by and I eventually I left the comforts of the church and began to spread my wings. Thanks to my power I quickly rose in society, using my Geass to charm everyone and anyone I chose. Eventually I reached a point where the power was in both of my eyes which I would learn later was the next phase of my power"

"Both of your eyes" Euphie said curiously.

"I don't remember if I've mentioned this to all of you, but every time you use the Geass it gets stronger and stronger, first becoming permanent in one eye before appearing in both eyes and finally permanent in both eyes."

Jeremiah gasped slightly realizing the significance of that, "In other words you won't be able to turn it off. In your case that would mean you could charm everyone just by looking at them" Jeremiah assumed causing more gasps to appear.

"That's right. For some that's not a big deal, but imagine if that happened to say Lelouch with his unique power. Imagine the damage he could do if he gave a dangerous order without meaning to" C.C smiled causing the room to pale.

"My god" Euphemia gasped.

"Yes and admittedly my Geass's power made things rather troublesome. So much so that I had to return to the church where the nun lived hoping she could free me" C.C paused to gather herself since this was the most bittersweet part of her past.

"The nun probably told you about the code and about how taking her code was the only way to free you from the power. You were probably so scared you didn't realize the nun was immortal and when you took the code you killed her without realizing it." Lelouch said darkly.

"That's heavy. She raised you like a daughter and gave you a new life, but it was only to get rid of the code." Rivalz said solemnly.

"That's right and for a very long time I closed my heart to anybody. However, that was only the beginning for me. After I became immortal, I travelled the world never staying in the same place for long in case somebody ever recognized me from my time in high society. There were bad times such as when I was stuck in the Salem Witch Trials and burned alive and good times when I worked with George Washington and the revolutionaries. " C.C explained.

"It was you" Jeremiah gasped having a fair bit of knowledge of military history.

"What was her" Milly said in confusion.

"The leaders of Britannia always found it strange that a rag tag group like the Revolutionaries could become a proper army. There were rumors that they had a secret weapon on their side that was helping them along." Jeremiah explained.

C.C chuckled since she remembered reading about that once when she was bored during her time at the Royal Family. "That's right and those were some interesting times. I taught General Washington everything I know about tactics and even gave him a Geass to help him along. His power was an Area of effect Geass that allowed him to use his natural charisma to inspire troops. It was a shame when he ultimately lost in the War but before he lost he convinced me to flee so Britannia wouldn't get to me."

The group was stunned but it was Kallen who focused them again, "All of that is fascinating but tell me what this has to do with Lelouch and his family since I'm pretty sure that's the main point of all this." Kallen said sternly.

C.C shrugged since she was enjoying the nostalgia and in truth delaying the eventual reveal, "Very well then." C.C said calmly before gathering herself. "It all begins with an organization called the Geass Directorate."

"Geass Directorate" Lelouch said with a raised eyebrow.

"That's right. Over the years I discovered that Geass was not a power unique to me and that there were many people who gained Geass all around the world. Along with a second Code Bearer we gathered those people from around the World and brought them to the Directorate so we could better control the dangerous power that was Geass."

"And that Code Bearer was my father." Lelouch assumed. Given Britannia's reign over the world it would be a simply task to gather the group.

"Actually it was your father's brother Vincent zi Britannia or as I knew him V.V" C.C smiled catching Euphemia off guard.

"Wait a minute, I don't have an Uncle Vincent." Euphemia gasped.

"That's right. If there was a Vincent zi Britannia I would know since I was part of Lady Marianne's guard." Jeremiah protested.

While everyone was confused at the news, it was Lelouch that realized the truth. "My father used his Geass to erase everyone's memory of V.V didn't he?" Lelouch said darkly causing the whole room to look on in shock.

C.C looked at him nervously but realized she had no choice, "That's right. He used that power for many things over the years, including hiding both his brother and me from the rest of the Royal family. You likely don't remember it, but when Lady Marianne was sent to battle I was the one who looked after you. Rather fitting since I gave your mother a Geass of her own." C.C said calmly causing even more shock.

"Ms C.C, please tell me that Lady Marianne's prowess on the battlefield wasn't due to her Geass." Jeremiah said nervously. The number of people who idolized her was so vast that it was terrifying. If they learned that her power was a fake, it would change everything and not for the better.

"No it wasn't. I actually didn't know what Marianne's Geass was but what I do know is that she never once activated it as far as I knew." C.C said calmly.

Jeremiah breathed a sigh of relief but then realized something else, "Hold on a moment. If you knew the Emperor and Lady Marianne, that means you also must know the truth about her death."

