A/N: Gyah, sorry this took so dang long! A bunch of stuff happened, including school starting, and there was a period of time where I just COULD NOT get the words to come out properly. I don't have a Suzaku-muse so it's hard sometimes! XD but here we go, finally. I'm so glad to get it out, wasn't letting me upload it for a while, it was frustrating. But here we go now, for anyone watching this story and interested in its continuation. I thank you for your patience and the reviews~ Some italicized thoughts in this one...and hopefully it isn't too confusing. I'm not sure how long the next chapter is going to take though, so I apologize in advance! *bows*

I'd also like to thank my friends for reading this for me and giving me their opinions when the site wouldn't let me upload it. *hearts~*

I hate being the type to ask, but if it's not too much trouble, I would really, really appreciate some reviews with feedback! I like hearing that people like it, but I also like knowing what parts you liked and what parts were confusing/gave you problems in one way or another. Many more thanks, and please enjoy :3

Disclaimer: Once again, the characters, Code Geass, and some of the concepts do not belong to me. My fantasies don't make me any money n.n;

~*~*~*~*~*~

Looking back on it now, while the journey had been incredibly boring and awkward at times, he believed that he preferred that to the current situation. They were walking side by side, the only plus, with their arms tied firmly behind their backs…to the point where the rough rope dug into his wrists and his shoulders were starting to get sore from the position. Too much struggling and he knew that the rope would rub his wrists raw, although just the shifting from their walking was enough to cause him a fair amount of discomfort. Next to him was the cat boy, practically snarling as he seethed and glowered at the ground. The intensity of those purple eyes very nearly made Suzaku feel bad for the ground. They were still heading towards the town, he believed, and through the rolling hills it was, which made the journey difficult for someone with their hands tied.

If they stumbled, or if the bristling cat made any sort of suspicious move, they were jabbed and occasionally smacked with the hilt of the knights' swords. No one would tell them anything about why they were being dragged off, although Suzaku had a feeling he knew.

In this world Lelouch was the son of the ruler over the cats. He was a prince and he had run away, perhaps he even did something illegal and now they had found him and were bringing him in for punishment. How long they might have been traversing the territory looking for him, he couldn't be sure, but Lelouch had looked awfully situated and comfortable in his humble little abode out in the middle of nowhere.

Maybe they thought he was an accomplice, or maybe they were just believers in the worth of humans, but no matter how many times he inquired why they were taking him, no one said a word.

Eventually Lelouch elbowed him in the side and he managed to get himself to forgive the boy for his roughness by repeating that he was just upset and bound. Then of course, thinking of Lelouch with his hands bound wasn't such a good idea and he tried counting the trees in the nearby area instead.

Nevertheless Lelouch hadn't exactly been ready to go wandering about just yet when they found them lying there. The wound wasn't in a spot that prevented him from walking and it didn't look that bad, but apparently the combination of a wound and using a magic spell twice, when it was practically his first time playing with offensive magic, was enough to thoroughly wear him out. Honestly that wasn't very surprising to Suzaku, although he wasn't sure why. Maybe Lelouch just didn't give one the impression of having the stamina to last long with multiple things sucking away his energy.

As much as they tried to push him on and as determined as he was to stay dignified, it didn't last more than a couple of hours.

When Lelouch tripped, Suzaku immediately moved to try to catch him, but with his arms bound behind his back, he was simply left with the cat boy's weight falling heavily against his chest and it caused him to stumble back. While he was light, he didn't seem to have much strength left to hold himself up and was left leaning almost entirely on Suzaku. He was soundless, even as they grabbed him by the back of his shirt and yanked him upright, nearly causing him to fall over again.

"Lelouch!" Suzaku cried as an inexplicable wave of anger came over him.

"Keep moving! Don't bother stalling…we'll walk through the night if need be. We must make it to the town ahead as soon as possible, and we don't need your fooling around slowing us down!"

