Finally a new chapter...

Thanks to: DuziInuChick, …, LawliPop, .VanillaRouge's Productions, 2stupid, Broken Hearted Idiot, Kyouto Tokugen, Ithilelda, -w- easy enough, Fallen One-Winged Tenshi, Lal Mirch, AznAnimeChick, alle-k, eMi to mAo 374, enchanted nightingale, Trishmeister, Lady Hanaka, Jacky-The-Ripper, GoGothGirl, SilverEchoes, Princess of Oblivion, darkshadowarchfiend, ., Myx-Xan, eternalsolace, JustAnotherBleachFan, Voldanita and Dragonrider 4000.

And AznAnimeChick gets a cyber cookie for having the closest guess at the cats' names. Oh… and 2stupid can have a cookie too along with anyone else who I annoyed by making you wait for an answer. Here's the reveal: They are both named after the Lancelot. The black one is Lance, and the white one is Lottie. I did intend to say that the Lance had green eyes too, but I seem to have missed it somehow.

Disclaimer: I don't own Code Geass... though I have been listening to the R2 soundtracks all afternoon.

Suzaku had set off early the following day. Nunally had informed a select group of personnel that he was to be taken to his destination as quickly as possible, so that meant Suzaku, dressed as usual in his Zero attire had been flown a considerable distance across the Britannian mainland, to a location not too distant from Jeremiah's present dwelling. He was left there, to make his own way, since the intent of this excursion was secret.

Since it was secret, he could hardly go around dressed in his Zero mask and cape. It drew far too much attention, so as soon as he was alone he changed. Suzaku being Suzaku, and hardly a master of discretion, his new outfit still managed to draw attention. As large coat with an upturned collar and sunglasses was hardly normal attire and made him look very suspicious. But it served its purpose; no one would recognise him as either Suzaku or Zero.

It was nice, he thought, to be able to travel around, without the weight of Zero on his shoulders. It was certainly a relief to be out of that ridiculous outfit. He really didn't understand what Lelouch had been thinking when he'd made it. But then Lelouch did have an unquenchable urge for melodrama, and the Zero outfit, especially the cape, demonstrated that. Of course, Zero's outfit was commonly associated with respect these days, but back when it had been Lelouch wearing the suit there had also been fear. And yet… Suzaku couldn't help but wonder what his Black Knights had thought when they'd first seen him in the suit, before he'd performed any actions to be associated with it. He wondered how he'd introduced himself. Surely it had been difficult to take him seriously at first, though if were anything like the way he'd presented himself to the world, in his dramatic rescue of Suzaku himself, he'd probably done it in the most histrionic way he could think of. Maybe he'd ask Lelouch when he found him…

So yes… the loose, informal clothing was nice. Being out from that stuffy mask was wonderful. Not being followed by blatant stares and mutterings of 'Lord Zero'… Needless to say, he was enjoying himself, despite the importance of his mission. He walked across the town casually, appreciating the peace, glad to be away from the hectic hustle and bustle that was everyday palace life. The information that Nunally had given him said that Jeremiah lived in a house just outside of the town.

He wondered what Jeremiah would have to say to him, since he was here as Suzaku and not in his Zero disguise. However, he figured he could risk this secret with Jeremiah. After all the man had kept all the other secrets he'd been entrusted with, although Suzaku was hoping he would give at least one of them up, that being information on where to find Lelouch. He smiled to himself optimistically as he trudged up the road out of town, he was glad he was here; he'd been wanting to speak with Jeremiah for a while now.

After checking the address to make certain that this was the right address, Suzaku stepped up and rang the bell, then stood awkwardly on the doorstep whilst he waited for a response from within.

Eventually the door opened to reveal the face of Jeremiah, who looked fairly startled at the sight that met his unmasked eye. By appearances he looked to have only aged a little since Suzaku had last seen him, many years ago when he'd had to deliver a message to Anya who at the time was living with Jeremiah at an orangery in a more southern area of the country. That meant he had not aged in accordance with the fifty years that had passed since requiem, instead looking only five or six years older. Suzaku wondered why. He supposed he could ask later. Suzaku knew Jeremiah recognised him despite the sunglasses but removed them anyway, and waited for Jeremiah to speak. After a few more moments Jeremiah's face cracked into a smile.

