Chapter 14 Zero's Gamble

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

Lelouch and Mao's battle comes to an end but not without Lelouch calling in some very interesting cavalry.

(Black knight Base)

Lelouch vi Britannia was absolutely furious as he sat at his Black Knight's base. Only an hour had passed since he issued his orders and thankfully Nina's drones were already in the sky. "Mao will pay for this." Lelouch growled in annoyance. To target Euphemia was out of line. Keeping this battle between the two of them was fine but in Lelouch's mind Euphy had nothing to do with this.

"Lelouch you should really get some sleep. It's been a long day and you need your rest." Kallen said nervously having returned to his side to check on him. That and ensuring that Lelouch was sound of mind since otherwise he stood no chance of winning.

"How can I sleep when I have no idea what Mao could be doing to Euphy." Lelouch countered.

"You can sleep because this is what Mao wants. He wants you to lose your cool and act irrationally. That's how he'll win" C.C answered having slipped in during his moments of distraction. Wrapping her arms around Lelouch's neck and pressing into him she spoke again. "Your greatest weapon is your mind and if you don't focus you'll lose your head. Get some rest so you can focus and Mao will take care of himself.

"Alright, but I need somebody to stay behind and make sure that Nina's drones can give me the information the minute they have something." Lelouch insisted.

"No you're going to rest. Mao isn't foolish enough to kill her." C.C said calmly trying to relax him.

"Are you sure" Lelouch said with a glare that would terrify most people but not C.C.

"Yes I am. Mao knows that the best way to get what he wants is to be patient." C.C replied

Lelouch took a deep breath and realized that C.C was right. Cornelia would hunt Euphie's killer to the ends of the earth so he could never have true peace.

"Good. Get some rest and stay home. We'll cover for you." C.C said happily.

"Alright" Lelouch replied as he prepared to go home. For now he had to stay patient and pray that things worked out.

"Good boy" C.C teased though inside she was already thinking of moves of her own.

(Scene Skip)

Even though it was for only a few hours, Lelouch managed to get some sleep though his thoughts were still on Euphy and her current fate. Fortunately for him, it was Sunday which meant that he had the whole day to deal with Mao. Getting dressed he made his way to the kitchen in order to get some breakfast. To his shock waiting for him were Nina and Kallen both clearly exhausted. "What happened" Lelouch said nervously since the two wouldn't be here without having learned something.

"We found something" Nina said with a smile.

Lelouch looked towards Sayoko who went to ensure that Nunnally wasn't aware of what was going on. Once Sayoko returned with an approving nod he focused on the two girls. "Report" Lelouch said sternly.

"Euphy is being held in one of the hideouts in the Saitama Ghetto. She's fine but there's no telling how long that stays the case." Nina revealed.

Lelouch smiled, "Thank you girls. Get some sleep and I'll contact you if you're needed later." Lelouch smiled.

"What about you" Kallen frowned aware that they were being left out of the operation.

"I'm going to save my sister." Lelouch said with a determination that he didn't have before.

"Good luck" Kallen smiled. She was nervous but she knew Lelouch would do the right thing in the end.

(Scene Skip)

Cornelia li Britannia was not a happy woman. Her sister was kidnapped by some rogue lunatic and despite the brutal interrogation of the noble that hosted him, she was unable to determine anything. The fact remained that her sister was gone and there was nothing she could do. "Damn that bastard. Why would he do this?" Cornelia wondered before a random bureaucrat ran into the room. It was an older man who Cornelia didn't care for which was sure to ruin her mood.

"Princess Cornelia we have an emergency message." The man said panting.

"From who?" Cornelia said with a raised eyebrow. If this wasn't truly important she might lose it.

"Zero ma'ams" the man said causing Cornelia to raise her eyebrow.

"What!" Cornelia said in shock. This was truly important.

"Yes ma'am what should I do." The man said still clearly exhausted.

"Make sure that he's still on the line." Cornelia yelled. The princess quickly ran over to the conference room and fortunately for her Zero was waiting. All Cornelia could see was the familiar masked man and white walls.

"I'd ask what took you so long but I realized you probably didn't believe the poor man who summoned you here." Zero said sarcastically.