"Can't you see he's ill?" He shouted in return, surprising himself with the volume of his voice. While he had no idea why, he found himself upset at the guards for their treatment of Lelouch. Wasn't he the son of the emperor here, or had he really guessed so wrongly? Even if he was a criminal, wearing him thin wouldn't do anyone any good. That's what he hoped it was…that Lelouch was unable to defend himself and they were hurting him and posing a threat to his health. He would get upset for anyone. "He's been having trouble this entire time, and now you've pushed him to his limit! If you plan on getting him to the castle alive, you need to back off!"

A knight raised his hand to smack Suzaku across his face, but his eyes were hard and narrowed and he stood proudly rather than cowering. The leader signaled for the man to stand down…and then started giving out orders to set up a camp.

"You four will continue on to the town. Three will bring back sturdy horses, and one will send word to His Majesty that we have found the boy, and that a human is with him." The four he had selected saluted and continued along the path they had been walking before while others began the process of making a cooking fire. For the most part they were left alone as one soldier took the time to look through their belongings, another began to prepare food, and still more simply stood along the invisible line of the makeshift camp to guard their prisoners. Without the use of his arms Suzaku had some difficulty helping Lelouch into a sitting position, and although the overall process looked rather clumsy and awkward, they were both eventually seated on the ground. Suzaku was looking out across the hills, which by now practically hid the far off outlines of trees where they had come from. The direction of the town showed no sign of buildings within any decent walking distance, and he ended up trying to calculate how far they must have travelled and how much more was left. Suddenly Lelouch was leaning against him in a way reminiscent of last night, with his cheek resting on Suzaku's shoulder. It pulled him right out of his calculations…but he was never very good at those, anyway.

"Are you all right?" he asked gently. For now it was probably a good thing that he couldn't use his hands, because he had the unbearable urge to brush his fingers through that impossibly silky black hair. He bit his lip.

"I'll be fine." The weariness in his voice made Suzaku's chest ache as he came to the realization of just how much they had been pushing Lelouch. The way he was going on made it very difficult to tell how drained he was, but up close and talking with him, he could clearly see and hear the exertion. "It was stupid of you to yell at them."

"They were going to push you to keep going!" Suzaku cried indignantly, then lowered his voice when a soldier shot him a look. He cleared his throat and continued, feeling sheepish now. "They would have kept marching you on, regardless of how hard it was for you…and if you fell and couldn't walk another step, they would have hurt you to try and make you continue anyway. I couldn't let that happen…"

"And if it wasn't for the fact that they thought we would take less time if they brought a few horses to us, rather than walking the rest of the way, you would have been hurt as well." Through the weariness there was a touch of bitterness to Lelouch's voice.

"…I'm sorry, Lelouch. I just…" He couldn't explain the feelings that had overwhelmed him so suddenly. Suzaku looked mournfully at the short grass in front of him as the silence dragged on for a minute or two.

"Why did you do it?"

It was so spontaneous and serious that it caught Suzaku off guard and his head snapped up to blink at Lelouch. The cat boy hadn't moved his head, he was simply resting against Suzaku as if he hadn't just inquired something so unexpected. He wondered if he had just made it up, as if he hadn't actually heard it. Lelouch was so unmoving, other than his breathing, that it seemed very unlikely.

"…Well? Is it because I look like your friend?"

Suzaku rubbed the back of his head. So it hadn't been his imagination. That was a difficult question to answer and he shifted a little uneasily against Lelouch. He was already tense from having the boy near him.

"I don't know," he responded honestly. "It just happened. I was suddenly upset and knew I couldn't let them hurt you. I didn't think or put a reason to it…" It had been so out of the blue that he hadn't come to the realization that he felt this strong desire to protect Lelouch, but he got the feeling that if he worded it like that, it wouldn't go over well with him. Obviously he had his ways of protecting himself, but there was something about Lelouch getting kicked around that pushed his buttons in ways he didn't understand. The fragments of his memory told him that it didn't matter which Lelouch it was; he would have done it for any Lelouch. But nothing explained the why portion to him.