"Kururugi? Well, this is a surprise. Come in."

Suzaku followed the man through his home, feeling somewhat uncomfortable with the situation. He supposed it was because he was unused to being addressed by that name. Jeremiah instructed him to sit and wait a few minutes in the living room, returning shortly later with two steaming mugs of tea. A couple of minutes passed fairly awkwardly as Jeremiah merely observed Suzaku.

"So, to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit Kururugi? And whilst I know I'm hardly the person to ask this question, but can I ask just how you have managed to hang on to your youthful countenance?"

"Nunally sent me. And I would love to tell you… but I don't actually know. It's probably Lelouch's fault though. Probably an after-effect of his geass. How about you?"

"Ah… it's something the mechanical parts do… they stimulate the production of telomerase, slowing down the effects of ageing. I'm not sure how it works, but apparently it was just another experimental part they put in. Schniezel's scientists got carried away and basically used me as a convenient toy to test all their technology with."

"So… what does that mean? You'll live forever?"

"No. As you can see, I'm still ageing, albeit slowly. And my immune system is also boosted so I don't get ill so easily. But I'm still susceptible to some illnesses, and of course still vulnerable to injury, though that more applies to my human parts, although if my mechanical parts are damaged significantly that's not good either. How is it working out for you?"

"Difficult question. I'm obviously not ageing. And I haven't been ill or significantly wounded so I can't really answer that. Lelouch made it difficult for me to get myself into situations where I can be fatally wounded, so I guess I won't have the opportunity to find out."

"The geass he put on you? I could help with that if you don't want it any more." He indicated his left eye, the cybernetic one hidden below his mask, the one which contained his unique geass canceller ability.

"No." said Suzaku. "I'd rather keep it… it's something Lelouch gave me, and if he wanted me to continue to live and protect this world, then I will not reject this duty until he tells me otherwise."

"Ah, I understand," said Jeremiah, smiling. "You are loyal to the cause Lelouch left to you, the cause he gave his life for. You wish to hold this up as best you can. You follow the path of chivalry."

"Speaking of Lelouch…" stated Suzaku apprehensively. "That's why I'm here."

"Oh?" said Jeremiah, nonplussed.

"We know, well Nunally knew and she told me, that Lelouch's death wasn't quite as permanent as it looked."

Jeremiah quirked his eyebrow, but refrained from commenting.

"You were in charge of his burial. But if he wasn't dead, then you must have helped him leave the country instead. It is very important for Nunally and I to speak to him, so I need to find out where he went."

Jeremiah nodded, accepting this accusation as the truth. Then he paused, apparently wondering what to tell Suzaku.

"Yes, I did help him escape. It was that morning." He didn't need to say which morning, Suzaku could guess. "He pulled me to one side before the pre-execution procession, and told me what was going to happen in secret. He said that Zero, who I presume was you, would appear, and I was not to take action. I was to allow his approach and I was to let him kill Lelouch. That was his plan; it was not allowed to be interrupted.

"And then, somewhat reluctantly, he told me that it wasn't going to go quite as planned. That I must not let anyone other than myself handle his body. He said that CC had selfishly messed with his plan, and he wouldn't die. But everything would fall apart if anyone found out he wasn't dead, I was the only person allowed to know.

"So after he 'died' I carried his body away from the scene as ordered. But it didn't seem like he was alive. The wound was certainly a fatal one, and hadn't taken long too cause his death; he'd lost so much blood. His body was limp, he had no pulse. And then I felt him stir in my arms as I walked from the scene. He didn't move much, he obviously knew the situation wasn't safe for him to do so, but it shocked me so much I nearly dropped him; I had to hold my expression until I had carried him to the car that he'd promised would there.

