Heyoh! Happy Monday Everyone!

-}+{-

"Zeroo~!" the eunuch shouted as the masked terrorist walked into his chambers with Li Xingke. "It is good to see you!"

"Lord Gao Hai." Zero replied. "I must thank you for your co-operation, but I must ask, why do you support the Black Knights in such a way?"

"Isn't it obvious~?" he giggled in his high-pitched voice. "I love Lord Zero~! You are the only one I wish to serve~!"

'I see…' Lelouch realised. "And what of Empress Tianzi?"

"She is but a child~!" Gao Hai retorted, referring about the young Empress of the Chinese Union. "What could she offer me?"

"One should ask, 'what could you offer her'?"

"Hm~?"

"Your Empress is young and inexperienced, and relies on the wisdom and experience of those around her." Zero declared. "Yet, you use her innocence to rape China and fill your own bellies, even risking war with Britannia to satisfy your selfish desires of harbouring S-CLASS TERRORISTS!"

Gao Hai glared. "I do not like your tone, Zero~!"

"I do not accept YOUR way of THINKING!" Zero shouted, drawing a katana from behind his cape. "I, Zero, exist to PURGE those who abuse their power! You make Britannia look responsible."

"Seize him~!"

No body moved.

"Do you see?" Zero asked him with pity. "Even your own countrymen are disgusted."

SLIT

Zero wiped the blade clean on Gao Hai's robes as the eunuch's head rolled several feet from his corpse. "I have removed the leech from your ranks. My end of this bargain is fulfilled."

"Thank you, Zero." Xingke replied. "You and your men are welcome to stay here as long as you need. However, I do not intend to become friends with you."

"You are surprisingly political for a military mind such as yourself." Zero complimented the huge soldier. "You want to use me, but not the risk of allying yourself with me."

Xingke turned around, not acknowledging his words. Lelouch smirked under his mask, realising just how politically savvy the man was. "Regardless, you respect the lives of those under you. I admire that."

"Long live the BLACK KNIGHTS!" Tamaki shouted, throwing his white prisoner robes into the air.

"BANZAI!" many others shouted, tossing their robes into the air in the same fashion.

"Alright, what should we do about Zero's identity?" C.C. asked those gathered in the room. Neither Lelouch, Kallen, Ashford nor Rivalz questioned how she got to the embassy. That was just C.C. "We're the only ones inside the organisation who know, but…"

"Let's keep it like that." Lelouch stated from behind his desk, Zero's mask placed by his elbows.

"Lelouch." Kallen asked, standing up. "Am I captain of Zero's bodyguards like I was before?" she asked.

"Yeah, if you still want the job." Lelouch told her.

"Got it." She replied, taking her ho-oh from the desk and walking to the door. "I'll go retrieve the rest of my team then. I'll leave everything else to you lot."

"Thank you, Kallen." Lelouch told her with a smile as she left, before turning to Rivalz. "Rivalz, since you took Urabe's regirock, how would you feel about joining the four Heavenly Blades?"

"Seriously?" Rivalz asked, shocked.

Lelouch nodded. "He entrusted it to you. Besides, from what I saw, you've grown more than skilled enough to fight as one of them. What do you say?"

Rivalz smirked. "One of the elite, huh? Man, that'd be intense." He held up a hand and Red tossed the heavy ball into his metal palm. "Thanks man."

Once he left, C.C. turned to Lelouch and Ash. "We'll talk about Geass later." She said. "Right now, we-"

"I know." Lelouch said from behind his mask. "We have work to do."

"Man, I do all that work retrieving the legendaries and parties for almost three hundred and don't I get any thanks?"

"Thank you, Ashford." Zero told him. "Shall I introduce you as the Knight of One, or…"

"Red'll do just fine." He replied, standing up and hiding his face under his cap. "In fact, don't introduce me. People will figure it out."

"Aww hell yeah!" Sugiyama shouted, holding up the black clothes. "Black Knights uniforms! Man, this takes me back!"

"I KNOW!" Tamaki shouted, wrapping the red strap around his forehead.

"And pokémon too!" Sugiyama shouted in response. "Man, I'm surprised that they were able to prepare all this-"

"Prime! Prime!"

