Author's Note: Again, I have to apologize (to you people who are somehow following this) for the lack of updates when I specifically said in a previous note that I wouldn't. Lemme tl;dr it for ya: right as I was about to upload this chapter, I finally got an okay on the house that I was going to buy, so that entailed an immediate moving, nerve-racking clearing out of the old apartment and all that jazz. Thanks to that, and a promotion at work, I also decided upgrade my decade old computer. Lo and behold, as I allowed the technician to wipe out the hard drives without backuping, POOF went a decade of memories ;_;

After things settled down a bit, I finally got down to reinstalling essential features on the computer and just now, I've finished reuploading subphase 19. Subphase 20 - short chapter, will probably be next weekend, assuming I don't stealth upload sometime at work. So...yay me, I guess.

The song featured in a scene here is credited to a particular track, the first upbeat track that played when I shuffled my iPod for a song. It's title is "23:50" by a band called GirlDeMo. Until next time, loyal (ha!) readers...

The sun dozed lazily in the crisp blue sky as it shone down rays of temperamental heat on the Tokyo Settlement of Area Eleven. At this time of the day, the daytime shopping malls of the Settlement were just about to open, and the other establishments that had just opened were already bustling with Britannians. One of those was Ashford Academy, one of the most notable landmarks in the Settlement.

The heat blazed down on the grounds of Ashford Academy, forcing its student council president, Milly Ashford, to close the blinds of the clubroom.

"Did Lulu say anything, prez?" came Shirley's worried question. She and the rest of the council were seated around the central table going over their textbooks.

Milly smiled sadly as she shook her head. "He's not one to tell other people freely about his intentions."

"My guess is he took a sick day and he just didn't bother to tell us," said Rivalz absentmindedly. Unlike Shirley or Nina on either side of him, he was merely doodling on
the edges of his book.

"Well, that's what makes him who he is," sighed Milly disconsolately. It had been almost a month since she'd been reunited with one of her estranged childhood friends, and she thought that she was getting no closer to finding out the mystery that was Lelouch.

After a moment, her face cleared as she said in a lighter tone, "But so much for my absent second-in-command: I'm still here, so let's get some student council work done!"

"Work?" asked Nina.

"Yep," Milly said as she walked across the room to the adjoining one. Upon returning, she was carrying heaps of manila folders bundled up haphazardly with rope. With a heaving sigh, she plopped the whole pile on the table with an audible thud.

"Start-of-the-year leaflets for the incoming students," grinned the president, ignoring the others' wide open mouths. "We have to organize them according to year, gender and class, AND we have to organize it alphabetically."

The other members looked at each other, each wanting the other to speak up. As no one had the courage to, they could do nothing but silently accede.

"Alright, let's start!"

The safe house's landlady would have been furious had she seen the sight that one of her rooms had been reduced to.

The bed was on its side, the torn sheets covering it like cobwebs. The solitary table had been torn apart, and one of its legs had been embedded deep into a wall. The window drapes fluttered hopelessly like torn butterfly wings in the morning breeze.

Fallen on the floor was a computer terminal, and on the screen was displayed a short message. Next to it, a large machine lay with its innards exposed and bristling dangerously with live wires.

At the center of all this stood a uniformed boy holding a battered piece of wood. His normally pristine raven hair was disheveled, and on his face was an expression of intense frustration. The boy was biting his lip, and his violet eyes shimmered as his hands shook with repressed rage.

Lelouch Lamperouge had just experienced a traumatizing event, one of his worst yet. His first, of course, had been the death of his mother, and one could hardly fault the boy if he'd have done even worse to the room had it happened again.

Last night, after the dust had settled, Nunnally had acted strange, completely ignoring her brother's calls over the comm. Lelouch had then become desperate, and activated the emergency protocol which handed over control of the metallic monstrosity to him.

At the same time, he'd activated a protocol in his cockpit that started to broadcast an SOS signal to the people who were in charge, and the only thought Lelouch had as he awkwardly maneuvered the hulk to one of the drop-off points was frantic concern over his sister.

