The Black Emperor

by Primordial Vortex

Being forced to carry his innocent sister through a sea of bodies would have broken much older men. For Lelouch, it merely strengthened his resolve. But he was only human, and let his mission slip to one other. Confronted with the possibility of failure and staunch allies in his corner, he swallows his pride and actually prepares himself for his rebellion. AU, harem

5. Turn 05 - The Best Laid Plans

Hey everyone! Yep, got another one. Unfortunately, its quickly becoming apparent to me that keeping this pace up for an extended period of time is most likely going to become unsustainable. Therefore, I'm going to start limiting when I post each chapter rather than posting them as soon as I'm done editing. In the meantime, I'm going to continue writing and hopefully start a backlog of chapters, so that I have something to post even if the muse starts being uncooperative. I haven't decided exactly how long the delay will be, so I'm going to try to play things by ear for now.

Also, say it with me folks; "Primordial cannot answer reviews left anonymously."

…

Some people have asked who is in the harem. You only get spoils if I have a good discussion with you and/or you've helped me out at some point. Even then I usually only confirm guesses and don't just flat out say who is in. :p I was purposefully keeping it tagged as Lelouch x Milly until now. I only expand the tags when someone commits to the relationship. No point in hav if I'm only up to A x Hand in-story. And another things: Just because someone is female and part of the main group does not mean she will end up in the harem. There are other people to pair off after all.

Now, I want some input guys. I want to see what kind of Knightmare designs you can come up with! They can either be retired prototypes like the behemoth or ones that'll be used in the future.

I really need to find OZ and O2. The only good source I seem to have been able to find ends at Volume 3 Chapter 9. I really want to read it so this is fucking annoying. I need to find sources soon otherwise I'm going to have to scrap the idea of using them altogether. Or at least for the first season run-through. I refuse to go solely by the woefully incomplete wikia and tvtropes. Which is a shame, because there seems to be some very interesting stuff in OZ.

-]|[-

Had a rather amusing idea strike me. What if four members of the cast all ended up time travelling for whatever reason? This has the potential for some awesomeness as well as some hilarity depending on whichever way you want to take things. You could have all four of them know and coordinate with each other, or for far more amusement, none of them know of one another and are constantly interfering with each other. In my head it was Cornelia, Euphemia, Kallen and Lelouch. You could even go at it with a 2v2. Imagine it; Cornelia and Euphemia trying their hardest to keep Lelouch from becoming the Demon Emperor, while Lelouch is sitting there wondering why everything is changing and already has no intention of repeating the Requiem.

-]|[-

Turn 05 – Best Laid Plans

-]|[-

"My Lady, we are now on approach." Cornelia looked up from the book she had been half-heartedly reading. Guildford stood before her, his hand over his heart in a bow.

She stood from her seat and walked over to the Captain's cabin, getting her first look at Area Eleven, "Seven years." She said quietly, knowing Darlton and Guilford were both behind her and paying attention. Seven years since she had last laid eyes on this thrice-damned island nation. Seven years since her precious siblings had been sent to this forsaken land by their bastard of a father. Seven years since said bastard of a father ordered an invasion of a land holding two of his children as 'hostages.'

Seven years since her heart had been torn from her chest.

Cornelia had never felt such desperation before nor since. She had abandoned her men to less-experienced commanders the second her old custom Glasgow's Landspinners had first touched dirt. She had torn apart the land, searching for her loved ones with only Darlton on her heels. She had come across the Kururugi Shrine and torn it apart, searching frantically for any sign of her little siblings' survival. She had found no bodies, but that hadn't done away with the ice in her chest. She had demolished the countryside searching for them. She even upturned boulders in hopes that they were hiding in little crags underneath.

It all had been in vain. A week after her search began, she had received the news. Her little brother and sister… her most precious ones, second only to Euphie herself, were both dead. The cry of despair she had unleashed had stricken fear into everyone who heard it, and it was said that even the dead had turned over uncomfortably. She had flown back to Pendragon, utterly defeated for the first time in her life. She had ripped open the caskets despite all orders to the contrary, and sobbed over their broken, mutilated bodies.

And now this cursed land had stolen another of her siblings from her. Only that wasn't quite accurate was it? Her brother had ordered a slaughter. A massacre. All to hide something. Something he feared would get him disinherited. She knew cruelty. She knew what it was like to make hard decisions. Countless innocent civilians had lost their lives at her orders, because she would not negotiate with terrorists. She sometimes saw ghostly faces in her nightmares, when she was far from anyone who could see her. Only her precious sister Euphie knew of the night terrors that occasionally plagued her.

She knew what war was, the bad and the ugly. She had ordered entire units slaughtered. Occasionally she had even given no quarter to enemies waving the white flag. She had seen men commit suicide in an attempt to take even a single of her units out. She had seen her own soldiers fall to their baser urges and take it out on local populaces. Those men she always punished personally. No army had room for rapists, much less her army. So she knew the darkness and the brutality her race was capable of.

But this? This was different. Every hard order she'd ever given… every soldier she ever slaughtered in the name of Britannia… All of it had a purpose. If she negotiated with terrorists, then she was condoning them. Legitimizing them and their horrific tactics. In the past, units that had surrendered had been carrying suicide vests. She had lost her first Knight to such trickery. So when she gave no quarter… when she condemned hostages to their deaths… she did so with purpose.

She had never done this. She had never heard of any commander in modern times doing this. Babies! Children incapable of even walking much less remembering… slaughtered to the last.

She was broken from her thoughts by the impact of the plane's wheels hitting the runway. The skidding of the wheels sounded off in her ear. She had been so lost in her thoughts that she hadn't even realized how much time had passed. She was now in Area Eleven…about to take command of the land that had stolen two siblings and driven another to madness. She turned on her heel and threw on her white general's coat.

As she descended down the ramp, she had eyes for only one person there. Her most precious sister's pink hair was a dead giveaway. She was wearing a charming pink and white dress with a rose choker around her neck. Cornelia both had to suppress a fond smile as well as a snort. How Euphie could wear these dresses was beyond her. The top was fine…gorgeous even, but the dress itself was laughable. How in the world could she move in that mess? She much preferred her wine colored military uniforms. She couldn't help the note of affection in her tone as she spoke, "I heard what you did Euphemia. You shouldn't be so reckless."

Euphie smiled lightly, "I have no regrets, sister."

Cornelia couldn't hold back the light snort, "You never do. You will address me as Viceroy here, Sub-Viceroy Euphemia. Because we're sisters we need to follow a stricter protocol."

"I understand." Cornelia definitely noted the exasperation in her sister's voice.

The magenta-haired sister smiled, the same-colored lipstick she wore in sharp relief on her paler, gorgeous face, before turning to her right, "Now then… your report?"

The man had a mustache that was connected to his sideburns. It made his face more than slightly goofy looking. The utter lack of a beard added to the hilarity, and it was only her iron control and her general mood the past few weeks that kept her from laughing. He crossed his right arm over his heart and bowed lightly, "Yes, my Lady. The first order of business is a welcome party we've arranged for your Highness and-"

Ahh… bureaucracy. How she absolutely adored dealing with bureaucrats. She lifted her right arm up and the cocking of a pistol froze his words in his throat. The bang made the undisciplined soldiers of Area Eleven jump. None of her soldiers nor – to her immense pride – her stunning sister even twitched. The man started to tremble as the thinnest line of red opened up on his cheek and started spilling a light stream of blood. "Sloppy… senile… corrupt." She hissed, "I don't give a damn about a welcoming party." She sneered at the man, who looked very close to wetting himself, "You have had nearly a month since that disastrous broadcast. Do you mean to tell me you've done nothing!"

"Y-your H-Highness I-" The man – one of the highest officers in Clovis' retinue stammered.

"Where is Zero?" She asked, "What was my brother hiding? How many of the terrorist cells in this Area have you thinned out? What in the Emperor's name have you been doing?" The man finally lost control of his bladder. Both princesses wrinkled their noses in disgust, "Get this scum out of my sight!" She spat. One of her loyal Glaston Knights grabbed him and hauled him away.

"He is hereby stripped of all authority and any commendations given to him by Clovis. The rest of you leave as well." She smiled as Euphemia's own authoritative voice finished the man's humiliation, almost as an afterthought. She nodded approvingly to her sister. Teaching her how to command properly had been one of Cornelia's best decisions. She couldn't protect her sister all the time, so it was necessary. She knew Euphie didn't like it, but she wasn't about to leave her defenseless even for a second.

"Sub-Viceroy… report." Cornelia had to be firm with her sister in public. There were still untrusted men and women about, even if they were shuffling off in shame.

"Yes Viceroy. Unfortunately, most of my time has been spent putting out the fires Clovis started." She noticed with a hidden start that Euphie had stopped referring to Clovis as her brother. She could tell from the extra shininess in her eyes that she was being hurt by this as much as she had been. "If you'll pardon my language, most of Clovis' retinue was filled with bigger idiots than the one who just wet himself. Clearing out the trash has unfortunately become the number one priority."

Cornelia scowled. Oh, joy of joys. She'd be cleaning house for weeks. "Thank you for getting started. I do believe my patience will already be short enough without having to do it all myself. Continue."

"Terrorist attacks have stepped up massively since that broadcast, though neither the Japan Liberation Front – by far the biggest group – nor Zero himself have had a single follow up. And with that mask, we have no leads whatsoever. We don't even know if he is actually a man or if he is a woman." Euphie sighed, "The people's morale has taken a huge hit. More than a few of our fellow Britannians have begun providing aid to the Eleven populace. The military is currently in shambles with the humiliation of the Purebloods, General Bartley's disgrace, and the utter rout Clovis experienced in Shinjuku."

Cornelia had to exercise her iron control to keep from biting her lip, "No, Zero is most likely a man. That build is very rare for a woman." She eyed her sister, her gaze turning curious, "I will admit I have heard nothing of the battle of Shinjuku. I was too busy in Area 18. How is it possible for the battle to have been a rout?" Euphie's eye twitched minutely. Cornelia suppressed a wince. That was rarely something she had seen, but she knew it was either due to utter exasperation or annoyance. It was just one of her little sister's tells. They had amused themselves with poker enough times for Cornelia to have cottoned on to that one. If she was doing that with a military matter, then perhaps she didn't want to know.

"It started off normally enough. The enemy had a single old Glasgow on their side, with almost everyone else on foot. Other than the Glasgow, whose pilot had to be at least as good a high-level Knight to survive as long as they did against squadrons of Sutherlands-" Here she and her Knights couldn't help but allow their eyes to widen in shock, "They were being stomped with ease. Then one of our Sutherlands somehow got stolen from what we've been able to guess, and the culprit led the terrorists to an incoming shipment of fresh machines. There was a lull in the combat, but once hostilities resumed, Clovis was defeated in under ten minutes."

Self-control be damned, "What?" She cried, aghast.

"Clovis ordered the encirclement broken." Euphie deadpanned. "Zero – as it was likely him leading the enemy – destroyed every single Knightmare we had in one fell swoop when Clovis fell for an obvious decoy."

Dead silence. Her loyal Glaston Knights… some of them had to be biting their tongues. Cornelia herself felt her own eye twitch. Now it was only her, her sister and her Knights who were present. All of the unwanted rabble had left. So she felt perfectly alright with her next words, "I need a drink…"

…

"How have you been holding up Euphie?" The two sisters had retired to the Viceroy's quarters. It had been more than a month since they had been able to hold and comfort one another and as far as they were concerned, that was a month too long. Now in the safety of her private rooms, they could be sisters. Euphie started to shake and she lunged for the darker-haired woman. Cornelia rubbed her sister's back and ran her fingers through her silky hair as her sister started to wet her almost-bare shoulder with her tears.

"H-how could he do it sister?!" Her voice shook, "Babies! He had babies shot in their mother's arms! When I went down to Shinjuku, I saw the corpses!"

Cornelia let out a long, sullen sigh, "I don't know." She hated not having an answer for her sister. She hated the fact that she was unable to say a word for their departed brother. She felt a tear start falling from her own eye.

"Did we ever even know him?" Euphie cried, "He was an artist! He was a good person! What in the world was he hiding that would cause him to do that?"

"I don't know." Cornelia valiantly batted back her tears, trying to focus on the good memories but finding them as tainted as her lighter-haired sister, "But I intend to find out." She lightly brushed her sister's hair with her fingers, "We need to sleep." She said heavily, after her sobs trailed off. She wiped her own eyes.

"Yeah," Euphie whispered, "You're going after a group tomorrow aren't you?"

"The Blood of the Samurai. Clovis had ample opportunity to eradicate them. He's had locations of groups for months and has done nothing." Cornelia confirmed. "So I do need some rest. I don't expect much trouble… but I've been wrong before." She said ruefully. Euphie giggled as they adjusted themselves. Completely contrary to what others would have expected out of them. Euphie liked being the big spoon and Cornelia was perfectly willing to indulge her.

-]|[-

"So, Cornelia is here. Finally." C.C. looked askance at Lelouch as she said this.

"That's right." Kallen had her arms crossed, "Not even a day and she's already gone on the offensive. Your sister is efficient if nothing else." She let a wan little smirk grace her lips.

"That she is." Lelouch chuckled, "Poor Blood of the Samurai. They never stood a chance." He said – slightly mockingly, "How they survived this long is beyond me. Clovis had to have known where they were located. They were the biggest group in Central Japan."

"Perhaps he was just lazy." Milly shrugged, "They didn't even have Knightmares. They were never a real threat, and they were so far from anything important that the most they could do was blow up some isolated depots. For all their size, they didn't do a whole lot other than blow a whole bunch of hot air."

"Lelouch-sama." One of the aides walked into the room, "She is here."

The girls blinked, "She? Lelouch, who is she talking about?" They watched as he broke into a giant smirk.

"I wanted it to be a surprise." He confessed, his grin the very definition of 'shit-eating.' "Kyoto made a very poor decision in giving me the information I wanted." The door opened and a tanned, blonde woman in a white lab coat walked in with her bust held back by a single button on her red dress shirt and a bra, "Rakshata Chawla… what a pleasure it is to meet you!" He stood and walked to the woman, giving her hand a kiss as the girls watched with their jaws on the floor.

