With great force did Lelouch slam his helmet against the floor; a crack appeared in the shielding with a small pop. His cape, trailing behind his quick pace, easily lifted from his shoulders as he threw it off, the added wind causing its cascade to the ground. Finally, still enraged, he ripped the mask over his nose from his face, allowing the garment to join his other clothes in a messy, angry pile.

"So she's uniting Japan and the Empire… isn't that what you wanted?"

The bored drawl, of course, had come from CC, who now stood at the door. Both had come from an emergency meeting of the Black Knights, to which Zero presided over and demanded immediate action concerning Euphemia's rash decision. Though he had witnessed her declaration at the festival, Lelouch allowed Kallen to tell Zero once more, and made sure to add each bottled anger he had kept in the first time he heard to that reaction. Though they had spoken for hours as a unit, he denied most every pathetic plan he was approached with, and dismissed the meeting feeling nothing short of pure fury.

He snarled at her in response before actually speaking, "No, we need our triumph! We need to do this our way, to punish the people who have punished us!"

"You've hit a plateau."

"Shut up!" Lelouch hissed coarsely, "You know nothing!"

"I know enough." She casually crossed the room, her gait light enough that she looked as if she were floating. "If you don't like it, just kill her."

Her words echoed in his head and the idea planted itself in an instant; somewhere in the crevices of his mind, Euphemia screamed, the sound of bullets penetrating flesh causing him to cover his mouth and scramble to the bathroom. Lelouch! She screamed again as he ran, her screams becoming more than a noise; the image appeared, her body mangled and bloody, and he puked, collapsing onto the tile with exhaustion and pain.

It wasn't that he was weak to death; in fact, in his young life he had already killed many people with no sensitivity. He couldn't, however, bear the idea of someone as close as Euphemia was – family, whether it was his Britannian life or not – murdered by his hand.

"How dramatic." She stood over him, offering a dainty hand.

Refusing her request, he let himself up on his own, wiping his mouth as he rose to his feet.

"So you can't kill her," She rightfully decided, moving around the room again. "Why?"

He followed her steps with a glaring glance. "It is not your concern."

"Sure it is; your strange weakness eliminates a possible solution. Though the king may be close to his pawn, he will still sacrifice their life for victory."

She was using his game against him; Lelouch scoffed. "Nonsense; we are not close."

"Oh?" The girl flopped onto his bed. "Then what keeps you from killing her?"

"… …Nunnally."

Between them came a small silence; following, CC sat up and broke it. "Your sister… what does she see in her?"

He was quiet again. "… Everything."

With an inquisitive glance sideways, she said nothing, allowing him to continue.

"We all grew up together – Euphemia, Nunnally and I. Their relation was only slight… but they were the best of friends. Sisters. Partners in friendship and family… I can't remember anyone else as gentle and kind to her as Euphemia was… until Suzaku."

"The pilot school boy?"

He couldn't help but smirk, "Yes." With a sigh, Lelouch ran a hand through his hair, "…. Maybe that is why they've found each other… they think the same thoughts, enjoy the same amount of peace that any simple-minded, kind-hearted person would. They lack the true reality of this world, CC." At the same time, however, he smirked again, "… And yet, Euphie always knew just how to care for Nunnally… even when they fought over who was to marry me, Euphie always let her win… and Nunnally's well-being is always first."

CC's golden eyes fell into a relaxed lust as she pondered this. "So, you love her." Her voice, calm and level, made the proposal seem as simple as the weather.

More silence. "… I did." As he admitted it to the both of him, the words came easier and flew from his mouth quicker than he could ponder them. "Truly. And I used to imagine our lives together often… I would marry Euphemia, and Nunnally would find similar happiness… and we would live as a family forever."

It was simple.

"But no more." He said after a moment, those deciding words barely carrying; as he realized the depth of them he felt himself quiver and turned to the window. "… …. …You said it yourself – the king must sacrifice his pawns at all costs."

CC said nothing, only watching his back.

"Euphemia is simply a part of my plan – the perfect naïve little princess to add fuel to the flames of Britannia's downfall."