"I do" C.C said calmly before revealing the most stunning news of all, "Young Lelouch's theory about her death being an inside job was the truth. She was actually murdered by V.V himself." C.C revealed causing everybody to look at Lelouch since his mother's death was such a big deal to him.

"Why" Lelouch said with barely restrained rage. The idea that his hidden uncle killed his mother was almost unthinkable but the worst part was the reality that his father almost certainly would've known was worse.

"Because V.V believed that Marianne would stop Charles from executing their plan" C.C said calmly.

"What plan" Lelouch said coldly his demeanor becoming downright icy.

C.C frowned since this was going to be the most intense part of the day and the part that would get ugly for certain people, "I may not have known much about your father and V.V's life, but the one thing I did know is that they wanted to create a world without lies."

"My mother was killed because V.V believed that Charles wouldn't want to change the world and risk the relationship he had with her." Lelouch said icily.

"Right again. V.V and Charles were all each other had and Marianne was the only person he truly cared about out of all his wives. Even though Marianne understood the plan and agreed with it V.V was nervous." C.C continued.

"Hold on one minute, there was no way that you could create a true world without lies. You'd have to rewrite the very nature of humanity in order to do that" Milly said dismissively.

"Actually it's very possible, and Geass is the key to doing so." C.C explained.

"How" Nina chimed in finally.

"One of the discoveries I made during my time at the Directorate was The Sword of Akasha. It's said to exist in another dimension and it would be the Ultimate Super Weapon. With the Sword of Akasha a person is able to access God's consciousness and can rewrite the world in any way they want."

Lelouch's mind was whirling and then he came to a dark conclusion, "Let me guess, in order to use the sword you need at least one person with a Code and access points that are tuned to said Code." Lelouch said coldly.

"That's right but how did you know." C.C gasped.

Lelouch calmed down in order to explain his theory, "Logic really. All Geass have a range limit so rewriting the world would be a nearly impossible task unless you had a powerful means to do it. If I were a betting man I'd say that the access points I'm referring to are hidden all around the world and my dear father already had control of most or all of them." Lelouch said coldly

More gears were turning and Nina gasped again, "One of the so called access points is in Area 11." Nina realized causing everyone in the room besides Lelouch to go cold.

"You're lying. You have to be lying" Kallen screamed out. For her in particular this news was devastating because of how much she lost.

C.C looked at the red head solemnly and said words that broke her, "Unfortunately, Nina is right. One of the nodes is in Area 11 and I'm certain that Charles invaded Japan in the first place in order to secure the access point."

The latest news shook the Britannians in the room and all of them were speechless. The irony that the Emperor had basically lied to the people about every aspect of their life, but yet wanted to create a world of lies was too much. While the students and Euphemia were silent, Jeremiah spoke next. "Lady C.C how does Lady Nunnally fit into all of this." Jeremiah said coldly another thought popping into his head.

Lelouch was stunned by the news until he came to a grim realization, "Nunnally wasn't crippled by the accident was she?" Lelouch said with disgust in his voice.

"That's right" C.C replied having learned the truth from Charles in the aftermath and it playing a large role in her decision to leave, "Nunnally discovered your mother's body as she was bleeding out on the steps of Ares Villa. Your father realized this and used his Geass to convince Nunnally's body that she was crippled during the shooting. He knew that you would not react well and used it and your sisters injuries as an excuse to send you to Japan to protect you from V.V after all you were Marianne's children and you were far too smart for your own good even back then.

"If he did that to protect us, why did he try to kill us during the invasion and for that matter why did he try to kill us during the Pacific war?" Lelouch countered rage slowly building up again. This was a roller coaster for him and he was beginning to wish C.C didn't say anything.

"Charles probably didn't realize that there was an access point in Japan until after the fact."

"I see" Lelouch said solemnly his mind accepting the cruelty of it all. He got his answers, but so many questions remained and he wasn't the only one. As he looked around the room there were feelings of despair all over for various reasons. For Euphemia and Jeremiah it meant they were fighting in a fake war and they had lost people they cared about because of a lie. For Kallen, it meant her brother died for a lie and her mother's life became miserable for a similar reason. For his fellow members of the Student Council, it was proof of the treachery of their country. Nobody would be able to forget this news.

"I'm sorry for hiding the truth from you but you must understand that" C.C started to say but was stopped when Lelouch got up from his desk with an expressionless look on his face. The whole group watched as the former Prince walked over to the immortal and hugged her much to his shock. The group figured that with his rage a slap or worse was in order but certainly not this.