Maybe that answer had been enough, because once more silence fell between them. It wasn't something he couldn't stand, and sometimes he knew that just sitting with Lelouch could be refreshing and comforting, but the lack of conversation allowed him to focus more on the men around them and a sense of agitation started to rise in his stomach. For the first time since they had been captured, he actually started thinking about what this meant for them. He blamed the delay on the fact that he was groggy when they dragged them off.

He didn't know anything about the customs of this world, about its politics or rulers or what was and wasn't okay. He hardly understood anything about himself, either. While he had vague memories and flashes of understanding here and there, it wasn't enough to help him. In fact it made him more confused. Now they were being dragged along by heavily armed men to see the ruler of this kingdom he had stumbled upon, one he assumed was Lelouch's father, and he had no idea why it was happening or what would become of them once they arrived. They could be executed or something, for all he knew! Normally…normally he knew he would take the lawful path. He would allow himself to be taken, he would go through the pain and hardships of whatever trial was necessary, he would tell the exact truth, and then he would accept whatever decision was made. That much he knew about himself. He had the feeling he had gone through something like that before. But he couldn't be sure if there would be any justice or fairness to the system here. Maybe they would take one look at him and have him publically executed next to Lelouch.

Not only would he refuse to stand by and allow any maiming of the beautiful boy, but he couldn't die here. There were so many answers he needed, but most of all, there was a strong nagging sensation for him to be back wherever it was he belonged. What would happen if he never came back and simply left the Lelouch from home, his best friend Lelouch? Sad. People would be sad…not just Lelouch, either, although he couldn't recall any of the other people he considered friends.

A wave of frustration overtook him. Why can't I remember anything? He thought to himself, a bit of bitterness forming a ball in his throat. How could I forget the people important to me? They must be worried, and here I can't…I can't remember a face or a name!

He didn't realize that his expression had been darkening the entire time, or that he had tensed up and now had a mildly worried cat Lelouch blinking at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Suzaku."

The murmur of his name snapped him out of it and he shook his head to clear his remaining frustration before he turned his attention to Lelouch. He cocked his head at him in curiosity.

"Calm down, all right?" Lelouch was speaking quietly enough that the soldiers couldn't hear them…and most of them weren't paying attention to them, anyway. They were speaking amongst themselves as they lounged about, most of the immediate business already taken care of. "I prepared for this sort of thing the day I left. When someone truly wishes to find you, it's impossible to hide from them forever. The most you can do is prepare yourself for when that time comes." The purple gaze of the male next to him was now flicking from guard to guard, although his body was still turned towards Suzaku and he was still leaning in to speak close to Suzaku's ear. Suzaku swallowed tightly and tried not to notice how soft Lelouch's lips looked, instead trying to focus on why he spent so much time focusing on Lelouch.

"This is part of what I had planned. Relax, trust me, and don't try to do anything heroic and stupid. We're going to be fine," he finished firmly. It was Lelouch's form of reassurance – be so sure of himself that others could be sure of him, too.

Still it managed to help him relax and a bit of a smile crossed his face, more at the sentiment of the words than the words themselves. The only response he could come up with, and the only one he had time for, was a bit of a nod. One of the guards chose that time to approach them with food. Figuring out how to eat it was the awkward part.

~*~*~*~*~

The evening was starting to draw near when three soldiers returned with horses. Lelouch had drifted off for a cat nap against Suzaku, mostly because he was bored and couldn't think of anything else to do that didn't draw yells and occasional physical lashes from the men around them. Suzaku was still awake though and despite the fact that he had just spent hours doing absolutely nothing, he felt giddy. He hoped it was dehydration and not because Lelouch had been resting against him the whole time, his soft breaths ghosting against the skin of Suzaku's neck. He watched the horses approach, but allowed Lelouch a few more moments of peace.

Two of the three horses were rather large, Suzaku noted. One was pitch black with white socks, and the other was a brilliant white with patches of tan. The third one was smaller, obviously not meant for large knights in heavy metal armor escorting a prisoner. It was a reddish brown with a black mane and tail. All three were well kept, though Suzaku didn't know a thing about horses.