Rakshata chuckled lightly as she took her hand back. She began to spin a thin, brown corn cob pipe between her fingers, "So…you're Zero. You're not quite what I expected." Rakshata said lazily.

"Lelouch Lamperouge, at your service." The exiled Prince introduced himself, "It is important that you not refer to this face by that name." He said with a hint of steel. Like Kallen, this was a gamble he and Milly had decided to roll the dice on. Unlike Kallen, he still had his Geass as a backup if things went wrong.

"Of course Lelouch. My mistake." Rakshata said easily, before he introduced the other girls.

"Lelouch!" Kallen had stars in her eyes, "Does this mean…?!"

Lelouch laughed, "When Kyoto sent us the information about the Guren Mark II, I also requested information on their creator…" The two of them took seats, with Rakshata reclining languidly in hers' and taking a drag from her pipe, "Night hadn't even fallen before I was on the phone with her."

"It was quite exciting." The Indian woman chuckled, "I was fairly impressed that you managed to somehow acquire my personal phone. You cut out all the red tape you would have had to go through to contact me otherwise."

Lelouch smirked, "I have my ways." Or perhaps it was more accurate to say Sayoko had her ways, "It didn't take too much to convince her that she was wasting her talents."

"Convince me?" Rakshata laughed lightly, "Please. The chance to mess with some of the Earl of Pudding's toys? As if I would miss that for the world. He has some nice ideas…but nowhere near as innovative as my own babies."

"Babies?" Milly mouthed to Kallen. The redhead shrugged.

Lelouch wrapped an arm around Milly, "And surely the number I showed you on our checkbook had nothing to do with it."

Here Rakshata's gaze sharpened and she grinned, "Oh yes, I shall have ever so much fun creating new children." She went back to reclining lazily, "I admit I'm also curious to see what you have managed to come up with before. Perhaps your old prototypes just needed a…motherly touch."

Kallen spoke up, "Does that mean the Guren has arrived as well?" She looked like a child who had just been told Christmas was coming early.

"Yes, my child is with me." Rakshata began to spin a key shaped like a red and white wing.

Kallen's excitement froze on her face for a moment, and she threw Rakshata a strange look, "You did put in an ejection cockpit right?"

"…" Rakshata blinked slowly, "Why in the world do you even have to ask?"

Milly giggled, "Mr. Pudding decided it wasn't important enough to fit into his budget."

"…That is so typical of him I almost want to go find him and laugh in his face." She looked incredibly amused. She tossed the key to Kallen, who clutched it gleefully. She really couldn't help herself. She leaned over and gave Lelouch a huge hug and a peck on the cheek. Rakshata threw the three of them an intrigued glance with an amused smile, "It is far more advanced than the Guren Mark I, another of the children I gave birth to. You better treat my child right. You don't want to know what a mother is like when she's…unhappy." Kallen was more than a little weirded out by her speech, but the key in her hand overrode that.

"I also have a lot of ideas for prototype weapons." Lelouch chuckled, "But the primary goal right now is to finish reverse engineering Pudding's Blaze Luminous, and then completing the VARIS and the MVS."

Rakshata waved her hand as if smacking away a fly, "Nonsense. Pudding's toys won't be that difficult to crack. Especially not with the blueprints you claimed to have also stolen. I'll be able to follow his thought processes easily enough to their conclusions. Give me any ideas you've had in the past. If they're feasible, then we will make them a reality." She started for a moment, "Ahh, that's right." She pulled a set of PDAs out of her lab coat pockets, "Some homework for you all. I suppose you all will need to know what my precious child is capable of. It wouldn't do for a commander to not know its capabilities."

"My thanks." Lelouch caught the PDA stack and handed one to each of the girls. He stood as did the others, "Shall we get to it then?"

"Of course." Rakshata took one last drag from her pipe and put it out, slipping it into her pocket. She blew out yet another cloud of aromatic smoke, "I'm eager to get my hands on the pieces of this Lancelot."

He smiled, and motioned with his arm, "Oh…" He stopped for a moment, "I don't believe I have to stress the fact that my face must stay secret once you meet the rest of us, do I?" All the geniality was gone from his face. Rakshata didn't show it, but she was a little unnerved at how quickly he could flip the switch.

"I was surprised you even allowed me to see it." Rakshata finally admitted with a sheepish grin, "I expected you to be far more secretive."

"And normally you would be right." He said with a trace of amusement, "Perhaps if I were on my own and keeping my identity secret from everyone it would be a different story. Perhaps if this facility did not exist, it would be a different story. You would have nothing to go base any guesses off of. However, you are going to be our Head of Science." She was unsurprised by this statement, "Therefore you have to know where you will be working from. This is not a location that will be known to the rest of our cohorts. You will see all of us here quite often, and as I am both the head of this facility as well as the head of our order, I imagine it wouldn't have taken you too long to get suspicious and an even shorter amount of time to figure it out."

"Probably a good assumption." She said dryly, "Looking at you, I can see you're even a similar build to our masked man."

"Exactly. Keeping my identity hidden would have meant walking on eggshells, and it would mean that we all would have had to act differently whenever you were around. It was simply too much hassle for a single person who was too smart to not connect the dots anyway."

"I did bring my team with me." She admitted, and Lelouch inwardly released a sigh.

"And do any of these men and women have loose lips?" Milly asked, an edge in her voice.

Rakshata snorted, "Don't insult me young lady. Loose lips in our circles sink ships. I would never allow anyone I didn't personally trust near my children or my research. That's how you find yourself reading about your own accomplishments under another's name." She tapped her pipe into her palm, "You don't have to worry. Your secrets are safe with me. All I want to do is what you're already paying me for, so I really can't lose." She smiled reassuringly.

He smirked back, "Excellent. However, until I trust the rest of your team myself, try not to refer to me by anything but my name unless I'm in costume. Now…shall we?" Lelouch gestured, and she fell into step behind them.

-]|[-

Milly had gone increasingly cold to the rest of her friends as the next two days had gone by. The rest of the council – bar Kallen who knew what was going on – was pretty worried about her, but followed Lelouch's orders to leave it be. Lelouch made sure she was as comfortable and as happy as possible, while also hiding his own increasingly dark thoughts. This would be the first time in half a decade that he would be laying eyes on that brunette bitch that his wonderful Milly had come out of. "So, why have you summoned us here?" He really could have gone half a decade more. Milly's mother was truly a nasty piece of work. She was a statuesque brunette with a haughty sneer on her face. Her blonde husband was sitting beside her with a vaguely pained look on his face. "Your father and I have better things to do than to entertain your fancies. If you weren't serious about your discovery about a way to be accepted back into the nobility, then you will be punished. Severely."

Milly had a cold look on her face, "We're here to discuss you trying to set me up with someone once again when you know full well I'm with Lelouch."

Milly's mother sneered at her daughter, "If your boy toy has no intention of revealing himself to the world then he is useless to us." The fact that Lelouch sat right next to Milly with a stone-cold, expressionless look on his face didn't stop her mother in the slightest, "All that concerns us is our return into the nobility. If you want to marry my daughter then I have a phone right here. I'm sure we could get connected to Pendragon in a hurry." She stared Lelouch dead in the eye as she said this, unconcerned for how much it hurt her daughter, "No? Then you daughter, will do what you're told. We have better things to do than for you to waste our time with him. We won't regain our status unless you marry into the nobility. That is all you are good for!"

"I don't care about returning you into the nobility." Milly shot back, "I never cared, nor do I care about you." Her voice was practically arctic, well used to her mother by now. There was no love lost in this family. After everything this whore had done to her, the only desire she had was to claw her eyes out herself.

"Then I will disown you." Her mother said with finality. "I'm still young. I can make another heir. And then you will be left with nothing. We've fed you, clothed you and raised you. Show some respect or I'll put you on the streets. I wonder how much he'll claim he loves you when you have to whore yourself out just to survive." And with that, she sealed her fate. No matter what happened here, Lelouch wasn't letting her walk out of this.

"Delores…" Her father spoke for the first time, an extremely uncomfortable look on his face.

"Silence Aldwin." Delores snapped. Her browbeaten husband flinched and looked away. Despite being the head of the Ashford Family there was just nothing of his father in him. He was just a man who never had it in him to fight and who never should have become the family Head.

"You've done nothing!" Milly hissed. Lelouch half expected her to grow cat ears and claws like she had worn during Arthur's party, "Grandfather has done everything that you've claimed. He raised me while you were off drinking yourself into a stupor with the rest of your noble hussies and getting yourself fucked by the servants! How Grandfather allowed dad to marry a whore like you escapes me!"

"How dare you!" Her mother rose to her feet and raised a hand ready to slap her daughter hard enough to knock a tooth or two loose.

She never got the chance. Kallen and Sayoko practically materialized next to them. Sayoko held a wakizashi to her throat. "You will not touch Milly-sama."

"Jeez Milly." Kallen's left arm was up holding a gun. The laser-pointer was aimed squarely between the bitch's eyes, "You were understating things when you called her a Grade 'A' Bitch."

"I did warn you." Lelouch spoke for the first time during the meeting. His eyes had not left Milly's mother and his expression hadn't changed, but Milly knew him well enough to know that her mother was dead. She smirked with dark glee.

Delores was trembling and looking cross-eyed at the red dot on her forehead, before she swallowed and put on a look of bravado, "Y-you can't kill me! If I die you'll be revealed!"

"We will, will we? Let me guess. You have either an automated system or some sort of middleman to reveal me and Nunnally if they don't hear from you for a certain amount of time." Lelouch guessed in an indulgent tone, "How am I doing?"

"That's right!" She sneered victoriously, "So call off your bitches or I'll forget the next check-in." Kallen and Sayoko dropped their weapons – though Kallen really wanted to just pull the trigger for that comment – and stood to either side of the couch. Delores visibly adjusted herself before sneering at them, "So, you can be trained. Good to know."

Lelouch chuckled, before it turned into a dark, full on laugh. She took a step back, a chill suddenly running down her spine, "Oh, you are so laughably clueless it honestly hurts."

"What was that?" She put on a brave face, suddenly perspiring again.

"If you had agreed to cancel this engagement and allowed Milly to make your own choices, you might have walked away from this unscathed." A mad grin split across Lelouch's face, "That was before your threat to my Milly. As it is, you both will obey me."

"I'll nev-" The red light of Geass shone from both of her parent's eyes, "Yes, your Highness!" Their tones changed quickly.

Lelouch's smirk turned beyond just dark. This was going to be the most vindictive use of his Geass ever. "You both will forget ever having come here. You will fabricate your own stories for what you were doing since you last spoke with Milly on the phone to inform her of the meeting with Earl Asplund. You will both destroy any means you have of revealing my sister and I, whether those means are electronic or through middlemen. Silence all leaks. In fact, once you are done with that you are both to permanently forget any and all memories you have of me and my sister from after we were sent to Japan. You will cancel the arrangement with Earl Asplund and cease all future attempts to use your daughter to regain your noble title. Delores, you will find yourself only capable of arousal through taboo acts with dirty, foreign street rats and barnyard animals. In three months' time you shall get so drunk that you're four sheets to the wind. You will allow yourself to be publically caught in a beyond-compromising position with half a dozen bums and a goat."

Milly was staring at him with an open mouth. Kallen was staring at him as if she had never seen him before, and even Sayoko had a dumbfounded look on her face.

Lelouch sneered maliciously, "When you have your trial you will confess to any and all acts that could get you even a misdemeanor – that does not compromise us obviously – while having a mental breakdown apparently caused by your removal from the nobility. Only then… only when you have lost everything do you have my permission to die. By this time, you-" he turned to Milly's father, "-will have already divorced your whore of a wife and passed on the lordship to your daughter. You will fade into obscurity, and neither of you will ever darken our doorstep again. Now get the fuck out of my sight. You can return to normal when you're back in Pendragon."

As soon as the door to the room had closed, he heard Kallen breath out, "Holy SHIT Lelouch!" in utter shock.

"No one fucks with my family." Lelouch said darkly. As Milly lunged for him and tackled him to the floor, giving him the most passionate kiss of their lives, he thought, 'No one.'

Milly ecstatically back away and ripped his shirt down the middle. "MILLY!" Kallen squeaked, flushing bright red as she gazed at Lelouch's exposed chest from behind her fingers, "We're right here!"

"Then join us!" Milly crowed, "We're celebrating! I'm finally free! I NEVER HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT THAT BITCH EVER AGAIN!" She slipped her school blazer off as Lelouch snapped her bra at the front. Kallen ran from the room.

-]|[-

Her face was still blazing red when they finally showed up again. Lelouch's clothes were more than ruffled and Milly had a Cheshire grin on her face, her form immaculate. Despite the fact that by Kallen's count, they had to have been at it for the past two hours. Lelouch had his own smug grin, "I could hear it here!" Kallen twitched, "I couldn't get away!"

C.C. laughed as she walked into the room. "Maybe you should have taken their offer then." She said lazily. She walked past the two and stopped, taking a sniff. She smirked, "Well, you two certainly smell like victory." Kallen's blush – which had been receding slightly – burst back to supernova.

"Feel like it too! I feel like I'm walking on air! I'll never have to see either of those two ever again! I'll never have to worry about being sold off like a whore ever again! I can live my life the way I want to, not how she wants me to." Milly said in rapture, falling onto the couch and putting her head on Kallen's lap. "We should go do something fun! We could all go to the Sakuradite Allocation Meeting! It got delayed because of the mess Zero caused in the other areas and because they wanted to extend an invitation to Cornelia, so I managed to snag a couple more tickets and hotel rooms. It's a gorgeous location and we could probably use some relaxation before the rebellion starts in full." She took said tickets out of her pockets, "Why not right? We could get the entire Student Council to come with us. The weather this entire week has been unusually warm and the weekend is going to be hot, so we could go swimming in the lake!"

"I'll pass." C.C. said indolently, "I prefer the pool and beaches anyway. Last time I went in a freshwater lake I ended up with an amoeba in my head." All three of them cringed, "Yeah." C.C. deadpanned, "I don't want to talk about it."

"Who would?" Milly shivered, "Those things are horrifying. But Lake Kawaguchi hasn't ever been linked to those."

