Took some time but I got this done, here's hoping you'll enjoy it about as much as I enjoyed putting everything together.

Thanks to everyone that read, followed, favorited and/or reviewed.

To the Reviewers:

Sieben Nightwing: Glad you liked it, and here's hoping you'll like this too. While Raven won't be making a physical appearance, he will be referenced and shown in a couple flashbacks, that's the closest thing you'll get to him being around, but I hope you'll enjoy it.

RoyalTwinFangs: Strayed's going to be a pretty crucial piece in the Black Knight's AC designs, he's got the experience handling those after all and is well-versed on their workings, he has studied to become an AC designer while being a fighter. Still, while your are right about guerrilla warfare, such modifications are complicated at best, and he's not too fond of weapons of mass destruction, so sakuradite warheads are out of the question. Enjoy the chapter and I'll be sure to check that animesuki story sometime soon.

Guest (Criticanon): You identified yourself via PM, so I decided to make it known who you were here. You haven't come off as offensive at all, so do not worry about it. As for your comments, you are right on both accounts, Hawk is appearing a bit too perfect, but we're soon going to start seeing that it just won't hold for too long as we delve into his character little by little. What he told Suzaku was meant to get him to think, the only immediate consequence this action will have will be Suzaku starting to pay more attention to what he's doing and being ordered to do instead of just following his superior's orders and shut up, it won't be a drastic change of mind and ideals, I plan to build it well before that happens and it's going to take very long to have any true effect on him.

I do plan to explore the Code Geass world through Hawk's eyes for the very same reasons you have stated, it will start slowly though, but we'll get his opinions on everything that's going on from time to time.

Cj1of4: Your review got me thinking, so I added a couple things to the chapter, now Hawk admits to having been practicing with the Glasgow before the operation and also throws in a guess about why Zero would choose him and not Kallen to pilot it and cover their retreat. I hope that helps make it more understandable. I'm glad you think the story's great and I hope you'll find this chapter to be great as well.

Guest (Unknown): I'm afraid I haven't watched any Ultraman shows, so it is kind of impossible right now. Still, I'll make sure to remember the suggestions and if it comes to it and i do watch the Ultraman series you mentioned, I'll give them a try. Thanks for the praise and enjoy the chapter.

Illium Cadeyrn: Glad to be of help and looking forward to that project, even though I have no idea what you'll be crossing over with.

Your suggestion on the Primal armor matter is welcome and has helped greatly, so I thank you for it. Also, about the ammunition, while I did do it for the sake of simplicity as well, what brought me to the idea was the fact that we never see the NEXT reload the weapon, as in ejecting a magazine and inserting another, this got me thinking that perhaps all the ammunition is stored inside the weapon, which would make the bullets smaller than what we think. I know it's a bit weird, but it makes sense to me.

The Student Council will be used for funny moments, especially the additional events that I can get thanks to Lost Colors, beware of Luluko and Suzako XD. Enjoy the chapter, and the part you're looking forward to is the very first section of the chapter, let's see what you think of it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass or any of its spin-offs, nor do I own anything related to the Armored Core franchise, unless you count my copy of the Armored Core For Answer game, that I do own. All I own that is shown in this story are Hawk Magnus, the design of his NEXT/s, the K-Filter and the SKAI computer installed in the Sky Ruler.

Chapter 05: The Princess and the Amnesiac

Lelouch Lamperouge was shocked beyond belief, his face clearly depicting such a state as his purple eyes widened to the extent of hurting in their attempt to express his surprise and his upper lip twitched repeatedly. Right in front of him and folding paper cranes alongside his sister sat someone who just couldn't be alive, she had taken a bullet to the head, for crying out loud!

But there she was, fresh like a flower, with flowing light green hair and amber eyes, and looking way too healthy to be a walking corpse. So, like he had done when he learned about Hawk's origins, Lelouch took all his notions of logic and science applicable to the situation, threw them right out the window from the highest floor of the Imperial State Building in Pendragon with as much strength as he could muster and a few weights attached for good measure and a nice free fall, and accepted that the girl who had given him his Geass was right there, very much alive and looking at him with a coy smile on her face. Although it would take time to process all that.

"You're pretty late." The girl said with her smile widening as she noticed how much in shock her contractor was, maybe she should have some fun while he came back to the real world. "I hope you weren't doing anything dangerous."

"Come on, miss C.C." Nunnally laughed innocently. "My brother isn't like that. Although I was a bit worried about him getting caught up in the uproar that man named Zero caused."

"Oh, I know." The white clad female replied, still smiling and with slight mockery in her tone. "I was just joking Nunnally, your brother would never ever do something dangerous, right?"

"Of course not." The brown haired girl did not catch the sarcasm in C.C.'s voice, thankfully. "Your friend is really fun, Big Brother. And she's very nice, although I don't really understand why she goes by her initials." Nunnally left the crane she had just folded on the table and then added. "By the way, what do you two know each other from?"

"Oh, nothing much." The other girl replied as Lelouch's brain tried again and again to override the shocked state he was in and failed. "He merely made a promise about our future together, isn't that right?"

"You mean as in proposing?!" It was after that one question that the black haired teen finally snapped out of it and quickly devised a plan to get away and drag that girl with him, he had a few questions for her that needed immediate answer.

"It's nothing like that Nunnally, she was just joking." The eldest Lamperouge explained as he kept his voice calm and approached them.

"No, I wasn't." The green haired girl replied, only to look on as Lelouch picked up her tea and let it fall on the floor, the cup being utterly destroyed upon contact with the unmovable enemy.

"Oh, C.C., look at what you've done. You're soaked now." He said in a half-mocking, half-chastising voice. "Come on, let's get you a change of clothes, you can't stay in those." Lelouch started dragging the girl out the room, displaying much more strength than he usually possessed. "And she was just kidding, Nunnally, all of it was nothing but a very bad joke. I'll send Sayoko to clean this up in a second." He added the last part halfway through the hallway.

"Can you stop pulling? I got the message." C.C. stated as she let herself be dragged into Lelouch's room.

"No, I don't think you did." The teen sighed before locking the door and letting go of her. Lelouch then called Sayoko through the internal phone and asked her to get Nunnally to bed for him and clean up the mess. "Now, you will answer my ques… tions… What are you doing?!"