A loud whiny as they came to a stop in front of their encampment woke Lelouch and he slowly lifted his head from Suzaku's shoulder to peer around. When his eyes settled on the horses he murmured a flat, "finally," under his breath before attempting to get to his feet. The soldiers that had arrived on horseback dismounted, and two others yanked Suzaku and Lelouch up with far more force than necessary. Lelouch hissed in pain and returned to glaring at them. Suzaku had half a mind to glare, too.

"You, sit behind the human. I'll be sitting behind him," the captain said as he jabbed his thumb in Lelouch's direction. There was a bit of venom in the word "him".

Suzaku very nearly protested to that, as he really, really wanted to be the one to sit behind Lelouch on a horseback ride that would last a long amount of time…Just the thought of having his arms around Lelouch's small waist, his chin on his shoulder, pressing close to him to reduce the jostling from the horse underneath them…for hours on end with the boy in his arms. It sounded blissful. It would have made being captured one of the best things that had happened to him since he arrived, but he kept his mouth shut for fear of not only getting his wish brutally crushed, but a couple of bruises to go with his disappointment. Once again he was left admiring Lelouch from afar.

Only three of the soldiers would be going with them. One would be riding by himself on the smaller horse, and they were on the other two horses with another two men. All three had small bags of provisions, but most of their belongings were going to travel with the rest of the group at a much slower pace. Suzaku had to wonder if they would ever even see them again…when he thought of the rows upon rows of neat little notes filling countless pages, he felt bad. There were probably important things in Lelouch's bag. And he couldn't do anything to get them back. He felt guilty suddenly. He had arrived here from…who knew where? Lelouch found him in the middle of the field and decided to take him in, although he did admit that his reasons weren't completely selfless. But he gave him food and a place to stay when he was alone and confused about everything. There was some tension between them sometimes…but Lelouch…oh, he was just so wonderful. All the things (maybe he was exaggerating a little, because not that much had happened so far) he had done for him, even going so far as to save his life from that creepy monster, and what had he done for Lelouch? Somehow he would find a way to blame this all on himself because he knew that somehow, it was his fault. It made him miserable.

They were being walked to the horses, but the guilt must have been showing on his face because when Lelouch glanced at him, his brow furrowed.

"This isn't your fault, idiot," he murmured to him. Something about it made him really happy, but at the same time his chest ached terribly. Idiot. That sounded so familiar. Was it something Lelouch called him often? He managed a nod in response to the cat boy before they were both forced to mount the horses. Guards got up behind them, and the captain, once situated on his horse, looked back at the rest of his group.

"Continue on foot to the checkpoint to pick up your own steeds. We will meet you in the kingdom within a few days."

The men saluted him, and then the horses were galloping off, spurred on by nudges to their flanks with hard metal boots. Suzaku wasn't used to riding on horseback, and he never believed that it would be so…turbulent whenever he had seen it…because he knew he had seen it before. Which was why he was startled at the reality of it. There was also the fact that the horse was able to carry both him and a very heavy knight. He wondered how long it would last.

Despite his dislike of the "boring" travelling he had done with Lelouch before getting captured, once again he thought it was highly preferable to what they had to go through now. Not only was riding on the horse uncomfortable, but he couldn't even try to make conversation with the man behind him, for fear of getting smacked in the head and thus knocked off of the horse altogether. Everything dragged on until he fell into a sort of daze where he wasn't aware of how much time had passed. Soon things started to blur and it was too bright, although he couldn't see anything clearly. For a few moments he thought he saw shapes above him, dark and shadowy and he wondered, in a surprisingly detached way, if they were the same shadows that Lelouch had fought before. He was numb and couldn't feel a thing anymore, nor could he bring himself to move. There was talking but it was so muffled that it could've just been a breeze blowing through tree branches. But he couldn't even tell if there were tree branches, because the whole world seemed to melt together into one mess of color and he was starting to feel sick to his stomach.