"All the same, I'll pass." She waved them off, "We can do something fun for me some other time. In the meantime, we were planning on getting Kallen's old cell together." She started filing her nails, "It's past time that we start preparing them to fill their roles." She grinned lightly, "Well, that and figuring out which dead end job Tamaki won't manage to fuck up."

"We'll be at that for a while." Kallen smirked from the sofa.

"Bah!" Milly huffed, "That can wait till Monday. We haven't done anything fun in ages."

"The cat hunt wasn't fun?" Lelouch had an amused smile on his face.

"Shush you! I'm working here!" Milly pointed at him imperiously.

He chuckled, "You're right though. Once we have our first offensive, we will quickly find ourselves lacking free time." He turned to the redhead, "So, you up for it Kallen?"

"Why not?" She stretched, "It's been a while since I've been to the mountains."

"Then C.C., can we trust you to take my place as Zero while we're gone?" Lelouch asked.

"Sure, sure." She waved them off, "Have fun."

-]|[-

"This is the first time I've ever left the settlement." Shirley told the group. She was entirely unaware of the hundreds of deadened Japanese underneath their train, suffering on refrain and lacking food.

Milly was sadly all too aware of that fact, as was Kallen. She comforted herself in the knowledge that one day soon that would all change. "Really? You've never once been interested in seeing the mountains? This is a beautiful country you know."

Kallen smiled from her place beside the blonde, "You've been missing out then Shirley. The nature here is very relaxing. I like going on trips when I'm sick. It really helps."

"Daddy is pretty protective…" Shirley mumbled, poking her fingers together.

"Ah!" Nina gasped and scrunched her pants up in her fists when they entered a tunnel.

Kallen grasped one of her hands gently, "Hey, don't be scared Nina…" She gave her a warm smile, "We're right here with you." Initially Kallen had liked the girl the least out of all of the Student Council. Her xenophobia was more than a little hurtful, and exasperating. She had thought that Nina was just a standard Britannian, but she had later learned that she had a real reason for her fear. She didn't have many of the details, but apparently something terrible had happened in the petite girl's past.

Milly did the same, grasping the green-haired girls' other hand, "We'll be with you the entire time, okay?"

Nina tried to put on a brave smile, ecstatic that her friends truly cared, "O-okay."

"Did I miss something?" The door slid open with a whirr and Lelouch walked in, carrying a number of drinks and a couple snacks with him.

"S-sorry." Nina mumbled, "I got scared when we went in the tunnel."

Lelouch put the tray down and lightly scratched her head, "I'm sure they've already said it, but we'll make sure nothing happens. You'll be safe with us." He smiled as the girl finally relaxed, nibbling into a sweet roll he had given her.

…

"Arghblrgh." Kallen glared at the laughing blonde. They had all been relaxing in the water when Milly had suddenly splashed at her, "Why you little!" Milly ran away deeper into the lake as Kallen gave chase, splashing right back.

Shirley giggled, "Jeez, Kallen wasn't kidding when she said this place was relaxing. She looks so lively!" She and Nina were in one-piece bathing suits, while Milly and Kallen were in two-piece ones. Milly was on full display in a tiny light-blue bikini while Kallen had a black skintight rash guard with a bikini bottom. Shirley was chagrined to realize that Kallen – despite her weakness – actually had a better body than she did.

"She sure does." Lelouch was staring at the two glistening girls playing in the water with steam practically shooting from his nose.

Shirley pouted as she realized that, 'Why can't he stare at me like that!' She cried inwardly.

Lelouch smirked and dipped into the water, kicking off and shooting like a torpedo towards the two laughing girls. "AHH!" He cried as he grabbed the two, getting squeaks of fear out of them.

"Lelouch!" Kallen yelled, "I was winning!" She said from her spot on his right shoulder.

"Oh please. I was clearly ahead!" Milly scoffed, but she had a giant grin on her face. "Oh, I'm sure going to miss this." She sighed, making sure her voice wouldn't carry, "Times like these are going to be in short supply soon."

"Yeah…" Kallen mumbled. She could hardly believe it herself, but since she had been pulled into their insanity she had honestly come to like her new friends. It was a position she hadn't thought she'd ever be in. They swam a little deeper, until they were about chest-deep in the water, and Lelouch pulled both of them close. Kallen blushed again, "Leloummph!" This wasn't the first time since the cat hunt that Lelouch had kissed her. She honestly should have been used to it by now, but he still caught her by surprise. He pulled away just as quickly, and her flush deepened because she knew it had left her wanting more. Then her eyes widened as Milly leaned forward and claimed her lips too. "Milly!" She squeaked, blushing heavily.

"Hey guys!" Kallen was thankful for the distraction as Shirley called from the shore, "The barbeque is ready!" Shirley was waving at them. Lelouch's head had been in the way, so she was entirely unaware that her best friend had just stolen a kiss from her other friend. It still didn't stop the jealousy though, since they had to have been pretty close together for the position the trio were in.

"Coming!" Lelouch yelled back, before pecking the both of them and starting to backstroke.

Milly followed quickly, trying to grab her boyfriend's leg with an evil grin. Kallen stood there for a few second more, willing her seemingly-perpetual blush to go away, "They're going to be the death of me." She mumbled, twitching lightly. She finally took off at a sedate pace, wanting some time to cool her head. By the time their bonfire went out, it was already turning to dusk.

…

Kallen twitched, "Milly…" Her voice had a dangerous edge, "What's this supposed to be?"

"Our room for the weekend!" The blonde chirped cheerfully, putting her bag onto the dresser.

"I gathered that." Kallen stated, a vein popping up on her head, "What I meant was WHY IS THERE ONLY ONE BED?!"

"Oh that?" Milly waved her hand negligently, "Don't worry. I made sure it was king sized."

"That's not the problem!" Kallen's eye twitched, "Nina and Shirley got two twins!" She would have gone on, except she found herself in whirling around in Lelouch's arms. She didn't even bother two try to squeak his name. She knew what was coming. Unconsciously, her arms wrapped around his neck as they kissed. She moaned as he started slipping her some tongue for the first time, and she fumbled in inexperience at the new sensation. Her eyes widened as she felt his hands on her thighs gripping tightly and then lifting her into the air. She wrapped her legs around his waist to keep from falling. She let out a tiny, 'oof' as he laid her gently on the bed, before she felt more weight deform the mattress to her left.

Lelouch pulled back, and her flush came back as she noticed the thin strand between their lips. He smirked at her and then leaned back down, nipping at her earlobe and then trailing kisses down her neck. She moaned as his tongue stuck out and licked a spot, before sucking on it gently. Kallen's eyes widened before they closed again as Milly took Lelouch's place on her lips. She unconsciously started rolling her hips, the unfamiliar stimulation starting to get to her. She broke away from Milly, panting hard, "J-just kissing!" She managed to squeak out, her face flaming red.

Milly smiled down at her, "Of course. We weren't planning on that for the weekend anyway."

"Y-you weren't?" Kallen blinked.

"No." Lelouch chuckled, "We're not even official yet. We figured you wouldn't want to."

"O-official?" She gaped, "But…?"

Milly chuckled, "We're Britannians dear. It's perfectly legal." Kallen's eyes bulged as she caught their meaning, but before she could say another word, she was being kissed again.

But Kallen had enough of being teased. She used her strength and flipped Lelouch onto his back, straddling him. "You two are done teasing me! My turn!" Milly grinned as Kallen finally took the initiative and started kissing Lelouch passionately.

She dipped and continued Lelouch's former assault on her neck and jawline. "Little less tongue Kallen." She gave her a light spank and nipped at the redhead's ear. The redhead jumped, but followed the instructions. She was a novice after all. "Good girl."

The three lost track of time, not knowing how long had passed. They dozed off, exhaustion finally getting to them. When she woke the next morning, Kallen had honestly thought she'd been having a – albeit pleasant – dream. It only took a little bit of shuffling to realize she was still being held by Lelouch, with Milly on the other side. The sun had just started rising, but Kallen realized she wouldn't be able to get back to sleep. Eager for some payback, she started to tease Lelouch awake. After some breakfast and a shower for all three of them – separately in a red-faced Kallen's case - they resumed their activities from the previous night since they still had a bit of time before meeting up with Nina and Shirley. Kallen had found herself with her head on top of Milly's pillowy breasts nibbling on his neck as Lelouch made out with the blonde, when all of a sudden Lelouch stopped and backed away, "Lelouch?" She asked, the haze fading slightly.

"Quiet!" Lelouch hissed, and instantly the pleasurable haze vanished from both girls. Lelouch looked far too alert and dangerous. That's when they both heard it. Yelling. Screams. Their eyes widened as something crashed into the door. The wood bowed inwards before snapping back. Lelouch whirled around as a second impact knocked it open and it smashed into the wall. A Japanese man walked in, sneering at the three Britannians. He was holding an assault rifle, "Obey me!" Lelouch snapped, his good mood ruined. He didn't let the man have a word in edgewise. "Who are you? Why are you here?"

"Private Iseki Akihiko of the Japan Liberation Front! We are taking over this hotel!"

"Does the government already know about this?" he asked.

"Yes, the initial message was sent out immediately upon our capture of the most important hostages. Now we're rounding the rest of you up." The man droned out.

Milly groaned and got up, Kallen following in a murderous mood. Now she was hot and bothered and they were getting interrupted. They took turns kicking the man in the crotch for his trouble. The Geassed man wouldn't even react until later, "So much for our vacation." She snarled.

Lelouch hadn't wasted any time and was already on the phone. "C.C., the JLF is taking the convention center hostage. For now, we're going to have to play along."

"You just have no luck at all, do you boya?" C.C. was heard cackling on the other end. A tic mark appeared on all of their heads.

"Shut up, witch." Lelouch's eye twitched, "As annoying as this is, it will serve as the perfect moment for our debut. Get our men ready and get here as fast as possible. Bring two of our uniforms for yourself and Kallen." He smirked lightly, "I would be far more worried if it hadn't been for the broadcast. Nelia knows she'll have to walk on eggshells tonight. We have a little bit of time, at least. If push comes to shove, Kallen and I will start the party early." Kallen made sure her blades were ready and Milly hid her guns in the same way. She wasn't very good with swords, but she was an expert markswoman.

"Roger." C.C. hung up.

He glared at the man and punted him between the legs as well. The soldier grunted as he lifted an inch or two in the air, but otherwise didn't do a thing, "Where are your leaders?"

"Near the top of the tower. They're on the third-to-last floor." He said obediently.

"Let's go. Act as normal. If possible, you are to be one of the outer door guards. If you hear a commotion inside wherever you'll be keeping us that involves gunfire in any way, you are to immediately kill any other guards nearby and await further orders. Always radio your superiors that everything is normal, should anything happen and they request a status update." He and his girls put their hands up as the man's eyes cleared up.

The Japanese man snarled, wondering why his kintama hurt so much. His legs almost buckled for a moment, before he straightened himself up, "Let's go!"

-]|[-

Oghi whistled as he entered the very large, red and gold trailer, "What's wrong? Hurry and get inside." Zero's calm, synthesized voice bid them to enter. He was lounging on a wrap-around style sofa with blue-green upholstery, his feet up on the coffee table. "This place will be our mobile headquarters until we have something better."

"Holy cow!" Tamaki was grinning as he looked around.

"Does this mean we're joining forces?" Oghi looked to him, "After so long without any action, I wasn't expecting it."

Zero's voice had a weird reverb effect, making it clear that a voice-changer was being used, "Of course. We are comrades after all." He said, "I believe I already told you that I fight for justice. Your regular actions prior to my arrival were meaningless. We've discussed this before."

Tamaki was heard snorting, "So we roughed up a few Brits. Who the hell cares?" The man mumbled, but Zero heard him fine.

"I do!" His voice rumbled, and the redhead flinched. "If you start thinking that all Britannians are the same and want to shoot them, then you are no better than your enemies. The innocent bystanders you've killed had nothing to do with your enemies. Most of them probably had families of their own. After our rescue of Kururugi last month, hundreds of Britannians have been providing humanitarian aid to the Japanese. They are not all alike, and they do not all derive enjoyment from your misery." His voice gained a dark inflection that set the terrorist cell on edge, "So if you think I will allow you to harm innocents, then I shall kill you myself. I have no room for someone like that in my organization." The warning was loud and clear.

Tamaki swallowed heavily, sweat beading on his brow, "R-roger."

Oghi sighed, and decided to steer the conversation in a different direction, "So, how did you come by this?"

"I asked." Zero said, his voice turning amused, "A rather libertine nobleman enjoys indulging my requests. No strings attached, of course."

"Wow, it even has a second story!" Came a voice from upstairs.

Zero was again amused, "Yes, I had assumed you would have gathered that from the size. Evidently I was mistaken."

Oghi cracked a smirk. It was somewhat reassuring to know their new leader had a sense of humor, "So, what has been going on for the past month?"

"I have been acquiring more resources and funds." Zero said, "In addition, I've also been working on reverse engineering the Lancelot." When question marks popped up over their heads, he clarified, "The white frame that single-handedly smashed you all in Shinjuku." His voice was most definitely amused.

Oghi flushed. One of the rebels then noticed the television, "It even has a TV too? This place is great." He clicked it on, and the channel turned to the news.

Immediately, a voice that sounded slightly panicked blared through the room, "How are things looking at the scene?!"

A newswoman stood in front of a building, "I'm here in front of the Lake Kawaguchi Convention Center Hotel. The hotel-jackers have identified themselves as the Japan Liberation Front."

-]|[-

The three were led into a large dining room and reunited with Nina and Shirley. The two were huddled together, with Nina visibly terrified. Lelouch's eyes hardened, and a light touch to Milly's arm had her understanding him perfectly. She immediately went to them and activated her Geass, wrapping her arms around Nina and forcing her to be calm. Kallen and Lelouch kneeled close by, side by side. They were whispering to each other, their eyes alert, "Two on the left wall from the door, two on the right. Two by the doors as well. One patrolling."

The room was large. Originally the JLF had planned this for the convention's original date. With it being delayed and the possibility of Cornelia herself attending, more people had decided to come. Originally, the hostages were all going to be put inside a smaller storage room and put in rows, but with this many people that was impossible. Instead, they were in one of the dinner rooms. The tables were all overturned and the room was a mess, but this allowed for the hostages to be put into groups rather than lined up one after the other. It gave the civilians the illusion that they would even be allowed leave if they cooperated.