"Getting ready for bed." She stated as she undressed without any care in the world.

"You think this is a joke?" Lelouch asked, looking away before he saw more than he needed to and the girl slipped under his covers. "That's my bed, you know?"

"A gentleman would sleep on the floor." She replied, making a cute face and trying to look innocent, but the mischief in her eyes gave it all away.

"Don't make me laugh." The exiled Prince told her, looking down at her as he got closer. "You can't stay here, the military must be looking for you."

"It's not all of them, just a small part." The girl stated with a shrug, her tone changing to a monotone one. "So long as I lay low, nothing will go wrong. And a bit of gratefulness for that power I gave you shouldn't be too much to ask for, right?"

"So it was you after all, huh?"

"Dissatisfied?" C.C. asked him.

"On the contrary, I suppose you deserve to be thanked for it." The black haired teen replied with a smirk. "This power and my meeting with Strayed have sped my schedule tremendously, my schedule for Britannia's destruction, that is."

"And you think you can do that with just that power and an oversized Knightmare Frame from who knows where?" The girl asked with curiousness in her eyes.

"I was already planning to do it without any of those things."

"I knew you would turn out to be fascinating." She stated before yawning. "I'm going to sleep now."

"Wait a moment, how the hell are you still alive?" The black haired student asked, realizing he had been drawn away from his topic without even noticing. "And what was that contract you told me about?"

"Good night, Lelouch." The girl replied coldly, leaving no room for argument, and turned around, ignoring him.

"Why must it always be so complicated…?" The black haired teen sighed as he sat down on the floor.

Far from there, Hawk got to his house after leaving the black Glasgow in the Resistance's hideout. He closed the door behind him while he thought about that conversation he and Zero had with Suzaku. The Honorary Britannian reminded him a lot of himself back when he worked for the League. Hopeful, idealistic and a bit naïve, yet good intentioned and capable. The Lynx sighed, it was only a matter of time before something happened that would send the boy in a downwards spiral leading to who knew where if he stayed in the military, and heaven forbid if he ever became a pilot as it could be much worse. Would there be anyone around to reach out for him or would he simply continue to fall when it happened? He didn't know the answer to that one question.

Sighing to himself, the Lynx got to his bed. He had plans for tomorrow, as he had asked Kallen to show him around the Shinjuku Ghetto after school, he wanted to know in which state the place had been left in and how things were going around there. The rest of the Resistance had been shocked at the request, but let it be nonetheless. Even Tamaki had kept his mouth shut, although the blood covered Knightmare Frame Hawk had given back to them might have had something to do with keeping him quiet.

"If I had been on a more advanced machine or in my NEXT, I could have spared them." The Lynx muttered to himself as he thought of the two Sutherlands he had massacred without mercy, the pilots had sounded younger than he was, or Kallen for that matter, probably new recruits. "But as things stood, I had to take them out fast before they took me seriously and asked for reinforcements."

Unable to fall asleep despite how tired he was, the mercenary got up and walked down the stairs to the basement, deciding the Sky Ruler could use some checks and one last attempt at fully repairing it, and he could use a distraction or two before he started recalling every person that he had killed in his life, directly or indirectly.

And so, he spent the whole night working on the Sky Ruler's engine to try and bring the Over Boost and Primal Armor back online. He had managed to get the energy flow back to normal to allow for permanent flight and better firing ratio for the Hi-Laser Cannons the other day, but the other two features seemed to be impossible to repair through normal means, he'd have to replace the components. The main problem was where to find what he needed in order to accomplish that.

"Maybe I should ask Kallen and Ohgi to put on a word to their suppliers, and have Lelouch find what they can't get." The Lynx mused as he showered. "Then again, I better make an accurate part list before I do that. I wouldn't want to miss anything and have to ask for yet another favor." He exited the shower, dried his body, put on his uniform and left towards Ashford Academy, he was probably going to spend the day mentally listing components instead of paying attention.

Later that morning, Suzaku Kururugi was coming out of the central government building in the Settlement. He knew Lloyd and Cecile were supposed to come get him once they had loaded the second experimental Frame, the Lancelot Club, into their truck. But the pair of scientists seemed to be running late for whatever reason.

"Look out below!" A female voice got his attention and he looked up just in time to see a pink haired girl literally falling out of the sky.

Suzaku moved by reflex, catching her gently in his arms so that she wouldn't hit the ground and ended up falling on his back as a result. The girl looked fine though and smiled at him in thanks.

"I'm really sorry about that, I'm afraid I leapt before I looked this time." She told him as she sat on the ground, getting off of him.

"It doesn't matter, it's not like I was expecting a girl to fall from the sky and into my arms." The brown haired boy replied with a chuckle as he stood and offered her his hand. "Is there something wrong?" He asked, noticing her worried expression

"Actually, there is." She smiled with slight mischief in her eyes as he pulled her up. "There are a few bad guys chasing me, you'd do me a really big favor if you could get me out of here."

"I just hope he didn't get tired of waiting and left." Lloyd muttered as he and Cecile drove their truck down the road towards their meeting point. He then noticed something through the corner of his eye. "Oh my!"

"Isn't that Suzaku?" Cécile asked, looking through the window as the Honorary Britannian helped the girl up and talked with her for a few seconds before putting on some sunglasses and walking off with her.

"Let's follow them, I see no reason to interrupt. He was probably put through the third degree because of Zero, so I'll give him the day off to enjoy himself." The male scientist told her as he got comfortable on his seat. If a piece of equipment was overused it would crack, a rest would do wonders for that kid. "It's not like I was going to be in time to teach my class anyway, good thing I warned Lord Ashford beforehand."

"I still don't know how come he doesn't fire you Lloyd, you aren't there even half of the time you should be." His partner replied as they followed the two teens, it would seem Suzaku was showing the girl around the Tokyo Settlement. "I'm surprised your students remember your name."

"What can I say?" He chuckled as he stretched like a feline. "I make great first impressions."

Inside the building they were leaving behind, a plan to eliminate Jeremiah Gottwald for his supposed implication in this Orange affair Zero had brought to light was being discussed. The core members of the Purist faction in Area 11 had gathered, knowing their reputation was at risk because of that fool. The group had decided to trick Jeremiah into going somewhere in the Ghetto on his own and silently assassinate him before he caused any more trouble.