Cornelia twitched heavily, "Get to the point Zero. I'm not in the mood for your typical games." Cornelia spat in annoyance.

Lelouch smiled inside his mask knowing that Cornelia was certainly furious at what happened but she kept her cool, "Very well then. I'm here to offer my assistance in finding the kidnapped Princess Euphemia."

Cornelia froze at the words and her bad mood severely worsened. "If you had something to do with this I'll" Cornelia yelled angrily.

"I have nothing to do with the Princess being kidnapped. I simply discovered the kidnapping due to my interest in the noble she was visiting." Zero replied calmly. It was a half-truth since the noble was a chess partner. He wouldn't dare reveal his connection to the kidnapper either.

Cornelia was silent for a moment trying to contemplate what she could do in this situation, "What do you want from me?" Cornelia said nervously. He would obviously want something as payment for his assistance and it could be anything. The fact he was helping save a royal's life would earn him some points even as a terrorist.

Lelouch knew very well that there wasn't a thing he truly wanted that Cornelia could give but there was another idea. "All I ask is a temporary truce Princess. There are many things I could ask, but I know they wouldn't be yours to give. While we save Euphemia we are allies and once she is safe and back at home we can resume our battle." Lelouch replied. That would justify asking for help particularly since it would be a hard sell to Britannia.

Cornelia was stunned that all he asked for is that she not try to arrest him; something she probably would have done actually. In fact she was still stunned he would even volunteer his services, "Why so eager to help me? You did kill Clovis after all." Cornelia said in confusion.

"Clovis ordered an entire settlement to be executed for selfish reasons. Killing a person like that would be doing the world a favor. As for the Princess, her actions at Lake Kawaguchi were admirable. She knew that people were in danger and she put herself on the line despite that. Somebody like that is worth keeping around." Lelouch praised.

Cornelia frowned since she was trapped but in this circumstance Zero could be helpful. "Very well. We'll work together Zero but only to save Princess Euphemia. Once she's settled you'll get a small reprieve before I come for you again." Cornelia huffed. She had to play this right or she was in trouble.

"Very well. I'll send you the information I have shortly since I've already done some digging of my own" Lelouch smiled.

"Excellent." Cornelia replied with a bitter smile. Her sister was going to be safe but in order to do that she had to rely heavily on her countries worst foe.

(Black Knight Base)

As Lelouch left the video chat a clear sigh of relief was found in his voice. He somehow convinced Cornelia to help him and he hid Geass from them for the moment. "Are you sure this is the right decision Lelouch. You were better off having Jeremiah sneak away and work with you himself." C.C lectured.

Lelouch smiled as the green haired women appeared, "Yes I know. The only weakness Jeremiah had was his failure to protect me back when my mother died. With that gone he'd be the perfect person to use against Mao. The problem is that he won't be able to sneak away for that long without her noticing and that puts his position in danger. By drawing in Cornelia I can have Jeremiah act as well and keep her directly away from Mao. We can disable com links in that case so she doesn't learn the truth if it comes to that." Lelouch frowned. If he hadn't used his Geass the time he went to visit Euphy this wouldn't be a problem.

"I bet you're regretting that romp with the Princess now. Geass would eliminate all the issues."

"Pretty much. I assume you want in also." Lelouch frowned.

"Of course. You'll need somebody to back you up and you damn sure can't use Kallen. Plus Mao is after me and if I don't come he might just do something stupid" C.C reminded him.

"Yes and she'll be rather furious when we tell her she's out." Lelouch chuckled. He would communicate with Cornelia via one of the many private phone lines he set up for emergencies.

(Mao)

While Lelouch was preparing his next move, Mao was waiting with anticipation for his next move but it wasn't happening as quickly as he thought it would. "What's taking him so long?" Mao cursed as he sat in the room. Euphemia was tied up nearby but other than being unable to move she was otherwise fine. Mao was no fool and even if he somehow escaped Lelouch, Cornelia would hunt him to the ends of the earth.

"Lelouch is no fool. He won't just charge in recklessly especially knowing my sister is going to flip." Euphemia smiled. She was nervous to be sure but she also knew this man wasn't a fool. There were only two cards he could play and she knew it. Both required Cornelia to appear and Lelouch was likely aware of both of them.

