A/N : Last time I checked I still didn't own Code Geass or its characters. It's depressing me :/

'v'

'v'

Her Imperial Majesty's Flagship 'Temperance'; the following night

'v'

The Avalon-class ship 'Temperance' was barely a month fresh from the yards, yet it was one of the few places where Nunnally felt at peace these days. The young Empress had taken great care to have her quarters on-board modeled after her brother's on 'Avalon'. She had pushed attention to detail right down to the library books and the chess board that sat on a low table at the center of the reception area. Presently the young ruler of the Holy Empire was sitting on one of the low divans which lined the board, contemplating the incursion of a dangerously-placed knight. Her opponent wasn't giving her any quarter and it suited Nunnally just fine; she'd offered Zero to play a game before they retired to respective quarters for reasons which had nothing to do with practicing her brother's favorite game and everything to do with Kallen being insufferable with Zero when he'd come to take Nunnally back to 'Temperance' for the next leg of her diplomatic tour.

Nunnally intended to poke that dragon in the eye.

'Check' she announced, deliberately opening a gap for Zero to exploit – which he immediately did. Nunnally let escape a fake groan.

'Careless' Zero chided her.

'Blame it on my teacher' Nunnally countered. She moved a rook, and then hissed when she saw Zero's fingers reach for a bishop.

'Careless and reckless' he said, uncharacteristically vindictive. 'Check.'

'Are you taking out your nerves on me, Master Zero?'

Nunnally got the reaction she'd wanted: 'Maybe you've deserved my anger.'

'I never thought cats were so great at shortening Zero's temper' the young Empress said, and then she added, looking at Zero mischievously: 'I'll be sure to remember it.'

Even with the mask hiding his eyes Nunnally could feel the weight of Zero's stare. 'Don't ever make that joke again' he hissed.

'Arthur definitely seems to have touched a nerve' Nunnally said, and she realized her voice was quivering slightly. Still she wasn't going to stop now. 'It's almost-'

'Not another word' Zero said, standing as he spoke. Now he towered over Nunnally. 'Come with me' he said brusquely. 'We need to talk.'

'I guess we do' the young girl replied seriously. 'Help me into that chair and we shall.'

'v'

No one ever set foot in Zero's private chambers, either on board 'Temperance' or in his lodgings in Tokyo and New-Pendragon. The masked man was notoriously paranoid about the presence of any watching or listening devices in his quarters, as an overambitious spy had learnt quite permanently only a couple of weeks earlier. Zero's lethal reaction to the invasion of his privacy had not surprised or bothered anybody: his true face remaining hidden was universally (and ironically) accepted as the foundation of the Ally of Justice's identity.

The collateral to this need for privacy was quarters which looked rather claustrophobic. There were no openings of any sort (aside from some probable hidden ventilation ducts), and the lighting was dim and scarce. The furniture was reduced to a bare minimum, and aside from a small computer on a corner desk there was nothing which could distract the man who resided in these quarters from his thoughts. Nor was there much to attract the occupant's gaze away from the bloody handprint adorning the mask that rested in a transparent case on the bedside table. Nunnally's throat tightened when she saw the prominent display of what were perhaps her brother's last unsullied remains. She'd been horrified when she'd learnt Lelouch's corpse had been dumped on a garbage pile and had in all likelihood been incinerated amidst the detritus. Nothing was left of him, save for the dried blood on the mask. For a moment the young girl was on the verge of asking Zero whether she could have the mask, but she caught herself: her keeping the mask would have been tantamount to erecting a private shrine in the Demon Emperor's memory, something bound to cause a scandal fatal to her rule over Britannia and maybe even to Britannia herself. And then there was the symbol this bloody relic represented for the man who'd worn it…

'You won't ever forgive yourself, will you?' Nunnally said with a choked voice.

'I'm not supposed to' the masked man replied heavily. 'But you seem to know that already, don't you?'