"We were so worried…" It was a girl's voice, and it sounded surprisingly clear, as if she was saying it very close to him. He didn't know who the voice belonged to, but it was unsteady and he could hear the tears in her voice. She was crying and it squeezed his chest so painfully. It was the one thing he could feel…that and a strong desire to reach out and comfort her. Don't be worried…what are you worried about?

"Everyone thought you were going to die…that you wouldn't make it…" A bit of happiness crept into her voice, but a muffled sob overwhelmed it. This was a bittersweet condolence to her. "They say you're going to heal all right…but we all miss you so much…"

Please…no, don't cry…you aren't crying because of me, are you? I'm okay…I'm okay…! I'm here and I'm fine…

A hard nudge snapped him out of it and his eyes refocused properly. Everything took shape again and the fog in his head cleared. He was trembling and suddenly felt cold, even though the sun was still shining and bright. He felt his heart throbbing wildly in his throat and he could hear the blood rushing in his ears. What was that…? It had been so weird and…but her voice had sounded so clear! He shook his head violently to try and rearrange his thoughts properly, and to try and get himself to calm down. It was a dream…or maybe it was a memory. Perhaps that had just been a vivid memory, but…had that really been the way things looked during that memory, or was it a sound-only kind of thing? Suzaku suddenly felt silly for considering that memories might come in sound-only.

"Get off the horse!"

Another smack to the back of his head and he yelped, toppling off of the animal to fall on his side in the dirt and groan loudly. When he hesitantly looked up he saw Lelouch looking down at him, his purple eyes tinted with worry, and suddenly he felt sick again.

"Are you all right, Suzaku?" he asked, and tugged on his bindings in frustration when he couldn't offer him a hand up.

"Yeah, I am. Really…" The knight that had hit him pulled him to his feet.

"Are you sure…? You have been completely out of it and almost nonresponsive for the past two days…but you looked really upset almost the entire time we've been travelling."

"Wh-what? Two days??" Suzaku inquired, his voice growing louder with shock. Had he really just…not noticed two days going by? It couldn't have been possible! A few hours, maybe, but not days! And yet when he finally looked at his surroundings, he was startled to see that they were in a large stable…and outside the doors he could catch a glimpse of a huge tower of stone. It looked like it would have been…

"We've arrived at His Majesty's palace. It is time for your audience." The knight behind him declared, seeming unconcerned with the fact that Suzaku couldn't even remember he had just gone through two days of travel. The blunt end of a sheathed sword pressed unpleasantly into his back and he was ushered forwards. One of the men moved in front of them, guiding them out of the stable and through the castle grounds until they could get inside. The place was busy with people, all of whom had cat ears and tails of varying color, texture, and size. Many stopped to watch them pass by, but Lelouch simply held himself tall and kept his eyes forward. Suzaku thought he managed to look very regal and graceful, even with his arms tied behind his back…and out of all of them, he had the sleekest looking ears and tail. But that wasn't a good thought to linger on, because then he got curious about how they would feel under his fingers.

Silence followed them and spread around their immediate area like some kind of plague and it made Suzaku feel nervous. The place was very big, and the inside was even more intimidating than the outside. There were copious amounts of lavish decorations that lined the walls and the floors, some in the form of fabrics, others in the form of pottery, and still more paintings the size of house walls. Hallways stretched on for ages, some of which were mostly blank and bare, and others that contained many doors on both sides. All the while Lelouch's posture and expression never changed, but he had an air of confidence about him, and he seemed very sure of where he was going. When Suzaku thought about it, he imagined that Lelouch must have run through these hallways as a boy, laughing and playing and happy…or perhaps he had walked through them when he was older with his nose in a book, barely managing to brush past people.

When they weren't walking on rugs, their footsteps were a clamor of unpleasant noises that echoed around the walls, and it made them seem like an army stomping through rather than a few knights escorting them to the throne room. It gave everything a darker feel, as if they were being brought forth for their execution rather than a simple audience.

Panic rose in his throat, but he forced himself to calm down. Lelouch had said he was ready for something like this. Lelouch wouldn't let them get into a situation he couldn't get them out of.

