The Black King

She giggled when I dragged her away to interrogate her on what she knew. Giggled!

I'm freaking out here! You're not allowed to be amused by it dammit!

I was pacing back forth in front of her, hands tugging my hair, trying to figure out what the hell to do. Trying to figure out some method of working around this. But… I didn't see any. Had I really been that sloppy? I can't win against Britannia if it was so easy for Kallen to see right through me.

Also. WHY IS SHE SO GOD-DAMNED AMUSED?! I'm Zero! I'm Britannian! I lied to her! Why is she helping me?!

"What do you know?" I asked in defeat, apprehension joining surrender in my tone as I turned to her. I probably looked crazy…

The Black Queen

I couldn't help but smirk at Lelouch. It was nice to see him freaking out in a situation where it really didn't matter. If anybody else did this to him… I'm looking at you, Suzaku, Cornelia, Ohgi and Schneizel…I'd kill them.

What all did I know? Quite a bit. But exactly how much could I tell him?

"I know you're Britannian." I started, deciding to start with the basics. "A prince at that. I know Nunnally is your sister and she'd have no place in the Britannian view of the world." I added after a bit, studying him as my face softened. "I know for some reason you're here, you're hiding your royalty, and you're taking up the mantle of Zero to fight your own country. The specifics of why really don't matter to me, but I think you're doing it for revenge of some kind and to make a better world for your sister to live in because you love her so much."

Jeez, me. When are you going to stop? "And I know you've proven you can lead us to victory. So I have no problem with following you. How can I hate you for being Britannian when I'm one too?" I offered.

The Black King

Fuck.

She knows everything.

Well, basically everything anyway.

And… she's still willing to follow me? Support me? Why? I just don't get it.

I must have been processing this for too long, because she continued.

The Black Queen

"My brother died resisting Britannia. A hopeless resistance. We were fighting like cornered animals until Shinjuku, hurting everything we could while we could. You showed us we can win. You showed us we don't have to hurt every Britannian." I continued, noting that he'd frozen. I paused to let that sink in. "I figured out you were a prince after I figured out you were the voice. And you know what I realized?" I gave him a moment to answer but he just seemed… confused. Poor Lelouch. I must be throwing everything out the window for you. I promise… it's for the better.

"I realized that we were selfish." I declared, stepping towards him. "Why stop here? Maybe we do succeed. Maybe eventually we do free Japan. What then? My friends will turn on you the minute they've secured our freedom." They already had. Fuck you Ohgi, fuck you Tohdoh. "But don't we have an obligation to help everyone we can? What if we can free all the areas? What better way to do that than supporting someone with a heart and a legitimate claim to the throne?"

I put my hand to his forearm at this. "Plus, I happen to admire the strategy. The bold plans. The charisma. The drive to change the world… and you're cute. So…"

…God dammit, Kallen. You've been around Milly way too much.

The Black King

…Seriously?

Is she doing what I think she's doing?

No way. No. Fucking. Way.

I opened my mouth to respond…

To find her lips covering mine again in another kiss.

I groaned against her lips. They were soft, but passionate. Almost desperate. And I couldn't help but fall into the temptation of returning it for a few brief moments before coming to my senses and pushing her away. "Kallen! What are you doing?" I asked, panting.

I had to look thoroughly bewildered, confused, and probably at this point, cautious. But… seriously. How was she THIS loyal?

The Black Queen

"I'm kissing the guy I happen to like and hoping he comes to his senses and realizes I'm not going to turn on him and I'd happen to double as a really good excuse for his absenses as a masked rebel." I drawled confidently.

I was anything but. My heart was hammering in my chest. I couldn't help it. I was afraid. What if I just fucked up everything?

What if he didn't believe my loyalty?

What if he made worse decisions than he had the first time?

Was I just taking advantage of this version of Lelouch because I didn't get to have anything with my own?

No. No, that wasn't it. I'd failed my Lelouch over, and over, and over again. I left him at Kamine Island. When he got his memories back I used him for the purposes of helping the Black Rebellion. And even when I became his biggest supporter, even when I stopped him from taking Refrain, I was doing it for my own gain.

When I turned on him it was because I was afraid. Afraid that he'd always been using me like I used him.

When I kissed him at the summit it was a last resort. Because I wanted him to show me there was something left under all those robes. All that pain and all that anger and all my betrayal.

I had wanted THIS Lelouch back.

"Maybe I wasn't clear enough. I think you're doing the right thing for the right reasons. And I trust you love your sister enough that you'll continue to do try and do that as long as you can. So I want to be by your side. Whether that's at Zero's side as Kallen Kozuki, or at Lelouch vi Britannia's side as Kallen Stadtfeld. I will be your Q-1...and yes, I know that's chess notation and it means I'm your Queen...I will be your ace. I will be your bodyguard. I will be whatever you need me to be."

… God. Could I sound any more desperate?

The Black King

Just as I was trying to wrap my head the unexpected declaration of devotion… and apparently, intent of romantic pursuit… I was saved by the bell.

Or in this case, the phone.