"Then we're in agreement." Lord Kewell concluded, and everyone present nodded. "Today at sunset, Orange will be purged."

"And my sons avenged, if not for Jeremiah's treachery and their beliefs in him, they'd still be alive today..." Another man added in a solemn yet pained tone. "I'm committing my most trusted personnel to help out in this."

"Thank you, Lord Barton." Kewell replied, putting a conforting hand on the man's shoulder.

A few hours later, in Ashford Academy, Kallen had approached Lelouch, who was sitting down on one of the many benches around the school grounds with a laptop on his lap and apparently sorting through all the things he had to get done for the Student Council meeting they had this afternoon.

"So, you can't trace that call back to its source?" The redhead asked, keeping her sick girl façade despite Lelouch having already found out the truth.

"I'm afraid not, it was received by a school phone." The other teen replied, not taking his eyes off the screen, which was actually displaying an article about Suzaku's release, until he had finished reading it. "There's no way to track a call received through an antique like that one."

"I see, no way to do that, huh?" She sighed, her attempts at tracking the ones received by the phone Zero gave her had proven fruitless too. "Thanks anyway." She was about to go about her business when Lelouch's eyes widened in shock at seeing something behind her. Curious about what could have impressed him so, she started to turn around to see it but her cellphone got her attention before she did.

Using the distraction and having noticed the Lynx with his phone in his hand, Lelouch gave a halfhearted apology and dragged the green haired girl out of sight while Kallen was busy with Hawk's text message. It didn't take long for the black haired teen to receive a message himself, one in which the mercenary said he wanted answers on what was happening and why that girl was still alive, but that he wasn't in a hurry, it could wait until the night.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Lelouch snapped at the green haired girl that had used his clothes to stroll around the campus. "You can't go walking around like that, you don't belong here!"

"Relax, I'd never leave the school grounds, so it's fine." C.C. replied monotonously. "Besides, I don't belong anywhere." She added, her tone sad, before something caught her attention, a girl marking a nearby wall with a nail clipper. "What's with her?"

"Oh, is she doing it again today?" Lelouch walked over to the green haired immortal and looked over the railing. "I ordered her to do so every day at this exact hour with my Geass."

"Geass?" C.C asked.

"It's the name of the power, isn't it?" The boy smirked at the apparent surprise in her voice. "It's what you said when we made our contract."

"So you're testing how long it lasts, huh?" She said in monotone before adding. "And using innocents for it."

"I need to know the limitations of this power of mine, now don't I?" Lelouch replied with a shrug before looking slightly scared. "I can only hope Hawk doesn't find out about this one, or I'll be in for an earful, or worse."

"Hawk's the pilot of that giant Frame, right?" C.C. asked, sitting on the railing and looking at the teen's eyes. "The guy that was with you in the truck when you entered it… and he's also a student here."

"Yes, I can tell he's not too fond of this power, even if he admits it has its uses and won't try to make me stop using it." The exiled Prince explained dismissively, not letting her drag him off the topic this time. "But back to what I was saying…"

"Don't worry, Lelouch." The girl told him as she got down from the railing. "I'm not going to do anything that would endanger us or our partnership. I'm your accomplice in this, your partner, so relax."

Lelouch humphed before walking away, he would have to trust her for now, he wasn't even sure if his power would work on the person who had granted it to him to begin with or if she even had a similar power, so it was better to leave her be and slowly gain her trust while analyzing her abilities. Besides, it was time to continue the lessons and then there was a Student Council meeting he needed to prepare for. With a bit of luck they'd be finished about an hour before sunset.

The day had passed rather fast for Suzaku Kururugi, showing Euphy, the girl he had met earlier, around was being a lot more entertaining than he had expected, despite the incident with the cat. They had walked around the Settlement the entire time and she was pleasant company to keep.

"So tell me, could you take me to one more place?" She asked him, her voice slightly more serious than it had been during the day, but he didn't really notice.

"Of course, my lady, where to?" He replied with a small bow, giving the impression that he was a servant and she a Princess, he mentally chuckled as he told himself 'As if.'

"I want to see the Shinjuku Ghetto." She told him, catching the Honorary Britannian by surprise. "Take me there, Suzaku Kururugi, I have to see it with my own eyes." Suzaku was unable to say no, the seriousness in her eyes prevented him from doing so.

It was close to sunset when they finally reached the Ghetto and stopped close to one of the walls around them. They were all decorated with pictures of the deceased, incense and various gifts for the dead. It was a very sad sight for both of them, but they soon found something that caught their attention, something they weren't expecting.

"It really is in bad shape." A male voice Suzaku recognized was heard and the Honorary Britannian soon moved towards it, with Euphy close behind. "Damn, they destroyed as much as they could."

"Hawk. Hawk Magnus, is that you?" The Honorary Britannian asked, finding the brown haired mercenary there accompanied by a redhead he didn't recognize. They were both wearing the Ashford Academy uniform.

"Suzaku Kururugi, good to see you were freed." The Lynx replied with a smile, although he hadn't expected to find him there when he had asked Kallen to show him around, and he had to admit the sunglasses the guy was wearing were pretty cool too, albeit really bad camouflage. "And who's your friend?"

"My name is Euphy, it's a pleasure to meet you." The pink haired girl accompanying him replied politely.

"Likewise, this is my classmate, Kallen Stadfelt." The redhead weakly waved a hand in greeting.

"It's good to see you are well but I have to ask, what would bring two Britannian students here?" The brown haired Devicer was smiling kindly as he spoke.

"Not the same thing that brought those guys over there, that's for sure." Kallen seethed, dropping her mask for an instant as she glared at the two male students who were happily chatting about how cool blown up Elevens were and how awesome the Britannian military was for killing them like they had while taking pictures of the ruins. 'If only they were not in Ashford, I would…'

"Sometimes I feel ashamed of my fellow humans." The Lynx stated in cold anger before walking towards the two students in question, hands in his pockets. "I'll be right back."

"What are you going to do?" Suzaku asked for the three of them.

"I'm going to teach them how it feels to be on the other side of the fork." Hawk replied before the loudest voice on the planet got his attention and caused him to chuckle. "Or I would, if that guy over there hadn't beaten me to the punch."