And so besides their footsteps, everything was quiet. They turned a corner and Suzaku was starting to get tired of all this walking about, but when he opened his mouth to ask how much further it was, a strange strangled noise came out instead and the color drained from his face.

Off to the side of this new hallway was a jet black blob, more simplistic than the one he had seen before. It had a plump oval body with one thin and short arm that turned into a small hand. The pointer finger was long and more claw-like than finger-like, with the rest of the fingers very short and stumpy in comparison. There was a tapestry hanging from the wall it was propped up against, with the hand reaching up as if to try and climb it, but it was simply touching the very edge of the tapestry with that nasty looking finger. Wherever it touched, threads started to fray and colors dulled.

"Th-th-th…!!" Suzaku gasped and jerked his arm to point, but ended up sending a jolt of pain up the limb and it reminded him that his wrists were bound. He wanted to scramble backwards and away from the thing and was about to do so when Lelouch ran into him sideways to snap him out of it. Both of them stumbled, but managed to catch themselves before they could topple over. Violet eyes were narrowed at him with the very specific message that he should shut his mouth. He knew.

"It's just a tapestry," he commented off-handedly with a hint of exasperation to his voice. "It isn't going to jump out at you, Suzaku."

He nodded weakly and tried to keep his eyes off of the thing as the knight behind them yelled for them to keep moving. The one at the tapestry seemed occupied or uninterested in them, but he still shuddered as they walked past it. Even after it was long behind them he felt on-edge about the whole thing, and started to wonder how many more could be wandering around the palace, invisible to the vast majority of the residents.

They arrived at the throne room just as he was starting to calm down, and immediately his stomach started performing acrobatics again. Large double doors were pushed open to reveal the grand hall lined with pillars and paintings of past emperors, with high ceilings and chandeliers that glittered menacingly in the light of candles, despite it still being daylight. A plush red carpet led from the doors up to a raised area, two broad steps higher than the rest of the floor, where an ornate high-backed chair stood. The man seated in the chair looked huge and menacing to Suzaku, although he was terribly familiar. White hair rolled up in tight curls fell about his broad shoulders, and his body was very large and thick. He didn't exactly look fat, just…big. In contrast his purple eyes were small and narrow underneath thin white eyebrows, matching his equally long and thin lips pressed into a firm line. His nose was sharp and his jaw was wide and lined with a short white beard. Atop his head were two proud white ears, but his tail was small enough in comparison to his body that it was difficult to spot. In his royal get-up with his self-righteous posture, he managed to be intimidating despite being part cat. Nevertheless, beside him Lelouch held himself tall and regarded the man in front of them with obvious loathing. They were pushed along until the knights behind them deemed it close enough to force them to their knees. Lelouch snapped at the guard's arm, and probably would have bitten him if not for the metal sleeves.

"My fool of a son…" He started, his voice loud and words drawn out, unrushed and confident with himself and his power. Although Suzaku had been expecting this, he was still startled to know that the beautiful cat boy was related to this huge…man. There wasn't anything beautiful about him. "I told you not to get involved. And so you run off and gather the scum of the land together…for what?"

"This 'scum' you spit at has more interest in the safety and wellness of this kingdom than you ever have!" Lelouch spat, the fur on his tail bristling. The man chuckled.

"Your life has been too good, Lelouch. You have become overly confident and full of yourself, and with the abundance I have graciously and selflessly given to you as my youngest son, you have gotten bored. Playing the hero…but your game has gone on long enough."

"How dare you, old man! My entire existence, you have been concerned with no one but yourself, even when those things took mother's life!" he snarled, and the ferocity and passion in his words startled Suzaku. "You always look to benefit yourself at the cost of others! The death of your citizens and decay of your kingdom don't mean a thing to you!"

The emperor momentarily fell silent. Lelouch seethed but started to feel a bit satisfied, as he thought the silence might have been a miniature victory.

"Do not speak of things you understand nothing about. Who are you to judge my work or my ability to rule, when you remain ignorant and fat on the success of this kingdom?" The man rose from his throne, and standing up he looked even larger. But he did not approach them – he simply stood there appearing intimidating. "You don't know a thing."