To the madmen of the Project, who seemed to care NOTHING for their playthings, the top priority had been to secure his sister. That would have been fine for the boy had he, upon exiting out of the cockpit, accompanied his sister back to wherever they were taking her.

Instead, he was swiftly surrounded by armed men on the ground as soon as he descended from his cockpit.

"Get out of my way, bastards! My sister has been hurt!"

His eyes were glued to Nunnally the whole time as she was carefully extracted and lowered from her cockpit. His chest burned upon seeing her still crying and shaking.

"Nunnally!"

He was quickly strong-armed into the ground in the instant that he was about to push his way through.

"NO! YOU WON'T KEEP ME FROM HER!"

The boy struggled, his mind and body on fire. But there was no way he could overcome a horde of men pinning him down even if he had all the adrenaline in the world.

He was able to see his sister through their legs, just before he felt a pain in his thigh, being laid out on a stretcher of sorts. She was still twitching and shaking, a heart-rending sight for her brother who was now drifting into a dreamless sleep.

His fury abated, his misty eyes sought after her pleadingly, even as he felt like a pillow had been placed inside his brain, smothering his mind until his eyes were forced to droop close.

The boy saw nothing but darkness for what seemed like a mere moment, before his eyes opened abruptly and he saw that he was inside their safehouse.

He had been laid out on the bed, strangely clothed not in the standard suit from before but in the Ashford Academy uniform. His mind still groggy, he'd turned his head to his left to see a computer terminal turned on right beside him.

The boy had immediately risen, grabbing the terminal close. As his still tired eyes adjusted to the light, he'd clicked on a glowing link that looked like an envelope.

Immediately, a message had been displayed, and after looking at the top, Lelouch deduced that it was about Nunnally. Sitting straight up, he willed his sluggish mind to read, and it took some willpower to stop his hands from shaking as he read.

Moments later, the sound of the computer being thrown mightily onto the floor was heard, followed by the crashes and bumps that preceded a young man's rampage in this little room.

How dare they? Nunnally - SUBJECT N. was reported to have been calmed down, and was recovering in the facility (wherever that was). That had been good news to the brother, but the next paragraph had not been remotely good at all.

That due to her present condition, she would have to stay in the facility for some time.

That assuredly, their missions would be restarted as soon as the Devicer had recovered.

That his new orders were not "We would like you to withdraw from the field as well", but

"Continue performing your duties"?

"Damn it!"

Why couldn't he be there? Why couldn't he be at the side of his most precious thing in the world? What point was there in continuing this farce if an unexpected variable in the process had occured? Why did HE have to continue "going to school" and so, as far away from his sister as he could ever be?

To the boy, asking those questions inside his head, this was the height of lunacy. He'd watched, helplessly and agonizingly, his sister break down in front of him.

A bitter oversight: he should have been there at the start.

Why hadn't he just exited the cockpit at that moment, and comforted Nunnally himself? Why had he chosen to leave it to all to the monsters who cared nothing for them?

"Foolish..."

Yes, it had been a stupid action on his part as well. But, but, but...

The boy was disturbed from the violence of his inner soul at a tentative knock on the door. It was the landlady, judging from the concerned voice that filtered through the cracks.

Knowing that they would be kicked out should she see the devastation he'd caused on the room, Lelouch ignored the knocks, willing silently for the annoyance to go away. NO! Not now, I don't need this! Not while he was still like this. Not while Nunnally was away.

Not while the boy was floundering helplessly on the shallow streams of his existence.

Go away.

"Nunnally..." the boy ground his teeth hard.

Humming excitedly, the genius scientist Lloyd Asplund pushed a button on the terminal in front of him. A picture of a giant robot appeared briefly on the large screen before it dissolve into a progress bar - showing "Connecting, please wait" above it.

Still humming a familiar tune from his past, the scientist propelled his body to spin in the revolving chair, his eyes glistening giddily. Why was this scientist, already prominent in the Britannian scientific community, acting this way? Certainly the image of a scientist devoted to his work should've been more composed, only expressing a sort of "suppressed emotion" in light of a sudden breakthrough?

