The man exited the room, pausing slightly as he dried the sweaty skin of his forearms with a towel. He absentmindedly scratched his pronounced bulge that seemed to threaten to burst forth from his constricting lab coat, which he tried to adjust ever so often. He then started down the bleak, white-painted corridor, swinging his massive arms.

As he turned the corner, he pulled out a datapad from his pocket on which he input in a few strings. He passed by numerous steel doors along the hallway, each marked by a strange symbol. A thought seemed to occur to the man, and he double-backed to a door he had just passed. He pressed the call-button outside and said in a rumbling voice, "It's Portland, Duran. I have something to clarify with you." Without waiting for a reply, he entered the room through a sliding door.

Inside was a vast array of tubes and wires, interconnecting at points. Almost all were connected to some sort of device. In the midst of everything crouched a man, fiddling with some of the wires.

"Mr. Portland is it?", a high voice chirped. "What does the bi- what does the Boss want with poor blind ol' me?"

Charles Augustus Portland, Executive Head of the Lamperouge Project, harrumphed and thrust his hand to pull the other man up by his coat. "I'm in a hurry, Duran. This 'miracle' invention of yours can wait."

"Careful! Not the coat! The coat! Where is that thing...", Duran fumbled for a stick that leaned on the wall. He brushed himself free from the bigger man's grasp and adjusted the black glasses he wore on his head. "Well what is it, Boss?", he asked, thrusting his walking stick forward.

"I'm right here," said the voice to his left. "Just a slight...clarification if you will." Duran felt the other man's presence move closer. "This 'invention' of yours, how soon can it start trial runs?"

"As soon as can possibly be, Mr. Breaker sir!", Duran chortled. "All these you can see here," the blind man gestured around the room, "will constitute the mainframe of the system. As long as we have somewhere cool enough to embed it in, even I can test it out!"

"That is not your duty, Duran, as you well know."

"Of course not, yes, yes I jest, all for the project am I right? Still with this marvelous system I created, I, Rimes Duran, will finally be able to - ", he was stopped by a hand which had clamped around the blind man's mouth.

"That will be all, Duran," the voice said in a dangerous tone. "In truth, you have as much time as you can possibly want fine-tuning the system - no, perfecting it! But ensure that on your end, by the time the subject is ready to use this system of yours, that no screw-ups arise! I do not tolerate failures." Having finished, the other man released his grip.

Portland stepped towards the door. As it slid to open, the blind scientist said, "How are those little chicks coming along, if I may ask?"

The big man paused, his body framed by the open doorway. "They are as freshly ripened fruits - ready," the man's eyes gleamed sadistically, "for the plucking. They will be very pliable in my hands. In a word, Rimes Duran," the man concluded , "they are the best I could ask for, and they shall be PERFECT, after I am through."

"Even the younger one?"

Portland said nothing as the door slid shut behind him.

Charles Augustus Portland, the blind man thinks to himself. Nicknamed the "Innocence Breaker", the most infamous child training instructor in the world, yet unknown to even the Emperor of Britannia himself. Now it seems he has found new toys again...I can't help but pity those two.

"But then again," the blind man says, "if it weren't for this project, I would not have been able to start building this new system." The man presses a nearby button, which seems to give the room life. The wires light up as the devices hum to life. A violet glow suffuses the room, illuminating up the man's joyful features as he places one of the devices on top of his head.

"My precious Mind's Eye..." Rimes Duran laughs as he glimpses once again the bright images that have astonishingly pierced through his disability.

Lelouch jolts awake, staring at the bare wall that first meets his gaze. He finds himself lying on the cold floor of a medium-sized four-by-four room, and stretches his sore limbs as he sits up.

Grimacing, the youth recalls that first encounter he had with the so-called "Master" of this forsaken place. No, what he vividly remembers was him, struggling to overcome the towering monstrosity with his body, only to receive a powerful punch that knocked all the wind out of the boy, rendering him unconscious.

He holds a hand to the place where he had been hit, wincing at the remaining dull pain. Only rarely before had the former prince experienced physical violence, and even then, the pain was only vindicated by his own gratifying retaliations. Euphemia and Nunnally would even-

Nunnally!

Lelouch's mind started to race. Where was Nunnally? What could those bastards have done to her? Such questions revolved around the boy's mind as he furiously beat on the door to his room.

"Nunnally...", the boy sobbed. I'm sorry. I'm a failure of a brother. I'm so, so sorry...

Unexpectedly, the door slides open, and a powerful kick sends the boy sprawling across the room to slam against the opposite wall. Gritting his teeth in fury, Lelouch sees the massive man again, staring down greedily at him. The boy attempts to charge, but is instantly held down by two pairs of hands belonging to soldiers whom he had not seen at first.