'I've known for a while.' Nunnally sighed.

'How long?' Zero asked wearily.

'Ever since we met at my brother's palace in Tokyo.'

'This long?' The masked man was evidently surprised.

'I think I identified you easily because I used to be blind' Nunnally said.

'You recognized my voice?' Zero asked, evidently unnerved.

'We've been friends for many years, and during all that time I couldn't see' Nunnally explained. 'I spent years listening to your voice and treasuring it.' The young girl blushed. 'That must have sounded weird.'

'It didn't' Zero said, and for the first time in months his voice was kind as he spoke to Nunnally. 'It's just like you said: we've been close friends for years. I should have thought of it.'

'Euphy would have known it was you too' Nunnally said – and realized she'd said it. 'I'm sorry!' she blurted, 'I didn't mean to-'

'Don't apologize' Zero said gently. 'And you're right. She would have known.'

Nunnally nodded. 'I think I'm the only person alive who was close enough to you to be able to guess your true identity on their own.' She blushed harder.

'You're forgetting Arthur' the masked man said.

'Our friends didn't realize he reacted to you specifically' Nunnally said quickly, an alarmed look on her face. 'You're not going to do anything to them, are you?'

'I need to know if they might make the connection between Arthur and me at some point' the masked man said, his voice full with regrets.

Nunnally stared at her interlocutor. 'You are going to do something to them' she said, horrified.

'You do realize what will happen if one wrong person discovers my identity, don't you?' the masked man said, his voice full of self-loathing.

Nunnally swallowed. Of course she knew: the world would descend into chaos, and her brother's death would become senseless.

'What are we going to do?' the young Empress asked timidly.

'Please don't concern yourself with that matter' Zero replied heavily, 'it is my sin to bear. And it has already been taken care of.'

The young girl shivered. 'How?'

'I had him removed from Ashford Academy' the masked man said simply. 'No, I didn't have him killed' he added when he noticed his interlocutor's stare. 'I've had him dropped at Cecile's.'

'Don't you think someone's going to wonder why Zero bothers to order a cat removed from a school?' Nunnally inquired.

'I didn't give that order. Schneizel did.'

Nunnally's eyes opened wide with shock. Schneizel was only marginally more popular than Lelouch was with the world, and with good reason: the creator of Damocles had come very close to achieving world domination, and unlike his younger brother he wasn't going to place himself within harm's reach, but on the contrary remove himself and Damocles to a lower-space orbit where no one could possibly have challenged his rule. The man had intended to play God and very nearly succeeded. His continuing to play any kind of important role was simply unacceptable. Indeed his removal from public affairs had been a condition Zero himself had imposed on Nunnally…

'So that's why he didn't lift a finger to bid for the throne' the Empress said with an accusatory tone. 'You two are actually in league. Why did you lie to me?'

'I do remember assuring you Schneizel would keep a low profile' Zero countered, 'but I never said he didn't work for me.'

'He's dangerous. Stop using him' Nunnally said abruptly.

'You have no authority over me' Zero reminded her.

'My brother has' Nunnally gambled. She knew she took a risk by invoking her brother's memory, but it was the best way she could think of to catch the masked man's attention. The result, however, was nothing like what she expected:

'Your brother commanded Schneizel to serve me' the masked man said.

Nunnally stared at her interlocutor. 'What do you mean by "commanded"? Did he use Geass on Schneizel?'

'Yes.'

The simple word petrified Nunnally.

'Peace is like a garden; it needs to be maintained' Zero offered as an explanation.

'An enforced peace isn't what big brother wanted' Nunnally said, more as a challenge than because she was convinced her brother had not wanted Schneizel to be turned into little more than walking brains to supplement Suzaku's. Her brother's Geass on Schneizel was the latest item on the list of reasons Nunnally had to believe the Demon Emperor kept pulling the strings from beyond the grave.