"Oh, no. I have to stop them before someone gets hurt!" The Honorary Britannian let his duffle bag fall on the ground as he sped towards the quarreling group of three Resistance members and two Britannian students. "Please, stop! Don't fight!"

"Shut up, you punk!" Tamaki yelled as he moved his arm in an arc towards the new voice, hitting whoever was charging at him straight in the face and striking his sunglasses out of his face, which caused him to come face to face with Suzaku Kururugi. "You're…"

"Suzaku Kururugi, Prince Clovis' murderer!" One of the students shouted in terror.

"This guy? Nah." Tamaki spat, glaring at the teen. "The one that killed Clovis was Zero, this clown here's just a pet, a pet for the Britannians to use as they please." The Resistance member smirked before throwing a punch at Suzaku.

It happened in an instant, a small sidestep and the fist travelled an inch away from Suzaku's face, the teenager then moved fast, grabbing his opponent's arm and using his own strength to throw him over his back and make him land on the floor hard with a cry of pain.

"I'll remind you that I have been trained as a soldier." The brown haired teen stated, still holding his opponent by the arm in a hold. "Please don't make me fight my own people."

"Like hell we're your people!" Tamaki countered angrily despite his position and inability to move.

"You're not one of us, that's for sure!" Another member of the Resistance told him as he charged at him, but was promptly thrown out of the way by a kick to the face courtesy of a silver haired teenager dressed in tattered clothes that had just popped out of nowhere.

"Three against one seems hardly fair, now doesn't it?" The newcomer stated, his voice sounded both menacing and very tired. "How about you just leave it be and be done with it?"

"Come on, let's go." Tamaki said in a grumpy tone and Suzaku let him go. Soon, the Resistance members had walked away into the Ghetto.

"Thanks, whoever you are." Euphy told the stranger as she, Hawk and Kallen approached. The two of them hadn't gotten involved to avoid any slip up from Tamaki about their identities. "I'm glad you and Suzaku didn't get hurt"

"You're welcome, I just couldn't stand by and let it happen." He replied with a bit of a smile before his body started swaying back and forth, slightly at first and then wildly as his eyelids seemed to fail in staying open. "Although, if you could get me a place to rest… that would be…" And he almost fell on his face, luckily both Hawk and Suzaku caught him before he did.

"He scared them off and he was about to faint?" The Lynx muttered in astonishment before chuckling. "I've met strange people in my life, but this guy just got to the top ranks in just a few seconds."

"I can't help but agree." Suzaku laughed as well, and Euphy had a small smile on her face. Kallen was torn between smiling and being angry, it was her friends that had been beaten, but it had been their own fault as well. "It's a good thing everyone's fine."

"No, it's not! My camera's broken because of them!" One of the Britannian students shouted, one of them was holding his broken camera, courtesy of Tamaki. "Why did you let them go? You should have killed them!

"Some Honorary Britannian you are!" His friend continued, not noticing they were getting into a fine mess. "And what was up with this guy, fainting like that. If he wasn't going to beat the crap out of them then why even bother coming?"

"You guys agree right?!" The first one asked looking at the other three Britannians present for support, only to be met with fierce glares and looks of askance. "What?"

No one said anything, it was Euphy who made the first move and slapped both of them hard, leaving a hand shaped, crimson red imprint on their cheeks much to their surprise. The two students fell on their backsides and the camera clattered on the ground, finally breaking completely.

"You're going to pay for that, it was my father's!" One of them shouted menacingly.

"Then pick it up and go tell him how you went into the Ghetto with it and nearly got beaten up by Elevens." Hawk told them with an edge in his voice that made a chill run down everyone's spines. "Or would you rather pick another fight that's going to end up in you guys crying for help again? If you have vocal cords left, that is."

The students looked into the Lynx's eyes, detecting the sure promise of a hard beating if they pushed things further, and audibly gulped. They stood silently, picked up the remains of their camera and ran away with as much speed as they could muster while the group of four looked on.

"At least they have survival instinct." He chuckled dryly as he met Suzaku's eyes.

"Was that really necessary?" The Honorary Britannian asked him with a serious look on his face. "You didn't need to threaten them like that, you could have just talked."

"It was the fastest way to end this mess, I'm sure you don't need further problems with the law, right?"

"Besides, they kind of deserved it." Kallen stated, keeping her sickly façade. It had been a miracle those two hadn't recognized her but she didn't want to drop it in front of these people. "As Hawk said, there are times I am also ashamed of my fellow humans."

"So you think Britannia needs to change?" Euphy asked, not looking away from the unconscious teen she was taking care of, and they both nodded in reply. She then added. "If you have the time, we could get him to somewhere more comfortable and talk about this. As long as you don't mind…"

An explosion nearby, and the fact that both Suzaku and Hawk had lunged for one of the girls and pushed them protectively on the ground by sheer reflex, cut her off. A second later, several Sutherlands approached a nearby circular building and moved inside, needless to say, it didn't look like a Britannian military exercise in the least.

"We need to get out of here!" Hawk stated as he analyzed the building. "We don't need to get caught in the crossfire if whatever's going on escalates."

"Agreed! I'll take care of him, you two get going." Suzaku replied, lifting the silver haired teen like a sack and carrying him over his shoulder before offering the pink haired girl his hand. "Come with me, Euphy!"

"Right!" She replied as she took it and he dragged her away, but she still managed to turn towards the other two teenagers and shout. "It was a pleasure to meet you, I hope we'll see each other again!"

"Same here." The Lynx stated before grabbing Kallen's hand and darting off, but instead of going away from the scene he was headed straight for the building were the sounds of fighting were coming from.

"Why are we going there?!" The redhead asked, freeing herself from his grip and running alongside him. There was no need to act frail any longer although she noticed her face was slightly hotter than it should be.

"Whatever's happening, there were only Sutherlands involved, and not enough to be a full Britannian squad." The mercenary explained as they moved, he had learnt to read these sort of situation well while working for the betraying society that was the League of Ruling Corporations. "Plus, they didn't use air transports, meaning that they're either another Resistance group that managed to steal them and are practicing, which is unlikely, or some important people in the government or the military trying to kill each other and not wanting to draw attention in the Settlement. Either way, I think it's worth investigating."