Sugiyama turned to be tackled by a large ball of fluff. "O-okazi!" he shouted, recognising the primeape that had been taken from him after being captured nine months ago. "I never thought I'd see you again!"

Not everyone was re-united with their pokémon again, though. Again, the pokémon taken from the Britannian stockpile were mostly strangers to the Knights, though some pokémon recognised their old masters, and their new trainers usually agreed to trade.

The average Knight's team as made of half their old pokémon, and some new ones that they would now have to get used to.

Toudou, however, was happy to receive his beloved regigigas Zangetsu from Kallen as she explained how Urabe had fallen. "So he died honourably…" he managed, looking at the night sky.

Chiba looked at the two from the opposite end of the pond while stroking her beloved suicune. "Who knows what's going to happen next? Just confess to him already." The bespectacled Asahina told her from atop his regice.

"Wh-confess what!" Chiba blurted.

"IT'S ZERO!"

Everyone dropped what they were doing and turned to look at the door to the building the Chinese Embassy had given the Knights, were Zero was standing, coiled in his cloak. "Wait, wait!" Chiba shouted, leaping over the crowd atop her suicune, and looking up at the masked man as the din grew silent.

"You have my thanks for saving us." She told him. "However, had you not betrayed us, there would have been no need for us to be saved."

"Shouldn't you say something about it?" Asahina asked from atop his regice.

"Zero, what happened back then?" Ohgi asked.

"Japan was liberated." Zero declared. "My purpose had been achieved. When you let Japan fall again, that was a separate matter entirely."

"Wait… YOU'RE SAYING THIS IS OUR FAULT!" the aged Senba shouted from his registeel's shoulder.

"Not even an apology or an excuse?" Asahina spat.

"ENOUGH!"

Everyone turned to see Silver standing atop his entei. "Zero is an absolute bastard who dropped us at the last second, leaving the job half done before disappearing for nine months. Think about it."

"I can assure that I was not pregnant." Zero declared, giving Silver an annoyed glare beneath his mask that the red-haired teen couldn't see. "As it was, I went to confront Charles Zi Britannia in person."

That turned heads. "I lost." He declared. "I underestimated the man, and spent nine months living as a shell of my former self. Had it not been for those who fought to revive me, you would all be dead and I would be incapable of caring. That is why I didn't return. It's a miracle that I can even stand before you this day in itself!"

"You expect us to believe this bullshit!" Sugiyama shouted as Toudou stepped out of the crowd. Suddenly, the garden went silent.

"Zero." The man stated calmly as he walked up the steps towards the masked man. "You left to make a move against Britannia, and to secure our victory, am I correct?"

"I always strive for results." Zero answered.

"Understood." Toudou nodded, before turning around and facing the crowd. "There are times that the contents of an operation must be kept secret!" he declared, standing on Zero's left. "The fact is that we need Zero's abilities NOW! And I know of no-one else with superior talents!"

"Same here." Ohgi shouted, running to stand beside Zero's right hand. "Believe in Zero, everyone!"

"But, Zero's just using you as his pawn…" Minami muttered.

"WHO ELSE COULD DO THIS!" Ohgi bellowed. "WHO ELSE COULD WAGE WAR AGAINST BRITANNIA! NOT THE CHINESE UNION! EVEN THE E.U. ARE LOSING TO PRINCE SCHNEIZEL." He took a deep breath. "We are the hope for all the Areas!" Ohgi declared loudly, measuring his voice. "In order for us to win this war for independence, We need ZERO AS OUR LEADER!"

"THAT'S RIGHT!" Tamaki shouted, leading the chant. "ZERO! ZERO! ZERO! ZERO! ZERO! ZERO! ZERO!"

"Just to let you know." Silver told Zero from behind him under the din of the cheering. "If you ever, ever do something like that again, I will kill you. People need to believe in Zero, but if you ever even think of letting us down, I will kill you and take up the mask myself. I may not be as good as you, but I can certainly keep their dream alive."

"Your tongue is as Silver as your name." Lelouch smirked from behind his mask, the cheers stopping anyone other than the three men around him from hearing his words.