She relaxed at the interruption and, in turn, so did I. I still drew in a shaky breath when I reached into my pocket to pull it out.

I froze upon reading the first line of the email.

I was still frozen when I finished it.

Who the hell was Shinozaki Orenji? Was he some relation to Sayoko maybe? How did he get my email address? Why had he decided to tell me about Saitama?

The Black Queen

I frowned, studying Lelouch's reaction. I stepped to his side, but remained facing him. "What's wrong?" I asked, dropping any hint of the school girl act right then and there.

Lelouch was a simple man. Words didn't really earn his trust quite to the same level as actions did. At least to my knowledge, which made sense. He was a pathological liar. His words meant nothing, even to him. So why should anyone else's?

"Cornelia. She's… surrounding Saitama. To draw me out." He breathed, showing me the email. I furrowed my brow. Oh. Right. Saitama. I'd forgotten about that. I wasn't there the first time and I'd completely forgotten about it in the other activities of the Black Rebellion.

It didn't seem like Lelouch to be shaken up like this though. "Okay. That doesn't seem like an issue by itself. Let's go spring the trap. You're smart enough to out-maneuver her." I offered. Giving him a look to show I'd be with him.

"That's not it." he declared. "I don't know a Shinozaki Orenji." He muttered. So low I almost couldn't hear him.

Wait. Wait. What?

I looked back at the phone. The email had been sent to Lelouch's school email address. . Which meant…

Someone else knew who he was.

Orenji.

Orange.

Jeremiah? No. That's impossible. I don't even know how I got sent back in time. Time travel is supposed to be impossible. The chance of anyone else being from the future is astronomically infinitesimal. Which just saying those two words together makes my brain hurt.

No. This Jeremiah was just as bigoted as he had been the last time. There is no way, no fucking way he would go by a Japanese name even if he was on Lelouch's side.

Right?

So… who the hell?

"Shit." I muttered under my breath, and gave him a look. "Alright. That's a little concerning." 'For more reasons than I can tell you.' "But if the information is accurate, I don't think Saitama can afford for us to question it. Let's go." I urged, grabbing his wrist.

I wasn't there the first time. So this time I would be following brand new orders.

I loved watching Lelouch work up a plan that was completely magical.

Maybe with my help this time, we could save the Yamato Alliance.

Maybe.

Provided this wasn't more of a trap. Then again… maybe this had happened last time? I really don't know. Maybe I'm just freaking out and the timeline is staying the same.

If not…

Someone out there could be a threat to Lelouch.

Unacceptable.

The Black Queen

I wasn't really any less concerned when we got to Saitama. But I put it in the back of my mind for now. We had a job to do.

"Alright." I breathed, looking around the corner of a building at the Knightmare that was standing idle at the perimeter of the ghetto, waiting for orders. We were still wearing our Ashford Academy uniforms, although Lelouch had grabbed his Zero attire on the way here and held it in a backpack. "Here's the plan, we act like a couple walking around on a date that got lost, lull the pilot of that thing into a sense of security and get him out of the cockpit to check on us, you use your mind control power to get him to give us the keys to that Knightmare, and we get into the ghetto and stop whatever your half-sister is planning. Unless you have a better idea?"

Strategizing still wasn't my thing.

"That works I gue-." Lelouch started with a shrug, and then froze mid sentence and mid motion to look at me with wide eyes of panic.

Great. What now?

"How do you know about that?" He asked quietly.

Huh? I thought over my words… and then cursed at myself mentally. Mind control power. I just told him I knew about his Geass.

Shit. How was I going to explain this?

The Black King

Fucking HELL! Was there anything this woman DIDN'T FUCKING KNOW!?

How?! Does she know I geassed her?! Does everyone I geass know it's me?! Why the hell am I just now learning that she knows? Is she just trying to get me killed because she thinks I geassed her into obeying my orders?

I turned to her and opened my mouth to further demand an answer, my hand twitching as I tried to think of a way to threaten her, or failing that, at least escape. But I neither had the weapons nor the strength to face her if she was anywhere near as competent as she appeared to be, nor the stamina to escape.

My question was caught in my throat when I saw her left eye light up.

Next thing I knew, I was pinned to a wall with her hand covering my mouth.

The Black Queen

"Dammit." I muttered, having Lelouch pinned to the brick wall behind him as I took a steadying breath. He wasn't supposed to know that I knew about his geass yet.

"It was a guess." I lied, hating myself for doing it, but I couldn't just go about telling him the truth, could I? I cast a look over my shoulder to ensure the little outburst hadn't drawn any Britannian attention just yet.

"Look, yes. I know you have a geass. I have one too. We can talk about this later, we have bigger things to worry about right now." At least, I did. I needed to figure out how to lie my way out of this one. "All you need to know is that I know what your power is, I know you used it on me, and I know I'm following you of my own free-will. I'll explain everything later."

Well...Everything you need to know, anyway.

Author's Note: Good lord this chapter kicked my ass. I don't like it. At all. I'm really not happy with it but I tried for a week to think of anything better and I couldn't. Screw it. I'm posting this and we're moving on.