"I won't pretend to understand what your life was like, but you're not the only one without burden. Milly is a former heiress who realized the world wasn't a pretty place after my mother's death and harbored me for years despite logic and people around her no doubt suggesting she use me to return to nobility. Shirley is one of the gentlest people I know, so much so that I wonder if she was a Britannian and Euphemia isn't far behind. These two just orchestrated the death of the former's father because a clear injustice was done. Nina is a xenophobe who feared Japanese for her own reason, who now works alongside Japan and does so because she wants to change the world and ensure people don't have to live in fear like she does. Kallen is a Britannian who acts as a weak school girl during the day, but becomes a kickass Japanese rebel at night because she hates what Britannia did to her family. Jeremiah was once the leader of the Purebloods and I don't need to tell you what that entails and now he helps me to take out his own country all because of what happened to my mother." Lelouch explained as the people in question all beamed with pride at the Prince's response, though there were a few blushes as well. "All of these people are gathered here under my name as the Council of Change and it was because of Geass that we stand where we are today. I don't hate you for what happened to my sister; no that hatred is reserved for my father and his brother. We all share a burden and I for one am glad that you told us about yours." Lelouch smiled unaware that C.C was on the verge of tears.

"Thank you Lelouch." C.C said calmly holding back her tears.

"No thank you C.C" Euphemia said having come closer. "Something always felt wrong about what happened to Lady Marianne and now I know what it is. I just wish my sister knew the truth." Euphemia said tearfully.

"That absolutely cannot happen." Lelouch said firmly turning towards his sister.

"But why Lelouch?" Euphemia protested the conversation about C.C clearly over.

"Master Lelouch is right Princess Euphemia." Jeremiah spoke up. "She idolized Lady Marianne as much as anybody in the Kingdom and if she learned the truth it would change everything and not for the better."

"But"

"No but's Euphy. Cornelia would no doubt confront my father about what happened, and he would easily figure out that I am Zero and what we're planning. He would up the pressure big time." Lelouch said with an annoyed expression on his face. He had the distinct feeling his father already knew about his secret identity but that was another matter entirely.

"Alright" Euphemia said in understanding.

"Let's go Princess. We should return to the government building and make sure your sister doesn't start investigating the school more directly" Jeremiah frowned. As the group separated it was clear that things were only getting started.

(Scene Skip)

As Shirley Fenette arrived at the cemetery that housed her father's grave her mood couldn't be more frazzled. It's been a week since she learned about C.C's past and her connection to Geass as well as what drove Lelouch to become Zero. Hearing what happened to Lelouch and to C.C changed her views of the world and it was making her question everything that she knew. Getting closer and closer to her father's grave she was stunned to find that she wasn't alone. Staring over her grave was a taller man with silver hair and what looked like purple sunglasses. He was wearing a light blue short jacket with symmetrical designs and black trousers with brown boots. 'Who is this guy' Shirley thought to herself.

"You should consider yourself lucky that you only got lethal injection for what you did buddy. For what you did to C.C, I hope you burn in hell." The mysterious stranger said in a clearly male voice.

Shirley gasped since the man knew about her father and his role in C.C's torture but just as interestingly that she knew C.C. 'I've gotta tell Lulu and C.C' Shirley said nervously as she slowly moved away hoping that the man didn't find her. What she didn't realize, was that the man in front of her was well aware of her presence.

"I found you C.C" the man said with a smile as he moved his sunglasses up revealing that much like Lelouch he had a Geass.

(Scene Skip)

Wanting to inform her comrades about what happened, Shirley made her way back to Ashford Academy and immediately went to the Student Council room. Luckily for her, C.C stayed behind to watch Nunnally while Lelouch attended to a training session for the Asahi the mass production Knightmare frames that the Black Knights would be using for the next battle. Their base in Section Four didn't have a Knightmare Factory, one of Lelouch's greatest regrets about the new area, which is why they were using Stolen Sutherlands for now, but thanks to the Six Houses support they would finally have a new weapon to take the fight to Britannia and the means to produce it. Luckily for Shirley, C.C was sitting in the living room eating pizza so she didn't alert Nunnally about what was going on "What's wrong Shirley.' C.C said calmly having noticed the relief that Shirley had when she found her away from the youngest VI Britannia.

"I ran into a strange man today at my father's grave and he mentioned your name." Shirley replied recalling the strange encounter.

C.C's eyes narrowed dangerously before speaking again, "What kind of man." C.C replied before eating a slice of pizza.

"He had long silver hair from what I could tell from behind and sunglasses but that's it." Shirley recalled.

"Oh hell" C.C said nervously. Shirley had rarely seen the immortal nervous and that spelled trouble for them.

"What's wrong C.C" Shirley said nervously.

