I apologise wholeheartedly for missing last week's update. My computer appeared to have died completely, and the thought of having lost my compter caused me to have a panic attack. Luckily, however, my depression was cured by a marathon reading of Fruits Basket. Shoujo manga saves lives, trufax.

I did manage to save my computer (Huzzah!), but a number of other incidents, including a high fever this morning left me unable to update for a week. In reality, this chapter is actually getting updated after midnight, so technically it's on Monday and not Sunday, a fact which is irritating me greatly... .

A short synopsis of the story so far: After a conversation with C.C. and confirmation with Nunnally, Lelouch has learned that his sister is not actually related to him, and has in fact been a spy from his father, the Emperor, all along. He did have a true sibling, but that child was taken by V.V. before being replaced by Nunnally. Now, the cruel blind girl has left for Britannia, and Lelouch is ready to storm the Geass Directorate to take back his real sibling. Meanwhile in the Geass Cult, Rolo's been brought up by V.V. and taught that lies are horrible yet the world is full of liars, that no one is to be trusted, and that he is completely alone in the world. With Zero's plans, however, this is likely to all change...

Disclaimer: Don't own Geass.

"Q-1, ready."

"P-2, set to go."

"P-5, ready and waiting, whoo!"

"...Shut up, Tamaki."

"B-3, ready."

"R-4, same."

"C-2, can we get going already?"

Tamaki cast the green-haired witch a confused frown. "'C-2'? There's no 'C' pieces in chess, ya dumb broad!" The other members of their party shot the Japanese man exasperated looks, and it was Chiba who felt the need to explain to him, ever so gently.

"...Her name is 'C.C.', you idiot," she said, rolling her eyes.

"Well, why doesn't she have to be a goddamned chess piece?!"

"Shut it, P-5."

Underneath his Zero mask, Lelouch sighed. What was I thinking, bringing that guy? Then again, if he'd left Tamaki behind no doubt he wouldn't have heard the end of it for weeks. Tamaki made another remark offensive to the women present, and Kallen quickly punished him with a punch upside the head. If this were an anime, Lelouch was fairly certain he'd be sweatdropping. As it was, the desert heat was making him sweat more than the hangar had two weeks earlier, and he didn't have the relief of being able to take off his headgear now.

"That's enough," he snapped, silencing Tamaki and Chiba's squabbling. The pair quickly shut their mouths, standing at attention with the rest of their small group, composed of those two, Kallen, Minami, Asahina and C.C. As Lelouch addressed the party, they all kept their eyes on him, listening carefully (well, maybe not so much C.C.). "Are there any questions?"

The ever doubtful Asahina raised his hand, as expected. "Can you go over this one more time, sir?" He pronounced the word "sir" a bit sarcastically, showing his irritation that their miracle working leader was in reality younger than himself.

Again, Lelouch sighed. "Alright, once more...

"With the aid of Li Xingke of the Chinese Federation, we've located these apparently abandoned ruins here in the middle of the Gobi Desert, which is, in reality, the headquarters of a certain secret cult. The Geass Directorate, which researches and seeks to perfect the geass, the power of which I told you all about earlier.

"The president of this organization is V.V., an immortal and the person who murdered my mother, Marianne the Flash, as well as stole away my sibling. With the help of you who've volunteered for this mission," 'volunteered' here having a much more loose meaning, Lelouch thought, as only Kallen, Minami and Tamaki actually had volunteered, while the two Holy Swords had been allocated to the mission by Tohdoh, and C.C. was just going along because Lelouch had promised her pizza, "We'll capture V.V. if possible, and search for and retrieve my sibling."

Minami raised his hand this time. "Wouldn't it have been in our better interests to have brought along some Knightmare frames?"

"I considered that, but as this is more or a search and rescue mission, Knightmares would only have served to cause panic and give away our position. It'll be easier to search if the people aren't running in fear of their lives or attempting to kill us in defense. Besides, there's no need to make more enemies or kill any innocents. From the information I've been given, most of the cult is made up of researchers and test subjects for the geass, neither of which should pose a threat to us directly. The only enemy we have here is V.V."

"But if they have even just geass users, they'll still be able to resist somewhat," Asahina pointed out. "And I doubt they'd just let a bunch of intruders stroll in. Are you sure just the few of us will be able to take on whatever security they might have?"

"That's why I'm here," C.C. chimed in, twirling a lock of bright green around her finger in boredom. "Trust me, there won't be any problems as far as getting in."

"If you say so..." Asahina did not appear convinced.

"Will we be splitting up?" Chiba asked, crossing her arms.

"Do you have any idea what the targets look like?" Lelouch asked patiently.

"Well, no."

"Did I have any pictures to show you so that you would know who to look for if you were alone?"

"No."

"So if we were to split up, would you be able to find the targets?"

"N-no..." She uncrossed her arms, taking a much more humble stance as she looked away, embarassed.

"Right, so obviously, we won't be splitting up." Lelouch shook his head. Stupid question, he mused, But at least she didn't raise her hand like the other two. What are they, gradeschoolers?