"Just a heads up, pops messed with your memories for only three things." Ashford told Lelouch when he returned home, raising a finger. "One, anything to do with you being a prince, including mom and the fact that you were exiled here. Two," he continued, raising a second one. "He replaced all your memories about Nunnally to memories of either being with me or being by yourself, so no Sayako either. Three," he concluded, raising a third finger, "Anything about you being Zero, having the Geass, knowing C.C., or being involved in the Black Knights."

"I know." Lelouch replied, slipping his helmet off. "What's your point?"

"My point is that Rolo's replacement is coming in tomorrow morning, and your memories about him haven't changed."

"Suzaku?" Lelouch asked.

Ash nodded. "Also, a heads up, after the whole 'Black Knights and the army taking on deoxys' thing last year, you, Milly and Shirley are pretty much the only kids in the school that were there, everyone else left, quite sensibly too. Even Misty dropped out to work on the gym full time."

"Milly's grandfather owns the school, so that is understandable." Lelouch sighed. "But, why would Shirley still be here?"

"Do I have to answer that?" Ash asked with a smirk.

Lelouch smirked in turn. "No, I know what you mean." He sighed. "Even that girl I geassed to mark the wall was forcibly dragged by her parents back to wherever they come from."

"I wonder what's happened to her?" Ash asked.

"She most likely found another wall to mark, or she's trying to swim across the ocean." Lelouch sighed. Ash winced at the thought, but his brother just shook his head tiredly and changed the subject. "So, Suzaku's going to be transferring into my class tomorrow?"

"Yep." The younger sibling nodded. "Bringing two more knights with him."

"Four knights for little old me?" Lelouch asked in a sing-song voice. "I feel honoured- what is it?" he asked, seeing the look on his brother's face.

"Tucker." Ash groaned in a deadpan voice. "Of all the people he could've brought with him, he brought Tucker."

"What's wrong with Tucker?" Lelouch asked, wondering who could worry the Knight of One like this.

"Nothing, I suppose." Ash managed. "I mean, he's a great guy, just a bit…"

"A bit what?"

Ash sighed. "He dresses in a pink leotard and dances everywhere." He explained. "The only reason anyone respects him is because of his power. Or his dancing. Either way, I don't exactly get on with him."

"I see." Lelouch sighed. "I'm off to bed then. How long will it be before we get those portable telepads?"

"Eh, couple of days or so." Red yawned. "You really did a number on Silph Co.'s research budget when you bombed, you know?"

"Yeah, yeah." Lelouch sighed, climbing the stairs.

"Starting today, I have returned to Ashford Academy." Suzaku introduced himself to the class the next day. "My name is Suzaku Kururugi. I look forward to working with you all."

Lelouch ignored the whisperings around him as his eyes locked onto his opponents. "Lord Kururugi has returned to Area Eleven on a special assignment!" Villetta declared. "Suzaku, take your seat next to Lelouch for now."

"Yes ma'am." Suzaku nodded as Lelouch unclenched his fist. 'Suzaku. You were my very first friend.' Lelouch thought to himself as the Knight of Five approached him. 'However, war tore us apart. In the second pacific war, Britannia annexed Japan. As the loser of the war, Japan became a Britannian colony. I, who was thrown away by my country, and you, who was forced to throw away his country, were friend and foe when we met again. You are Japanese, yet a Britannian soldier. I am Zero. We hid our identities, and we fought each other.'

'However, those were my real memories.' He concluded as Suzaku stood at the empty seat next to Lelouch, both giving each other a look that certainly wasn't a glare of pure hatred. 'However, if I am to keep up this charade of innocence, then right now, we're…'

"It's been a long time, Suzaku." Lelouch told him with a smile.

Suzaku forced a smile himself. "This brings back memories, Lelouch." He replied as Shirley came from behind.

"Suzaku!" she shouted as the classroom door opened. "Long time no see!"

"I heard Suzaku's come back!" Milly shouted, poking her head through the portal.

"President, we're in the middle of class right now…" Lelouch complained.

"Oh, whatever Lulu!" Shirley groaned. "Stop being so serious at a time like this!"