"I'm afraid the past is catching up with me in a very different way than I expected." C.C chuckled as she reached her phone to call for Lelouch. While it was too late to discuss matters with the Council today, tomorrow was a different story.

(Scene Skip)

The next day the Council of Change met again and once C.C took center stage, "The stage is yours C.C. What's the deal with that guy Shirley met at her father's grave." Lelouch said calmly. Lelouch was told about the man when he returned from the meeting with the Black Knights and while he didn't probe, he was curious about his new opponent.

C.C took a deep breath before looking around at her new allies, "I've been immortal for close to a thousand years and up until I met your group, I've given a grand total of six people Geass. One was George Washington, another was Lelouch's mother Marianne, and a third was Mao, the man Shirley saw at her father's grave." C.C revealed.

"C.C, how dangerous is this Mao?" Lelouch wondered.

"To the Black Knights he's not a threat at all, but to me it's a different story" C.C replied.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Rivalz replied.

"I ran into Mao in the Chinese Federation around thirty years ago. He was only six years old and he was a war Orphan living on his own. Since he reminded me so much of myself, I lived with him and gave him a Geass much like the nun once did for me."

"Looking for love in a six year old seems a bit much C.C" Milly teased remembering C.C's original desire for her Geass.

C.C glared angrily at Milly before speaking, "If you'll recall I found plenty of love and I grew tired of it Millicent. My wish for many years was actually to die. I intended to play the same role for Mao as the nun in the church did for me" C.C retorted causing Milly to freeze a bit. "To keep a long story short my plan backfired, royally. Due to Mao's Geass, he began to rely on me to the point that he became obsessed with me. I soon realized that he could never kill me as I wanted and I abandoned him. Rather ironically it was because of him that I began the process of creating the Directorate but that again is another matter entirely"

"What was his Geass?" Nina wondered since C.C made it sound like he had a dangerous power.

"It was the ability to read minds wasn't it." Lelouch surmised.

"That's right and it was an Area of Effect Geass to boot."

"Oh hell" Milly frowned this time realizing what the significance of the Geass was.

"What's going on" Shirley said nervously.

Since Lelouch figured out the same thing, he spoke up "For one thing, his Geass makes him a horrendous opponent for me because of how much I use my mind and because he doesn't need to see me directly he can plan ahead. The real problem is that he's likely found C.C thanks to reading your mind Shirley." Lelouch said calmly.

"Huh!" Shirley exclaimed.

"I don't know how or when, but Mao likely found out about what happened to C.C and realized he finally got her trail. He was going to your father's grave because he hoped that somebody connected to C.C would visit and he could read their minds to figure out where she was." Lelouch confirmed.

"I'm so sorry everyone." Shirley said apologetically realizing she might've led a dangerous enemy straight to them.

"It's not your fault Shirley. There's no way you could've known that Mao was coming. Hell even I forgot about Mao for a bit" C.C said calmly.

"Thanks C.C" Shirley said with a bittersweet smile.

Lelouch looked over the scene with a smile on his face but he was no fool. Somebody like him could do some major damage if left unchecked, "Mao is a major problem so we need to be careful. You guys have Geass also but they aren't going to help against an opponent like this. Nina you in particular need to be careful." Lelouch said calmly. He knew that something happened to Nina to make her xenophobic but out of respect he had yet to speak to her about it.

Nina looked at Lelouch nervously since she knew what he was getting at, "I can ask Rakshata to send somebody for me so I don't have to deal with him." Nina said calmly. If you could read minds you knew how to manipulate trauma and somebody who could do that was a real problem.

"That's good, as for everyone else just be smart. Our greatest strength is our minds and this is somebody who can use that against us." Lelouch said proudly.

"Right!" everyone replied before dispersing. Things were about to get extremely interesting for Lelouch and not the good kind of interesting.

(Scene Skip)

Suzaku Kururugi couldn't help but shake the feeling that something was very wrong ever since the end of the battle of Narita. Sure he was aware of Zero's real identity, so the idea that Lelouch outsmarted his sister was not farfetched but it was the way it played out that bothered him so much. "What's going on Lelouch?" Suzaku thought to himself as he arrived at his apartment after another day of training. Looking at his door he noticed that the lock was somehow picked which meant that he had a guest waiting for him. Grabbing his gun, Suzaku opened the door ready to deal with the mysterious intruder.

"I was wondering when you'd finally get back. I was getting bored" a voice chuckled as Suzaku entered his living room. It was there that he found Mao sitting on his couch like he owned the place.

"Who are you" Suzaku said angrily. This guy wasn't Japanese from the looks of it or a member of the Black Knights. This made no sense to him.