"And finally," he continued, "Tamaki will remain here to guard the transport." He gestured to the ship they stood beside. It was a smaller ship diverged from the Ikaruga like a lifeboat, big enough for just the necessary sections of the ship and a Knightmare or two. It wasn't nearly so luxurious as the Ikaruga itself, but its smaller size had allowed them to approach the ruins unnoticed. Personally, Lelouch thought this was a very important and necessary duty (after all, without the transport they'd be stranded in the middle of a desert), but apparently Tamaki didn't agree.

"What?! No fair, why am I stuck up here?!" the Japanese man complained, while the rest of the group gave their leader subtle nods of approval and thanks.

"Well, can we get going then?" C.C. asked, as Tamaki took his place seated besides their transport, grumbling about evil green-haired women, useless teammates and unjust schoolboy terrorists. Giving the witch a nod and sweeping his cape out in a dramatic manner, Lelouch as Zero led his part down the stone steps into the ruins.

----

"V.V.-sama, we may have a problem..."

The immortal glanced up to the hooded man who had spoken. "Problem?" V.V. asked. "Like what?" He lounge in his stone throne, his short legs not even reaching the floor. The sight was somewhat comical, no that the elders of the Directorate would ever dare laugh at him.

"It appears we have intruders."

"So?" V.V. drawled, playing with the ends of some of his long blonde locks. "Just deal with them, obviously. What's the issue?" He examined the hair for dead ends, not that he expected to find any. He hadn't had dead ends for around fifty years.

"Uh, well..." the cloaked man stammered. "It appears that C.C.-sama is among them, sir."

"C.C.? Here?"

"Yes sir. What would you have us do?"

V.V. frowned, drumming his pale fingers against the hard arm of his seat. "Hmm. Is she alone?"

The man appeared a bit more nervous now. "N-no, sir. By the others' uniforms, the looks like small team from the Black Knights. And...Zero himself is with them."

"Zero is?"

"Either that or a very good imposter. But I believe it's the real thing, sir. His dramatic hand gestures were very convincingly Zero-like."

Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, the blonde boy said, "Alright then, let them in, but tell C.C. I'd like to have a word with her."

"Should we send word to the Emperor?"

"No, not just yet. We can't be sure that she's willing to cooperate."

"Right, sir. Is that all?"

"Yes, go on," V.V. said, waving the man away. "Oh, and tell Rolo to come here immediately."

"Yes, sir."

He exited, his cloak swishing across the stone floor as he moved. V.V. watched his retreat, sinking back into his seat with a smirk.

"C.C. and Zero, hmm? It seems your theory may have been correct, Charles..."

----

Fortunately for Lelouch, the heat on the surface had died away as they'd come down into the ruins. Now the air was pleasantly cool, if a bit stale, which made wearing his Zero suit and mask much easier.

C.C. had proven her usefulness in this mission early on. Barely minutes after their descent down the sand-worn steps they'd been accosted by a strange man in heavy robes who, at the sight of the green-haired girl, fell to his knees and began groveling. As the Black Knights watched in wonder, C.C. exchanged a few brief words with the man He'd risen to his feet and led them further into the ruins, before reaching a large, flat space at the bottom of the steps and asking them to wait for a short while so that he may inform the leader of their presence.

Now their small team waited, Lelouch as C.C. leaning against a rocky cave wall patiently. Kallen, Minami, Asahina and Chiba, however, were more interested with observing their surroundings in astonishment. After all, none of them had expected the ruins to hide something so large or magnificently built.

The small, crumbled and worn-down rocks that had comprised the entrance in the desert on the surface had given way to a huge underground cavern, an enormous geofront. In this hollow in the earth's crust, a city had been constructed, stone buildings and streets covering the cavern floor. Near the center a tower made of the same material loomed over all, and a strange purple light washed over everything from a huge Thought Elevator at the heart of it all.

At first glance, the city had appeared empty, as if it had been just recently abandoned. But the flickers of movement in the streets, flashes of figures turning corners just out of sight, betrayed the population that inhabited it.

Then the people began coming forward, with curious eyes and questions on their lips, crowding the edges of the clearing the newcomers stood in. There were few dressed the man who'd met them earlier, Lelouch noted with mild surprise. There seemed to be a split, two general groups that made up these people. Adults, men and women of a wide range of ages, that wore the coats of scientists. Those, Lelouch had expected. But the other part was children, dressed in simple brown garments, that eyes their group with wide, awestruck eyes.

Kallen was the first of the party to speak. "So many kids..." she mumbled, scanning the audience. One boy near the front of the watchers raised his hand, pointing at the intruders, but within a moment a researcher near him smacked his hand down and appeared to scold him for something. "Don't tell me they're all the researchers' children...?"

"No," C.C. answered quietly, shaking her head, "Their projects. Most likely orphans that V.V. collected. I'd be wary of them, if I were you. They probably have geass."

"Geass..." Lelouch didn't miss the glance Kallen shot him at the mention of the power.

Beside him, Asahina leaned in to ask, "Is our target here?"

Lelouch looked over the group and shook his head. "No," he returned, "None of these children are old enough..."