'You made a mistake, Suzaku.' Lelouch thought to himself as Shirley nagged at him. 'You came over to me with just the name, Lelouch. In other words, your actions tell me that you think you know about my situation already. Even if Ash hadn't warned me, I would still have the upperhand.'

"So, even the teachers left?" Suzaku asked.

"Yeah, so us three are the only ones who know you." Lelouch explained over lunch as Ashford rushed over. "Ah, Suzaku, this is my brother-"

"Hey, long time no see, Knight O' Five!" Ash smirked as he sat down. "Sorry I haven't been able to talk to you since you were knighted, I've just been spending some quality time with my brother."

"No, I completely understand." Suzaku replied, much to Milly's and Shirley's surprise and Lelouch's groaning.

"Wait, you two know each other?" Shirley asked in shock.

"Oh , err, did I just say something I wasn't supposed to?" Suzaku asked with concern.

"It wasn't you who said something wrong…" Lelouch sighed, slamming his forehead against the table.

"Oh, I never told you two, did I?" Ash asked. "Right, I'm the Knight of One."

"EEEEhh!"

"That's why we didn't tell you…" Lelouch sighed as Shirley grabbed the scruff of his neck and lifted him off the table.

"W-wait, Lulu, you knew and you didn't tell us!"

"Yep." He sighed, completely devoid of energy.

"WHY!" she shouted, shaking him violently.

"Because this is how you'd react." Lelouch sighed.

She dropped him angrily. "Honestly…" she pouted, then returning to concern as Lelouch's head hit the table loudly. "Lulu!"

"He's fine." Ash told her. "If anyone can get by losing a few brain cells, it's him."

"Thanks for the concern." Lelouch sighed, getting up and rubbing his head. "So, yeah. That's why you don't recognise anyone Suzaku." He told him, changing the subject.

"Hey, you actually saw Zero's face, didn't you?" Milly asked Suzaku. "What kind of person was he? Is it true that Zero's a woman?"

"What about the rumour that he was really Prince Clovis?" Shirley asked. "Or some other prince from another country?"

"Hey, you can tell us, right?" Lelouch asked, egging Suzaku on.

"Forgive me, but I really can't." Suzaku apologised. "It's classingh!" he grunted, wincing as a persian gnawed in leg.

"Hey, isn't that Arthur?" Shirley asked. "You brought him with you?"

"Wow, hasn't he grown?" Milly asked, kneeling down to pet him.

"Well, whatever." Lelouch sighed. "How about you?" he asked Ash. "You've seen Zero's face, haven't you?"

"Hey, I can't tell you either!" Red protested.

"What, not even to your older brother?" Lelouch taunted as bedlam ensued around Suzaku, the girls and the cat on the opposite side of the table.

"From your contact with him, did you notice anything?" Villetta asked Suzaku, analysing the tapes of Lelouch in the command room.

"No, not really." Suzaku admitted.

Villetta nodded. "Then, we can conclude that the target really hasn't regained his memori-"

"Hold on." Suzaku stopped her. "I think we should continue the investigation."

"Why?" Red asked. "You doubt our surveillance?"

"There's the matter of C.C. to consider as well." Suzaku countered. "Just continue playing the brother as you were-"

He quickly froze as he felt a scythe hovering on his neck.

"Playing?" Red asked in a deathly tone, standing behind the scyther which had its blade to Suzaku's throat. "Lelouch is my brother, and don't forget who outranks who here."

"I apologise, my lord." Suzaku nodded, and Red recalled the scyther, keeping his glare on the Japanese Knight.

"The student council are hosting a party for you in three days." Villetta continued, choosing to ignore the confrontation. "Get confirmation again there."

"Understood." Suzaku nodded, rubbing his neck. "That scyther's been trained to just miss the jugular, hasn't he?" he asked Red.

"Actually, I'm teaching it boxing." Red said casually.

"Boxing?" Suzaku asked, interested despite himself. "Why would you do that?"

Red rubbed his chin with a smirk. "For the closest shave a man can get."

"Sir?" Lelouch asked his teacher, removing the lens for his Geass. "Would you please ignore all anomalies related to Ashford and I?"

