AN: Thanks to: L Lexuran, -w- easy enough, Nox Noctis of Eternus Luna, DF, BishonuenYaoiLover, Lady Laziness, 2stupid, Turtle Kid, Ookami Fuu, GoGothGirl, eternal solace, kuroi78, terracannon876, silverbrumby123, xxxCodeTsubasa, karin1004, JuneEmery, primaaryet, Authoress, Mikazuki Sakura, Hamano, .VanillaRouge's Productions, Crescent Dragoness, Roxie Zephyr Jocelyn, Korikoto, bubbleheadz, Demosthesis, Miraploy, monty shen, animelover180, Oridance Vance, BabyBottle, and Dragonrider4000.

So many guesses as to Lulu's disguise… all seeming to think the same thing. Well, I guess you can find out. Much longer chapter this time too.

Disclaimer: I don't own Code Geass.

It was dark. It was always dark, that was how they kept it in here, like they were keeping animals or something even lower, not people. The darkness… it made all sense of self, any individuality, difficult to keep hold of, especially when the identity you sought to hold on to was fragile enough to start with. The perpetual silence didn't help either.

It would have been nice if they'd made some effort to provide basic human amenities, like food or water. It wouldn't make any physical difference, eating was impossible, and it wasn't needed any more anyway.

So long in the dark, so long alone, all sense of time had vanished. Just occasionally there was a sense of someone else there… That feeling was there now. The presence was non-threatening, simply slightly comforting, banishing the loneliness. This other presence, it never spoke, did not respond to desperate questions, but was somehow reassuring nonetheless. The presence… it always seemed to have its own loneliness about it, a different kind, but this feeling seemed weaker this time.

Suddenly a vague echoing sound rang from the corridor this room connected to. They were coming again. A sensation of fear flooded the senses, reaching the other presence. When they came… their visits were rare, a break from the dull monotony of sitting in the dark, but dreaded anyway. The rare visits... maybe there were others here to share their attention… these thoughts, attempts at distraction from the fear, failed. The echoing developed into several sets of footsteps, the increased intensity of dread causing the foreign presence to cry out.

Suddenly there was a strange soothing sensation. A warm tingling spreading down from the shoulder. Was it the presence? Maybe... but it felt a little different.

Before they arrived, something had to be done. Focusing on both the old presence and this new feeling, a quiet voice broke the silence.

"Who am I?" it asked. "Help me."

The door swung open and light flooded into the room, but before terror could take hold, the sensation seemed to respond to the plea, spreading across the chest, throughout the body, a warm cocoon of reassurance. The presence started to fade, taking the tingling with it, but leaving behind a sensation of hope. They were coming…

Lelouch felt oddly warm and content when he awoke early the following morning. The warmth fogged his brain, making his return to consciousness more sluggish than usual. As his mind sped up to its usual processing speed he realised he was sprawled across another body, which was why he was feeling warm. It took another few moments for him to realise it was Suzaku's body, and that Suzaku's hand was resting lazily on Lelouch's head, whilst he continued dozing peacefully.

Lelouch sat up slowly, blushing as his body informed him that it did not want to leave the other's warm embrace. He leant back, resting his head against the headboard. He'd had another dream; that far off voice once more calling out to him for help. The dream had been a little different though, whoever it was had suddenly stopped being scared, as if they were being comforted. Lelouch's eyes settled on the sprawled out form of the slumbering brunette, concluding that perhaps he'd had something to do with that.

He sighed, swinging his legs over his side of the bed. He had a lot to do before CC arrived, and the sooner he got up the more he could relax. He stood, and retrieved several items from the wardrobe, and hurried out of the room with an expression somewhere between a smirk and grim anticipation. He still hadn't quite decided how he felt about this.

Settling the bundle in his arms down on a convenient surface, Lelouch stripped out of his pyjamas and stepped into the shower. As the warm rivulets of water ran over his body he allowed his mind to turn once more to his dream.

He knew, with unshakable certainty, that the person whose thoughts he shared in these dreams was a real person, and that they needed his help. He wouldn't be neglecting Nunally to visit Japan if he didn't. He knew that when he had these dreams, that whoever it was he connected with knew he was there, and for some reason had also apparently sensed Suzaku's actions. He had pondered the nature of this link before, especially since he could recall these periods of shared consciousness far better than any dream, but this incident with Suzaku made him even more curious as to what was going on.

He also wondered about what sort of person it was, since he had very little to go on. The first dream he'd had he now thought of as a generic distress call, showing him an important memory of the other, one that had led to the situation they were in now, and also was related to their apparent lack of identity. Other than this he had very few clues as to who it could be. The first dream was important; he'd figured out that the familiar looking mountain he'd seen silhouetted was, in fact, Mt. Fuji, and therefore this person was probably in Japan.