Before they could discuss the matter more thoroughly, a hooded man pushed through the onlookers over to them. Lelouch recognized him as the one who'd met them before.

"C.C.-sama," he said, sinking into a bow, "We've announced your arrival, and V.V.-sama wishes to speak with you."

"Mmm, that's convenient," she replied. "It just so happens that we have business with him as well."

"This way, then." With another bow he turned and gestured for them to follow. He led them through winding streets, towards the tower they had witnessed earlier.

As they walked, Kallen fell into step with the green-haired girl, whispering to her. "They seem pretty respectful of you. Did you used to live here or something?"

"Or something," C.C. answered vaguely. Kallen watched her expectantly for a moment, waiting for her to expand on that, but the witch said no more and the redhead was left frowning, unsatisfied.

"Here we are," their guide announced, as they reached a set of large doors. He knocked on them once, and after a moment they opened with a cringe-inducing creaking sound. With a silent gesture, the party was implored to enter the dim room.

It took a moment for their eyes to adjust to the low lighting, but soon they could see several more men cloaked as their guide was, as at the head of the room a throne-like chair, in which a small boy was seated. He was dressed like a noble, and had long blonde hair that fell in waves over the arms and back of the stone seat to the floor. He eyed them with a calm, level stare.

"Long time no see, V.V.," C.C. said, addressing the boy, and the Black Knights all gave her looks of disbelief.

"This is V.V.?" Chiba asked, glancing between the two immortals. Even Lelouch was somewhat surprised. C.C. had described V.V. as being many things, sadistic, hypocritical and psychotic to name a few, but she had never said a word about him being short.

"Gentleman, please leave us," the blonde boy said to his cloaked servants.

"What?" one protested, the one that had lead the Knights there. "Sir, you can't be–"

"It's fine. Now, if you will..."

With hesitant bows, they turned and left, the door sliding shut behind them with a resounding booming sound.

As soon as the hooded men were gone, a smile spread across V.V.'s face, and he leant forward in his seat. "It really has been too long, C.C.," he said, his voice light and childlike. "But it looks like you've fallen in with a bad crowd." pinkish-purple eyes slid over to examine the leader of their party. "Zero, I presume?" he asked, smirking. "Or should I say...Lelouch?"

If Lelouch was surprised he didn't let it show, for he simply reached up and removed his mask.

"Fairly impressive," he said, shaking out his black locks and returning the smirk. "How did you know?"

"I head from my dear little brother, Charles."

Lelouch grimaced slightly at the mention of his father, but otherwise remained silent. So the Emperor does know...

V.V. turned his attention back to C.C. now. "Well, as much as I'd like to believe that you've agreed to work with us again, I doubt that's the case, what with the entourage you've brought."

"Well, you're right about that, at least," C.C. shot back

"You really should reconsider. Otherwise, Charles and I will have to make you cooperate by force."

"Unfortunately for you," Lelouch broke in, "We're not here to discuss C.C.'s alliances." He drew a gloved hand out from under her cape and sharply snapped his fingers. Chiba, Asahina and Minami withdrew pistols from under their jackets and took aim at V.V., while Kallen adopted an offensive stance in her position beside Zero,

The immortal boy only smirked, however. "Guns? Really, C.C.?" he said arrogantly. "You of all people should know that those can't kill me."

The green-haired girl smiled in response. "Maybe not kill, but I've seen firsthand that some well-placed shots to the limbs can disable even an immortal for a short while. Enough time to restrain you properly, at least."

"Oh?" Despite the threat, V.V. didn't seem at all unnerved. "And what do you hope to accomplish with that?"

"We have some questions we'd like you to answer," Lelouch replied for C.C. "After that, I suspect the Emperor's brother will make an excellent hostage, don't you agree?"

"No doubt Charles would sacrifice much to have me returned." V.V. leaned back in his throne, tossing a blonde lock over his shoulder. "But the fact is, I won't be going anywhere with you."

"And what makes you so sure of that?" Lelouch made sure to maintain his own confident image, but V.V.'s cocky grin was beginning to make him uneasy.

Instead of a verbal response, V.V. simply raised his hand, and in a movement mocking that of Lelouch's earlier, snapped his fingers.

There was a movement at the side of the stone chair as a small figure stepped out from behind it. Then suddenly the silhouette vanished.

He heard started gasps from his soldiers behind him, yet in a heartbeat, the figure was right in front of him. Lelouch's eyes could only catch a flashing knife and smirk, and large, amethyst-colored eyes.

Dun dun duuuun~! Yes, yes, I'm a horrible person, making you guys wait an extra week only to leave you with a cliffhanger. Not exactly even enough to be considered a "meeting" between Lelouch and Rolo yet, but next week's chapter will take care of that, I promise!

Have I ever mentioned that I love Tamaki? =D And also, oddly enough, Chiba too. No wonder she's getting so large an appearance here, whereas in most fics I've read she's ignored completely...

Please review! It keeps me motivated to keep writing~! 3 And thanks for reading, as always! Next chapter: Unlike Light Yagami, for Lelouch, things don't always go "just as planned".