"Lelouch-"

"Nunnally will forget her!" He said sharply, beginning to leave the room. He, too, would forget… and hoped that if he told himself that enough, it would become the only truth.

Her gaze followed him as he moved until he was out of site; she then looked to the window where he had once laid his eyes. The distant glow of the city caught her attention; the Empire was active, powerful, and certainly everything he wanted to defeat. With the Geass it would only get easier to conquer, she knew… but at what cost to his sanity would the kingdom fall?

"… The world will forget Euphemia Li Britannia." She could only agree.

She always just agreed.

Destiny had put Kallen in Zero's hands; she was absolutely sure of it.

To serve him was the same, if not better, than serving her own brother; they had similar dreams, goals, and held the same integrity for the oppressed as she did. Every part of her wanted to make him happy and proud, and that determination seemed to fuel her double life.

Japan – a dress nation The dream would be realized. And the only way to do that was directly infiltrate the Empire.

Euphemia.

As the others began to leave headquarters, Kallen stayed back, seating herself in front of the computer. The screen was black, save for a single, blinking white line. Her eyes squinted; Ah!

"A password, hm?" She pursed her lips as she thought on it. Quickly, the answer came to her; she pulled up the sleeve of her uniform to reveal a simple set of characters on her wrist: K1290. Once she typed them in, access was granted. "Of course." She smirked; the tattoos had been worth it.

Base camps, strategies, Knightmare testing… the wide array of options reflected from her wide blue eyes as she studied each carefully. Manuscripts, records, aha! A smile split her lips once again, her cursory moving to one word: Empire.

"Bingo." She said, finding Euphemia's name in the list of royalties. Full name, birthday, disposition –

"Kouzuki."

With surprise, said girl gasped and turned to the door. In the frame, however, only stood Zero.

"Zero-sama," She breathed, letting herself smile with both relief and pleasant surprise.

In full costume as usual, his true identity was unknown to nearly all he associated with; Kallen, too, still knew not that she saw Zero more times a day than she thought.

They were alone. Maybe this was the time to tell her?

"Researching?" He asked, moving and looking over her shoulder.

"Yes sir," She replied, sheepish, "… Just familiarizing myself with the Empire."

He pondered her reply as he scanned Euphemia's file. The picture of representation was recently acquired; it was one of the many press-released shots of her school festival declaration: The reason for this whole meeting. The reason they were scrambling for a new tactic.

And yet, she still looked beautiful – expression torn with determination and passion, one hand fisted while the other stretched out to the side for emphasis.

Almost, almost, he forgot about the anger that had fueled him here in the first place.

"Sir…" Kallen began tentatively, "… I was thinking… why not directly threaten the Empire?"

Blinking, he crossed his arms. "An assassination would not be wise; they've dealt with Clovis and moved on with little sensitivity."

She scoffed, "But what about Euphemia? Her innocence makes her a prime target-"

"And a very desperate one at that." He finished, and she frowned lightly. Noticing this, Zero let out a breath and touched her shoulder gently. "… I admire your relentlessness; it has made you fearless… but Euphemia can be defeated – to a point where it would be as if she never existed – without killing her."

She turned to him, cheeks flushed at his contact. "… Without killing her?"

He smiled. "Her downfall will come with her still very much alive."

In admiration, she seemed to smile as well; she quickly trusted him with all of her heart. "Yes sir."

"Good." His fingers left her as he turned to leave.

As she watched him, she couldn't help but blurt, "Zero."

He looked back at her in silence.

"Why did you come here?"

Again, he smiled, though it was unseen by Kallen. "… I needed some time to think."

"Right…" She accepted this, though admittedly felt unsatisfied. It was obvious he was hiding things; as a leader, she realized, he was holding hundreds of burdens on his shoulders alone but didn't want to open up to anyone. Though this matter of handling stress was common, Kallen vowed to herself that she would change him.

She would affect him in a way he had never known.

Zero continued his walk, returning to the doorway. "… Goodnight, Miss. Kouzuki." He said as an afterthought, stepping through and leaving all together.

Something in her chest fluttered. "… Goodnight, Zero-sama." She said in a whisper.

See you tomorrow, Miss. Stadtfeld.