"Fair enough." His history teacher replied, turning around past the approaching Ashford and walking away. "Don't skive too much now boys."

"Yes sir." The two brothers lied.

"Villetta's the only one left now, isn't she?" Lelouch asked Red once his contact had been replaced.

"Yeah, but Suzaku's onto you as well." Red sighed.

"That's fine, only to be expected." Lelouch shrugged. "More importantly, there's a new transfer student that's asking about you."

"Eh? Who?" Red asked. He paused, frowning, his Geass beginning to flare sporadically. "Lelouch, why is my ariados-man sense tingling?"

"Because I've betrayed you, brother," Lelouch said with an evil grin. "Betrayed you to the person whose desire to kill you is matched by no other."

Red froze, staring at Lelouch with wide, disbelieving eyes. "Lelouch, what did you-?"

"BASTARD!"

Ash turned around to get blasted into the air by a hydro pump from Misty's gyrados.

"HAHAHA!" Lelouch burst out laughing, watching his brother sail across campus. "Feel better?" he asked the enraged gym leader.

"A little." She admitted, slipping him a soda pop. "Still, you'd think he would've at least called."

"I am admittedly the one with the more morals." Lelouch smirked as Red landed atop the school roof. "Then again, I sold my brother out for a soft drink, so I'm not exactly one to talk."

Misty giggled.

"Oh man!" Dome Superstar Tucker laughed while storming Victory Road on his latias. "They call this a victory road? This is simply too lazy! Where's the challenge? Where's the delight? If this is the test for trainers in Area 11, then they mustn't be all that, can they~?"

He swooped around the attacking trainers and the wild onix, laughing with glee as he did so.

"Oh?" he asked, seeing a man mount a tyranitar. A gale whipped up around them, catching dust and rock to trap him within a sandstorm.

"I don't know who you are," the Glaston Knight warned, "But this is the end for you!"

"Sorry darling." The superstar chuckled. "That kind of pokémon is fabulous for defending buildings, but against something elegant like my latias…"

The Knight realised who his opponent was. "I see how it is. Knight of Ten, Dome Superstar Tucker!"

"Thank you, thank you, you're too kind!" the man bowed on his latias. "I'm here to test you handsome men on your combat strength. Now… try and stop me~!"

"Very well." The knight replied as his men surrounded the superstar. "We won't be able to stand the humiliation of losing to you either."

"Yes, yes~!" Tucker sang. "Come at me with all your might!"

"You don't need to tell us!" one knight shouted, launching a Dark Pulse from his mount.

The superstar's dragon dodged and replied with its own ice beam. The tyranitar, realising how powerful the attack was, shrugged it's rider off the moment the beam hit, encasing in a solid block of ice. "Thank you love!" he shouted, spinning around to fight the next knight. "Can you withstand it~?"

"STOP!"

Everyone stood stock still as Suzaku walked into the battle. "That is enough." He continued. "The fight has been decided."

"Is that a judgement as the Knight of Five?" the head Glaston Knight growled.

"Yes." Suzaku replied as Tucker leapt from his mount and began skipping to Suzaku. "It is."

"Suzakuuuu~!" Tucker shouted, giving the boy a huge hug. "Why are you in such drab clothing?"

"This is my school uniform." Suzaku told his fellow Knight of Round. "I wear it to school, which I just came back from. And don't give me advice on what to wear."

"But you look Sooo~ handsome in white and blue!" Tucker protested. "Black and Gold just isn't you~. Honestly, you'll never catch yourself a man looking like that~!"

Suzaku held his tongue as a young girl on her latios landed next to them. "Finished already?" she asked sadly.

"Yeah, Suzaku says that people just aren't ready for my greatness just yet!" Tucker announced with a swoosh of his hands.

The androgynous knight sighed, patting her latios' neck. "I know, me too. Next time, okay?" she murmured to him.

'Knight of Eight, Salam Maiden Annabel.' Suzaku thought to himself. 'There's more than enough manpower here. Lelouch, let's make everything clear at the party three days from now.'