"I'm Kusakabe of the Japan Liberation Front. This stand we're taking is for the freedom of Japan and our countrymen. Even though you are not soldiers you are still Britannians. You are the ones who rule and oppress us. Sit still, be quiet, and you'll be fine. If you don't..." The man trailed off in warning. "Now, arms on the backs of your heads. We are going to show you to the world, so Britannia knows to come and negotiate."

'You fool.' Lelouch thought angrily as he whirled around, so that he and Kallen were nearly back to back. He absolutely could not have his face appear on live TV. 'Nelia never negotiates with terrorists!' He hadn't been noticed thankfully, and made sure that his face wouldn't be caught by the camera. He was looking around the room making plans, 'Seven guards. Two close, two behind, two far, one patrolling..' He mused, 'Kallen would need to take the farthest two. All have assault rifles. Her Geass would be useful for dodging, but danger for civilians.' His thoughts ground to a halt as his eyes landed on another hostage. They almost bulged out of his skull when his brain caught up to his eyes, and he realized exactly who was in front of him roughly eight feet away.

Euphemia's eyes were trembling in their sockets as she stared at him, her mouth gaping. She was 'disguised' with a pair of glasses which had slipped down her nose, but it was undoubtedly her. Tears started to prickle at her eyes as she mouthed, "Lelouch?"

'Shit.' Lelouch thought in slight worry, 'I wasn't ready to meet with her yet! This goddamn trip was a disaster!' He slowly nodded before he brought a finger to his lips in a shushing manner. Her lips snapped shut and then began to quiver, a single tear slipping from her right eye. She gave him a huge, watery smile, and started trying to shuffle over. He immediately stopped her, making sure that the guards weren't paying attention. Her expression turned hurt as he shook his head minutely, willing her to stay where she was. He couldn't have her in the way if things turned violent. Luckily for him the guards were more concerned with taunting some of the hostages and were only half paying attention to the entire room. He leaned back and started whispering in Kallen's ear, "My sister is here." He mumbled in irritation. Her eyes widened, "Euphie. We're safe for now since Nelia wouldn't dare risk her, but she saw me. I don't know how this will end up." Kallen held back a curse. This day just kept getting better.

-]|[-

"Members of the Sakuradite Allocation Meeting – most notably Chairman James – were taken hostage along with several tourists and hotel employees. This footage was taken by the perpetrators. In it, you can clearly see Chairman James as well as some students." Indeed, large and small groups of hostages inside the room were being shown off on the camera. They all looked terrified and compliant to the armed soldiers in the room. But then one face in particular showed up on the screen.

"Lake Kawa- KALLEN!" Oghi gasped, racing to the screen. The rest of the group hurried over as well.

Over in his seat, C.C. was staring at the screen completely deadpan. 'So much for the vacation.' She thought wryly from behind Zero's mask.

"Zero!" Oghi raced up to her, "We have to do something about this. K-"

"Kallen is there." Zero said, sounding almost lazy, "I already knew. I have a man on the inside currently." Oghi's eyes widened, "Minami! Tamaki! Upstairs you will find a number of cardboard boxes. Grab them and bring them down. Inside will be your new uniforms." She smirked as the men went and did as they were told.

Oghi took one of them out of the boxes, " I mean as far as gear goes it looks pretty hip but we're just a resistance group so..."

"Wrong!" C.C. said, knowing what Lelouch wanted to be said, "This is no longer a resistance group. We are Revolutionaries." The modulated voice was crisp and clear, "But more importantly, we are Knights of Justice! So suit up. We're going to rescue those hostages. All of them." She took out a phone and her eyes widened behind her mark as she read the message on it.

Euphemia is here. Cornelia won't attack. Use information to gain access past the blockade. Hijack a news van.

-]|[-

General Andreas Darlton stood beside Princess Cornelia and his fellow Knight in controlled fury. He was listening to his subordinates report as well as seeing the images on the screens, "All bridges connecting to the hotel with the exception of the main one have been destroyed. Our attempted approaches from the air and water have been unsuccessful." The screens showed the destruction of two helicopters. The next was of an armed diver getting his head blown off and falling back into the lake, "There's only one route left that will allow us to develop a possible hostage rescue plan. The main utilities tunnel running directly beneath the Convention Center Hotel is our last option. If we go in through this route and destroy the foundation block, we can submerge the hotel. Since the tunnel was also built to handle supply deliveries, it should be able to accommodate Sutherlands. Even if the enemy has taken precautions it should be no problem." They watched the screens as the Sutherlands activated and started racing down the maintenance shaft.

…

They were expected. The Japanese had rigged four Glasgows and a giant cannon into a massive weapon designed to defend in tight corridors. It was an extremely powerful siege weapon. "Enemy detected! As expected, they're moving through the underground tunnel!"

"Roger that. Raikō secondary startup! Both quad-linkage legs locked. Super Electro Magnetic Shrapnel Cannon voltage confirmed. FIRE!" The gun crackled with electricity and whirred, before shooting out a single giant projectile at blistering speeds. The single shell broke open in the air and launched two dozen hardened steel ball bearings down the tunnel. The Sutherlands tried their hardest to dodge, but their machines just weren't agile enough. Shredded metal was all that remained.

…

"Wiped out?" Darlton ground his teeth together.

"It looks as though they've modified Glasgows into a linear cannon." His subordinate said professionally, though he sounded shaken.

One of the aides spoke up, "Then there's no way we can break through. What do we do now? If we release the political prisoners as they demand..."

"Unacceptable!" Cornelia spat for the first time. Outwardly, her appearance was immaculate. Anyone who truly knew her though, knew she was a mess inside, "We will NOT legitimize these terrorists!"

Guildford bent down and whispered into her ear, "But, Princess Euphemia, she's..."

"I know!" She hissed, "Damn it I know!" She hammered a fist into her throne, 'Please Euphie! Please be safe!'

Darlton spoke again, "Thus far it appears that none of them have discovered that fact. If they learn that Princess Euphemia is among the hostages, they'll undoubtedly use her as a bargaining chip. She went there just to observe, so she isn't registered along with the other guests thankfully. If she can keep her head down, she shouldn't be discovered."

Cornelia cringed, "Darlton what have you done? Euphie keep her head down?"

Darlton seemed to realize what he had just said…and slapped a hand to his face.

-]|[-

By now, night was starting to fall. As expected, they were still alive. Euphie's presence had both taken the edge off his mind as well as worried him. He had not prepared for her meeting him this early. Things could very well end up turning into an unmitigated disaster, and he really didn't want to use his Geass to take control of her. However, her presence had ensured that they would survive, as Cornelia would never risk her life. She had tried multiple times to come to him, and every time he had to wave her off. Her increasingly angry, puffed up face was as adorable as he remembered. He suspected he might be getting walloped at some point.

But while they may have been safe from the Britannian side… he had miscalculated the patience of the Japanese. After nine hours, the JLF had started getting restless. They had beat back many attempts at rescue by now and they were getting more than a little irritated with Cornelia. The tipping point came when a single soldier walked into the room. He wore an officer's coat rather than the body armor the rest of the soldiers were wearing. He walked up to a man and hauled him to his feet, before leading him out of the room.

-]|[-

Despite all orders to the contrary, Suzaku was sitting in the ready-and-waiting Lancelot's cockpit. He had the outward appearance of someone calm, but inwardly he was pleading for a peaceful resolution to this conflict. So many of his friends were being held hostage now. How could he possibly be calm knowing they might die? How could he possibly be calm knowing he'd have to tell Nunnally that he couldn't save her brother? That she was now alone in this world… He clenched his fists on his arm rests, 'Damn it all! I know I can get past with the Lancelot! Why won't they let me?!'

"Suzaku? Those teenage hostages are friends of yours from school aren't they? They're still negotiating so let's not give up hope." Miss Cécile told him. She was behind the seat fiddling with something.

Suzaku forced himself to relax, letting out a deep sigh, "I have faith in the system." Suzaku told his beautiful superior, "I prefer the logic of systems to personal emotions." A bold-faced lie, even to himself. He had the horrible feeling that something terrible was about to happen. But despite that, he forced himself to believe his own words. They couldn't fail. They just couldn't. Suddenly he gasped, his eyes widening, "Miss Cécile! Look!" The Lancelot's Factspheres zeroed in on the very top of the Lake Kawaguchi hotel. Several Japanese men holding guns were pointing them at a Britannian man, "No…" Suzaku breathed out, horrified.

"No way!" Cécile gasped, "They're not really going to-"

"Don't…" Suzaku's breath caught in his throat as the man was forced to take a step forward, "Don't do it!" The man fell off of the building, and all of the composure Suzaku had pretended to have shattered, "NOOOOOOOOOO!"

He and Cécile were practically insensate as Kusakabe's voice came through all of their radios, "Our demands have gone unanswered. Therefore, we will throw one hostage from the roof every thirty minutes until our terms are met. For the sake of the hostages… the negotiations better be in good faith."

-]|[-

And that was when Milly made her mistake. The light usage of her Geass had no effect on her throughout the day. She had been managing to keep Shirley and Nina especially somewhat calm with it. Now though, she had to know what they were about to do, so she expanded her range to follow the man's emotion. Unwittingly, she stopped using it on her two friends too suddenly, and because she had been using it to suppress an emotion for so long…

It just rebounded harder than it would have initially. Nina immediately started to tremble more, but Milly was too horrified to notice.

Milly watched the man in a horrified trance as he was led to the elevator and his fear started to spike higher and higher. By the time he was at the roof, he was struggling and had guns pointed at his face. He was begging for his life, pleading for mercy. Milly cut her Geass off in revulsion as the man started moving down. Lower. And lower. She didn't want to feel the end. She choked back a sob as she threw a glance at Lelouch. He got the message.

Lelouch ground his teeth as he realized what this meant. The hostages were going to be executed. The JLF had delivered their ultimatum. "They executed him." He murmured to Kallen. He felt her squeeze his hand in fury. "We're going to have to break cover. There's too much risk here. One of us may get grabbed next."

She relaxed her fist, "And the witnesses?"

He sighed deeply, "I hope I won't need to Geass any of them in the future."

"When?" She whispered back.

He threw a glance at Milly, and tapped Kallen's wrist. "Kallen, switch with me. If we act, you'll need to take out the farthest two."

"Understood."

"Sumimasen!" Lelouch called out, getting the attention of the guards. He continued in Japanese, "May we stretch our legs, sir?" The guard eyed him in shock, before grunting out that they had ten seconds. Lelouch and Kallen stood and stretched out the kinks in their legs, surreptitiously moving closer to their main group. They sat again in a way that they would be able to explode forward if needed, with Lelouch now facing towards the corner of the room near the doors and Kallen facing the corner near the farthest guards. She caught sight of Euphemia for the first time, and she had a quizzical look on her face. She and Lelouch had been sending each other looks during the whole situation, and now they wouldn't be able to. She bit her lip, wondering what was going on.

Lelouch caught Milly's eye and mouthed to her, "The two near the door. They're yours." Milly's eyes widened before she nodded seriously, and adjusted herself to be able to quickly push Nina away if needed.

It was a good thing that they had been preparing for this since the morning, because their moment came quicker than he had planned for. "E-eleven…" Nina whispered before she could stop herself.

Milly, Lelouch and Kallen all tensed, knowing that the shit was about to hit the fan. "WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?!" The soldier that had been walking by the group roared in fury. Nina squeaked and shrank into herself in fear, burrowing into Milly, "Don't call us Elevens! We're Japanese, dammit!"

Milly glared at the man, "Please! We know! She's just scared! Lay off her!"

"Then correct her, we're not called Elevens!" He spat at the blonde.

"Fine! We will!" Shirley brought herself closer into the group and yelled at the man.

Evidently he didn't like their tone, "How dare you speak like that to me? You three, come with me to the next room and I'll teach you a real lesson!"

Nina immediately went from terrified to completely hysterical. She started shrieking, "NOO! NOOOOO!" She sounded as if the very demons of hell were grasping at her ankles, threatening to drag her under.

And as he was reached forward to grab her arm and pull her to her feet, they had their cue. Milly's Geass blazed into her left eye and all seven of the soldiers felt a wave of terror crash into their minds, slowing their reactions. Lelouch and Kallen were filled with a sense of urgency. At the same time, she shoved Nina away from her with a mental apology. Nina's eyes went wide in betrayal as she fell, and it was as though she saw what happened next in slow motion. In the same motion that her friend had shoved her away, a brutal look came across her face and a gun slipped out of her sleeve. Nina's jaw dropped as time seemed to speed up again as Milly brought the weapon to bare.

At the same moment, Lelouch had surged to his feet and charged at the guard. He was slow in bringing his rifle around, and Nina was perfectly positioned to see Lelouch's bright white, gleaming blade slide out from under his sleeve and cleave the rifle in two. Shirley's mind had caught up and her eyes bugged out as she realized one of her closest friends had a sword popping out from his sleeves.

Kallen hadn't been idle either. Her Geass activated with but a thought and the world slowed down for her. She watched shocked realization fly across Euphemia's face right up until she was out of Kallen's sight. She charged forward, flicking her wrists and sending her red wakizashi-sized daggers into her hands. The farthest guards had the most time to react, and managed to bring shaking rifles to bare. They roared and filled the room with the sound of gunfire. Kallen saw their paths in her red-hazed vision.

As the first bullet approached, she sliced cleanly through it. To the outside world, she was moving so quickly she was a blur. It was only later on that they would realize that her Geass did not in fact slow the world down for her. No, it sped up her speed of thought and perception. The electrical impulses were firing inside of her far faster than they normally could have, and it was cutting her reaction time to superhuman levels. As such, when she sliced the bullet she had done so with a plan in mind. The two halves separated and whizzed past her head, finding exactly the targets she had wanted. The right half barreled straight through the forehead of one of the guards, splattering his brains against the back wall. The left half sliced straight into the left arm of the other one. The two guards fell to the floor, but only one was able to scream. She continued forward, now deflecting bullets harmlessly upwards and out of the way rather than cutting them.