"Yes I know. Your faith in your brother is rather surprising. Who's to say he won't let you die and leave me to your precious sister." Mao chuckled.

"Well if you read my mind again you know the answer to that." Euphemia smiled.

Mao did exactly that and he couldn't help but curse at the major mistake he made. When he kidnapped Euphemia he did absolutely nothing to link himself to Lelouch or his little group. Because of that oversight he could claim to come to Cornelia as an ally. In fact if he knew the man that was exactly what he was doing. "Damn it all." Mao cursed.

"So you realized your mistake." Euphemia said smugly. Lelouch was going to contact Cornelia that much was obvious but the question was what he would do after that. In fact the next move was the most critical part of the whole operation.

"It seems you'll be here a while princess. Luckily for you this base has plenty of food." Mao groaned. The wait would be worth it since the other part of this was C.C. Her guilt would force her to act as well perhaps even against Lelouch's wishes.

(Scene Skip)

Monday morning arrived and Lelouch was in no mood for class. While Sayoko took care of Nunally Lelouch made sure that he was prepared for an eventual call from his sister to make their move. "So nothing yet from Cornelia?" C.C smiled ready for action wearing her version of the black knight uniform.

"Nope and that's good. Hopefully my sister calls soon" Lelouch smiled. He had to skip class because if she called in the middle of school it would be a disaster. That meant he had to skip school but hopefully the girls wouldn't figure out his plan before he'd already done it.

"Yes because we wouldn't want certain guests to find out." C.C smiled as though she knew something he didn't. As though to curse Lelouch the doorbell rang to his little home. It wasn't Sayoko which could only mean one thing.

"What did you do?" Lelouch scowled since the girls shouldn't have figured it out this fast. Walking to the entrance of his home, Lelouch wasn't surprised to see Milly Kallen and Shirley waiting for him.

"The vice president shouldn't be skipping class Lulu." Shirley smirked causing Lelouch to twitch.

"Neither should the President or Secretary but yet here you are." Lelouch retorted.

"And what about me" Kallen huffed slightly annoyed that Lelouch wasn't surprised by her.

"Kallen if you had your choice you'd probably never come." Lelouch reminded her.

Kallen blushed since that was true, "Anyway. Care to tell us why you're skipping school Lelouch."

"The better question is why he thinks he can go save Euphemia without us." Milly smiled.

Lelouch frowned since he was going to get a lot of grief for this. "I'm working with Cornelia and I want to keep the blowback away from you guys. Cornelia doesn't know about the council and I can manipulate the situation so she never does" Lelouch explained. As long as Jeremiah came in with him, he could get rid of the communication link so Mao couldn't use the card of exposing himself to Cornelia.

"And yet you're bringing C.C" Kallen frowned.

"Yes because C.C isn't Britannian. If you girls get caught up in this, it'll be a disaster. Cornelia and I agreed to a ceasefire for the moment so I'm not at risk." Lelouch insisted just to be slapped in the face by Shirley.

"You trust us enough to get us to help with the daily operations of your knights and share your bed but all of the sudden we're not good enough. This isn't fair Lulu" Shirley said with tears running down her eyes.

"Shirley" Lelouch frowned.

"No Lelouch you can't have it both ways. We are YOUR council of change. If there's anything we can do I want to do it. Plus Euphy is our friend too. I want to help both of you and I hate seeing you go off at it alone" Shirley said passionately.

Lelouch smiled since this was very much her style and went over to the orangette and hugged her. "I'm going to confront a man whose skill with mind games is almost equal to my own to save a member of a family I practically abandoned. What you can do for me is be there for me when I return with a smile on your face. That smile of yours got me through many a day before I became Zero and the only reason I didn't address your feelings is because I was afraid what would happen if you knew the real me. How you'd feel when you learned the truth."

"And what am I chopped liver." Milly chuckled.

Lelouch let go of Shirley and walked towards one of his oldest friends and like with Shirley embraced her. "Milly no amount of words can describe what you've done for me. When I was at my worst you helped me and I would've probably died years ago if not for it. Right now though I need you girls to go about your daily lives and when I get done with this you can complain all you want." Lelouch smiled knowing the blowback was coming.