"Somebody who believes I can help you accomplish your goal Suzaku." Mao smirked as he moved his shades to the side revealing the cranes in his eyes.

"What is that in your eyes" Suzaku gasped having never seen something like that before.

"My eyes contain a special power called Geass. It's an ocular power that manifests differently in various people." Mao smiled deciding not to tell the whole story.

"So what does your power do?" Suzaku wondered.

"My Geass allows me to see a person's thoughts as long as they're within a certain range. Fortunately for me, I'm focusing my thoughts on you so it's much easier." Mao smirked.

Suzaku frowned since it was a frightening power, "If you can read minds you should be able to do anything you want. So why do you need me." Suzaku wondered.

"Lelouch vi Britannia is why I need you."

"What!" Suzaku gasped not expecting him to know Lelouch or know about Lelouch.

"Your old buddy has somebody that I care about deeply in his possession and you're going to help me get her." Mao teased.

"And why should I help you?" Suzaku wondered.

"Because if you don't help me, I'll reveal information to the press that would make you the enemy of everyone in Area Eleven. After all it would be bad enough if the Japanese learned that their last leader was killed by his now Honorary Britannian son or for the Britannians to learn that you know who Zero really was and didn't say a thing." Mao smiled as a stunned Suzaku looked on.

Suzaku was stunned by the response and every part of his mind was telling him to shoot the person in front of him. The problem was he had no idea if this Mao person had the information in another place and he couldn't risk him leaking the truth, "I'll think about it" Suzaku replied angrily as he held the grip on his gun.

"I hope so. We'll be in touch Suzaku" Mao smiled as he got up and brazenly walked past Suzaku before leaving the house. The first move was his and he loved every part of it.

(Scene Skip)

Despite the news about Mao, Lelouch was relatively calm and collected otherwise. It wouldn't do him any good to go crazy and as far as he knew, nobody else had found Mao yet. He attended class as usual and had Jeremiah constantly monitoring for any trace of the man based on the description that C.C gave to him. 'This is getting annoying' Lelouch frowned as he wondered when his new enemy would make his move.

"Lelouch Lamperouge, please come to the chairman's office immediately." The loudspeakers blared out catching him off guard.

'What the heck.' Lelouch thought to himself as he got up and grabbed his things. The whole council didn't actively show it but they were clearly concerned. "Sorry about this professor" Lelouch said bashfully as he made his way over to the Principal's office wondering why the old man would call him in such a public manor. When he arrived at the office he calmly opened the door and when he saw who was waiting, his eyes practically popped out of their sockets.

"Glad you're still alive Lelouch. I wondered what happened to you after Shinjuku" Suzaku Kururugi of all people said dressed in his military garb. He hadn't seen his old friend in this form since Shinjuku and although they met as Zero on that day, this was the first time they spoke when he was Lelouch

"What are you doing here Suzaku?" Lelouch replied calmly. For Suzaku to come see him directly was a problem and he needed answers.

"I had a very interesting visitor the other day and he told me that you have somebody he cares about?" Suzaku replied calmly.

Lelouch's eyes widened since the number of people that could be was very limited, "That person wouldn't happen to be much older with white hair and two cranes in his eyes would he." Lelouch asked dangerously.

"Yes he would and I wouldn't use your Geass to erase my memory since he'll probably just remind me of that fact later." Suzaku said calmly causing Lelouch to briefly lose his composure. After Mao left, Suzaku wondered just who the man was talking about and quickly realized it was Lelouch and the girl from Shinjuku. From there it wasn't a stretch to think, Lelouch himself had a Geass and what the power was based on how Zero had moved so far.

Lelouch was furious that Mao got to Suzaku of all people, but realized that there was nothing he could do at the moment about it. "So what do you want Suzaku?" Lelouch questioned.

"I just thought I'd tell you about my guest to thank you for saving me from being executed. That's all" Suzaku replied calmly.

"Very well" Lelouch replied calmly as Suzaku left the room so Lelouch could gather his thoughts. 'Damn you Mao. Damn you.' Lelouch thought to himself. Mao was playing a dangerous game and Lelouch was well aware that he would have to make the next move or he would fall further behind.

That's it for Chapter 12 everybody and the start of the Mao Arc. For obvious reasons I had to change things around but I'm hoping you guys go along with what I'm planning. When I first revealed Geass I remember people saying it was muted in the expressions and I do hope this was a bit better. As for him using Suzaku in this way, I felt as though it was better for the story since Shirley quite obviously doesn't have the guilt that she did in the original story. I also brought back the Knightmare I promised when I revealed Nina's Geass but they won't appear for a little while. Either way next chapter, Lelouch and Mao continue their war and things get very interesting.