"I suppose you're right, Zero would be interested in both things as well." She replied after a few seconds of processing the information. "So what are we doing?"

"We're checking it out to see what it is, then we report it to the boss." He told her and she nodded as they reached the building and sneaked in, finding a group of ten Sutherlands surrounding a lone one.

"Looks like option two was the right one." Hawk mused as they hid behind some rubble. "And if I'm not wrong, the guy in trouble must be Jeremiah Gottwald, he would fit the."

Further away, Suzaku and Euphy had accidentally been found by Lloyd and Cécile and had entered their truck after being urged by the pair of scientists. At the moment, Suzaku and Lloyd were having a small discussion about whether or not the Lancelot was going in to stop the fighting that was taking place.

"Isn't this a good occasion to gather battle data?" Suzaku asked, and that seemed to do the trick, as the white haired scientist smiled in a catlike manner.

"How very true, I knew I liked you for a reason!" Lloyd complimented excitedly while the brown haired teen ran towards the cockpit, not bothering to change into his pilot suit. "Cécile, go launch the Lancelot and do me a favor and ready the Club as well, just in case."

"But we have no…" The blue haired woman started before her eyes widened and she looked at the corner of the truck, where Euphy was taking care of the boy that had helped them out, then at Lloyd, who had just taken a helmet from a box, a helmet she recognized well. "Please don't tell me you're going to ask the poor, unconscious kid Suzaku brought with him to be the pilot of the Club."

"I have an eye for people, Cécile. And it's telling me this kid over there is as good as our first Devicer." The white haired man smiled like a cat as he spoke and tinkered with the device. "It worked last time, didn't it?"

"I'm ready, Miss Cécile." The impatient Lancelot pilot stated, having initiated the systems already.

"Alright Lloyd, you're the boss. Although Lady Enneagram is probably going to make a fuss about having to wait for the Grail to be completed." The woman sighed before introducing the data in the computer and opening the truck so that the experimental Frame could launch. "Z-01 Lancelot, you're clear for launch."

The machine did not delay even for a second and darted off towards the building that was housing the fighting at maximum speed, Suzaku was aware that the Frame was now armed with an experimental melee weapon called the Maser Vibration Sword, or MVS for short, he had been lucky the Lancelot manual he had read already included instructions on how to wield the weapons.

"I said it once and I'll say it again, he loves to run full throttle out of the gate." Lloyd chuckled as he waited for the helmet to finish its job, the small screen depicted a 51% before the noise from the white and gold Frame's exit woke their unconscious passenger. "Fifty-one percent while unconscious? That's one point higher than what Suzaku scored." He mused as the boy shook and then opened his eyes.

"Where…?" He started groggily as his vision focused on Euphimia's face while Lloyd removed the helmet unnoticed. "Oh, you're one of the girls that was with him, right? With the guy I helped."

"Yes, that's right." Euphy replied with a smile. "I'd like to thank you again, for helping Suzaku out… uhm..."

"Rai, my name is Rai. And it was nothing." The white haired teen said, smiling as well before he looked around, confused. "Where am I?"

"You're in the experimental Frame carrier truck of the ASEEC." Lloyd told him, needless to say he was grinning like a cat while Cécile just shook her head and sighed. "I'm Lloyd Asplund and we're right now in the middle of an improvised, experimental battle."

"Is that why Suzaku took the Lancelot." Euphy asked with a bit of worry. "What exactly is going on?"

"A bunch of fools from the Purist faction are having a quarrel it would seem." Lloyd explained in his usual jovial tone while scratching the back of his head. "And our gallant Suzaku, being how he is, decided to intervene and stop it, and I let him since it would help gathering data for the Lancelot."

"I have to stop them!" Euphy said determined before running off towards the building in question under the astonished looks of the three other people present.

"And it seems Princess Euphimia is about as concerned with the matter as our Devicer." The scientist chuckled before a rather heavy book hit his head, the Club's manual soared through the air and landed in front of Rai.

"Lloyd, she could get killed! We have to stop her." Cécile shouted in distress as the teen picked it up and started reading it out of sheer curiosity, but at a extremely rapid pace.

"Oh, right." The white haired scientist acted as if he had been oblivious to that while rubbing the bump on his head. "We wouldn't want the first thing Princess Cornelia sees when she gets here to be her sister's corpse." He shivered- "She'd hang us all for that, Eleven and Britannian alike."

"Is there any way I can help?" Rai asked, standing up and letting the manual fall on the ground, he had just read through the basics of the Frame and memorized them how he had done so was a mystery even to him.

"That depends, Rai. How much experience do you have in piloting Knightmare Frames?" Lloyd asked with a feline smile, as if all was going as planned, he had noticed the boy reading and had been impressed by his speed.

"I don't know, sir. But I can't just sit here and do nothing after knowing what's going on and that the people who helped me are in danger." The boy replied in a tone that hinted military training, and the look in his eyes was all Lloyd needed to see to know he had been right.

The scientist mentally congratulated his mind's eye and instinct as his grin widened and Cécile sighed dejectedly, knowing they'd be in for an earful from the Knight of Nine when she got to Area 11 and found her assigned unit taken away by an unknown teenager because of Lloyd's whims.

"Congratulations!" He shouted flippantly, throwing him the USB key for the Club, a blue one with silver decorations. "You're officially accepted as a Devicer for the ASEEC, your first assignment will be testing the Club in real combat and fight alongside the Lancelot. Any questions?"

"None." The boy replied, again hinting military training in his voice, and walked towards the open cockpit of the silver Frame.

"I hope you know what you're doing, Lloyd." The blue haired woman stated and her boss grinned at her.

"Oh, trust me. I have a lot of expectations on our mysterious new member." He told her with that ever present smile on his face and she just sighed again before preparing the launch sequence.

"Z-01/C Lancelot Club, you're clear for launch." And like its predecessor, the silver and blue Frame darted off towards fight, passing by a running Euphimia in the process of approaching the building and slowly but surely catching up to its white and gold counterpart which was just now jumping up the wall said structure.

"Lord Kewell! What is the meaning of this?!" Jeremiah had asked that question over and over as he did his very best to hold his own against the other ten members of the Purist faction that were trying to end his life.