"WHO ARE YOU? WHAT IS THIS PLACE? WHERE'S NUNNALLY-", the boy was silenced by an anesthetic gun which had been thrust against his neck. His glazed eyes never lost their anger towards the giant figure reflected in them.

Nunnally...

Nunnally stirs awake, faintly aware of a distant humming. Taking a moment to adjust to consciousness, she sharpens her senses to take stock of her situation. She was apparently sitting on a chair of some sort. The room smelled strange - odorless, a far cry from Japan's crisp summer air or the sweet-smelling multitude of the palace gardens.

The girl recalls. The last thing she could remember before losing consciousness was the sound of his brother calling her name. She recalled painfully how they were restrained and separated.

"Nii-sama..."

She attempted to raise her hand to her chest, but found that her hands her restrained. She tests the bonds, finding that it was very firmly wrapped around her body. She flinched before she relaxing herself, taking the situation in calmly once more.

After some time, she hears the sound nearby of what she thinks is a door sliding open, and she turns her head to where she thought the door was.

"May I ask where I am?", she inquires of the presence that she felt walk through the doorway.

Hearing no answer, she further asked, "Who are you? Do you have business with me and my brother? We would have cooperated with you easily, you didn't have to hurt brother-"

"Silence, girl.", a voice rumbled. She fell silent, intimidated by the loud voice.

The humming in the room seemed to increase in volume, which grated on Nunnally's ears.

"What is important for you to know, little girl," the voice continued, "is that you and your brother are DEAD, dead to the world that you once knew. You have been cast aside by the cruelties of fate and life, and here you both are: living dolls, fit for reshaping."

Nunnally does not understand, she is too frightened at the tone that the voice held. "I don't understand, why are you doing this to us, to nii-sama?", she asks hoarsely.

The presence circled her now, breathing fast. "Little girl, do you want to know about your brother's whereabouts?"

A moment's heartbeat. "Yes please! I need to know that nii-sama is safe!"

"Well then," the voice moves closer. "If you do whatever I want, you will be able to see him anytime, anywhere." She thought she could hear a distinct click behind her ear, but she ignores it as she digests what the man was telling her.

"Whatever...? What am I supposed to do? Please," the girl started to struggle again, "I'll do anything, please bring nii-sama here! Please let us go!"

"Well then little girl, you shall start by calling me 'Master'.", the presence stopped circling. The girl didn't seem to hear, as she continued to struggle hard against her restraints in a fierce tantrum. "NO! NO! Bring nii-sama here, I need my brother!! Please!! No more talks, no more tests! I'll be good-"

The presence seemed to have had enough, as he shouted, "Silence girl!" and a new sound assaulted Nunnally's ears.

The girl stops struggling, slowly, she realizes exactly what she seemed to be hearing now. It is the sound of her brother seemingly being put in extreme pain. His cries of agony were interspersed with (what she assumed) buzzing sounds, and her heart nearly broke from this. What is this...nii-sama?

"Please...", the girl said now in a defeated tone. "Let nii-sama go, I promise...I promise I'll do anything." The girl raised her head towards the presence. "I will do anything you ask me, master. Just please," she started to cry now, "Don't hurt nii-sama anymore..."

"It is good to see that you are a good girl. But then," a hand grabs her face forcefully. "There will be no more tears out of you." Nunnally chokes silent, stopping the tears from flowing, but they gather regardless. "You will follow what is set before you closely, little girl. Fail even once, and your dear brother will pay the price...." The sounds of her brother being tortured stop, and silence followed the presence as it lets go of her face and exits out the door.

When she heard the door close, Nunnally broke down, sobbing uncontrollably, releasing the held back flood. Her heart went out to her brother that she had to protect, that she had to do anything to keep safe. It was a reversal of their roles, and Nunnally realized that she would have to take care of her dear brother from now on.

Abruptly, the voice seemed to return, but it sounded like it came from above. "I am always watching you little girl, and I see that you broke my orders again. You realize the penalty for disobeying me, do you?" The sounds of her brother being tortured returns again. Desperate, Nunnally screams for it to stop, saying that she won't do it again, begging for her brother's release. When the sounds stop for the second time, the voice coldly states: "Humans are weak creatures, little girl. That is your first lesson. Anytime you are compelled to disobey me again in the future, know that your brother, not you, will have to pay the consequences."

Nunnally vi Britannia, formerly the 11th Princess of the Holy Britannian Empire, silenced her heart in despair for her brother's sake as she mumbles her response, "Yes...master..."

"So you mean to train me to be your pet, mongrel? You will not exact obedience from me no matter what you try! I will rather die than be anyone's slave!" The proud voice of Lelouch vi Britannia boomed out in the small room.

