Funds had always been the biggest problem with rebuilding Japan. There was only so much monetary assistance coming from Britannia and the more inclined nobles for reconstruction, and most of it was put in with the intent of rebuilding the Britannian sector, and not constructing the SAZ. And so it was up to charity events and auctions to desperately try to fill the remaining gap between what they had and what was needed.

Kallen adjusted the mask on her face, the red and black silk was an unfamiliar feeling. It was too distracting and uncomfortable for her. The eyeholes were too constricting, the nosepiece pinched slightly, and any sweat that formed on her face made the lining slick and wet, causing it to slide around her face against the clasp that went around her head as she walked. The feline garment matched both her fiery red dress and hair, which had been pulled back and stuffed into some elaborate design for the occasion.

If there was something Kallen was grateful for at the moment, it was the hospitality of the Masquerade's host, Norman, Baronet of York[1]. Although a very minor noble, he was one of the more sympathetic nobles, and had offered to host a charity masquerade ball to raise funds for the development of the SAZ. The estate in Japan it was held on was massive, sporting both an expansive front yard and lawn, along with a sprawling backyard, complete with hedge maze, gardens, and fountains. A large portion of the garden section had been filled with tables and chairs for the guests, and everyone was free to dance and mingle. Kallen lifted her glass and felt the champagne tickle her throat as it went down. She was technically here on business, it would be unseemly not to follow the crowd and drink as well.

The only thing that had ground at her all week (as that was how long since The Baronet of York had cordially invited her to the event) was one very specific technicality: Kallen was single. The problem didn't lay in the fact she was single, only the etiquette involved in such. Traditions and practises in the nobility could be traced back hundreds of years, and while some of the etiquette rules were trimmed out over the years (one of which obligated a guest to kill one of their carriage horses, cook the meat, and replace the main course for a dinner with the horse meat if they forgot, neglected to give, or misplaced a present to the host.[2]), many still remained. For single, unchaperoned women, the list of proper things to-do during a party made Kallen pale and sick to the stomach.

Of course, that there was the problem of finding a suitable partner or chaperone. If Kallen chose any of her female friends, she would still be obligated to accept dances from as many suitors as possible. A male chaperone would allow her to refuse dances and conversations (for the most part) and gave a good excuse to leave whenever she wished, but that left the problem of finding a viable male companion. She knew very few guys, and most of them were either Japanese, back in Britannia, or otherwise held up. It was lucky that she had found the perfect solution to her problem right in time.

Even in the numerous guests and decorations it was hard for Kallen to lose Nunnally. Even with the wheelchair truncating her height, a fact that wasn't helped by the girl's already short stature, the dense packs of people that Kallen tracked throughout the event had yet to produce the young girl from within its conversation.

Nunnally's head had already turned in Kallen's direction as she came, her recollection of Kallen's walking pattern came in handy during the event. Her newly-dyed red hair was still an unfamiliar presence in her recently restored field of view, and the contacts in her eyes changed them from their light purple to a dark navy blue.

"Kallen!" She called out over the wall of people that surrounded her. One section of the encapsulating group split open and Kallen came through.

"Nu-Maria!" Kallen remembered the alias that Nunnally was supposed to have for the party. The one that she had to agree on with Milly in order to bring her.

"Please, can I bring her?"

"No."

Kallen threw up her hands and glared at Milly once again, who with crossed arms and stoic stature, refused her request.

"Why not? What's the reason? And don't give me any of that 'she can't dance' bullshit. It really isn't going to matter at a charity event. All she has to do is stay there."

Milly shifted her leg to the side, placing her hand on her hip and arching an eyebrow, "you just want her as an excuse not to deal with people."

Kallen stammered, trying to come up with a comeback. "Well yeah, BUT, but she'll get to leave the house. Seriously, she hasn't left the house in months unless it was with Sayoko, and even then it's been either short trips around the parks or going to the supermarket for groceries! This could be a chance for her to make some friends, or something. Meet some people since Lelouch… well….," Kallen's voice tapered out, and she remembered that Nunnally was still in the apartment.