It was Lelouch's turn to be quiet, but he continued to glare at his father.

"Do you think you know what is good for everyone? Do you think you know better than someone three times your age? You don't even know what they are, foolish boy."

Here Suzaku perked, even as he felt his throat constrict against his attempts to swallow, although he wasn't sure why he had a sense of foreboding. It seemed as if Charles knew what those monsters were, and at the prospect of an explanation he couldn't help his curiosity.

"Since the beginning of time they have walked the earth. Long before our people existed, they have decided the fate of all things, animated or otherwise. The Incuria…they are born out of the dirt and filth that threatens to rot this earth. Anything useless, unneeded, undesired, all of it attracts them. It is their duty, their single most driving desire, to purify, clean, and be rid of things that do not deserve to exist. And you, you who knows nothing, would defy them for this? Your skewed ideals and lack of experience will bring you only death and despair! You are naught but a fly compared to them and the power they wield. A power that is growing as we speak…"

Both boys were dumbstruck. Lelouch seemed to be at a loss for what to say in response, and Suzaku didn't think his voice would serve him properly now. The only thing he knew was that those creatures, the Incuria as Charles called them, gave him a horrible feeling. They made his skin crawl and sent him into a sort of panic when Lelouch wasn't there to properly keep him in check, and he didn't think they could bring anything but destruction and pain. He couldn't see how it was good for anyone.

"…So you think people should just accept their fates? You think that because these things are old and powerful, we should just let them do as they please, even if it means the death of thousands?" Lelouch's voice had become deathly quiet, but his tone remained bitter and venomous.

"If they die by the hands of the Incuria, then it is something they deserved. It has been told of, in lore, how they shall gradually come to their full power and cleanse the earth of everyone unworthy to live! What shall be left after their divine judgment shall be a perfect world. It is evolution! You would be selfish to try and stop the process!"

"Maybe not everyone is perfect. Maybe there are some people out there that are horrible, that hinder progress more than help it, but that doesn't give anyone or anything the right to simply take away their lives! People…all people should have the right to try and better themselves. People will make mistakes, people will harm other people and things, but people can also learn! All these things are what make us who we are as a species…dogs, cats, humans, we're enough alike in our base structure! If something were to take away our ability to choose and grow and strive to be better, then it only makes sense that we should have the decision to fight back!" Lelouch's posture mirrored that of his father's in the way that it was regal and proud, but there was a grace and force behind the young cat boy that made Suzaku's heart speed up. Both men, father and son, had a way with words that, if they wished to do so, could move people to rally behind them. But Lelouch had a beauty and hidden compassion for the world that his father lacked, or at least, had become so twisted that it no longer appeared vibrant. Their eyes, while very similar in color, were very different. Both were passionate and fierce in their resolve, and yet, Lelouch…

The same boy who held no opinion on the differences of race, the boy who seemed content to live alone amongst his wild vegetables and fruits, far from civilization and avoiding contact with other people when he could…he didn't seem to care, and yet the fire in his words and his eyes gave it all away. There was a weird feeling in Suzaku's chest as he watched the scene continue to unfold.

"If people choose to allow these things the right to pick them over and create the "perfect world"…as stupid as that is, so be it! But you can't be allowed to hide this from them! They need to make the decision themselves! You don't have the right to force anything on them, and that's why, as an emperor, you are the selfish one, and unfit to lead these people!"

These words seemed to anger the emperor and he turned his attention to the few guards that had been allowed to stay in the room with them. They stood up straighter and saluted, waiting for his orders.

"I have heard enough. The opinions of a traitor mean nothing. Place them in separate holding cells without food and water until I have decided what—" The emperor started, the word "separate" sending a wave of dread over Suzaku to the point where he wanted to leap to his feet and defy the man before him. But he didn't get the chance, nor did Charles even get the opportunity to finish his command, as the wall to the left of them exploded with a deafening noise, spraying debris forward and filling the room with dust and smoke.