"HELLOO EVERYBODY!" Milly shouted into the microphone. "AND WELCOME TO THE OFFICIAL BUTLER'S AND MAIDS COSTUME PARTY TO WELCOME KNIGHT OF FIVE SUZAKU BACK TO OUR SCHOOL! BUT FIRST, A WORD FROM OUR GUEST OF HONOUR!"

She turned to Suzaku and Lelouch, both of whom were standing there in tuxedos. "Erm, do I have to?" he asked, somewhat thrown off by the student council president's overly-revealing maid costume.

"Of course~!" she sang. "President's orders~!"

"Just give up now." Lelouch told him, trying not to look at Shirley, who was wearing a skimpy white apron over her black one-piece, with the expected cuffs and laces around her neck, wrists and head. "You know you can't talk her out of anything when she's like this, hence why Shirley isn't running screaming to the nearest bathroom."

"I-I CAN BE DARING TOO!" Shirley shouted. "Geez…"

"Yeah…" Suzaku sighed, picking up the microphone. "I know…"

He took a deep breath, and…

"Peeeerrrr!"

"Alright, get Diethard in through Lilycove city." Lelouch ordered once he was alone on the rooftop. "Make sure he brings Rakshad and oh no she didn't…"

_\_ "Zero?" _\_ Silver asked from the other end.

"I'm sorry, but someone on this end has just done something very stupid so I'll have to call you back." Lelouch told him, hanging up the pokénav.

Lelouch vaulted over the banister and released his crobat, flying him down to kidnap the costumed C.C. before the boy handing out flyers for the world's largest pizza saw her.

"What're you doing here!" he hissed at her, turning crobat around to drop them both back onto the roof without attracting too much attention.

"I need to retrieve that." C.C. told him, pointing at the flyers the boy was handing out.

"Why are you so… stubborn about this!" he snapped. "It's just a freakin' pizza!"

"It's the world's largest pizza." She corrected.

"So the dough is less even and you might not get some crust, big whoop!" Lelouch sighed.

"You're such a pushy boy." C.C. told him, standing up.

"Shut up you witch!" he growled, getting to his feet and leading her away from public vision. "Don't you understand the situation you're in?"

"The emperor is looking for me, using you as bait." C.C. told him.

"That's right." Lelouch told her. "Suzaku's here, as well as another woman I can't use my Geass on."

"You should me more careful with those." C.C. sighed.

"I used Geass on her back when I thought it had unlimited use." Lelouch snapped. "It's your fault for not explaining it properly!"

"From Cute girls…"

"To mature ladies!"

"WELCOME TO THE 'CHOOSE YOUR POISON' SWIMMING CLUB AQUATIC MAID CAFÉ!"

Shirley joined the applause. 'Getting Miss Villetta to join us was such a good idea!' she congratulated herself. 'And it looks like she's actually having some fun, too!'

'Shirley…' Villetta growled with a perfect smile on her face. 'I will murder you a thousand times over for this.'

She watched as the scumbags around her ogled her body in her miniscule thong and the white apron tied carefully around her bare back and neck. 'I wouldn't even be a teacher if it wasn't for this mission dammit!'

She briefly remembered Ohgi telling her about his past life as a teacher, and the fake smile faded slightly.

"So, the one who gave the Emperor the Geass and informed Suzaku about mine is the same person?" Lelouch asked the witch, who was sitting on the edge of the roof looking at the trees below. There weren't any passerbys nearby, so it was a safe place to talk.

"Yes," she replied, "But knowing anymore of this will get you—"

"I don't think I can get into any more trouble than I already am, do you?" Lelouch asked her flippantly.

There was a moment's silence, then C.C. gave him a name.

"Cyrus." She told him.

"Cyrus." Lelouch repeated. "Was Suzaku given a Geass too?"

"I highly doubt that." C.C. sighed. "In fact, I doubt that your friend is capable of receiving a Geass at all."

Lelouch raised an eyebrow. "Why is that?" he asked.

C.C. hesitated. "You must understand that I don't understand the full nature of the Geass." She told him. "In fact, considering the time you spent on Mirage Island, it's likely that you have a greater sum of knowledge of its history than I, albeit not in context."

"Just tell me what you know and I'll believe, witch." Her warlock snapped.