Lelouch had reawoken to find himself strapped to a chair in a dim room, with pale light coming from an overhead lamp. The chair was oriented as to face some sort of rectangular glass.

A voice, which he assumed to belong to that of the man's, had called out, explaining his intention for the boy once again. That the boy and his sister were dead to the world, that no one would save them, that they would serve better purpose serving him, the so-called "master" of this place.

Lelouch had raised his eyebrows, despite renouncing his claim to the throne, he still had his pride as a prince; and he was grimly amused at this man's cowardly attempts at forcing subservience. The boy knew that he alone did not have the power to reverse this situation, to break free from this place, wherever this was. But he had also decided that he would simply wait, bide his time, awaiting for the chance to escape - using the many escape plans he had already drawn up in his mind. The thought of escape had served to galvanize the boy's resolve, but he was unaware of the lengths this man would go to bend his victim's will.

"So you would rather die, little boy? How brave of you." (Lelouch snorted, he was also ready for this eventuality.) "But if you do, then who will care for your sister? She is also firmly within my grasp." Lelouch gasped as the space beyond the glass lit up to illuminate what was beyond the room.

Lelouch's features twisted in wrath as he saw his sister being restrained in a manner similar to his condition. How dare they!? Doing this to Nunnally, that bastard...!

"If you die, then we will have to ask for her cooperation instead. I'm sure she will have some sort of use to us - her disabilites aside."

"NO!", the boy screamed. "Not Nunnally, dont touch my sister you bastard!" The boy started to struggle in his restraints, glaring daggers everywhere. The lengths these bastards would go to! They would pay!

"However, we have more use for you, boy, " the voice continued. "You possess a remarkable intellect that, applied in the right place, would become an unstoppable weapon in any man's hands. If you were to simply acquiesce to my will, then your precious sister will not come to harm. She will be kept safe somewhere here, and I shall give you permission to talk with her occasionally."

The boy didn't seem to hear, as he kept on struggling, shouting threats and insults, uttering screams as his voice grew steadily hoarser. It seemed that all the boy's attention had been turned to his sister.

"BOY!" The voice boomed. "If you will not obey me, then I will be forced to act! But you will not be the one to suffer!" Lelouch was startled to see a thin drill activate behind Nunnally's head, and screamed as he watched it slowly move towards his sister's head.

"STOP IT! NOT NUNNALLY, YOU BASTARD! STOP-" The drill moved ever closer, and Lelouch saw that his sister seemed to have realized her danger, and was struggling in her chair. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he reined in his emotions, shouting grudgingly, "Stop...this..." His eyes took on determination as he glared at the drill, willing it to stop in its slow quest for his sister's head. "I'll do it...Don't hurt Nunnally, just...I'll be a pawn...just keep her safe..."

The boy bowed his head in defeat. Faced with the knowledge of failing his sister again, his plans of escape seemed to dissolve in his mind, acknowledging that he could do nothing as long as Nunnally was held hostage. Someday, Nunnally, someday....Lelouch looked up to watch as the lights in the other room dimmed, obscuring his sight of Nunnally. The drill had paused in midair, deactivated. Someday, I....

"Now then boy." The voice had returned. "You will start by calling me 'Master'."

"What did you say?" The tone of defiance had re-entered the boy once again. "I agreed to be your puppet, but not to be your pet."

"Boy, boy, if you will not obey simple commands such as these, then how can I know if you will continue to obey me? And to remind you of the price of disobedience," The lights were relit in the other room, and Lelouch watched in horror as the drill restarted.

Lelouch screamed at them to stop, pledging greater obedience through gritted teeth. His heart slowly fell to despair as he realized just how greatly the voice had exerted its control over him, over Nunnally. Nunnally, I'm sorry...I failed you again...I failed as a brother... Dimly the boy recalled a sunset scene which for him seemed to have occured a lifetime ago, of a promise which he realized he would never be able to fulfill.

And the hatred within Lelouch vi Britannia, former 11th prince of the Holy Empire of Britannia, settled into fiery embers deep within his soul.

Daily Diary:
Damn that Valdez! To think I bought his assurances of faith a week ago concerning the sakuradite!
As it is, I have no way of proving the weasel's theft to Portland. What does he need all those resources for anyway?
To fuel his always malfunctioning weapon prototypes? That so-called "Smash Harken" of his, does he really intend to deviate from standard, proven design?
God knows, we still have our hands full fine-tuning the Morgana's drive. If only I could return to the institute, contact some of the old crowd, maybe I could have...but no!
This is all top-secret as they say. And I doubt those two would not be satisfied with a mere inquiry, they might want to know more about my design intentions too!
Dr. Rouche Aiyme