Milly in the meantime had zeroed in on the two guards by the doors. She pulled the trigger just twice and fire flashed in front of her, escaping from the barrel of her gun. Two shots, two kills. The guards crumpled to the floor, their cerebral fluids coating the doors and the walls. She turned to aid Kallen as Lelouch brought his left blade to bare and speared it through the chest of the guard who had threatened Nina. Milly shot a third time, but she had a poor angle this time. The bullet race past Kallen and rammed into a casing just as it was being ejected. The casing was forced back into the rifle and jammed it. Kallen threw one of her wakizashi and it spun though the air like a buzz saw, cutting off the man's leg at the knees.

Lelouch put the guard he had kabobed in between him and the last guard on the left side of the room from the door, just as he got to his knees and brought a shaking pistol forward with his uninjured, trembling arm. The bullets impacted his shield's bullet-proof vest and sent ceramic dust sprinkling to the floor, rather than the red droplets that would have rained otherwise. Lelouch waited for the clip to run out before throwing the dead man to the floor and running forward. His knee crashed into the man's sternum with a sickening crack and forced him bodily into the back wall. The drywall cracked and he was stuck inside the hole as blood flew from his lips.

He whirled around, a shuriken flying into his hand from inside his sleeve. He threw it just as the last unharmed guard alive ran out of bullets in his clip. Kallen rushed forward as he was bringing another up from his belt, terror in his eyes. The shuriken flew true and knocked it out of his hand. Kallen leapt into the air and did a spinning kick. Her foot crashed into his jaw and threw his head backwards, breaking his neck instantly. His head impacted the drywall and broke through it. His body slumped, attached to the wall in a macabre display of violence. The guard at her feet with the amputated leg tried to stab her – his last dying resort. Kallen knocked the knife right out of his hands with her dagger. She brought her blade up and pointed it at his eyes, her left hand on the hilt and her right behind the pommel. She drove it forward and pierced his heart, just as Lelouch had turned back around and done the same to the last one on his side.

Shirley and Nina were whirling around, looking at the three of them as if they had never seen them before. "M-m-Milly?" Shirley gasped, her hands around her lips, "L-Lulu? Kallen? What…"

Finally, the three of them slumped. During the commotion, all three had heard the slightly muffled gunfire from outside the room, and the two following thumps of bodies hitting the floor. Milly let the gun drop and closed her eyes, composing herself. While Lelouch and Kallen had both taken lives before, this had been her first time. She bit her lip and trembled. Lelouch straightened and let out a dismayed sigh. What a goddamn waste of life. Kallen's Geass faded from her eye and she immediately slumped to her knees, panting as if she had just run an entire marathon full speed. Her stomach was growling and begging for food, much harder than it had been a scant few seconds ago. Sweat was pouring from her in rivulets.

He swept his arms through the air and the blood on his blades slid off, peppering the ground. The blades retracted into his sleeves and he walked with a purpose over to kneel next to Milly, putting a concerned hand on her shoulder. The girl's lip quivered and she reached up, grasping it tightly. He gave it a gentle kiss when Shirley spoke up again, "Wh-who are you?!" Her tone was terrified and her eyes were watering, "Lulu… Lulu, Milly and Kallen would never…!" Tears started falling from her eyes and she started to shake.

"You… you saved us!" Nina on the other hand was looking at the two in awe.

Lelouch smiled at her and went closer, placing a hand gently on the dark-green-haired girl's head, "We promised we wouldn't let anything happen to you, Nina." He said softly. She started to tear up too, and she flung herself into their arms, sobbing. He rubbed her back gently as Milly finally stopped shaking. She actively joined the hug, thinking to herself, 'This is how I'll get through this…knowing my loved ones are safe.' She put a gentle kiss on Nina's cheek.

The crowd started to cheer and get up, and Lelouch immediately moved into action, "Remain seated!" He stood and looked about the room, "We're not out of the woods yet." The excitement turned to dismay as he took command, "Stay calm and stay put. We don't know the situation right now."

Euphie couldn't take it anymore. She jerked her arm away from her aide and stood. She looked at him cautiously, hope and dismay mixed emotions on her face, "Lelou… is it really you?"

Lelouch sighed, and gave her a wry grin, "I missed you too, Euphie." Hope won out on her face and she raced forward, tears streaming from her eyes as she leapt into his arms. He squeezed her tightly as her pleasant scent invaded his senses, "I missed you too."

"Who…who is she?" Shirley asked cautiously. "Lulu…why? How?!"

Lelouch sighed, going over his options in his head. This day had gone about as bad as he ever could have imagined. The only way it could possibly get worse was if Nelia saw him. He truly wasn't ready for that. He could not afford to meet her as a brother. She would just try to do to him what she did to Euphie. No, he had to meet her as an equal, and the only way to do that was to make sure Euphie kept it secret. But he did not want to use his Geass on her like this. Not on one of the few people he actually cared deeply about, 'So much for a goddamn secret identity.' His right eye twitched in annoyance. He tapped Euphie so she would back off slightly, and then left her embrace. She looked a bit hurt, which he forced himself to ignore. Kallen had finally managed to get off the floor and had tiredly walked over to them as Lelouch pulled out his phone, "Where are you?" He asked immediately.

"Shit hit the fan, boya?" C.C. sounded amused on the other end.

"You have no idea." Lelouch ran a hand down his face in exasperation.

"We just stole the news van. We're headed to the blockade as we speak." She replied.

Lelouch bit his tongue lightly, "Alright. When you get past that and the JLF try to bring you to Kusakabe, speak with him and say that you suspect they have a more important hostage than they know. Delay the meeting with him and come find us. We'll be in the room we booked for myself, Kallen and Milly. You know what to do." He hung up, knowing he had very little time to waste.

"What's going on Lelouch?" Euphie asked, her gaze now sharper as she stared at him. She had to stop herself from backing away, realizing that something far bigger was going on than she knew. Nina and Shirley both looked puzzled.

"Not here." He said, "Let's go girls. Get behind me."

Euphie blinked in befuddlement, as did two of the other girls, "B-behind you?" Nina asked.

"We don't have time." Kallen said, helping Nina up gently and walking her over to the door. Nina immediately tensed up as she realized they were going to go near the puddles of blood, but Kallen's grip on her hand was reassuring. She blushed lightly, thinking about how brave the three of them had been. Milly dragged a listless Shirley along, and Lelouch pulled Euphie back into his arms.

"Lelouch, what?" She started to ask, but had to stop as he put her head in the crook of his neck.

"Look at me!" He yelled, and all of the wary hostages did as they were told, including Euphie's aide who was very much wanting to jump up and follow her liege. It really was too bad her legs felt like jelly. He let out one last sigh, before his voice turned authoritative, "Forget all you have seen here, including our faces and names. As far as you are concerned, you were rescued by the Black Knights. You will sit here silently until they come rescue you, and then you may return to normal."

Euphie's eyes went wide. What the hell was her brother saying? Then her jaw dropped, utterly flabbergasted as the room chanted, "YES, MY LORD!" She wrenched herself from his arms and looked around. The entire room – including her aid – was doing exactly as he said, and were staring sightlessly at the walls. They barely moved. They didn't even react when she snapped her fingers in front of one of their faces.

"…Lelouch… What in the?!" She started to say, with Nina and Shirley gaping behind them as well.

He grabbed her hand and started walking from the room. He sighed, "Just a little patience girls. I'll explain everything soon. Kallen take point!"

"Yes sir!"

"What was that?!" Nina couldn't help but blurt out.

Milly snorted, "You're usually better at following instructions, Nina." She poked the girl, who began to blush. The three then fell silent, not noticing the three Revolutionaries throw each other gazes, as well as directing their eyes towards Nina. Her reaction to that bastard's words had been telling. What the hell had she been through when she was younger?

-]|[-

"How inconsiderate." C.C. said blandly as the line went dead, "He didn't even say goodbye." All of a sudden, Gloucesters started surrounding the news van. She kept driving it forward, and the machines followed, almost like an escort. A brighter purple Gloucester with a white cape screeched to a halt in front of the news van.

The cockpit backed out of the machine's humpback and Cornelia stood from it, "So…we meet at last, Zero."

"I only wish it under better circumstances, Princess." C.C. said, the voice changing it to Zero's deep, dulcet, echoing tones. "You are as beautiful as the rumors stated."

Cornelia raised an eyebrow, "Flattery will get you nowhere. I've been searching for you."

C.C. snorted lightly, "By blowing up Japanese bases around the country?" She said in amusement, "I do hope you did not actually believe it would be that easy."

Cornelia almost quirked a grin. Instead, she leveled her sword-gun at Zero, "No, I did not. Did you perhaps come here to join your allies in the JLF?"

"These murderers my allies? It's a good thing I have thicker skin or I might even be offended." C.C. said, "No, I intend to rescue these hostages and extract a pound of flesh for the man who already died tonight."

Cornelia stopped and thought. Allowing Zero to pass could buy them some time until the next hostage was executed. She would no doubt have another opportunity to take him, "Tell me Zero… What was my brother hiding… and do you think it enough to save you from me?" For the first time, she allowed the anger at her brother's death to bleed through, "Despite what he did, he was still my brother. I should take your head right now."

C.C. hadn't expected the conversation to go like this. She had expected more anger. Lelouch had apparently misread his sister, "That is a lengthy topic and not one to be discussed in public…" She said, "Especially when lives hang in the balance. I have only two things to say on the matter; First, Bartley was complicit in Clovis' dealings. If you don't know by now, then you were asking the wrong questions." Cornelia cursed in her head. Bartley had already been shipped off to Pendragon. He was beyond her reach now. "The second is what Clovis told the masses and what he told the army. To the Knight Police, he said that medical equipment was stolen. To the army, he said that poison gas was stolen." She smirked, knowing that the next words would hit the woman hard, "And that was the cover story."

Cornelia did not react outwardly, but inwardly fury had started to boil inside of her. She was not unaware that her father was a bastard. There was a reason she barely let her sister out of her sights. She feared what he would do to her precious Euphie if she left her unattended, and she was terrified of what he would do to Euphie if Cornelia did not act as he wanted. He had no compunctions at all in doing anything he needed to in order to get what he wanted. She knew that she was as expendable as all of her other siblings. Lelouch and Nunnally had taught her that. And despite that, even her bastard of a father had never broken the Chemical Weapons ban. For Clovis to have used that as the cover story… "Damn it all…" She whispered.

C.C. gave her just a few second before speaking once more, "But I'm afraid that we are short on time. Your sister and the rest of the hostages aren't going to save themselves." She almost broke character and laughed at the irony in that statement. She could feel her contractors perfectly well, and knew that they had just violently executed the guards in that room. They were currently moving.

As for Cornelia? She felt like she had just been punched in the chest. 'How?!' She screamed inside her own head, 'How did he know?' Because of Zero's cape, she couldn't tell that someone else was in that suit. "What do you mean? I have no idea what you're talking about." She stalled.

"Don't play games Princess. I know your history with hostage situations. If you let me pass… then I shall bring her back to you unharmed."

Cornelia bit back the snarl that wanted to rip itself from her lips. She was forced to grudgingly accept Zero as a worthy opponent. "Let them pass!" She turned and yelled at the blockade.

"Princess?" Guildford's eyes widened as he did as he was told, "Are you-"

"This will give us time." Cornelia said quietly to her Knight, "At the very least, it will give us time to prepare."

Zero was passing by her now, before a click of his heel had the van stopping, "Code R." C.C. said with a small smirk.

"What?" Cornelia's head snapped to Zero's form.

"Good luck, Princess." Zero clicked his heel twice more, and the van moved forward.

"Code R?" She asked herself, "What does that mean? Guilford!"

"Yes, Your Highness!" Guilford already knew what his Princess wanted, and vowed to follow it through.

The Japanese were already opening the gates for Zero. When they arrived, Zero calmly walked down the hood of the van and jumped lightly in front of a pair of Japanese soldiers. "Zero! Our commander wishes to see you!"

"Yes, I imagine this van would have been a smoldering wreck right now were that not the case." Zero said wryly, "Contact him. I wish to speak with him."

The sound of static filled the air for a moment, "What is it? Has Zero arrived?"

C.C. seized the radio without a care in the world, "Lieutenant-Colonel Kusakabe."

"Zero!" The man sounded excited, "My men shall escort you to me."

"No, that won't be happening yet." C.C. said.

There was silence for a moment, "What is that supposed to mean, exactly?" There was a dangerous edge to his voice.

"This situation does not fit Princess Cornelia's Modus Operandi." It was actually quite annoying having her voice sound so manly, "She never negotiates with terrorists. By all accounts this hotel should have been levelled with all of you in it hours ago. I suspect you've acquired a far more precious hostage than you know. I will have your men escort me to them. I am well versed with important Britannian faces. Should my hunch be correct, I will bring them to you personally."

Now the man sounded excited, "Very well! Men, do as Zero says!"

"My thanks." She smirked as the radio went dead. Before the guards could react, she had seized them by the throats and lifted them into the air. The Geass symbol shone on her forehead. The men seized and spasmed, before falling limp in her grasp. She dropped them to the floor like the trash they were.

Her men started jumping out of the van and looking at the foaming men in shock, "Why did you-?"

"Did you think I said what I did for Cornelia's benefit?" She asked, "These bastards will die for what they did tonight." She stepped on each of their throats and sickening cracks rang through the halls, "You know your jobs for the night. Kallen will be joining you shortly. I'm told there was a commotion minutes ago and she was able to escape." She grabbed a briefcase from Oghi, "Get the explosives planted first. Kallen will take care of the hostages as soon as she gets dressed."

"Yes sir!"

-]|[-

"Alright Lelouch." Euphie had her 'general' voice on now, though she was almost amused at the fact that none of the three were reacting at all. Nina and Shirley were both stiff as boards though, "I think I've been patient enough. What. Is. Going. On?" They had made it back to the hotel room they had been enjoying themselves in mere hours before this whole mess had started in a scant few minutes. They didn't have too long to discuss. Shirley and Nina were sitting on the bed, Milly on the dresser, and Kallen was on the computer chair, munching on some snacks at a rather silly pace.

Lelouch was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, "Where would you like me to start?"