"Deal" Milly smiled knowing there was plenty of complaining to be done.

"And where's my speech." Kallen pouted herself.

"You're the ace of the Black Knights Kallen. What more can I say." Lelouch replied.

"I'd settle for something sweet at least." Kallen pouted.

"Maybe later but I have to go over to the base. It's only a matter of time till Cornelia calls to…" Lelouch started to say before his phone rang.

"As you were saying" C.C smirked.

"Shut up witch." Lelouch frowned before grabbing his voice changer and the phone he was using to speak to Cornelia. It was time to save Euphemia and this was going to be a challenge.

(Scene Skip)

Lelouch had to admit this was an experience he never expected to have in his lifetime. He was sitting in the G1 base as he prepared to meet Mao in Saitama. He was currently sitting in a conference room with Suzaku of all people and Jeremiah watching over them. It was a bit odd that Cornelia wasn't there but that's fine. C.C was next to him not wearing a mask since her identity wasn't important in the grand scheme of things. Honestly the fact Cornelia didn't know about her already was the greatest proof of his brother's stupidity.

"So Zero, since you clearly know more about this Mao person then we do, what can you tell us that will help us stop him?" Suzaku said calmly.

"What I can tell you is that Mao has absolutely zero military training but he is incredibly cunning. I can also say that while Euphemia is safe, there's no telling what he'll do once pressured." Lelouch replied calmly and with dignity.

Suzaku frowned since Lelouch was hiding something. Obviously he didn't want to tell him too much because there was always a chance of Cornelia discovering the truth. "So how would you suggest we go about rescuing Princess Euphemia?"

"Send in me along with Lord Jeremiah. If it's only the two of us we can get in without too many issues." Lelouch explained Lelouch suggested Jeremiah was because he knew that Jeremiah wouldn't fall as easily to Mao's mind games. His guilt was gone but he had a feeling Suzaku's wasn't.

"I'm surprised you have such faith in me Zero. What's to stop me from killing you once we save Princess Euphemia?" Jeremiah said in a smug voice.

"Your honor Lord Jeremiah" Lelouch replied skillfully since it didn't reveal anything else.

"I see" Jeremiah smiled back. Lelouch wasn't aware of this but Cornelia was watching. Rather ironically they were sent to watch him because Cornelia suspected, rather accurately that they were spying for Zero. Well Jeremiah was, but Suzaku simply kept the truth from Cornelia. It was really rather comical in truth.

(Outside area)

"Nothing" Cornelia cursed since she was counting on Zero spilling something. She knew that Zero knew more about this person then she did. Hell, she half suspected the man was working for him. Something about this whole thing stunk. According to the plan Cornelia and her group was to stop at the 500 meter mark of the Saitama base. It made no sense to stay that far away but Zero insisted on it. He Jeremiah and the women sitting with him would infiltrate the base and take care of this Mao. Actually that was the other thing that bothered her.

"Ask Zero about the woman with him." Cornelia mused. Zero kept his identity secret and the black knights were all in masks. Why was this women alone unmasked and what was the strange feeling she kept getting in the back of her head regarding said woman.

(Private Room)

"Zero I'm curious about one thing. Of all the people you could've brought with you, you bring this woman and you don't even give her a mask. That seems rather reckless." Jeremiah smirked. He and Kururugi both knew the true nature of the woman, but hid it from Cornelia. However if Lelouch wanted to reveal her, he wasn't going to stop him.

"Do you remember the day I killed Clovis during the wild situation that was the battle in Shinjuku." Lelouch smirked.

"Yes I do. That was a rather odd 'battle'. The terrorists had stolen poison gas from the Britannians and they were storming through the ghetto."

"Do you remember how Clovis ordered an Urban Renewal during that time?" Lelouch smiled.

"Yes I did but what are you getting at?" Jeremiah smiled.

"If the container stolen was actually poison gas, there would literally be no point in that because a true terrorist organization would eventually use the gas and kill everyone in it in order to save themselves." Lelouch replied.

"And yet you used the same container during my rescue." Suzaku scowled playing his own role brilliantly.