"Suzaku is straddling the line between human and pokémon." She told him. "I do not know how, nor do I know why, but he is human enough to be affected by the Geass, but too much of a pokémon to receive one."

"I see…" Lelouch nodded. "So that's one mystery that we shall have to solve together."

"Lulu!" Shirley's voice rang from the stairs leading down into the building.

Lelouch looked around quickly for a place to hide C.C., and spotted Red on the ground below, waving his arms. 'Perfect timing, although I suppose I have his Geass to thank for that…'

"Say, C.C., you wouldn't happen to know if Ash has his snorlax with him by any chance?"

"Actually, he did mention that had it, but why is that-"

Her question was interrupted as Lelouch lifted her up and tossed her straight off the three storey rooftop. Seeing Red scramble for a ball, he turned around to smile at the swimsuit-clad Shirley charging for him. "Can I help you?" he asked, stepping towards her so she didn't see the commotion below.

"Miss Villetta seems to be avoiding me, so I was wondering if you could… weren't you just talking to someone?"

"Nope." Lelouch lied. "Just you and me all alone up here."

'Alone…' she thought, looking away to prepare herself. 'Shoot, I think this may be my chance!'

She turned back to face him. "You know, Lulu- AH!" She recoiled, seeing a lumbering mountain of fat had taken the place of her long-time crush.

"Sorry, I appear to be inside a snorlax's mouth right now." Lelouch told her, grimacing at the musty heat and the slime.

He felt Shirley begin to pull at his legs, and he gulped, took a deep breath, and grabbed on the pokémon's large, dangling tonsil.

'The things I do for victory...' Lelouch grimaced, holding his breath as he pulled. Hard.

It threw up.

"Ew, ick ick ick ick!" Shirley groaned, trying to get the worst of the chunks out of her hair as Lelouch ran over to the edge of the rooftop.

He saw Ash below him recall the snorlax into a lure ball and helped a shaky C.C. to her feet, who glared at Lelouch and gave him the finger.

Lelouch signed an apology and waved to his brother to clean her up and take her to the pizza, before turning around and dealing with Shirley.

"Sorry about that." He apologised. "One of my brother's pranks."

"I'll kill him." Shirley growled. "I'll never get this out of my hair- urp!" she gagged, covering her mouth, but that only made it worse.

"They do hold a lot in their stomachs, don't they?" Lelouch managed, rubbing her back to ease her nausea, before helping the girl out of the yellow slop. "Come on, I don't know about you, but I need a shower."

Shirley snuck Lelouch into the swimming club's showers, were they probably spent a good two hours trying to get the stench out.

It didn't work, but Shirley left Lelouch in there once the event had ended.

"Oi!" Villetta shouted once it was beginning to get dark. "Is someone still using the showers? What're you still doing in here?"

The lights were killed and Villetta screamed. "Sorry for snatching your apron, miss." Ash sneered in the darkness. "I just wanted to make sure we all stayed in the dark."

"Red…" she growled as Lelouch stepped from the shower, fumbling for a towel. "You betrayed us…"

"Miss Villetta." Lelouch smirked in the darkness. "The woman who was elevated to the status of baroness after uncovering Zero's identity to the MI5. however, she really works for the Black Knights in the background."

"What!" she snapped. "I'd never-"

"Ohgi told me all about you." Kallen said from her hiding place in the darkness. "Of course, once I relayed that information to Lelouch, we quickly put two and two together."

"Wave mail is a wonderful thing." Lelouch smiled. "One can send a message to another even when one is bathing." He reached for the change of clothes Red had left him. "Now, if the knowledge about your relationship with Ohgi Kaname were to become public, well, you would instantly lose the status you worked so hard to attain." He smirked, pulling on some trousers. "Don't you want to be reborn into a new person?"

CLICK

"DAMMIT C.C.!" Lelouch shouted as the lights were turned on.

"What?" she asked, as Villetta reached for a weapon that wasn't there.

There was, in fact, a lot on Villetta's person that wasn't there.

She snarled at everyone, covering her chest and scanning the room for a weapon. "We don't want you dead." Kallen said. "Rather, we wish to make use of you."

"I'd sooner die than betray my country." She snarled.