"Uhm… excuse me?" Shirley raised a hand slightly, as if she were in school, "W…who is she? How do you know her, Lulu?"

Lelouch twitched, before chuckling, "Yes, I suppose that is a good place to start. Euphie, you already know Milly. The verdette is Nina Einstein, our little genius." Nina blushed and waved hesitantly, "The orange-haired girl is Shirley Fenette. Kallen is the feisty redhead." Shirley blushed as well and Kallen smirked, flipping him off. He smirked at Euphie who adopted a deadpan look, "Introducing Her Highness, Third Princess of the Holy Britannian Empire, Euphemia li Britannia." He sounded entirely too amused.

Shirley and Nina gasped, "P-p-p-Princess?!" They stammered as one, before hurrying to curtsey, "Your Highness!" They remained stiffly on their feet.

"You did that on purpose." Euphie groaned, which got a chuckle out of him, "Settle down girls. I don't bite."

"V-vice president, how do you know Princess Euphemia?" Nina asked him, still half in shock.

Here Lelouch sighed, "I'm sorry girls, but I'm afraid I've been telling you a lie since you met me." Their eyes widened in shock, "My name is not Lelouch Lamperouge."

"Yes it is." Milly smirked over from her higher seat.

He rolled his eyes, "Okay, my birth name is not Lelouch Lamperouge. Lamperouge is my mother's maiden name." He knelt and crossed his arm over his chest, "Lelouch vi Britannia… Former Eleventh Prince of the Holy Britannian Empire, at your service." Nina fell back onto the bed heavily, staring at him in shock.

Shirley on the other hand, slumped to the floor as she lost all feeling in her legs, "L…Lulu… This is a joke. You're joking right?" She asked desperately.

"I'm afraid not." Euphie had teared up and answered for him, "We all thought you were dead Lelouch! Sister said she saw you in your casket! How are you here?! How are you alive?!" Tears started streaming from her eyes, "It's been years! Why…why did you never say anything? You could have been back home in a heartbeat! You could have come back to us!" She yelled, before whispering as her head lowered, "To me…" She trembled in sadness, hugging herself.

"No…that was never a possibility." Lelouch said heavily, wanting to go over and hug the adorable pinkette himself.

"Why not!" She yelled, her emotions going haywire.

He stared at her until she calmed, "Because OSI tried to assassinate Nunnally and me." There. The bombshell was dropped. Euphie backed up and fell heavily into an armchair, gaping at him. Nina and Shirley were no better, looking at him as if he had announced the world was ending tomorrow and there was nothing they could do otherwise. "We were staying at the Kururugi shrine. It was utterly out of the way and yet, the very first bombs of the entire war were dropped there."

"You…you're lying." She whispered, "Why…why would father?"

"Don't make the mistake of thinking that bastard gives a damn about any of us Euphie!" He snapped. She flinched, looking at him wide eyed. "All I asked of him… the only two requests I ever made of him… were justice for mother's murder and for him to just go visit Nunnally in the hospital. His own daughter had been crippled and blinded and he never even went to see her! And what does he do instead? He cast us away as easily as he would take out the trash." Lelouch spat, his tone hard, "He wanted a war with Japan and he could hardly justify one without two tiny, bloodied shirts to wave about for the patriotic Britannians." All three girls were trembling in horror, shaking their heads in denial, "All of us…every single one of his children are expendable and disposable. Me, Nunnally, you, even Cornelia. At first we thought that there had been a mistake." He stopped, and amended himself, "Well, everyone else did. I knew better. We were too far out of the way for that not to be the case, and my suspicion was only confirmed when OSI airdropped there inside Glasgows to make sure the job was finished. It was only luck and the lives of our guards that allowed me and Nunnally escape. The Ashford Family has been sheltering us ever since." Shirley's head snapped to Milly for the first time. Milly knew?

"…" Euphie was biting her bottom lip, "…Do you hate us, Lelouch?"

"You and Nelia…?" He asked in his cold tone, before smiling warmly, "Never. I could never hate you." She sighed in relief, "But most of the rest of our family?" He asked sardonically, "I can count the number of siblings I even know the name of on one hand. I know the names of even fewer of the empresses. As for Charles… I will piss on his grave daily."

She blinked after wrinkling her nose at his language, "B…but he's not dead."

"Yet." And there it was. Shirley was staring at him in disbelief, but Nina's mind was firing on all cylinders.

Euphie closed her eyes. She squeezed them shut tightly. When she opened them, she had nothing but sadness in her eyes, "Is that Lelouch or Zero speaking?" Shirley gasped in shock, though Nina was only mildly surprised now. With data provided, she had to admit there was a possibility.

He chuckled lightly, "You always were smarter than you pretended to be." Shirley's hands flew to her mouth in horror.

"You were far too prepared to fight." Nina mumbled, genius mind still whirling, "All three of you have clearly been preparing for this for a long time."

Euphie licked her lips to wet them, "When did you choose to become Zero? And… did you really kill Clovis? What did you do to those people downstairs?"

"That's right…" Lelouch said firmly, "Ever since I swore vengeance all those years ago, when Britannia invaded a country I had come to love – who cared for Nunnally and me more than most of our family – and slaughtered their people. If it hadn't been for Milly, I no-doubt would have lost myself to that darkness." He sighed, and Euphie threw Milly a thankful look. She remembered her old playmate fondly, "Because of her, I was able to focus my fury rather than futilely raging at Britannia as a whole. We have been preparing ever since."

"I see." Shirley was looking at her two oldest friends as if she had never seen them before. Nina was sitting there, hurriedly analyzing the information being provided. Euphie licked her lips again, partially as a delaying tactic, "And what did you do to those people? Some kind of hypnosis?"

"That…" Lelouch started to say, "Is a long story…and it all starts with Shinjuku."

Euphie flinched, "So much death…such a senseless slaughter." She threw tearful eyes up at him, "Clovis… did he really…?"

"It was worse than you know." Lelouch interrupted her, and she flinched, "I know exactly what he was hiding. After I led the terrorists to victory and stopped his slaughter, I went to find him. Before he died, I used that power to ask him something. I asked him, 'Do you feel any remorse?' Do you know what he told me?" She met his eyes and shook her head, afraid of the answer. He snorted darkly, "'Of course not. They were only Elevens.' Those were his exact words." Nina flinched and Euphie started to weep. Shirley was now simply staring listlessly at her knees.

"H-he was a painter! An artist!" Euphie sobbed from behind her hands, "How could he do such a thing?!"

"He did it because he could." Lelouch said, sighing sadly, "He wasn't made for command and he let the power go to his head. He started delving where he shouldn't have delved and he stained his soul in search of more power. That is the truth of the matter." He gave her a moment for her sniffles to stop, and gently wiped away her tears. She hugged him tightly. Being able to hold her Lelouch once more was a dream come true, despite the events of the day. She had always hoped and dreamed that it had all been a lie. That he and Nunna were still alive… "That day started like any other." He chuckled lightly, "I had just made yet another noble lick my boots in an 'unwinnable' chess match and walked away twelve million richer."

She jumped and backed away before smacking him in the arm, "Lelouch! Gambling?!"

He smirked, "Of course. Revolution isn't cheap and even if it were, Nunnally needed medical attention."

"She's alive too!" Euphie interrupted in joy.

"She is." He smiled, "But that's for another time. We don't have long. We were coming back to school when we were almost run over by a speeding truck." Kallen blushed, remembering the scene clearly, "The truck crashed to avoid us and I tried to go help them. I ended up falling into the back of the truck, and that was when I first saw it."

"Saw what?" Nina asked curiously.

"The poison gas container." Lelouch said flatly. They all gasped, "The truck I had fallen into belonged to terrorists. They had stolen the container from Clovis and had hightailed it out of the Settlement. We were followed by Knightmares and had to escape into the tunnels. That was when we crashed, and the container opened."

Euphie and Nina let out a couple squeaks of fear, "It opened?! But…but then how are you alive?"

"That's because there was never any poison gas at all." Kallen said bitterly from her chair.

Euphie jumped, "Then… huh?" She looked adorably confused. "But!"

"Euphie…" Lelouch sighed, "What Clovis was doing was so depraved… so immoral… so inhuman that Poison Gas was a better cover story than the truth!Ill remind you that they claimed it was stolen, so they considered the illegal manufacture of a banned weapon of mass destruction a better alternative than coming clean." Euphie started shaking her head in denial, and Nina was listening intently, "Clovis was experimenting on other people." You could hear a pin drop in that room. Shirley, Nina and Euphie were staring at him in utter revulsion. They all looked like they would be seeing their breakfast again, "He was trying to see if he could induce regeneration in an attempt to gain immortality. He was pumping people full of drugs and medicines and having his scientists cut them up and seeing if their techniques worked. He was literally torturing people and trying to see what stuck. No Britannians obviously. There was a steady supply of useless Elevens, after all." The sheer hate and revulsion in his tone was unmistakable.

Euphie couldn't handle it anymore. She stood as she started to gag, holding her hand to her mouth. Lelouch grabbed her arm and hurried her to the bathroom, where she started to hurl and sob into the toilet bowl. Milly entered a second later with Shirley as her own gorge rose, and she started spewing into the bathtub. Nina was the only one who managed to keep her breakfast down, though she was deathly white and trembling. Kallen walked over and put her arms around the girl and started rubbing her head comfortingly. She let out a silent sob and gipped Kallen's hand tightly. Back in the bathroom, he gently rubbed the pink-haired beauty's back until her shaking stopped. He carefully wiped her off, her gaze unseeing. He kissed her forehead gently, and that finally put the spark of life back in her eyes. He calmly led her back to her chair, and kneeled in front of her with her hands in his. "You see, inside that chamber was the young woman Clovis had hurt the most."

"Wh-who?"

"Me." The door whirred open, and Zero's imposing form walked through carrying a large suitcase. She put it on the desk as Kallen stood and started unbuttoning her blouse and skirt. This was no time for embarrassment. They needed to be quick.

"Zero!" Shirley gasped, "But I thought-"

She trailed off as C.C. removed the helmet and let her luscious green hair flow, "I have no idea how you can stand to wear this thing." She said airily, "Must you be such a drama queen, Lelouch?"

"I'm not carrying three extra pounds of hair." He said dryly.

"That's an exaggeration." Milly sniped in amusement.

The two of them started to strip, entirely unconcerned about the audience. He addressed his madly blushing sister, inwardly glad to see at least some color on her cheeks after his revalations, "This is C.C. You can call her Clovis' inspiration, if you will. She was the one who actually killed Clovis. After what he did to her, she deserved it." He turned to Milly, "Make sure the leaders don't get impatient too quickly. We need some time."

"Roger!" Milly activated her Geass and for the first time, began to strain. The people above them were easy, but finding the Britannian leaders proved far more difficult. She wasn't sure she had a traditional 'range,' but it was quite clear to her now that greater distances meant the headaches got worse, quicker.

"But why would he do that to you?" Nina asked C.C.

"Because I have what he wanted." C.C. said without a care in the world, "I am immortal. All of his experiments were in an attempt to replicate my ability for himself and his most loyal soldiers, so he could take his father's throne. I died more times under his tender care than I had in centuries."

"That… that's impossible." Euphie said flatly, unwilling to believe that.

"It's true." Milly had finally been forced to square with that fact, "There are photos of her dating back a hundred years to the Great War and there's even a painting of her from the Hundred Years War."

The girls still looked dubious, so C.C. rolled her eyes, "Believe what you will. We're telling the truth, and I'm not about to slice my throat open just to prove it to you." The girls' jaws dropped as she continued, "Just because my sense of pain has dulled over the centuries doesn't mean I enjoy dying."

Lelouch picked up from there, "Even if you won't believe them, believe me. I've actually seen her revive with my own eyes. When we first met… when that container opened and set her free… we were being pursued by the Royal Guard. One Honorary Britannian soldier found the truck, and radioed it in obediently." The girls – including Euphie – gasped. "The Royal Guard ordered him to kill me so they could retrieve C.C., who was still weak from being drugged. While they were issuing the order, I lobbed a flashbang at them and we fled. Immediately after, the driver blew up the truck, so it was a good thing I did that or I would have been dead right then and there."

They all stared at him in horror, except for C.C. Even Milly and Kallen hadn't known that part, "We came out of the tunnels into a warehouse they had reached moments before and listened to them continuing their slaughter. I had just heard a baby get silenced when…" He threw an amused grin at a pale Shirley, "A little birdie decided to call me." Shirley clapped both hands to her face, utterly mortified. He chuckled for a second, now down to his briefs. The girls were eying him with blushes. Shirley was most definitely peeking from behind her fingers, "So there we were, surrounded by the Royal Guard. I was almost certainly going to have to break character and slaughter them all. I wasn't ready to begin my revolution yet, but it would never begin at all if I died there. Only that never happened. C.C. jumped in front of a bullet for me."

"You can't be serious!" Shirley blurted out. He chuckled at her reaction.

"If I had known you could have handled it, I wouldn't have bothered." C.C. deadpanned, now down to her bra and panties, "You lazy boya, making a lady sacrifice herself for you."

"Shut it witch." Lelouch said imperiously, "So there she was, dead as dead could be in a puddle of her own blood. And then she reaches up and kisses me." He chortled at their dumbfounded looks, and smirked playfully at Milly, "Now I've had some good kisses before, but that was my first out-of-body experience during one."

"I'll just have to work harder then." Milly leered back.

"And then I heard her voice, asking me something."

C.C. rolled her eyes as Milly, Lelouch, and Kallen all said with one voice, "Would you like to form a contract?"

Lelouch poked her, "Really C.C., you should get a better writer."

"You know full well those weren't my exact words." She huffed as she started getting dressed in her Black Knight uniform.

He smirked as he buttoned the dress shirt, "In return for fulfilling a wish, she gave the three of us powers." He explained as he did up the last button, "Kallen got the ability to see trajectories and slow down her perception of time. That was how she was able to casually deflect speeding bullets." He tied his ascot around his neck, "Milly got the power of Absolute Empathy. Did you not think it strange that Nina managed to keep calm for so long?" Their eyes widened and Nina inhaled sharply, "With it, she is able to tell what emotions we feel as well as manipulate them. She was using it to keep you both calm. She also used it to force terror into the guards to slow their reaction time when we acted."