"Yes and that's because there was never poison gas in there. Something I'm sure you realized the moment you got the container back." Lelouch smiled causing Jeremiah and Suzaku's eyes to widen.

'Are you really going to tell Cornelia the truth Lelouch?' Suzaku thought to himself.

"Yes and if you're saying there wasn't any gas, what could he be hiding in order to cover the truth." Jeremiah smiled.

"The answer would be me." C.C smiled finally speaking.

Jeremiah was certain that Cornelia was stunned. Human experimentation was one of the few things that Britannia truly hated and for a prince of the realm to do it was a shock. "So if you're the one in the poison gas, how did Zero here find it?"

"I don't know. I was so dazed due to Clovis that the last thing I remember is Zero somehow freeing me. Afterwards I went with him during the battle and I've been with him ever since." C.C smiled. She didn't implicate Suzaku in what happened because that would be a problem for them.

"So why was Clovis after you?"

"Because I am immortal. Clovis believed he could find the source of my immortality and use it to power his troops. Luckily for me his various experiments failed, but my immortality ensured that no matter what cruelty he engaged in, I would never die. Frankly I wish I was the one who killed Clovis." C.C mused.

"So if you don't mind my asking what is the secret to your immortality."

"I'll tell you since rather ironically my power is connected to the man we're going to face." C.C smiled before she focused and the crane symbol appeared on her head. Cornelia was watching and completely confused.

"What is that symbol?" Suzaku questioned doing what Cornelia would've wanted.

"It is the symbol for a power known as Geass. While I have long since lost the power myself, I can give it to anybody I want. One of the people I gave it to is Zero. The other is Mao the person we're after."

Suzaku's eyes widened, "So it's you. He kidnapped Princess Euphemia in order to get to you." Suzaku said coldly.

"Correct but not in the way you might think. Mao's power is the ability to read the minds of anybody within a certain range. His plan was to kidnap Euphemia and when Cornelia discovered the truth she could blame it on the Black Knights. When that happened Cornelia would attack the Knights in rage and in the process kill Zero, and capture me since I would be unable to die and they'd realize that. From there he would negotiate my surrender with Cornelia and thus he has me." C.C smiled. While Mao didn't do that, it was something C.C certainly expected him to do. It suggested that Mao wasn't really thinking when he grabbed Euphemia which was a fortunate break.

"So you reached out to us in order to confirm that you weren't behind the attacks and now we're going to work together." Jeremiah smiled.

"Exactly. By the way his range happens to be 500 meters since I'm sure Cornelia is watching and wondering why Zero wanted her to stay so far away. If he read your minds the plan would be worthless" C.C smiled well aware they were being watched.

(Outside)

Even as the truth of their discussion was revealed Cornelia was stunned. Strange powers, Clovis experimenting on humans, and a man who could literally read minds, "This is not real." Cornelia smiled.

"Princess" Guilford said nervously aware of just how jarring it was. She knew that the gas was fake thanks to earlier reports but now she knew that her brother was trying to make an immortal army. That thought was horrifying enough due to his careless leadership. The other question was simple.

"What power… what power does Zero have?" Cornelia muttered clearly wanting to know what she was missing.

"Zero this is Guilford P Guilford. What power do you possess?" The knight of Cornelia ordered.

Through the speaker, Zero smiled before replying, "My ability allows me to order somebody to do anything I want. Sadly I can only use it once but if done right it's an incredible power" Lelouch replied through the mask.

"How will we know that the moment you free Euphemia you won't use the Geass on her." Guilford replied.

"Red Irises around the eyes indicate that it's active. However I can assure you that won't happen. Once we free the Princess I'll give her to Suzaku and Jeremiah. You have my word or you may shoot me down." Lelouch replied.

Cornelia breathed a sigh of relief since that word was essentially bond. Zero couldn't harm her sister and if he did, he was dead. "Very well" Guilford replied before shocking the Princess by turning off the feed to Zero's room.

"Guilford why would you do that?" Cornelia wondered.

"Because you need to rest Princess. You've been stressed out by Euphemia's capture and she'll be free soon." Guilford replied. As he escorted the princess to her quarters everyone realized what would happen. As they did the group had no idea that a fly on the wall had been watching everything.