Milly sighed, "Still, I'm going to have to say are reasons she can't go, reasons that have to do with her family."

"What? What does Nunnally's lost family have to her going to a PARTY?" Kallen forgot about how late it was, and her volume began to climb along with her anger.

"I-I'm not at liberty to tell you." Milly replied, looking away.

"Not at liberty?! NOT AT LIBERTY?!" Kallen screeched, "What is she, a secret agent or something? Seriously, I came out with my Japanese blood, and my involvement with the Black Knights, AND that Zero was Lelouch! I came through about EVERYTHING, and I STILL don't know jack SHIT about Lelouch and Nunnally. What kind of secret are you keeping? Is Nunnally some lost PRINCESS or something?"

Milly internally winced. Kallen struck a little close to home with that comment. She was about to retort when she heard the sound of motorized wheels behind her.

"What's going on?" Nunnally asked the two.

"N-nothing, just a little-" Milly began, only to be interrupted.

"It has to do with that party Kallen wanted me to go to, isn't it?"

Milly glared at Kallen. The look said it all: 'You already asked her, didn't you?' Kallen simply shrugged innocently.

"Ah Ms Stadfelt. it is honestly a pleasure seeing you here." Kallen turned to a noble beside her, his voice a deep baritone that shook his jowls with every word.

"Yes, a pleasure to see you too. Although I believe I have never had the delight of making your acquaintance before." Kallen flashed was she hoped was a friendly smile to the man, having been in the midst of thought when she was addressed. She held out her hand for a handshake with the man.

"Lord Bradley, my dear," He took the hand and turned it over in his own before bowing to kiss it, "I heard about your ailment and I was haunted by the thought of not meeting the bright spark that has lit the fires of goodwill in our hearts." Kallen resisted the urge to pull her hand away and deck the fat noble where he stood, instead hiding behind a sip of her champagne.

"It's an amazing thing you're doing, Miss Stadfelt, helping the Japanese after that horrible rebellion. Honestly some of our fellow brethren in Pendragon would do well to learn from your example. On another note, who is that exquisite flower that came with you?" He gestured towards Nunnally.

"Ah..," Kallen tried to remember the cover story they used, "Maria? She's my sister."

"That's peculiar. Surely a daughter of Duke Stadfelt would have made an appearance as a débutante by now, even with her, ah, apparent situation."

"See, that's the thing," Kallen made an act of looking around before leaning closer to Lord Bradley's ear. She hated the story they had come up with, but she agreed that it was probably the best way to deflect attention from anyone taking a closer peek at Nunnally. "She's not my full-blooded sister. She's a half-breed, the love-child between my father and a maid." Kallen inwardly winced at using her own story for the situation, "Don't try to confront my parents about it, they'll deny it to the end. They even forced the hospital to delete their files of her birth and "

"Hmm," Bradley stroked the orange beard around his thick neck, which attached to sideburns that practically flowed out of his equestrian style mask. "That's a shame. Ah well, as they say, a perfect flower has no charm."

After the encounter with Bradley, Kallen went around again schmoozing with nobles, most of whom were at least slightly bearable to be around. By the time she had her fill of talk the sun had fully set and lanterns now lit up the area.

She pushed Nunnally's wheelchair towards the hedge maze. As Nunnally shook off her swan-based mask she realized that she never got a good look at the younger girl's get-up. Her dress was a fairly simple one, a light pink sleeved dress with ruffles and a high draped neckline. She had on dark brown stockings and Mary Jane shoes. However the most striking addition to Nunnally was her make-up. As if in spite of the other women and their smoky eyes and shadowed cheekbones, Nunnally's face was fairly described in one word: cute. A light blush to her cheeks along with the light foundation softened the girl's high cheekbones, which were much like her sister. A small amount of kohl and mascara made her eyes pop out, and the gold-coloured flakes in the contacts made them sparkle in the light. Lightner around the chin and deep red lipstick smoothed out the profile of the mouth and lower face. Milly truly is amazing at this stuff, Kallen thought to herself. Along with dying Nunnally's tawny hair to red, Milly had done the vast majority of the work on the two.