'Exactly what kind of services does Schneizel perform for you?' Nunnally finally inquired, not knowing whether her question would be answered or, indeed, whether she really wanted to know.

'Schneizel is in charge of a small covert intelligence unit who answer only to me' Zero replied. 'He advises me of any threats to peace he perceives and makes sure nobody uncovers my identity.'

'Kind of like your private OSI. Is Schneizel aware of your true identity?' Nunnally asked with a worried frown.

'Technically he isn't' the masked man said, earning en even more worried look from the young Empress. 'He knows, but Geass prevents him from registering he knows' the masked man expanded. 'As far as he's concerned I am the man he has to serve unquestioningly. He can't do anything else.'

'Geass can be resisted' Nunnally said, her face creased with worry.

'It takes a very strong-willed individual to be able to resist Geass, even for a few seconds' Zero said, answering Nunnally's unspoken objection, 'and Schneizel is definitely lacking force of will.'

'We're talking about a man who's had the nerve to kill a hundred million people and then to pretend it had never happened' Nunnally said pointedly. 'Murder on that scale takes some willpower.'

'He didn't consider his victims as humans' Zero replied, 'those lives were completely abstract for him. Oh, he certainly could pretend he cared' and there was no missing the bitterness in Zero's voice, 'but he didn't. He thought of a billion deaths as a mere byproduct of his plans to pacify our world.'

'I still don't see what this has to do with Schneizel lacking the willpower to resist Geass' Nunnally said stubbornly.

'What you need to keep in mind is Schneizel's incredible brilliance' Zero replied. 'Did you know he actually manipulated your brother into getting rid of your father for him?'

'How do you know Schneizel wasn't boasting for your benefit?' Nunnally challenged. 'How do you know he didn't lie to turn your attention where he wanted?'

'Because Schneizel played your brother's emotions perfectly' the masked man answered. 'He knew your brother was so angry at me he wouldn't listen to a word I said about FLEIJA. He intended Kallen to break free with the first Ninth-generation Knightmare at her disposal, and he used both Anya and Luciano to put Kallen in the perfect position to make me vaporize the Government building you were supposed to be in when she'd leave me with no option but to fire the first FLEIJA. You remember he had men ready to take back control of the craft which smuggled you away from the building before the explosion. He knew your brother would break the moment he believed he saw you disappear, and that his wallowing in despair would free Schneizel's own hands to turn the Black Knights against their master. He even calculated your brother's fake sibling would sacrifice his life to save him, and that this in turn would give your brother the courage he needed to challenge your father. That was something Schneizel preferred to let your brother attempt, since he knew a lot more about Geass than Schneizel himself, and your brother was probably the only other man whose intellect matched that of your father.'

'If he is as brilliant as he pretends to be he wouldn't have lost to big brother' Nunnally objected.

'Your brother didn't win a contest of minds' Zero answered, 'he won a contest of hearts.'

'What do you mean by "a contest of hearts?"'

'Schneizel didn't really want to win the battle of Damocles' Zero explained, 'he just assumed he would. Between his brilliance and his resources as the Second Prince of Britannia he always managed to get what he wanted without exerting himself.'

'He didn't get what he wanted from the Chinese Federation' Nunnally remarked.

'He didn't care one way or the other' Zero stated. 'FLEIJA's development was going full-speed and Damocles was nearing completion when your brother wrested control of the Chinese Federation away from him. Gaining control of the Chinese Federation was ultimately insignificant in the light of his actual designs, so he abandoned that game the second it became challenging.'

Nunnally nearly strangled herself. 'He thought control over the Chinese Federation was insignificant?' she croaked. But she already knew why her half-brother had been thinking that way. 'You're right' she admitted uneasily. 'Once he'd have had Damocles nothing else would have mattered.'

'He was setting up a game where he could never lose' Zero said in confirmation. 'And he didn't think he could lose the battle of Damocles either. Once he realized we'd found a counter for FLEIJA he decided to abandon that game too. He had actually formed a scheme to make Damocles just as irrelevant as the Chinese Federation.'