He also had a few suspicions about this person. From what they'd felt about food and water being unnecessary he assumed this person was likely another immortal, one who could survive without these things, even if from personal experienced they preferred not to try. Even if you didn't need to eat you could still feel hungry. CC's perpetual pizza cravings were all the evidence anyone needed for that.

The individual was also being held somewhere against their will, possibly with others, and the people there were possibly experimenting on him, probably to determine more about the nature of their immortality.

This, ultimately, was the reason Lelouch was going to Japan before visiting Nunally in Britannia. After discovering how CC had been treated at the hands of Schniezel's scientists, and later becoming an immortal himself and thus likely to attract the same attentions, Lelouch had made himself a promise; such treatment was not allowed, and he would take all actions possible to prevent it from happening, wherever he possibly could. He would help this person with this at least, even if in the end, he could provide no help with their identity.

He stepped out of the shower, feeling more invigorated and driven, ready to face whatever challenges lay ahead. Even the disguise he'd picked out for himself seemed less daunting. He glanced over at the clothing he would be wearing today. Yes, it was a necessary blow to his pride, but would most defiantly be worth it in the end.

Suzaku awoke to the sound of a shower running in the other room, and smiled as he remembered the events of the day before. He'd found Lelouch! And they were going to Japan together!

He was understandably excited to be visiting his home country once more. He'd only been there a couple of times since donning Zero's mask, when he accompanied Nunally to meetings with the government of Japan which had re-emerged since they had gained their freedom from Britannia. He hadn't exactly had many opportunities for sightseeing; though he'd hardly get that this time either. He wanted to get this done quickly, since he felt kind of guilty about not dragging Lelouch straight back to Britannia. Not that he was going to try. Lelouch was very good at getting his own way, even without geass involved.

He heard the water shut off in the bathroom and decided perhaps he should get up and do something before Lelouch came back in and nagged him. He had to retrieve some clothing from Lelouch's washing spree yesterday and pack the rest.

A short while later Suzaku was sitting in the kitchen eating a breakfast he'd put together from the scant resources of food he'd found. He was wondering exactly why Lelouch was taking so long to make an appearance.

His question was answered when the door opened slowly and Lelouch's face peeked through nervously.

"Morning," said Suzaku, confused by Lelouch's odd behaviour.

"Morning," replied Lelouch, still mostly hiding behind the door. "Don't laugh, ok?"

"Uh… ok," agreed Suzaku uncertainly.

Lelouch opened the door and stepped into the kitchen. Suzaku's jaw dropped open as he was rendered temporarily speechless.

"You're… you're… you're…" he tried vainly. The shocking sight was just too much for him to get any further.

"This is my disguise," declared a blushing Lelouch, though he was laughing inside at Suzaku's stunned reaction. "Meet Lucinda Lamperouge, aka Lulu, my mother's sister's granddaughter. Of course, she doesn't really exist, but the rest of my family won't know any better, as long as you and Nunally play along."

Lelouch was dressed, quite convincingly as a female, the simple yet elegant purple dress hugging his slim figure and bringing out the colour of his eyes. The dress was in a style Suzaku recognised as quite fashionable in Britannia at present, and the presumably fake yet modest additions to his chest area did nothing to betray Lelouch as a male. The look was completed by hair extensions, lengthening and blending with Lelouch's natural hair colour, and a small amount of make-up.

Lelouch pulled off the female look remarkably well. Suzaku would have had to admit that he looked rather stunning if he'd been asked, so he hoped Lelouch wouldn't.

"Lucinda Lamperouge? That's your alias?" he asked, coming out of his stupor. Really, he thought Lelouch could have come up with a less suspicious sounding fake name. "Are you sure it's wise to use Lamperouge again? Won't people associate that with your old secret identity?"

"They won't. Lamperouge was actually my mother's maiden name, that's why I chose it originally. So it actually makes my identity more believable since my family wouldn't expect me to try using it again. Of course it also means that my mother was illegitimate since she still has that name, which means people won't ask too many questions. " Lelouch hesitated momentarily, fiddling with one of his sleeves.

"Uh…" he started again, blushing once more and averting his eyes from the other. "Do you think my disguise is believable? That I won't be recognised?"

Suzaku paused, wondering what he could say that wouldn't end up with Lelouch glaring at him. After all 'you make a very believable female' was probably not the answer Lelouch was looking for.

"You won't" he said finally. "It's a very well put together disguise, and you look passably female. Besides, I don't think anyone who knew you could imagine you wearing such a thing of your own free will."

Lelouch relaxed slightly. Suzaku wasn't laughing at him, for the moment anyway, and he seemed to think the disguise was sufficient. Though given Suzaku's track record with disguises, perhaps he wasn't the best person to ask. He moved further into the kitchen and decided to have some breakfast. There was still half an hour before CC was due to get here.