Was it because the scientist had finally completed the final piece in his masterwork, the revolutionary Knightmare Frame prototype informally known as the Z-01? Was it because with this, he was one step closer to seeing his brain-child finally start operating, to open its proverbial wings, so to speak?

"Brilliant...magnificent..."

Starting abruptly, he stopped the chair and minimized the connecting program on the computer, clicking on another link afterwards. On the screen was then displayed the pictures of his baby that was even now being tinkered on by his assistants in the hangar downstairs.

He almost drooled as his eyes devoured each aspect of the Z-01 in every picture that scrolled past. He chuckled appreciatively at a particular one that showed him obstentatiously hugging the legs of the Knightmare.

Alerted to a glowing link to his other connecting program, Lloyd straightened himself as he put away the pictures, bracing visibly as the image on the screen resolved to show the imposing real live image of the Second Prince of the Holy Britannian Empire, Prince Schneizel el Britannia.

The golden-haired prince, dressed impeccably in flowing royal robes, smiled down at the man in charge of his secret pet project, "Good morning, Lloyd. How are you?"

Lloyd grinned respectively up at his patron as he replied, "All's well, fine and good,

Your Majesty."

"What do you have for me, Lloyd?" the prince asked as he relaxed visibly in his seat.

"Nothing but the best, your Majesty," said the scientist who was barely able to control the excitement in his voice. "The new experimental Frame has been," he made an elegant gesture, "completed! We can expect test drives quite soon, quite soon indeed."

"That is good news!" nodded the prince approvingly. "I knew you were the right man for the job."

"Your Majesty, I am always the right man for the job," Lloyd replied with a bit of a chiding tone. "That is all for my report this month, Your Majesty. I don't want to take up more of your time with boring details." As the Prime Minister of the Empire, the Second Prince was expected to have an unenviable work schedule daily.

The prince nodded again, evidently pleased at this. "It pleases me to see that the Empire is still firmly on the route to progress through the efforts of brilliant men like you. On my end, Lloyd, I am pleased to tell YOU that one of your other ideas has also born fruit."

The scientist made a peculiar quizzical motion with his head.

"I am speaking, of course, of your Hadron proposal that I have taken the liberty of having developed."

This time, Lloyd was indeed pleasantly surprised as he adjusted his glasses - for fear of them falling down in his now heightened emotions. If there was one thing he wasn't always sure of when he submitted some of his proposals to the Second Prince, it was that particular piece, with a wholly imperfect design.

There was something in the Hadron Cannon that needed tweaking, though what that was, Lloyd would not have the time to research, busy as he was with his own project.

"Excellent, Your Majesty? Has it produced a meritorious result too, then?"

For an instant, a frown crossed the Prince's fair features before it quickly disappeared, to be replaced by a reassuring smile. "So far, the Cannon itself has been completed and scheduled to be included in one of your other Knightmare designs, the IFX. However, as you've warned me before in your earlier presentations, they have problems aligning the beams properly, and that is something I hope they can get around to soon."

"The IFX? The one where you said you could test the...?"

In a more serious tone, the prince nodded. "THAT system has yet to be perfected, but so far the ones in charge have reported positive indications of better performance. And when it is, you can be assured that they will try to integrate it first with the IFX."

Lloyd's mind had already started to move, the gears supporting it already churning to measure the implications of what the Prince had said. If THAT could be perfected, then Britannia was indeed on the road to perfection on the field of battle.

And maybe even the Z-01 could...the genius scientist shivered pleasantly at THAT idle thought.

"Before I go, Lloyd, what do you think will the Z-01's common name be?" The prince asked off-handedly. "It's a pain to use its designation number, and something more salient to how it should be would add a, shall we say - tangible - essence to the Frame itself."