Nunnally nearly choked at those words. 'You can't possibly think Schneizel would have discarded Damocles. The fortress was the cornerstone of his plans.'

'FLEIJA was the cornerstone of his plans. He could just as easily terrify the world into obeying him while acting from the shadows, and he intended to do just that if Damocles escaped his control. His plan was to have the fortress vaporized and then go to ground and make all kinds of people build FLEIJA for him.'

'An even worse reign of terror…' Nunnally whispered.

'That it would have been, if Schneizel hadn't made a fatal mistake by falling back to this last plan. Your brother fully grasped Damocles wasn't all that important to Schneizel's plans, and he counted on Schneizel not even trying to win the battle of Damocles after its outcome became uncertain.'

'Schneizel himself admitted all this?' Nunnally asked.

'He did.' Zero laughed mirthlessly. 'Actually Schneizel is quite glad his enemy showed him where his blind spot was; he says knowing makes him of more value to me.'

Nunnally nodded but she didn't speak immediately. She would have still dismissed Zero's claims had the masked man not explained her brother had shared the view Schneizel was actually weak-willed. Not that it dispelled all doubts the young Empress could have about Schneizel's Geass holding indefinitely, and she said just so: 'Let's assume Schneizel can't overcome big brother's Geass on his own' she conceded. 'We still know Geass can break for other reasons. Our friends from Ashford Academy are living proof of this – their memories of me were erased by my father and only minutes after my brother's death their memories returned. Doesn't this mean Geass can break eventually?'

'No, it doesn't' the masked man replied matter-of-factly. 'In fact your brother himself arranged for the Geass placed on our friends to be cancelled.'

Nunnally stared at her interlocutor, dumbfounded.

'I'm sorry to have kept you in the dark about matters like Schneizel and Geass, Nunnally' Zero apologized, 'but up to this point there wasn't a reason for you to know.'

'Did my brother order you not to tell me?' the young girl asked uncertainly.

'Don't take this personally' the masked man replied. 'Lelouch didn't want anybody to-' The masked man stopped abruptly as he noticed all color had drained from his interlocutor's face. 'Nunnally, what's wrong?'

'Nothing's wrong' the girl managed, her quivering voice belying her words.

Zero "stared" at her. 'What do you really think of your brother?' he asked seriously.

'I no longer know' the young girl said heavily. 'I know he sacrificed himself to make a better world, but I'm not sure whether he did it for our sake of for his own.'

'How could getting himself killed have been for his own sake?'

'He still controls our lives' Nunnally replied, and she raised a hand to interrupt Zero. 'As the ruler of Britannia I have to worry about social and economic reconstruction, total disarmament, prepare the liberation of Areas, manage our diplomatic relations… and I can feel big brother's influence in all of these domains. Did you know he'd started urban reconstruction programs not only for New-Pendragon but for all of the eighteen Areas as well?'

'I didn't know the specifics, but I remember he averaged fifteen hours of work per day in the two months of preparation for Zero Requiem' the masked man admitted.

'Zero Requiem?'

'His final plan' the masked man said simply. 'Bringing peace to a whole world entails much more than setting up your own murder.'

'So you do admit big brother did everything he could to control our futures?' Nunnally pressed her interlocutor.

'Of course he did'. Zero said simply, and Nunnally stared at him. 'Your brother had a right to ensure his own death would not be in vain, don't you think?'

'That depends on an answer you probably won't give me if I ask' Nunnally said, and she sighed.

'You can always try me' the masked man invited.

Nunnally's question was pretty straightforward: 'How many people are there who are still under the influence of big brother's Geass?'

'Just two' Zero answered.

'Just two?' Nunnally echoed, clearly skeptical. 'How about the tens of thousands of soldiers he'd enslaved?'