"That's!" Shirley had a terrified look on her face.

"Don't worry Shirley." Milly said immediately. She had started looking not-too-well, "We promised we wouldn't use them on our friends unless it was necessary. Today was very much an extenuating circumstance." Shirley's shoulders were stiff, but she nodded hesitantly. Milly couldn't help but feel a pang of regret. She didn't think her close friendship with the girl would survive.

"And…you got hypnosis, Lelouch?" Nina tried to guess at his.

"Incorrect, though I can see why you would arrive at that conclusion." Lelouch said, "My power is the strongest one out of all of ours. Absolute Obedience. I command, and you obey. No matter what."

Kallen snorted, "Yeah, but you can only use it once. I think I'll take my bullet time." She made the joke to try to take the edge off of the girls.

"That's…" Nina was wide-eyed.

"Too scary." Euphemia finished, looking mildly horrified.

"It is…" Lelouch confirmed, "But it is my burden to bare, and I have my loved ones to make sure I won't misuse it." He smiled at Milly and Kallen, who was almost completely dressed. Her uniform consisted of a skintight black bodysuit with red stripes. Over it, she was currently overlaying some plates for extra protection. The two smiled back, though Kallen less easily than Milly. He turned to Euphie and the other two, "But ours are not the only Geass in the world." He said with heat in his voice, "Charles zi Britannia carries one as well… and it is far scarier than mine. The Seal of Absolute Consciousness." The girls stiffened, "With it, he is able to freely manipulate your memories…without limit." They jerked back in horror, "He could entirely erase you from Nelia's memory. Your sister who has loved you her entire life wouldn't know you from a rock on the ground, Euphie."

"No!" Euphie gasped, clapping a hand to her mouth.

"Yes." Lelouch said heavily "That was likely how he made Nelia think she saw our bodies. There were probably never even caskets, much less filled ones. He has no morality, and no compunctions about using that damn power."

"You're right…that IS way scarier." Nina shuddered.

"Now that I've answered your questions… I have one of my own." He stood commandingly before his sister, who stood too.

"W-wait!" Nina's voice sounded off, throwing off Lelouch's rhythm. He looked askance at her, "I understand Milly now…but I can't figure out what role Kallen plays in this…"

Lelouch blinked, and shot the now armored girl a concerned glance. Kallen bit her lip, before placing her gun onto the desk. "I only joined them after Shinjuku."

Shirley jumped, "But… how were you so strong then? You can't have gotten strong enough to do that without preparation!" And then she yelled as she finally confronted one of the things that was just wrong with this whole thing, "Hey, wait a minute!" She pointed at Kallen, "What happened to your sickness?"

"I was never sick." Kallen sighed, feeling bad about the lie she had to tell, "But it was the perfect cover. I needed to be out of school often." Shirley gazed at her in betrayal. This was an entire night of betrayal for the girl. She didn't know any of her closest friends at all! They all had been lying to her from the start!

"B-but why would you need to be out of school often?" Nina asked quietly.

She walked over to Nina and knelt before her, taking one of her hands. Nina blushed as Kallen sighed inwardly, "Nina… I was in the truck that Lelouch fell into." Nina gasped as her mind grasped at the implications of that statement, "While my father is a Britannian Nobleman… my mother is Japanese. I've seen firsthand what the Britannians do to my people. The horrors they inflict on them. And I couldn't stand it."

"I…" Nina trembled, the knowledge having sent her reeling. If it hadn't been for the events of the last month she would already have freaked out.

"Something terrible happened to you, didn't it?" Kallen said softly, in sympathy, "I promise Nina… if I ever find the ones who did it, they will live to regret it. We'll protect you." She lightly ran her thumb over Nina's.

"Kallen…" Tears started streaming down Nina's face, "Kallen!" She yelled and flung herself into the redhead's arms, sobbing her heart out.

All of them were smiling at the resolution to that situation. Lelouch had been very afraid that they hadn't done enough, and Nina would shrink away from Kallen and regress completely. They were glad that they had miscalculated, and this was one time where Lelouch was happy to have been mistaken. He turned to Euphie and resumed his commanding air. She had a feeling she knew what was coming, "Now that you know how little we matter to our own father… now that you know the depths of depravity our countrymen can fall too… will you fight with me?"

Euphemia took a deep breath of air, "Lelouch… is this really the only way? Can't we end this peacefully?" The fact that she used the pronoun 'we' told them all what they needed to know.

"No." He said flatly, "You're a Princess of the Realm, and even you are powerless to make any real changes. Why do you think Nelia always drags you everywhere with her? Was it perhaps that you thought she was too overprotective?" He snorted, "No. You would be safest in Pendragon in the Imperial Palace, if that were the case. I'm sure the much bigger reason is to keep you out of his sights. She knows full well that he knows the quickest way to get her compliance is to threaten you. Nelia loves you far too much to not fold like a house of cards to any demand he makes. He would have no hesitation at all in whoring you out for some alliance and then betraying it. Just like he did with us." His sister flinched back as though he had slapped her.

Euphie closed her eyes, "I…" She bit her lip, "What about sister? What will you do about her? Will we bring her in too?"

"Not yet." Lelouch shot down immediately, "It's too early for me to be revealed to Nelia. Quite frankly it was too early for you to find out." He said flatly, "The events of today have forced my hand. If Nelia finds out about me now she'll lock Nunnally and I up somewhere safe. She'll be worse for us than she is even for you, because she's already lost us once. We can't afford for her to treat us like glass. I need to meet her not as a brother, but as an equal."

"I… I see." Euphie steeled herself and made her choice, "I lost you once already. I'll never do that again. I'll join you!" Lelouch broke out into a wide grin, happy that the day hadn't ended catastrophically. "But you better treat me the way you'd want to be treated mister!" She waved a finger in his face, much to his amusement, "I may not be as good a pilot as sister and I may not be as smart as you, but I'm not a child! Don't treat me like one!"

"Oh please. If I did I'd never hear the end of it." He needled her.

She puffed up angrily and was about to reply, when a new voice popped up, "I-I will as well!" Lelouch's eyes widened as Nina walked forward timidly.

"Nina? Are you sure?" He asked in surprise.

Kallen walked forward and put a hand on the shorter girl's shoulder, "You know there can be no discrimination as a Black Knight. You will have to work with my people… the Japanese… and closely at that."

"I…" Nina hesitated, "I will try! I… I want to change. You've shown me…" She hesitated, "Clovis showed everyone… that everyone has the capacity to be bad. What he did…" She stopped and closed her eyes, gritting her teeth as tears started leaking from her eyes, "Was worse than what happened to me." She whispered, "I don't want to be like him!"

Kallen and Milly quickly had the girl wrapped up in a hug. Lelouch smiled, "You'll never be like him, Nina…" She stopped shivering and beamed up at him in hope, "Welcome to the Black Knights."

"I'm sorry…" Shirley said, flabbergasted at the happenings of the night. Had everyone lost their minds? "I…I don't think I can do this." She looked away, "I…I'm not a fighter."

"Not everyone is." Lelouch walked over to her and took one of her hands, "Don't be ashamed Shirley."

"I'm sorry…" She repeated, a sad look in her eyes, "I…I'll keep this all secret. You don't have to worry."

"I trust you…" Lelouch said, before his expression grew sad, "Unfortunately, I'm going to have to ensure that." She gasped and the other girls jerked in shock, "There are Geass out there other than Charles and our own. One of them may make you incapable of lying. So since you'll be defenseless compared to the rest of us…"

"I…I understand." A tear slipped from her eye. She didn't know why, but she felt like this moment would permanently drive a wedge between her and her friends. And why did she feel like she had a hole in her heart?

"Thank you." Lelouch said and his eye blazed red, "You will be incapable of sharing the information you learned tonight by any means, unless first given permission by one of us. You may only discuss it with us, and only in absolute privacy."

"Yes…Your Highness." Shirley said, before her expression cleared up and she blinked repeatedly.

"Lelouch," Milly said, a look of pain on her strained face. She was sweating heavily, "My headache is getting too painful. I'm going to have to release them soon. We don't have too much more time. We need to finish now."

"Then there's only one thing left to do." He said heavily and started putting on his mask.

"Two." C.C. stopped him, "So..." She smirked at the two girls who had become the two newest Black Knights, "Would you like to form a contract?"

"C.C.?" Lelouch asked in surprise, "Are you sure? You were pretty hesitant with Milly and Kallen. I didn't even have to ask this time."

C.C. snorted, "And yet I knew you would. Don't get predictable on me, boya. If nothing else, they are interesting people to become contractors…" She sighed, "Truthfully, I don't want to do this too many more times. I've given more people Geass in the past month than I usually do in a decade, and it's making me start to feel like that bastard V.V."

"Thank you C.C." Lelouch squeezed her hand gently, "And don't ever think like that. You're not finding sick amusement out of doing this. You're doing it to help me. If nothing else, you can bank on that."

C.C. looked away, a very light flush on her cheeks.

"Listen up you two." He commanded, "Geass is our hopes and desires given form. I can't tell you what sort of Geass you will get, nor can I even promise they will be useful. But they will suit you, one way or the other. It also isn't given for free. You will have to grant C.C. a wish in exchange. It also isn't without its drawbacks. Those without strong willpower can lose control of their Geass as it progresses in strength. Knowing those risks… will you accept?"

"I…I accept!" The two girls stammered.

Milly and Lelouch grinned in anticipation while Kallen merely blushed, knowing what would come next.

And then C.C.'s lips were on Nina's. The darker-green haired girl blushed to supernova levels and started to shake. When C.C.'s lips popped off of hers, she practically had steam coming out of her ears.

"I! I changed my-" Euphie didn't have time to finish her statement.

-]|[-

Lloyd started to laugh like a little kid who had just been given a toy, "Wonderful! Thank you very much for that lovely order." He turned around to his subordinates with a giant grin, "They said you've got the green light, Lancelot. You've got orders to charge right into that linear cannon in the tunnel."

Cécile gasped, "Wait a minute, you mean they're using him as a decoy to make an opening for them?"

Suzaku stepped up, "Don't worry Miss Cécile." His eyes were hard and furious, "If Lancelot and I are needed to give those people a chance…then I won't hesitate for a second."

…

An unknown female voice was providing information to Suzaku as he was craned into the tunnel, "Warrant Officer Kururugi, here is a guideline for your mission. According to Prime Search the hostages are located just above the hotel's middle floor. They are in one of the dinner halls. Advanced prototype weapon Z-01 Lancelot will use the utilities tunnel to move under the hotel. Once on site you will destroy the foundation block and submerge the building. The area with the hostages should hold out for nine minutes. Hostage rescue and mop up of the terrorists will be handled by other units. You will be using the VARIS to destroy the foundation. Set the Impact Rail to Anti-Material Level 3."

"The only variable in this is that pesky linear cannon waiting for you in the tunnel." Suzaku was well used to Lloyd's tone by now, "Space is tight in there, so even the Lancelot will only have a 47.8% evasion rate."

"Can he really do this?" Cécile asked.

"Sure." Lloyd nodded easily, "Just make sure to get out if things get too rough. Lancelot mustn't be damaged."

Suzaku was remembering how Shirley had asked if he wanted to join them at the hotel this weekend. He could have been stuck there, powerless to help. He wouldn't fail them. Not again, "Understood."

"Twelve minutes to operation start."

-]|[-

Euphie had managed to get her color under control as she followed lelo- no, Zero, upstairs. They came upon a door with two sentries, "Who did you find?" One of them asked, "And where are your escorts?"

"I do not need an escort to find my way here. There were better uses for them elsewhere." Lelouch said flatly, "Let us through. Your leaders hit the jackpot with this one. Ignore anything you hear inside." Euphie wanted to elbow him for the comment, but had to keep in-character.

The two guards scowled at his tone, but opened the doors anyway as the red rings surrounded their irises. Lelouch and Euphie stepped through, holding themselves imperiously. Kusakabe stared at them carefully, "So…you're Zero."

"And you are Kusakabe." Lelouch replied as blandly as possible. Kusakabe had a terrible poker face and he knew he had just been snubbed. His eye twitched in irritation.

"That's Lieutenant Colonel Kusakabe!" Another of the men yelled. Lelouch turned Zero's mask towards him and stared. The men flinched at the feeling of wrath that seized his body, and he meekly stepped back.

Kusakabe was reluctantly impressed. Lelouch turned back and began, "Tell me, what exactly did you hope to accomplish with this mess you've created?"

"Mess?" Kusakabe growled lowly, "We've done more with this action than the JLF has done in years." He spat. Lelouch noted the information with a raised eyebrow of interest. So, this wasn't a sanctioned operation then? "We've-"

"Managed to completely derail what I started a month ago." Zero cut him off sharply, "Your people were getting humanitarian aid paid out of pocket by Britannians who finally realized your suffering. Attitudes were changing. In the eyes of the world, you were the victims and Britannia had egg on their faces. All you had to do was keep revealing Britannia for what they really were. Instead, you go and throw an unarmed family man off a tower on live TV. Do you have a brain behind that thick forehead of yours?"

"Why you!?" One of the men started bringing his rifle up to bare, and the room exploded into action. Pistols fell out of Zero's cuffs and in the time it took Euphie to flinch back and cover herself behind Zero's bulletproof cape, the rest of the commanding soldiers were dead.

Kusakabe was sweating heavily as he whirled his head from side to side and watched his men fall. He realized that not only were every single one of his men dead, but the guards outside hadn't moved. He swallowed, before growling, "The world had to know the Japanese weren't dead yet! Surely you can see that!"

Lelouch reminded her of their sister in that moment, "You're a relic of a bygone age. You're sloppy, foolish, and most of all, impotent." Kusakabe ground his teeth together, "You obsolete cretins have no room in this world. You may have set my cause back months with this idiocy. That was your first mistake." He took a step forward and parried Kusakabe's hurried slash with his own blade, knocking it from his hand. It clattered to the floor behind Kusakabe, "Your second mistake was threatening my loved ones and putting almost every single one of them in mortal danger."

"What?!" Kusakabe gasped in shock, his eyes going wide.