"I put him in, still pretending he was lifeless, and then got in too… the windows were tinted so no one could see in, doubly useful since CC was the driver. It took him a few moments to sit up, but the first thing he did was look at where the wound had been on his chest. By that point it was almost completely healed. We drove away quickly. He seemed to take a few minutes to get over the shock of having come back to life… But then he assumed his usual cool demeanour and changed out of his bloodstained clothes and into something clean, a disguise he'd asked CC to assemble for him quickly, since it was her fault his plans had to be changed.

"I went with them to a small building in the country for a couple of days, where they stayed until the chaotic aftermath of Lelouch's death had mostly passed. We burned his robes there. Then they went to the airport and I came back to the city. They went to Australia. I have the address they went to if you want, although they're probably not there any more. Though I expect it would be the best place to look next."

Suzaku had listened to the story intently. He hadn't really thought about what it would have been like for Lelouch to wake up after having 'died' from a fatal wound. It didn't sound like much fun. Suzaku had had some pretty nasty wounds himself, and he certainly didn't envy Lelouch. He didn't know how codes changed people, but pain was still pain no matter how quickly you recovered.

"That would be very useful" he replied.

Jeremiah wrote down the address he'd been given on a piece of paper and gave it to Suzaku.

"Do you have to leave right away? Or can you stay and talk for a while?"

"I suppose I can stay for a little longer. I wanted to find out how Anya's doing, I don't really get any news from people, since I'm an anonymous entity nowadays."

"Anya's doing well. How is Nunally?"

"I was hoping you would ask… do you want to see how she's doing for yourself?"

"I suppose."

"You wouldn't mind too much if I asked you to go and act as her bodyguard for a short time whilst I'm away. It's just she really needs someone to look after her for a while, she's afraid that once people know I'm gone, someone might make an attempt on her life. And I know I can trust you to protect her."

"Nunally is one of Marianne's children, of course I will protect her if she needs it. I am not sure I will be welcome in the palace, but if it isn't for too long there probably won't be too many complaints."

"Thank you!"

"Just tell me how I'm supposed to get into the palace in the first place."

"Tell them you are bringing Nunally a message from me. In fact, I'll write a letter and put my seal on it, which should make your passage smoother."

A week had passed since Lelouch had first had that strange dream. Since then he'd woken in the early hours of every morning with that question, 'who am I', resounding in his mind. Each dream had been different, shown him different scenes, but he still had no idea who this mysterious person was. And yet, he was sure he did know… he just couldn't place them. It niggled at the back of his mind, making him puzzle over it whilst going about his everyday mundane tasks.

He had a feeling that he needed to go to Japan, that that was where this mysterious person was, but he had no idea how he knew that.

If he could have, he would have dropped everything and dashed off to Japan, to try and figure this mystery out. It would bring some form of excitement back to his boring life. Unfortunately, he had Lance and Lottie to look after. He was planning on taking them to stay with CC for a while when he eventually left, but she was staying with Mao and his family at the moment, and he could hardly go there to dump the cats. It wouldn't do for Mao to recognise his uncle Lulu, and start asking awkward questions.

So he had to wait for CC to return home. And waiting was making him anxious. He was worried about the mysterious person that was speaking to him through his dreams; the dreams did not exactly show happy events.

The good thing about being forced to wait, meant that he had perfected a disguise and packed everything he might need, as well as having made sure his fake ID was up to date. The moment CC returned home, he would be able to leave, dump the cats on her, and get a flight to Japan.

It looked like his frantic travel plans might have to be changed though…

There was a knock at the door.

A/N: Oh I wonder who that could be… well I don't because I know. And I'm sure you probably know too. I am anxious to get to the scene in the next chapter.

If Jeremiah seemed a little OOC, please remember fifty years have passed… he's allowed to have hanged a little bit. Of course, this is just a really useful excuse. And the science jargon, I do sort of know what I'm talking about (I'm a biology student), but you can blame New Scientist for having an article on telomerase.