"That's fine." Lelouch replied. "It just so happens that two of the people in this room are princes of Britannia."

"Eh?" she asked.

"What, didn't they tell you?" asked Lelouch, his eyebrows raised in mock surprise. "They didn't inform you that I am a prince, cast aside by the empire? Clearly they don't hold you in as high regard as you deserve."

Villetta's eyes widened in shock as she realised what Lelouch was implying. "H-how dare you… what are you-?"

Lelouch smirked. "I'm saying I wouldn't be surprised if they just tossed you aside once they learn I have reawakened. How sad, especially after you had just been made a Baroness. Your relationship with Ohgi would be the final nail in your social coffin"

"Of course, that can be avoided, and you don't even need to disobey your superiors to do it, either," Kallen said coolly.

"This is an order from the Knight of One." Ash told the petrified baroness with a smile. "Abort your search for C.C. and just… ignore any suspicious activity around the campus. That's all we want."

Villetta snarled, then reached out for her apron. "Fine." She snapped. "Just… go."

"Thank you Miss." Lelouch told her as, Red tossed her the robe with a grin. "Glad to be working with you."

Thanks to the portable telepads, it was easy to get C.C. and Kallen back to the Chinese Embassy.

So, Lelouch was left standing on the rooftops thinking of a way to deal with Suzaku as the rest of the school danced below.

"Lelouch." Suzaku greeted, coming up to him.

"That's no good." Lelouch sighed with a smile. "The main character should be on the stage."

"Ah, no, everyone's enjoying themselves." Suzaku sighed, before looking at Lelouch in his jeans and T-shirt. "Why aren't you in a suit?"

"Snorlax threw up on me." Lelouch told him with a grimace. "Ash's payback for me helping Misty get back at him."

Suzaku winced with sympathy. "That sucks." He told him with a smile. "There was actually something I wanted to tell you."

"What was it?" Lelouch asked, turning back to the dancers.

"I plan on becoming the Knight of One." Suzaku said.

"Ashford's not gonna like that." Lelouch tutted.

"Well, he's just going to have to deal with it. There's a privilege granted to the Knight of One that states that he can receive an Area of his own choosing." Suzaku explained. "I plan on asking for this Area… becoming the ruler of Japan."

'I wonder if Ash asked for an Area…' Lelouch thought, turning back to Suzaku.

"I lost a great friend and an irreplaceable woman." Suzaku told him. "To prevent me from losing anyone else, I will obtain that power. So, the Japanese people don't need Zero anymore, do they?"

"Hmm, indirect rule, eh?" Lelouch asked. "You aim for a protectorate?"

Suzaku pulled out his pokégear. "This person has the answer to that." He said selecting one of his contacts. "The new governor of Area Eleven who will take office next week."

"A mere student like me gets to talk to a governor?" Lelouch asked as Suzaku put the pokégear to his ear.

"This is Kururugi." Suzaku said into the phone, stepping forward. "Yes, he's right in front of me. Yes." He handed the phone to Lelouch.

"This is troubling, you know." Lelouch sighed, taking the device and turning from Suzaku. "Talking to high-ranking people is just…

_\_ "Brother?" _\_ Nunnally asked.

Lelouch crapped bricks.

_\_ "Brother, this is you, right?" _\_ Nunnally continued, completely oblivious to the trap she was leading her brother into. _\_ "It's me, Nunnally. I'm heading over there as the governor… um… are you listening?" _\_ she asked him. _\_ "Brother? It's me, Nunnally!" _\_

-}+{-

First off, I'm aware of the fact that Lelouch Geassed Gao Hai in the original. I don't care either.

Second, you know what would be really, really helpful for Lelouch right now? Someone who could stop Suzaku's perception of time allowing Lelouch to speak to his sister without revealing that he's regained his memories.

Oh, wait…

Varanus: Fun times ahead, that's for sure. Eh, I wouldn't worry. I'm sure nothing bad could ever possibly happen next chapter.

Does anything bad happen in the next chapter? Lemme think, that's the one where they go to rescue Nunnally- Oh.

Yeah, Next chapter, after Lelouch's epic escape from Suzaku's trap, might as well be filler really. Honest.