'Those who weren't dead have been released' the masked man replied. 'It's been hell to manage, but he managed to pull it off' and Zero's voice was expressing undisguised admiration for his late friend.

'All… right…' Nunnally coughed. 'So… let's say there are really just two people who have a Geass on them. Who's the other person?'

'I asked him not to cancel the Geass he'd placed on me' Zero replied. Nunnally's mouth hung open for a couple of seconds.

'You asked?' she finally managed, sounding quite incensed. 'You idiot!'

Zero chortled. 'Now you're sounding just like your brother' he said.

'This is not funny!'

'He called me an "idiot" more times than I care to count' Zero said brightly.

'Maybe because you deserved it!' Nunnally scowled at him. 'What possessed you? I know you think you deserve to be punished for your sins, but this is going too far.'

'The Geass your brother placed on me isn't punishment' the masked man said. 'It is a shield.'

'A shield?'

'It's a long story' Zero said, 'but I suppose there's no avoiding telling you, is there?'

'That's a safe assumption' Nunnally said with a flinty tone.

'The story begins with your brother discovering I was the pilot of Lancelot' the masked man recounted. 'I had thwarted his plans several times; he was rather incensed at the pilot who'd ruined two big chances for him to capture your sister Cornelia. I was the X-factor in his plans for several months, the one enemy his strategies couldn't defeat.'

'You sound rather proud of yourself' Nunnally observed.

'I was that good' the masked man said, not as a boast but as an admission. 'But your brother was both intelligent and resourceful. First he analyzed my way of fighting in Lancelot, and managed to formulate a plan to implement the next time I showed up against him. He cornered me like a piece on a chess board, and I barely escaped a sword thrust which should have killed me. The thrust shorn the top of my cockpit off, and I was revealed to my enemies.'

'Was that when big brother placed his Geass on you?'

'No, he did that at our next encounter. And I have to admit I left him absolutely no other choice' the masked man said ruefully.

'Don't blame yourself for big brother's actions' Nunnally warned her interlocutor.

'The blame here unquestioningly rests with me' he replied matter-of-factly. 'Now that he knew who piloted Lancelot, your brother planned an entire operation to capture me instead of killing me. His plans didn't account for my superiors to take advantage of his disabling my knightmare to hold him in place while they killed us both.'

'Tell me you weren't aware your superiors wanted you to die with big brother' Nunnally said, her voice suddenly shaking.

'I wanted to die' the masked man said grimly, and Nunnally stifled a shout.

'What gave you such a stupid idea?'

The masked man laughed humorlessly. 'Your brother also called me an idiot when I wouldn't release him.'

'That's because you were acting like one' Nunnally fumed. 'Idiot.'

'Aye, aye…' The masked man sighed. 'You know, I had decided I'd sacrifice myself years before I was ordered to give up my life to ensure Zero's was brought to an end.'

It was a terrible confession, and Nunnally was quite incapable to figure out an answer. Fortunately the masked man spared her from having to: 'He ordered me to live' he said.

Nunnally nearly choked. 'You mean…'

Zero nodded. 'Yes, your brother used his Geass to save my life.'

'He saved his own too' Nunnally said feebly.

'True' the masked man admitted, 'though he could have simply ordered me to become his slave or to die on the spot like he did for so many thousands. Either would have saved him. And he didn't have to wait until the second before the missiles hit to activate his Geass. I was his enemy, after all; had he been the monster we thought he was, both you and I would be dead today.'

Nunnally swallowed. 'That's true... And he could have ordered me something worse than to simply surrender him the key to Damocles.' She chuckled somberly. 'Then again this could just be big brother setting things up the precise way he wanted them to be.'

'Your brother told me what happened between the two of you on board Damocles' the masked man stated. 'Notably your admission of having effectively fired a number of FLEIJA against his forces.' Nunnally didn't reply; she merely nodded, and Zero went on: 'It is extremely likely you triggered the release of a FLEIJA aimed straight at him. You actually intended to kill your brother. Do you deny that?'