"Your third mistake was the execution of that man." He said, and kicked Kusakabe in the chest, the dull thud filling the room. The man fell back and tripped over the coffee table and crashed into the chair he had occupied. He let out a pained groan and tried to get some air back into his lungs. He ended up just sputtering, "But your last mistake…" Lelouch said ominously as he stared down at the Japanese man as if he were a slug, "You pissed me off. DIE!"

"Yes, my lord!" Kusakabe yelled and grabbed his sword. Euphie closed her eyes. There was a sickening squishing sound, and then a thump. When she looked up, Kusakabe was on his knees with his own blade sticking out of his stomach.

-]|[-

"M.E. Boost!" Suzaku said the second the countdown had reached zero.

"Lancelot! Launch!" He heard Miss Cécile's voice in his earpiece.

The Landspinners screeched against the tarmac throwing up smoke trails, before he took off at very close to the Lancelot's max speed. A booming sound was heard above ground as air rushed from the portholes.

Further down, the Raikō's jerked as yet another signal appeared, "Reaction confirmed, one enemy Knightmare."

"It's fast!" Another of the pilots yelled.

"Who cares? It'll end up just like the rest." The commander told his men. The barrel of the Raikō started glowing yellow and whirring. Sparks of electricity flew from it, "Super Electro Magnetic Shrapnel Cannon, fire!" The loud roar of the cannon blasted through the tunnel.

Suzaku grunted as his Core Luminous started spinning at higher speeds. The Lancelot practically danced around all of the steel balls that had ripped apart all of the previous attempts. Suzaku was even forced to leap over the fallen debris of a former Knightmare. He clenched his fist as he saw red dripping from a shredded cockpit.

Above the ground, air visibly rushed out of the portholes as the entire area shook. Pieces of concrete were falling from the sky, forcing Cécile and Lloyd to duck for cover, "I knew this would happen!" She yelled.

"Ha! He's running this for real isn't he?! Guess he didn't care to be a decoy!" Lloyd laughed in rapture.

The next shot came through and he avoided it by driving his Knightmare on the ceiling and the walls.

Above on the streets, Cornelia got a piece of news that made her jerk around in shock, "What's that? A.S.E.E.C.'s Knightmare is actually getting through?"

"Yes, your Highness." Darlton allowed himself a light smirk, "That Eleven isn't bad."

She snorted, "You never did care for race."

"As long as they are skilled and loyal, it is enough for me." Darlton nodded and his smirk widened.

Down in the tunnels, Suzaku had gotten close enough that he wasn't worried about his energy status anymore. He started using the Blaze Luminous to deflect the steel balls and brought out the VARIS. "I can take this level of destructive force easily!" He yelled.

"That thing just broke through salvo number five! What the hell is it?!" A panicking member of the JLF yelled.

The commander had started to sweat, "Just don't panic!" He yelled, panicking "Deploy the quad-linkage free-fire arm gun batteries too! We'll shield this final defense with our lives!" The machine whirred to live as more guns came to bare.

Suzaku avoided it all, "It's time Miss Cécile! I'm going to use the VARIS!"

Cécile gasped, "Wait! That's dangerous!"

"I don't care! I'll risk getting blasted if it means I can take that damn cannon down!" The Lancelot got into its firing stance, aiming the blue and gold VARIS down range. The blue shielding parts opened up and the golden barrel extended forward, before the blue armor clamped down again.

"Maximum output! I don't give a damn if it destroys the guns! Be prepared to die defending this spot! Smash him!" The Raikō fired the largest blast yet. The entire barrel turned red and started to deform slightly as what seemed to be a solid beam of lightning roared forward, carrying a dangerous projectile.

Suzaku exhaled and squeezed the trigger, and watched in awe at the power of the VARIS. It sent a smaller projectile screaming forward, pushing a wall of air with it powerful enough to crack the walls. It met the Raikō's projectile in between the two guns and passed through it as though it were nothing more than a sheet of paper. Around it, the solid steel ball bearings disintegrated as the wall of air broke them apart. The projectile went straight through the weakened barrel of the Raikō, instantly killing the commanders. The entire thing went up in a brilliant explosion, blowing that part of the tunnel sky-high. A plume of water shot up and started raining on the panicking JLF soldiers beneath. It actually went higher than the hotel itself.

The Lancelot burst into the air near the hotel, and clicked something on the VARIS. The barrel receded back into the weapon and it took its stock configuration once more. "I'll be damned, he actually did it." Cornelia looked completely shocked. She bit her lip as the Lancelot completed its mission and started firing on the foundation block. The slightly less powerful but larger blasts shattered it with a couple shots. The building slowly started to sink and the Britannian soldiers immediately sprang into action. The JLF were in disarray and it was the perfect time to strike. It burned her to admit that, but Darlton was right. The kid was talented.

But then Suzaku inhaled sharply inside his cockpit. The Factspheres were zeroing in on someone, "Zero!" He gasped as he saw the cloaked form of the man in one of the windows.

'Sorry White Knight…but tonight, this is my show.' He pressed down on the trigger in his right hand.

"EUPHIE!" Cornelia's heart-torn wail could be heard by those closest even through the sounds of the explosions. The Lake Kawaguchi Hotel began exploding at various points, sending debris raining downward.

"NOOOOO!" Suzaku roared in anguish, "MY FRIENDS!"

"Warrant Officer Kururugi, DON'T!" Lloyd yelled as the Lancelot careened into the growing dust cloud.

…

"What about the cameras in Van Three?" Diethard yelled in the man's ear.

"I told you! Zero took the van!"

"So let's hope we get a signal!" Diethard yelled, 'What's wrong, Zero? Wasn't this your plan? To use this?' He stared anxiously at the static on camera three.

…

The smoke cleared, revealing the Lancelot on its knees, staring at the smoldering wreck that was once a proud hotel. "Suzaku! He's alright!" Cécile cried, smiling in relief. Her hands were clasped in front of her. Beside her, Lloyd let out his own huff of relief.

But Suzaku wasn't alright. Not by a longshot. "I couldn't save them." He choked back a sob, almost biting through his bottom lip, "I… I… Not again!" He roared, slamming a fist down onto the console.

A boat's bow pierced through the smoke, and Diethard grinned in excitement as the camera started showing Zero's face. Around Japan and the world, people started shouting in excitement and crowding around their TVs. People in the streets stopped walking and gave the man behind the mask their full attention, "No need to fear…my dear Britannians." His voice sounded, and several people started outright cheering as the video changed to show all of the living refugees safe and sound in life rafts. "All of the hostages from the hotel have been saved, bar the one man mercilessly executed by those barbarians before my arrival. I return them to you…"

"Everyone!" Suzaku almost began to cry. He nearly started freaking out when he realized he didn't see Lelouch, before logic overtook him. There was no way Lelouch would allow his face to be broadcast on camera. He was probably huddling with some of them. Then he bit his lip as he started worrying. What if he was discovered? Would Zero hide him without asking why? Would he let him go free? He was worried for Kallen too. He couldn't see her in the rafts. Had her sickness gotten to her?

He couldn't even begin to know how wrong he was.

Cornelia's eyebrow twitched in irritation. But at the same time, she couldn't help but allow her lips to quirk upwards in relief as she spotted her sister safe and sound, "You win this one." She couldn't help but grudgingly feel respect for the man. Not only did he rescue the hostages, but he did so while Britannia was powerless. Kururugi had succeeded, true… But the people would never know that. So for all intents and purposes, Zero had done all the work while Britannia twiddled their thumbs. No doubt the common folk would see the man as a hero. "Well played indeed." It had been a long time since her blood had boiled like this. A long time since she had a worthy opponent. She licked her lips and smirked, "I look forward to our first dance."

"People of the world!" Zero's voice became louder and echoed in the air. Spotlights turned on, revealing a small group of men and women dressed in black and silver military outfits. The women were wearing skintight bodysuits with armor plates protecting them, while the men had the same with armored jackets and cargo pants instead. Each wore a visor and a cap on their heads, "Fear us or rally behind us as you see fit! We are the Black Knights!"

Near the Lancelot's trailer, Cécile raised an eyebrow, "Black Knights?"

"Ironic isn't it?" Lloyd smirked in actual good humor, "Terrorists calling themselves Knights."

"We of the Black Knights stand with all of those who are powerless! We stand with every person who has no weapon to wield, whether they be Japanese or Britannian!" The reverb on his voice was ringing in their ears, "The Japan Liberation Front cowardly took innocent Britannian civilians hostage, and they mercilessly executed them! An innocent family man as robbed of his life this night. Such wanton and meaningless acts cannot and will not be tolerated! Therefore… they have been judged and punished! I personally took the lives of their entire command for this operation!"

"You let this run!" Diethard roared into his microphone, "You heard me right, I said let it run! Liable?" He almost spat on the floor, "I'LL be the one responsible for this! Don't you dare cut it off!"

"In the same way that I judged former Viceroy Clovis… who slaughtered thousands of unarmed Japanese civilians who were only trying to live their lives to hide his dark secrets! We could not stand by and watch as these cruel actions were carried out!" On the gently lolling life rafts, Euphemia, Nina and Shirley couldn't help but stare at Zero and the Knights in awe. Lelouch truly had a way with words. He was an excellent orator. Milly had her arm around Nina with a smirk on her face, and Kallen stood proudly to Zero's right. C.C. was missing. None of them wanted her seen yet, so she was already waiting in their getaway vehicle. "And so, we mete out judgement. I will not repudiate fighting! Neither will I stand by and watch a one-sided massacre of the weak by the strong!" Cornelia stood proud and tall as she watched the man work, eager for their next confrontation, "The only people who should kill…"

Cornelia's eyes went wide, and she unconsciously finished Zero's sentence at the same time as he did, "Are those prepared to die themselves!" Her fists clenched, 'WHO ARE YOU?!'

"Where those with power attack those without… WE SHALL APPEAR AGAIN! No matter how great a power our enemy may possess!" He flung his left arm wide, throwing that side of his cape to the wind, "Those of you with power… FEAR US!" He did the same with his right, allowing his full outfit to be seen for the first time. His cape draped around his shoulders, "Those of you without it, rally behind us. The Black Knights shall stand in judgment of this world!"

-]|[-

And that's a wrap. Hope everyone enjoyed!

One of the things I've found to be the most amusing about writing is going back and proofreading your work. Yes, there are all the amusing little errors you never caught originally, but what I'm actually talking about here is simple word play. There are a bunch of times when I'm reading and rereading a scene and just going, "Okay, I KNOW what I was going for here… but what the fuck?" Fixing those little things that had been bugging you – sometimes it's just a bit of word play that didn't come out quite the way you wanted – can really bring the piece together. Of course, it also somehow added another 1500 words so fuck me I guess.

I decided not to mess with Zero's speech too much. It was already too good at what he wanted to accomplish, so there was no need. But as for the rest of the chapter… Heh, did any of you actually go "Oh fuck!" When Lelouch and Kallen agreed to go on the trip? Some more advancement of the 'plot' was had. I'll be updating Kallen into the full pairing in the story tags.

Before I get into anything else, let's get one thing straight right now. NINA IS NOT CURED OF HER XENOPHOBIA. Not by a long shot. She trusts Kallen – especially after she was part of saving her life – and she's slightly warmed up to Suzaku. There are millions of Japanese who are not Kallen nor Suzaku, and she was just triggered earlier. Right now, Kallen – a half-Japanese – helped save her from everything she feared. Will she relapse at some points? Yes, she bloody well will. It's only natural. She's going to try, and sometimes she will succeed, and sometimes she will fail. Will she ever reach canon levels? No, she will not. Nina never had the Euphemia mindfuck in this fic and she never will. After all, the events happened very differently and she has far more support.

Now, there is one thing I was rather concerned about with this chapter. In the end, I decided to go through with it, but I may end up changing it at some point. This chapter was truly the one that I had been planning since I started this story. The firefight to save Nina and the hostages was one of the scenes that originally spawned this story. As such, Nina, Shirley and Euphemia finding out about Lelouch was in the plans from the beginning.

However… Rakshata coming in so early and being allowed to know who was running the show was a more recent development. No matter what, I needed her to show up earlier than she did in canon, so that was always planned out too. I just wasn't sure where exactly I wanted to bring her in. With the month gap that did not appear in canon, I decided that it was a good point to choose. However I am a bit worried that I'm being a bit toofree with Lelouch's face right now. I gave my reasoning for why it went the way it did, but I'm aware it might twig some the wrong way. I don't have many more people finding out – not counting canon people who did – at least until 3/4ths of the way through R1. Though I have to say, after my final revision of the scene, I'm far more satisfied with how it played out.

There will be a lot more timeline fucking going forward. We've had a pretty big diversion already. Saitama never happened and the Black Knights are already formed. I've seen the official timeline (or at least what the wikia has presented as the official timeline) and it just bugs me. Yes, it was a giant snowball for Zero after he got his Geass but two months just doesn'tseem right. The entirety of the Black Rebellion from the introduction at Lake Kawaguchi to Lelouch's capture supposedly happened in just April. When we have a scene in episode 9 saying that two weeks passed between their introduction and the start of the next episode, so it's actually even shorter. I'm sorry, but I just have to call bullshit.

Nina and Euphie will reveal their Geass next chapter! As of current plans, there are only two more to go. Or at least only two for the R1 part of the story. Poor Shirley got shafted. Sorry guys, but as I've stated to a decent number of you; just because I asked for Geass for certain characters never meant that they were getting one. In addition, you can pretty much solidly rule Shirley out of the harem. Sorry Shirley fans, but that one was never in the cards.

We also saw some of Cornelia's motivations earlier in the chapter and the sheer agony she felt as the Emperor's Geass showed her the dead vi Britannia children. We also saw what she would be like when she wasn't being utterly blinded by rage and hatred. After all, her anger over Clovis was being tempered over the horror of what he did. I'd like to think she's a bit more rational than she was in canon.

The Black Knights had different uniforms this time around. You know…so they actually have some protection. I didn't go into too much detail on them because this is only their first iteration. They will be upgraded the same as the Knightmares will be upgraded throughout the fic.

Hope I did well on the fight scene. I think I made the sequence of events easy enough to follow with good flow, so hopefully you all enjoyed it.