"Why are you staring at me?" Kallen snapped out of her thoughts at Nunnally's question.

"Sorry, it's just I've never seen you in make-up before." She quickly turned away from Nunnally, focusing on the hedges as they walked.

As they passed by another corridor in the maze she spied at the end an odd pair. Not because of their clothes or actions, a man and a woman walking in a hedge maze arm in arm wasn't particularly notable, but the masks they wore were. The two of them wore masks in the shape of a ram's head, which covered just about everything. Kallen mused for a second. Although the odd masks weren't forbidden in a masquerade party, they were meant for costume parties rather than what was going on at the charity ball.

As they continued there were a few more of the same ram head masks, one man stood by a bush, probably peeing in it. Another stood by looking to the sky. A third had bent over to pick something off the ground. He turned to look at Kallen, tipped some invisible hat, and walked away.

Kallen leaned down to whisper to Nunnally. "Let's get out of here." By the way she jumped at her touch and feverishly nodded she agreed.

Even though stones on the ground threatened to punch through the thin material of her flats and straight up into her feet, Kallen was thankful that she could at least run in them. They had made it back fairly quickly, and Kallen wasn't too out of breath with the journey. As she leaned on Nunnally's wheelchair to recover properly The Baronet of York approached her.

"Miss Stadfelt, it's about time for your speech." His mustachioed face smiled as he spoke, and as far as Kallen could tell, it was genuine.

"Y-yes, it should be." She glanced at his watch, which was revealed with his folded hands. 9:52. Her address to the guests was to be at 10:00. She reached for her purse and pulled out the creased pages which held her speech. Several drafts and dozens of crumpled sheets had gone through the meat grinder of her head before Kallen had a draft she was happy with. Almost 3 days without sleep had produced the thin stack in her hands. She hoped it was the last time it would happen.

Five minutes, two glasses of champagne, and about zero time practising her speech later, Kallen sat by the stage that had been set up at the front of the garden by the house. She envied how Lelouch could give bombastic, powerful speeches to her crowds. Kallen had none of the late Lamperouge's charisma. She shakily climbed the short set of steps up to the podium. One last calming breath, and she began.

"Esteemed-" Kallen was suddenly cut off by the feedback the mic created. Suddenly her nerves returned. Her hands shook, her legs felt like they were about to give, her throat was suddenly parched again, and all she wanted to do was bury herself in her pillow at home rather than speak front of the couple hundred people looking at her at that moment.

Her eyes began to frantically scan the crowd, desperate for a familiar presence. Nunnally caught the corner of her vision, and her vision suddenly snapped to the girl. A bright smile and a thumbs up, both motioned to her specifically. The nerves suddenly disappeared. The shaking and parched throat still remained, but now they were attributed to a new thing. Anticipation. that's right. She had to prove herself. Prove that she was capable of conducting a project such as the rebuilding effort. The refugees still living in co-op and temporary shelter were counting on her to bring in money.

"Esteemed guests, fellow philanthropists." She started. Her voice boomed across the garden, mostly to reach those at the far back and those in the hedge maze and fountains, "I welcome you today to thank you for whatever support you have given towards the construction of the Special Zone, and to request your future assistance." Stretching out her vocabulary was something she rarely did as a rebel, but Milly had helped with writing her speech, and helped with how sophisticated and polite it sounded. Her original drafts had been so short and full of vernacular speech that Kallen wondered whether she should have attended class more often.

"One year ago, almost to the day, Area 11 was shook apart by the Black Rebellion. In a battle costing thousands of lives we learned something about how we treated our colonies." She hated speaking from the perspective of a Britannian noble, and looking down upon the Areas, but her personal inclinations would have to take a step back if she wanted support from some of the more "on the fence" guests.