(Scene Skip)

The long ride was over and although Princess Cornelia never left her room, the group arrived at the base. "Zero, we will leave the rest to you. I trust you know what happens should any harm come to Euphemia." Guilford said sternly.

"Of course" Lelouch smiled as he left the G1 base with Jeremiah and C.C at his side. A reluctant Suzaku watched proceedings from the inside of the base while Cornelia stayed in her room wondering what would become of her sibling. The pair didn't have com links which was indeed a surprise to Lelouch but it just made things even easier.

"Shall we" Jeremiah smiled from just outside the 500 meter range.

"Of course but before that I ask that you focus ONLY on your loyalty to Lady Marianne. Your mind must be a steel trap or we cannot defeat Mao." Lelouch smiled.

"Of course" Jeremiah replied glad that he wasn't using his Geass on him since it was further proof of his trust in the man. As they approached the Saitama Base finally Lelouch noticed that Maou was standing there with a smile and next to him was Euphemia who was bound but otherwise unharmed.

"I must admit I'm impressed Lelouch. You manipulated events far better than even I expected given the circumstances. A man loyal to your mother and you've even managed to focus yourself so I can't read your thoughts. Well done but you've still lost." Mao smiled as he grabbed a gun from him and pointed it at Euphy.

"After all that effort are you really going to shoot her?" Lelouch deadpanned. If he was going to do that he would've done it already.

"I may consider it. After all if she dies you're dead too. Euphemia here made that very obvious." Mao snickered.

"True but if she dies you're dead also. There's no way you leave Saitama without dying a painful death. Unlike C.C you aren't immortal." Lelouch countered.

Mao scowled because he was right, "So then how about a deal. You give me C.C and I give you back Euphemia safe and sound. I was going to do that anyway with Cornelia since in the end all I want is C.C" Mao replied with a smile.

Lelouch could tell he was lying and that the minute C.C was in his hands he'd activate some trap that he had setup. "I've got a better idea Mao. How about" Lelouch started to say before C.C interrupted.

"Deal" C.C with a smile on her face.

"What!" Lelouch and Mao said in shock even Euphemia was shocked by the action.

"Unhook Euphemia and walk her over. Jeremiah here will do the same for me and we'll do a prisoner exchange." C.C said with an icy coldness.

"C.C what are you thinking?" Lelouch said in shock.

"I'm thinking that no matter what happens somebody is going to die today. I'd rather avoid that if at all possible. Too many have been ruined already thanks to me." C.C said bitterly.

Lelouch frowned at the thought but realized that if it's what C.C wanted he couldn't stop her, "Very well. It'll be a shame to see you go." Lelouch relented.

Mao smiled like a madman since this was perfect for him. Grabbing Euphemia he walked over to Lelouch as Jeremiah did the same with C.C in the end he was the big winner as far as he was concerned.

"Here you are" Jeremiah said begrudgingly. He knew this wasn't what he wanted to happen but in the end everybody was safe. The exchange went off without a hitch and soon Euphemia and Jeremiah were back over with Lelouch.

"So C.C any last words you want to say to Lelouch." Mao smiled viciously.

"I have three. It's over Mao" C.C smiled before pushing away from Maou.

"What the" Maou started to say before a bullet pierced his skull and he fell to the ground dead on impact.

"What's going on" Jeremiah said in shock. Before he could say anything else, a familiar red nightmare appeared from the side that caught everybody off guard. The Guren MKII had arrived and as it approached Zero and C.C everyone was stunned.

"What is Kallen doing here?" Lelouch said in disbeliefs.

"I'll explain later. Let's get you out of here." Kallen said from inside the knightmare as she reached down and extended the clawed hand of the Guren to Lelouch and C.C

"Lelouch you should go" Euphemia said with a bitter smile.

"Alright Euphy, go to your sister." Lelouch replied deciding that he could figure out what the hell happened later. In the end Euphy was safe and his debt to Cornelia was squared.

(Scene Skip)

Now sitting in the comfort of Ashford Academy's student council building Lelouch couldn't decide whether to be angry or proud of the four women who stood as he sat down trying to figure out what happened. "So let me get this straight. C.C went to Kallen and Milly to develop an alternative plan to whatever I would work out with Cornelia?" Lelouch smiled wryly.