"You should already know, Margrave Jeremiah." The blond haired second-in-command of the faction stated hatefully, spitting the title of the man that had disgraced them. "Princess Cornelia is due to arrive soon, and we wouldn't want a worm like you, that accepts bribes from scum such as Zero, to be here when she lands."

"For the last time, I have never heard of Orange, I have no idea what that is!"

"Then why did you let that man go?!" Another member asked. "Don't try to cover yourself with something as stupid as that you don't remember, Bartley offered that excuse and you made him pay regardless."

"But I'm telling the truth! It was all a trick from Zero! It's all his fault!" The blue haired Margrave replied desperately, being distracted long enough for a shot to disable his right arm and another to destroy one of his Land Spinners. Four of the Sutherlands charged at him, lances in hand and ready to skewer him alive as their pilots shouted All Hail Britannia. "No, I can't die. Not here! Not without having proven my loyalty to Lady Marianne after so long!"

"Stop this meaningless battle!" A voice shouted as a Slash Harken caught each of the Sutherlands charging at him by surprise, disarming them and blocking their advance. "You're all Britannian soldiers, there's no reason for you to fight each other!"

"Looks like our mysterious white knight decided to join in." Hawk mused from the spot he and Kallen were hidden. "And he's bringing new gadgets."

"Are those swords?" The redhead asked as she eyed the additions on the sides of the Frame's cockpit.

"The Special Corps has nothing to do with this, get out of our way!" Kewell shouted as the six Sutherlands armed with ranged weaponry opened fire on the Lancelot.

"I can't do that!" The pilot replied as the Blaze Luminous blocked the shots. "We are all on the same side, this battle is pointless!"

"Suzaku Kururugi… is saving me… after all I did to him." Jeremiah muttered, not being heard outside his Sutherland.

"All who interfere will die!" One of the Purists shouted as he threw the lance he recovered at the white Frame, only for it to be slashed apart by the blood red swords the Lancelot had just had unsheathed.

"No, no one dies today as long as I have something to say about it." The Eleven pilot stated fiercely as he readied himself for battle, crossing both weapons in front of the Lancelot's chest.

"They completed the MVSs?!" Kewell's voice trembled for a moment. "Still, we outnumber him ten to one, get Orange and then we'll deal with him!" He then shot the other Land Spinner on Jeremiah's Frame to stop him from escaping any time soon.

The Lancelot jumped down towards the middle of the arena like structure they were fighting in, landing close to the Margrave's Sutherland to protect him. He shot the Slash Harkens on his right side at one of the approaching Frames, sending the assault rifle in its hands flying through the air and taking out the Factsphere before turning towards the closest enemy Sutherland and repeating the move with the left side ones. The other eight enemies stopped on their tracks and put some distance between the white Frame and their own after witnessing its power.

"Surround them and strike at that same time. He can't stop us all at once!" Kewell commanded and the Purists did as told, circling around the Lancelot until it was the right moment to strike.

'This is bad, even if the Lancelot could deal with them easily, I have to protect Lord Jeremiah and he can't move. The moment I advance towards one of the sides, the other will take the chance and strike.' Suzaku's mind was racing as he tried to predict which would be the best course of action, but that had always been Lelouch's specialty, not his. "I'd really need a bit of help in this one."

As if on cue, a silver and blue machine that seemed to share the Lancelot's design, although its face was decorated with a large blue horn, kicked one of the Sutherlands away before cutting off the Factsphere with the right arm's Slash Harken. The unit then back flipped, landing perfectly behind the Lancelot and effectively creating a better protection around Lord Jeremiah's Sutherland.

"They had more than one of those, huh?" Hawk mused aloud as he observed the newcomer. It had the same emerald eyes and the same type of Slash Harkens as its sister unit, it probably shared that green shield as well, but it wasn't carrying the red swords that the Lancelot had. "Now I know Zero will be interested in this."

"You're right. That thing was what beat us in Shinjuku, and now there's two of them to deal with." Kallen agreed as she observed the situation as well. "This could be problematic for whatever Zero's planning, right?"

"That depends, if he knows of their existence and abilities he may be able to think up a countermeasure for them. Our job right now is to make sure he gets as much information as possible." The Lynx explained, not taking his eyes from the fight. "A pity we don't have any way to record it for showing."

"The Club, they found a pilot for it in such a short amount of time?!" Kewell was dumbstruck. "But I thought that unit was made for the Knight of Nine! Does that mean she's here already?"

"Suzaku, we need to move this guy somewhere where they can't surround us." Rai told the Honorary Britannian over a private channel, showing his face on the screen. "You've got more weapons than I do so you'll have to open a way, I'll carry this guy and follow you."

"I have no idea why Lloyd let you pilot the Club, but I won't look at a gift horse in the mouth." Suzaku replied, preparing to do his part. "Could you at least tell me who I'm fighting alongside with?"

"My name's Rai, I'd like to tell you more but time's rather scarce at the moment."

"Understood, let's get to know each other better once this fight is over." The brown haired teen moved the controls and the Lancelot charged towards one of the sides while the Club lifted Jeremiah's Sutherland much to everyone's surprise and followed after him. "Get out of the way!" Suzaku shouted over the open channel.

The Lancelot duo plunged through the encirclement as if it was made out of paper, with Suzaku disabling two more of the Sutherlands and Rai taking care of a pursuing one by firing his hip mounted Harkens backwards as he fled. Only four enemies remained and Jeremiah was safe and sound, being protected by the two experimental Frames and with a wall behind him to avoid anyone sneaking up from behind them.

"You damn pests, why are you interfering?!" Kewell shouted enraged. "That man's a traitor that should die before he disgraces us any further."

"Then capture him and give him a fair trial!" Rai replied through the speakers as the Club prepared for further fighting. "Handling it like this and sweeping it under the rug is not going to solve any of your problems!"

"He's right, even if what you say is true he deserves a chance to answer for his actions in court." Suzaku added, MVSs at the ready to continue even if he didn't want to. "Please listen to reason and stop this meaningless battle!"

"Tsk. So be it." Kewell feigned to give in but he was sending a text message to his other three subordinates, they were to use the Chaos Mines to finish the job, he'd make up some excuse to justify the damage to the Lancelot units, even if he had to pay them out of his pockets with his family's money.

