Lelouch crouched behind a trashcan within a dark alley, poking his head out every so often to check the street for anyone who looked suspicious. He was being careful; though he had the

Intelligence Agency under his command, there was no guarantee that his father would not use another group to monitor him. He was no fool, and it would be stupid of him to think that the Emperor had not anticipated such a scenario. Surely, he had contingency plans in the event that the Agency was compromised.

Glancing outside one last time and seeing nothing unusual, he finally pressed the answer button on his phone and said, "Updates, Q1."

It had been a daily routine for him to receive calls from Kallen regarding the Black Knights' status. Since he could not leave the academy with Suzaku watching him closely like a hawk, he had to leave detailed instructions for them to carry out while he continued his amnesiac and regular student charade. It was tedious and frustrating, but until Sayoko returned to act as his stand-in, he did not have a choice.

"Preparations are still underway," said Kallen through the other end. "We're still gathering our forces, but we'll have enough before the day of the operation. The Nemo will have arrived by that time, too."

Lelouch smiled. The submarine was the only base of operations they had left after the failed Black Rebellion last year, and he was glad that Kaguya managed to flee to the Chinese Federation with it. "Good. That should give us another advantage once our mission begins. Just keep me posted."

"Roger," said Kallen before hanging up, her report finished.

Lelouch sighed, leaning his head on the wall. Two weeks, and he would be reuniting with Nunnally. He both longed and dreaded that day. Though he already wanted to see her, he did not know how she would react once she finds out about everything he did. Would she understand and support him like she always did, or would she despise him? Knowing her, it was probably the latter. Nunnally was far too kind and gentle to accept his actions, no matter his motivation for doing so.

Shaking his head, he stood up. He would face that dilemma once he had her. But for now, he was going to focus on the operation and make sure that Suzaku would not suspect anything. Every time the Knight of Seven was around, his plans would always go awry.

He checked the streets again and saw nothing unusual. He was about to step outside when he heard footsteps behind him.

"Well, well, looks like it's our lucky day today!"

Lelouch whirled around and found three people emerging from within the deeper part of the alley. They wore caps, wrapped-around shades, leather jackets, and they were sneering at him. The one in the middle, the largest of them, was smacking his left hand with a baseball bat.

Gangsters. And from the looks of them, Japanese. But what were they doing here? This part of the city was nowhere near the ghettos.

"Don't worry, kid," the leader said with a grin. "We won't hurt you... much."

He backed away slowly. Just a few more steps and he could escape. His Geass was useless here.

Suddenly, a voice whispered behind him. "Boo."

Lelouch jumped and scrambled in the opposite direction, his eyes wide in shock. The mouth of the alley was blocked by a girl wearing tattered clothes and a knife in her hands. Her wavy black hair obscured her face and her eyes. She was smiling widely in a creepy way, like a psychopath who had just found a new victim to torture.

He pressed himself against the wall, trying to appear afraid as much as he could while racking his brain for a way to escape. Perhaps if he gave them what they wanted, they would leave him alone.

"Don't come any closer or I'll shout for help!" he feigned terror, his voice quavering.

The gangsters advanced. "You know, Britannian, this place here is our turf," the leader said. "And once someone enters here, he won't be able to call for help. Try to scream and we'll smash that handsome face of yours."

Then he laughed. But there was something... unusual about it. Almost like it was forced. Even one of his lackeys grimaced and leaned forward, whispering to his leader's ears. And though it was barely audible, the confined space allowed Lelouch to hear it.

"Seriously, Terasaka, act more like you mean it!"

"I'm trying, idiot!" the leader, Terasaka, hissed back. He looked uncertain now, yet he still kept sneering. "Now, shut up and let me finish." He turned back his attention to Lelouch and smiled. "It seems your luck has ran out, kid!"

Lelouch tensed. "No, please! I'll give you anything you want!" his hand reached for his pocket, pretending to search for his wallet. In truth, he was already dialing Rolo's number in his cell phone.

"We don't want your money," said Terasaka.

"Then what do you want?" asked Lelouch. He had to buy time and keep their attention occupied until Rolo arrived. It was his only chance.

To Lelouch's confusion, however, the gangster leader suddenly stopped sneering and stood a few feet away, just within range of the baseball bat. He seemed to be hesitating, and his body was stiffed. His hands were slightly trembling as he held the bat.