"That's right. Kallen used the tunnels that the Saitama terrorists had setup to sneak into the base from underground knowing Mao wouldn't expect her. Milly went with Kallen and setup at around 550 yards just outside of Mao's range with a sniper rifle. Nina watched us using those spy drones and when I gave the signal, Milly shot Mao and Kallen soared in and took you away." C.C explained much to the amusement of our group.

Lelouch couldn't help but chuckle since it was a brilliant plan, "I have to admit that it's a brilliant plan and you girls executed it to perfection. Euphie is safe Mao is dead and everything seems to be back to normal." Lelouch smiled.

"Yes but there's one more thing before we go." Kallen huffed.

"What's that" Lelouch replied.

"Now it's Kallen's turn for a flowery speech." Milly chuckled.

"I don't need one but it is nice to know I'm appreciated." Nina smiled with a slight blush.

"Well Nina I won't give you a speech but I will make sure to arrange a special vacation for you and Rivalz paid for out of my personal account. Without these drones there's no telling what could've happened." Lelouch smiled.

"Of course." Nina smiled and now everyone was waiting.

Lelouch turned towards the blushing Kallen who took the time to change into some casual clothes while Lelouch changed back into his Ashford uniform. "In Chess the queen is the most powerful piece on the board. It is the piece that stands by the King's side no matter what and in the Black Knights that queen is you Kallen. You are my strongest pilot but not only that you are my greatest ally. C.C may have given me the power but you gave me something as important. I was a King without an army and you gave me the army I needed. If you didn't go along with my craziness, the Black Knights wouldn't exist. You have the best qualities of both the Japanese and the Britannians and thanks to that; I know that I could trust you to lead the Knights in my steed."

"Lelouch" Kallen said with tears flowing down her eyes.

"Kallen you are my queen and without your help, I wouldn't be able to become the King I am now." Lelouch smiled happily.

"Wow! That was one hell of a confession." Milly admitted. Hers and Shirley's were great also but there was something different about this one.

"Yes it was." Kallen smiled. Knowing how Lelouch felt was important to her with all the people now in his life.

"Yes and if you don't mind I want some rest. Today was a long day and I have no doubt that my next encounter with Cornelia won't be nearly as friendly." Lelouch frowned switching to his usual self with practiced ease.

"You ruined the moment Lelouch." C.C deadpanned.

"Quiet witch." Lelouch groaned as he got up and left the girls to go to bed. It was a long day and the battle with Mao was far more draining then he ever imagined. Hopefully he could take it easy for a little bit.

(Area 11 Government Building)

Cornelia Li Britannia should've been thrilled to see her sister come back, but what she learned during that trip was too much. Clovis's treacherous nature, this mysterious power Geass and then there was Zero himself. Everything was leading her to a conclusion and one she really didn't think was possible.

"Umm sister can I come in." Euphemia said timidly. Cornelia hadn't seen her since her return and that was unusual.

"Of course Euphy" Cornelia said in a calm manor that hid how frazzled she really was. Like her older sister Euphemia was wearing some simple sleepwear but unlike Euphemia Cornelia was the picture of a hot mess. Her hair was frazzled and her eyes showed clear signs of tears.

"Is everything okay sis." Euphy asked worriedly. She knew her sister was tired after everything but this was different.

"No it's not Euphy. I think I know who Zero is?" Cornelia said solemnly praying she was wrong.

Euphemia's eyes widened since that could spell major trouble. "Who do you think it is?" Euphemia wondered.

Tears streamed down her face once more as she brought up something that had haunted her ever since the rescue of her sister, "I think Zero is Lelouch. I think Lelouch is alive and he's Zero" Cornelia cried and Euphemia could only hold her sister as she began to realize just how troublesome things have really become.

That's it for Chapter 14 and yeah this took WAY longer than planned. I am mostly at fault due to focusing on other stories but this one is much tougher to just setup because the storyline is far more complex than those of my other stories. Anyway next chapter Cornelia reveals her concerns to Euphy and decides that there's only one person who can tell her what she wants to know. Unfortunately he's an enemy general