"We realized that denigrating and pushing around numbers didn't snuff out their nationalism, rather it fanned the flames. especially with the Japanese. Their pride for their country was something indescribably strong, strong enough to continue fighting for ten whole years. And in those ten years they tried to build their country back up from the ashes, they fought for independence, they fought to be treated like humans. It wasn't them who were wrong. It was us. We tried to shut them down, we saw ourselves as their betters. That we knew better. That we were better. The Black Rebellion showed us how weak we were. Most of Tokyo was destroyed, and they nearly came out victorious. They proved that they are just as strong as Britannia, and I say that they are as well. We took away a nation from these strong people, and it is now our obligation to give it back. Crushing the Japanese under the boot of Pax Britannia isn't going to solve anything. If anything it will only cause more pain, not only to them, but to us as well. So please, join me in righting this wrong and giving Japan back to the Japanese. There is but one world, and we have to stand together to truly live in it."

Kallen's voice shook as she finished. She panned the crowd as they laid silent. Did I do well? Was the speech any good?" She started questioning herself. In the deafening silence all she could hear was her rapid heartbeat in her ears.

It started with one person, far in the back of the garden. It was soon followed by another, and another. Soon everyone began applauding, even a few whistles came through. Kallen smiled and laughed lightly. It HAD worked. Her hands started shuddering again as she picked up the papers and made her way off the stage. She blamed the extra champagne for making her dizzy as she descended the steps. Nunnally had wheeled her way over and embraced Kallen as soon as she could. "You were great," she said.

In all the speaking and applause no one had really noticed the large amount of vehicles that had come up to the estate. Several large trucks and armored cars stood waiting. With the speakers projecting Kallen's speech so loudly no one heard the armed troops come up through the gate towards the mansion and the back garden. The video feeds were put on loop as well. Several white Sutherlands unloaded from the cargo trucks, and diagnostic checks had been run. About three dozen armed men formed a loose semicircle facing the front of the main house. Nobody at the party heard the silenced shots that took out many of the guards patrolling. With the applause and ovations nobody heard the Knightmares carefully make their way up the road. However, everyone heard when the west wing of the estate exploded. The three dozen infantry quickly moved in, every last one of them wearing the mask of a ram's head.

A/N:

[1]: York, Upper Canada. Commonly known today as Toronto.

[2]: Something I made up by myself, no need to search this up and scream at me.

Latest update ever OTL. I guess a peek into the next few chapters might make up for it:

"And with that, stage seven will wrap up whatever loose ends remain in the area. is that clear, gentlemen?" She lounged on the sofa on her private jet, swirling a cup of black coffee with one hand and twirling a small pen sized object on the other. it was in the shape of the imperial scepter. A replica of a symbol, and yet held as much power as the emperor himself.

"Miss Wainsworth, not to be rude, but how can we carry out such a plan? None of us individually have the troops to spare in the area-"

"Yes you do. If you all pool forces. Of course, I know exactly how much you all hate sharing your little toys, so I could just relieve you of all command and do it myself, but you'll all behave, won't you?" She tilted her head and smirked at the four faces on screen. The commanders in command of Area 16 since Cornelia's withdrawal, she had been tasked with getting them in line and finishing the subjugation of the Middle East.

"SUCH IMPUDENCE!" One of them blared out. His face turned bright red and pressed closer to his camera, "Young lady, show respect to your elders. You have no place to tell us what to do and control us. You're simply an analyst. Honestly, I doubt you've ever seen a battle that wasn't a test or simulation." She smirked again. if subjugating the vast majority of the Balkans and the Eastern Bloc had been a test, the man would have been right. "Honestly, you think you can do whatever you want just because you have the emperor's scepter in your grasp." The thinly disguised insult didn't escape her. Her iris shrank and her eyes widened. The look of fear remained for a second before transforming to a predatory gaze.

"What….did you….just say?"

Next Chapter: Falling Apples and Shooting Stars

(Gonna try putting titles to the chapters now.)