"You know… it reminds me of that time." said Suzaku with a faraway expression. Lelouch grimaced, he had a feeling exactly what time Suzaku was referring to, and did not want to admit that that was where the idea had come from. "You remember… Milly's crossplay festival. What did she call you? Luluko? Why didn't you use that as an alias?"

Lelouch was very glad he was facing the other way when Suzaku said this. Suzaku was quite glad too otherwise he'd be on the end of Lelouch's death glare for reminding him of that mortifying experience.

"Because Luluko is a Japanese sounding name, and I'm clearly not. My disguise is as a Britannian, so I need a Britannian name."

Lelouch turned, smirking faintly as he decided the most appropriate response to Suzaku's apparent amusement. "And when you're dressed, can you do me a favour?"

"Sure, whatever you need."

"The cats need to be put in their travel boxes so CC can take them with her; could you do that for me if it isn't too much trouble?." He smiled sweetly, destroying Suzaku's incentive to decline. "I'd do it myself, but I don't want to mess up my dress and they really don't like being forced into confined spaces."

Suzaku looked at him with a horrified expression, but nodded his acceptance.

"Good," said Lelouch, "you'd better hurry up, she'll be here soon."

As Suzaku scuttled back out of the kitchen and up the stairs he heard the unmistakable sound of Lelouch laughing.

Half an hour later, Suzaku was back in the kitchen, hands scratched and bleeding. Lelouch had been right; those cats had not wanted to go in those boxes. Lelouch applied antiseptic and plasters to the deeper scratches, taking the opportunity to tell a horrified Suzaku their cover story for the day. It was best to get it right, in case anyone asked. Just as they finished there was a knock at the front door. Lelouch sent Suzaku upstairs to fetch his suitcase, whilst he answered it.

Lelouch had informed CC in advance that he would be travelling in disguise, so she'd already heard that he would be wearing a dress. In fact one of the reasons he was already wearing it was because she was being driven home by Mao, and she'd asked him to provide transport to the airport. He couldn't have Mao recognising him as his uncle Lulu, after all.

Despite being forewarned, CC's first reaction on Lulu opening the door was for her eyebrows to shoot up. Then a smirk spread across her features. "Oh… Lulu," she exclaimed, "How utterly radiant you look this morning, I'm sure all the other women on your flight will be jealous of your natural feminine beauty."

Lelouch's eyebrow twitched in annoyance and his eyes narrowed slightly. CC may have aged, but her ability to effortlessly wind him up had not dimmed even slightly.

"I was going to invite you in for a cup of tea, but we need to get to the airport early so Suzaku can pick his ticket."

"Ah, so your beloved Suzaku is coming with you then?" Lelouch's eye twitched again. Ever since he'd used his geass to save Suzaku's life, despite him technically being an enemy, CC had continuously mocked their friendship.

He was saved from having to come up with a witty response as Suzaku appeared once more, laden down with Lelouch's oversized suitcase and his own bag of clothing.

"Come on Suzaku, time to go." Lelouch said cheerily, holding the door open so Suzaku could stumble out and carry their stuff to the car. "Don't forget to go back and pick up the cats." he added helpfully.

Lelouch and CC stood and watched as Mao got out of the car and the two men after a brief exchange, started trying to fit the luggage into the back along with CC's own assortment of stuff.

"Playing the helpless female card already Lelouch?" queried CC

Lelouch smirked. "Of course. Why bother carrying heavy things when I've got Suzaku so willing to do it for me."

Eventually the two succeeded. Suzaku went back inside for the two cat boxes. Luckily the pair had settled down in the ten minutes or so they'd been imprisoned and didn't make much fuss as Suzaku brought them out of the house. Lelouch locked the door behind him.

Mao opened the front passenger seat for his mother who climbed in and accepted one of the cat boxes, the one containing Lottie, to hold on her lap for the time being. Then Mao shook Lelouch's hand, offering his congratulations to his beautiful cousin Lulu, despite having seemingly never met her before. The man then got into the car himself.

"Explain to me again why we're pretending to be engaged?" Suzaku hissed at Lelouch as he opened a car door for his supposed fiancé.

"Because I had to come up with a reason for you travelling with me on short notice." Lelouch whispered back, leaning closer to Suzaku so Mao couldn't hear. Then he raised his voice a little, slipping into more female tones, intending for the other two to hear. "Now hurry up and get in the car dear, we don't want to be late for our flight, do we? Whatever would your parents think of me if I allowed that?"

AN: So yes, the twelve people who guessed he would be wearing a dress, you were right. Although given that it's practically canon, it could hardly be anything else.

I guess I managed to put a little bit more plot in this time. They've left the house at least. It will pick up the pace soon though... well hopefully.