"Then you understand!" Suzaku smiled for a moment, thinking they had gotten through their thick skulls, only to be proven wrong when the four cylinders flew in their direction.

"Stop this fight at once!" Euphimia commanded as she reached the place, only to find herself standing by the two experimental machines and Jeremiah's wrecked Sutherland just as the Chaos Mines went off.

Both Pilots reacted fast, Suzaku stood firm in front of Jeremiah, Blaze Luminous at full power and ready for anything they threw at him. He could only hope this rain of death was not as powerful as the cannons the machine he fought in Shinjuku carried on its back or it would be for naught. Rai moved right in front of the pink haired Princess and did the same thing, determined to save the girl's life, both she and Suzaku had helped him out and got him somewhere safe after all, he was going to return the favor.

The countless iron pellets rained down on the two machines, both pilots more worried about the person they were protecting than their own life. Rai took a moment to think that, for an amnesiac with no memories other than his first name, he was pretty good at using this unit he had never even stepped on in his life, but soon filed it away for later.

After what seemed like an eternity, the deadly rain stopped and once the dust and smoke cleared, Kewell and his people were greeted by the sight of two very menacing looking Knightmare Frames and an even more menacing pinkette girl that they all soon recognized as Euphimia Li Britannia, slowly coming to understand that they had almost killed an Imperial Princess.

"Isn't that the girl that was with Suzaku?" Hawk asked as they both observed the scene, they had been lucky enough to be out of the Chaos Mines' range but they were also out of hearing range of whatever she was saying.

"What's she doing there? I thought they were leaving."

"Speaking of which, we should do that. We don't need to get caught now if Suzaku ends up following after her and someone spots us." Kallen nodded and they both sneaked away from the spot a few seconds before Suzaku and Rai opened the cockpit of the Lancelots and showed themselves.

"We are sorry, Your Highness." Kewell and the rest of the Purist's whose units were functional kneeled them in front of Euphy as both teen reached the ground and walked up to the girl.

"My Lady." Suzaku started before kneeling, "I apologize for treating you so familiarly throughout the day."

"I should do that too." Rai kneeled as well. "And I thank you for aiding me today."

"Please stand, both of you." She told them with an unreadable expression on her face just as one last Sutherland entered the scene, piloted by Villetta Nu. "I'd like a few words with you both, please follow me."

"Lord Jeremiah, are you alright?!" The dark-skinned woman shouted as she eyed the wrecked Frame of her superior, who was now coming out of it.

"I am fine Villetta, and I never thought I'd say this but I have Suzaku Kururugi to thank for it." The Margrave admitted. He hated the numbers, yes, but he was not so conceited as to not give credit where it was due. "Although I wouldn't be in this mess had Zero not done whatever he did to me when he snatched him away the other day."

"You still claim that, Orange!" Kewell shouted menacingly. "Cut the crap, we all know what…"

"Silence!" Euphimia commanded with as much authority as she could muster, which seemed to be sufficient. "No further fighting shall happen in my sight, is that clear Lord Kewell?"

"Yes, Your Highness." The blond man replied between his teeth. "We're leaving."

Once the Purist faction had left and Villetta had carried Jeremiah away for treatment of his wounds, Lloyd and Cécile arrived at the scene. The white haired scientist was smiling like the Cheshire cat as the Princess and his two Devicers talked about what had happened, it was then that a question got his attention.

"So, what can you tell us about yourself, Rai?" The pinkette asked with a smile, hoping to divert from the topic she had brought up with Suzaku, a topic that had been rather depressing. "I'd also like to know if there's something I could do to thank you for helping Suzaku stop the fighting… and saving my life."

"I'm afraid I can't tell you much, Your Highness." The boy replied with a sad smile as he rubbed the back of his head. "I woke up around here a couple days ago. All I remember is my name and nationality, and I also know now that I am skilled in piloting Knightmare Frames. Everything else is a blur, like a thick fog I just can't manage to pierce through."

"Oh, my." Euphimia exclaimed in surprise before she added in a sad voice. "I'm sorry, I did not know."

"But if you moved the Club like that, then it means you're a trained Knightmare pilot. And you're also Britannian, right?" Rai nodded at Suzaku's question, he knew he was Britannian, it was one of the few things he did know.

"Then all you need to do is stay with us." Lloyd concluded smiling, getting into the conversation and startling them. "Think about it, if you're from the Britannian military then the best way to know who you are is to stay there and find someone who recognizes you, right? And we are part of the military."

"Lloyd, don't you go enlisting people without their consent!" Cécile told him, but he waved her off.

"Actually, that's a good idea." The silver haired teen replied with a kind smile after considering it. "But are you sure you guys don't mind?"

"So long as you keep piloting the Club and showing the results you showed today, you can go around dancing in the nude inside the truck for all I care." Lloyd stated happily and without a sign of embarrassment, getting more than a few nervous chuckles from the people around him.

"Regardless, there's one thing I have decided to do." Euphimia started after a few seconds of silence. "You are both old enough to be in high school, and perhaps that would help Rai with his memories as well, so how about I get you two into one of the schools in the Settlement?"

"But I'm an honorary Britannian, Your Highness! There's no way they would accept me in a Britannian School."

"You seem to be forgetting, Suzaku, that the girl in front of you is the most powerful woman on Area 11 at the moment." Lloyd told him, grin plastered across his face. "There's next to nothing she can't get you right now."

"Please don't say those things, Earl Asplund." Euphimia replied, slightly embarrassed.

"Wait, Lloyd's an Earl?!" Both Rai and Suzaku were shocked at the information as their heads turned towards the scientist.

"Oh, yes I am. But it's been a really long time since anyone's called me that." The scientist replied absently. "Back to the matter on hand, I could suggest a school for these two, Your Highness. After all, I work there as a teacher. It's my cover to find promising Devicers among the young Britannians." He clarified before adding. "The people in my class are rather nice and I am sure they'd give them both a warm welcome."

"I'll take your suggestion, Earl Asplund." Euphimia replied happily and Suzaku soon remembered that both Lelouch and Hawk were in Lloyd's class, and Nunnally was probably in that school as well. He was happy for a moment but then thought that, should anything happen because of him being an Eleven in a Britannian school, they'd be dragged into it if he acted friendly towards them. The same thing would happen if he appeared close to Rai while in school.