Lelouch's sister shook her head. 'I was no different from him back then, was I?' she managed.

'No, you weren't' the masked man confirmed. 'You have no idea how miserable he was when he discovered you weren't dead and were actually going to fight him' the masked man recounted, 'and you can't possibly imagine his relief when he realized it was him you were opposing, not his ideas.'

'I was opposing his ideas' Nunnally protested.

'No, you were acting just like him' Zero reminded her. '"Damocles will become the focus for the world's hatred"' he quoted. 'The Demon Emperor became the focus for the world's hatred. Don't lie to yourself; you weren't any different.'

'I never had a supernatural power to force my will on other people' Nunnally protested.

'Did it matter?' the masked man said quietly as he retrieved an object from the folds of his cape. Nunnally blanched upon seeing the item Zero held: it was the Key to Damocles.

'No, it didn't matter' she said, her voice filled with remorse as a new understanding dawned on her. Just like she had realized in Tokyo exactly what it felt like to live in the kind of world she had intended to create with Damocles, she could now comprehend the feelings of a man who would rule over such a world while he actually harbored good intentions. It must have been constant torture. And I was supposed to resent big brother Nunnally remembered. Without those visions from Geass I would be perfectly content to despise him like the rest of the world... I wouldn't have been agonizing over whether he might have been selfish until the end.

And there lay the answer to Nunnally's interrogations about her brother: he had been trying to be seen as a monster, and had not given his younger sister any special treatment in that regard. In fact the worst he appeared when she looked back on his actions, the better. Nunnally smiled ruefully. Well, there is at least one thing you didn't plan for, big brother she thought. I can understand what it was like to be you.

Oddly enough, the young girl felt no grief: she felt at peace. Her doubts about her brother had been unfounded. And though Lelouch had never planned for it, he had just taught his sister an invaluable lesson.

Nunnally looked at the masked man, and she finally spoke: 'May I keep the key?' she asked calmly.

She had surprised her interlocutor. 'What would you want it for?' he asked.

'To remind me of who I am.'

Zero paused to consider the idea for a few moments. Then he walked towards the young Empress and held out the Key. 'Your brother would be proud of you' the masked man said kindly.

Nunnally took the Key and put it in her lap, and then looked up at Zero with a smile. 'Thank you' she said. 'I think I really understand big brother now.'

'But were you supposed to?' Zero mused.

'Can we talk openly about Geass?' Nunnally asked.

'The less people know about that curse the better' Zero replied somberly.

'You are not "people"' Nunnally countered. 'In fact if there is one person who should know why I had a vision of my brother giving you his mask when I held his hand for the last time, that person would be you.'

She heard a sharp intake of breath. 'A vision, you say?' the masked man prompted.

'It was like I could see his life flashing before his eyes.'

'I...' He hesitated. 'I see... Thank you for telling me.'

'Could you tell me the reason for such a vision?' Nunnally inquired.

'I wouldn't know' the masked man said, puzzled. 'I need to think about this.'

'I can give you time. Did we cover the ground you wanted to cover' Nunnally asked.

'I wanted to know how you found me out, and I did' the masked man replied.

'Then if you will excuse me, I think I'll get some rest' Nunnally said. 'It wouldn't to for the Empress of Britannia to fall asleep in her talks with the Tianzi and her ministers, now would it?'

'It wouldn't'. Nunnally couldn't see the smile, but she could almost hear it.

The young Empress had no idea she'd given the masked man even graver doubts than those she'd finally rid herself of. After all, the vision Nunnally had described was not unlike those Suzaku had experienced when in contact with C.C...

'v'

'v'

A/N : Many thanks to genericrandom for the review. Blame all the planning on guys like Lelouch, they're too bright for me ;)

To all others: your reviews are welcome too, including criticism, especially since I'm not writing in my native language :) And they do incite to try and update faster ;)