"Stick to the plan, Terasaka." It was the girl. She had remained silent ever since she had appeared behind Lelouch, but now her voice was hard and serious. When he glanced at her, Lelouch noticed that she had already lowered her knife.

Terasaka clenched his jaw and nodded. Grasping the baseball bat in both hands, he muttered, "Sorry... Sensei."

Then he swung at Lelouch's head.

Pure survival instinct kept Lelouch moving. As the baseball bat rushed toward his face, he ducked under the swing and darted past it. It smashed against the wall, but Lelouch sprinted toward the girl. Though she had a knife, Lelouch was confident that he could evade it.

"Kirara, block him!"

The girl immediately barred his way and forced him back with a thrust. As Lelouch stumbled back, his neck tingled and he quickly dropped on one knee. The baseball bat made an arc above his head. He twisted around, his heart hammering inside his chest, and just as the gangster leader reversed his swing, Lelouch stood up and caught it.

Terasaka looked stunned, then the gangster pursed his lips and sent a punch straight at him.

Duck.

Lelouch did just that, and the gangster's fist met empty air.

Sweep away his feet using my legs.

Before Lelouch could comprehend what he was doing, his body was already moving on its own. He stuck out his left leg and spun in a circle, sending Terasaka toppling on the ground with a curse. His lackeys gasped and stood still.

Lelouch stood up, his chest heaving and his eyes wide in shock. How did he do that? He had little hand-to-hand combat experience, and even during his time in Europe fighting the EU, Suzaku never taught him how to fight. He could not even pass his P.E. tests without getting exhausted.

"Don't just stand there!" roared Terasaka.

That snapped his companions back into their senses. The boys charged at Lelouch while he felt a disturbance in the air behind him. Faster than he thought he could move, Lelouch twisted around and grabbed the girl's wrist then plucked the knife away from her fingers before throwing her toward the other gangsters. She crashed into them with a yelp, and they collapsed on the ground in a heap, groaning and cursing.

Lelouch stepped back and dropped the knife. His hands were shaking, whether from shock or fear he did not know. His mind was sluggish, and he could no longer comprehend what was happening. The only thing he could think of was to run way.

He spun around. However, he had just gotten a few steps when he heard the girl shout, "Terasaka, no!", and pain exploded at the base of his skull, knocking him to the ground.

He fleeted in and out of consciousness, aware of his surroundings yet detached from everything. His vision flickered, and he caught pieces of conversation. But his mind could not register most of them. One thing he knew was he was surrounded by many people.

"What did you do?" a girl yelled. "We were only suppose to knock him unconscious!"

"That's what I did!"

"You didn't just do that! You almost killed him!"

"S-Sorry! I didn't realize my swing was too strong!"

"If the others find out about this, Terasaka, they will blow a fuse. Especially him."

"Hey! Don't blame it on me, Yoshida! You and Muramatsu didn't even help!"

"How are we suppose to help if you are going to hit us too?"

"I was nervous, okay?"

"We all were, idiot!

"Don't call me idiot!"

"Enough! Will you three stop it and just help us? Takebayashi, how's he?"

"Not good. He suffered major trauma in the head. I don't know if we've caused any internal bleeding, and I hope we didn't. But the blow was pretty bad."

"Who suggested we used metal baseball bats anyway?"

"I did, remember? Placing the target in a dangerous situation should trigger his combat instincts. We all had talked about this already during the planning stage."

"So it's all thanks to you that he's like this?"

"No, it's thanks to you. You're the one holding the bat, Terasaka."

"Why, you!"

"That's enough! We have to go. The police are coming here soon. Takebayashi, are you done stitching the wound?"

"Yes. Now all we need to do was move his body near the alley's entrance.

There were a lot of footsteps and shuffling feet, and Lelouch felt himself being laid down on a cold and hard surface. The footsteps then hurried away, and the last thing he heard before succumbing to darkness was Rolo's frantic shout.

And I'm back. XD Sorry guys for the long wait. I've been focusing on my original novel lately. Anyway, the quality in this chapter is at an all-time low. But I'm planning to change that on the rewrite.

Yes, there IS A REWRITE. I'm just going to finish this so I won't leave you hanging. Don't worry, guys. I will finish this old version until the end of the first act. :)

Well, that's it. Please Read & Review!

Until next time!