"By the way, Rai. Since you don't know your surname and we are a bit alike in looks… I'll inscribe you as Rai Asplund, you're my younger cousin until we find out who you really are. How does that sound?" Lloyd asked the white haired teen who looked taken aback for a second but soon nodded with a smile. "Well then, we better get Her Highness to the central building soon, I'm sure your sister is about to arrive."

"And I have just been told that Lady Enneagram joined her to start getting used to her prototype." Cécile added to Lloyd's dismay, it was the first time anyone present but Cécile saw anything that was not reminiscent of smile on the man's face.

"I'll go get my earplugs ready, I'm sure they'll help." The white haired scientist stated, dragging himself towards the truck. "And before you say it, Rai, no, you can't lend her the Club, she'll wait for the Grail. We'll even customize it for her and be done with it."

xxxxxxxxxxxx

"So another of those new models has appeared, huh?" Lelouch had listened to Hawk's report intently as they spoke through the video feed they had finally managed to get. "I should have expected it. Still, it's little more than a nuisance now that I know what it's capable of."

"Careful, don't let your victory in your debut get to your head." The Lynx warned, the exiled Prince seemed to be getting quite overconfident in a very short amount of time. "They can still upgrade and equip them with new things."

"He's right, you know?" C.C. agreed from the bed. She was sitting in front of a stack of Pizza boxes and eating one after another as if she had a black hole for stomach. "Pride comes before a fall."

"I'll be careful." The black haired teen replied. "Now then, I owe you an explanation, now don't I?"

"You do, yes."

"In short, C.C. is immortal." The Lynx nearly spat the water he was drinking when he heard that. "She can get shot wherever and her body will heal in a matter of time, I suppose how long it takes depends on the severity of the wound."

"Considering I jumped from one Earth to another through a massive explosion, I'd say immortality is not that hard to believe in." Hawk said after he had gotten over the initial surprise. "I'll assume she was being experimented on by the Britannians."

"I was, yes." The girl replied. "And then the Resistance got me, thinking I was poison gas, the rest, as they say, is history."

"And you granted Lelouch this power of his for a reason you won't reveal." C.C. nodded at the mercenary's question. "This is starting to feel like a reunion of the League, everyone hiding something and only revealing what they deem necessary."

"We're going to fight that sort of war now with that sort of allies. Can you do it?" Lelouch asked him.

"I could do it before and I can do it now." The Lynx replied, frowning as he sighed. "But that doesn't mean I have to like it."

"I suppose that's right." The exiled Prince chuckled. "We're going to keep gathering information for now, until it's time to make our next move."

"Understood." Hawk replied before the line was cut. "I need to get used to this. When I joined ORCA, it was already a fine and working organization. This time I'm in it from the beginning, I have to understand that things are not going to be as good until we get to the level." He muttered to himself as he climbed up the stairs and got to his room, ready to get some sleep.

"Aren't you trusting that guy too much?" C.C. asked as Lelouch shut down the laptop.

"He's hard to predict at times, but he hates Britannia, and knows that he can't bring it down alone." The raven haired teen explained with a grin. "That's why he won't betray me as long as he thinks that I am the only one that can bring about a better world."

"And if he does find that person?"

"Things could get really grim." Lelouch replied, sweating a bit at the prospect as he showed a nervous smile. "He's a one man army, taking him down would take a lot of effort and resources, I'd be challenged even if I had an army at my disposal. His talent in piloting is astounding, his reflexes and intellect are top notch, and he has the experience of two wars in his pocket."

"Then you better stay on his good side." The green haired girl said monotonously, although there was a small hint of amusement in her voice. "Now tell me one more thing. Why do you want to change the world?"

"For someone who does not answer my questions, you sure ask a lot of them." The raven haired teen chuckled as he looked at her.

"You could always stay silent like I do." She stated with a small smile.

"Tell me, is it good to be strong?" Lelouch started, looking out the window. "Is it so good that the weak must be discarded because they are not good enough? I saw war with my own eyes seven years ago, I saw the suffering, the filth, the decay and the consequences." He took a deep breath. "I want a world where Nunnally can be happy, a world where the word war does not exist and we don't need to lose any more loved ones."

"And to have that utopia you seek, what would you do?"

"It's actually quite simple." Lelouch replied grinning. "All the suffering will end when someone wins and stops the problem."

"So you plan to control the entire world to make it stop? Taking lives now to avoid more of them being snuffed away in the future?" The boy nodded at her questions and she allowed herself another small smile. "You are indeed fascinating, Lelouch Vi Britannia."

Well then, chapter's over, and I'm pretty satisfied with it. Even if I did write Lelouch and C.C.'s meeting while half asleep.

In case you're wondering, the topic Euphimia tried to change there at the end was the same one she and Suzaku spoke of in the original episode five of Code Geass R1, that scene that keeps changing from Lelouch to Suzaku as they speak of the what they saw seven years ago while she and Suzaku look around Shinjuku.

Now then, next topic: Rai. I know he looks, and is, a bit broken, but the guy is like a fusion of Lelouch and Suzaku with a bit of Gino thrown into the mix in the looks department. He's an excellent pilot and great tactician so I wanted to convey that here by having him pilot the Club with just a fast read of the controls and to be the mind of the battle. Still, he's not as good as any of them in their fields, although he can pull a victory or two if he catches them off guard. Additionally, as some may have guessed, he is my surprise for Euphimia, so any SuzakuxEuphy fans can start hating me right about now, just let me tell you I do like that pairing myself, I just wanted to try something different in my story. Also, Rai has his Geass, he just doesn't remember it yet and he won't be remembering it for while.

And finally, Next chapter: Cornelia arrives with two additional characters and Saitama happens, but differently and with more people. We'll also get to know about the Answerer's whereabouts at the end of that chapter. And then, a chapter later, the Black Knights' debut in Kawaguchi, I'm really looking forward to writing that but Saitama comes first, expect it to be a long battle too, as I have various fronts to cover there in order to make it work the way I want it to.

Well then, nothing more to say so let's see what your thoughts on the chapter are. Please review and do not flame (Lelouch and Rai command you at the same time).