Lloyd smiled when he heard this. That was something he'd already decided ever since the day he knew he would be able to finally build the machine of his dreams. In reply, he leaned in closer to the screen, as if he was speaking confidentially to the Prince, and so wanting no other to hear.

"Your Majesty, my creation will be called the Lancelot."

"Ah, quite felicitous."

"Yes, very much so."

Wincing slightly, Dr. Rouche Aiyme adjusted her right arm so it wouldn't impede on the cast that had been placed on her left as she sat at her designated terminal.

The hangar was bustling even more than usual on this day, partly because she'd ordered it to be so, but also because the Morgana was being refitted with its new experimental core.

The near-death experience she'd suffered thanks to that mad scientist had caused her to decide that the time of simulations was past. No longer would they be restricted with
theoretical results; they would be getting their answers quickly and efficiently. If it failed, so what? There were a dozen more cores already manufactured and ready for refitting. The Morgana's refitting was a perfect time to do that.

That, and she was taking advantage of Portland's directive that the Morgana would not be sortied for some weeks, following its Devicer's little accident.

Her thoughts turned, briefly, to the pale shivering girl she had seen brought back in to the facility, before turning to dwell on her child that waited silently over her.

The bed was soft but far from warm, the clothes she wore were adequate but not enough.

It was lonely sitting here in the dark.

The solitude was made even worse with the knowledge that a vast tract of sea separated her from her brother.

At first, Nunnally had panicked when she'd woken up to the long familiar sounds of the facility rumbling all around her. It had taken some time alone (after the doctors had already left) for her to calm down.

What had happened? She had tried to ask. The events of the past night were a clouded haze to her, and the most recent memory she could summon was the livid fear she had felt when she'd assumed the worst for her brother. Beyond that point, she had a blank slate all throughout until she awoke to find herself back in here.

It was a chilling thought, realizing that there were blank slates in her memory, and she prayed that there would be no more of that. There was no telling what she could possibly do to her brother without her knowledge.

Nunnally bore the news that she would be separated for a while from her brother with grace. She supposed that it was her fault after all, so the least she could do was allow herself to be punished.

The room door opened with a hiss. Nunnally stirred as she turned her head to where the noise was.

"Nice to meetcha again, Subject N."

The girl relaxed when she heard that it was just the man from before, the one who had taught her all about the Mind's Eye. This was the one who was also a surrogate for Nunnally, in the days before she and her rother had been reunited.

At the least, this man was kind enough to be understanding of her disability, blind as he said he was.

"I've been assigned to your care, Subject N. In your temporary stay here, I hope we can get along once again."

"I wish for that to be so," mumbled the girl in turn.

With a plunk, she felt the man sit on a chair close to her bedside, his presence much closer now. She heard the sounds of machinery jingling together and felt a familiar sensation as something was placed on her head.

With a hum, the Mind's Eye started, searing her eyes slightly as they projected long-lost images to her brain.

The view opened up to the drab room she was in, with a single chair placed at the foot of the bed and the gray metallic walls. When she looked to her right, she finally saw the man again, fiddling with the portable system that allowed her to see. Nunnally saw that the man's appearance had hardly changed in the long time she'd left his "supervision".

"You know, today I'd wanted to try out new applications for the system, but since I heard that I was to be your guardian for now, I thought I'd spend my day on something else."

After another clunk, the man turned back to her, wearing a visor on his head.

"Like this," she saw the man smile as he showed her what it was. It looked like a domed object, with a single large pad protruding from the side. "This is a new version of the portable Mind's Eye, the first ever to be integrated to a cloth-based material. They call these 'baseball caps' outside, and these work by pulling the cap like so," the man demonstrated as he removed the visor and placed the cap on top of his head.

Nunnally clapped reluctantly, with the man bowing slightly and jovially like a satisfied magician.

After that, the man showed Nunnally the many different types of headgear he'd integrated the Mind's Eye into, some of which included a ski-mask and a quarantine mask.

"And then, we have this," said the man excitedly as he picked up an odd-looking black helmet, which seemed to cover his head completely as he put it on. On a surface was an opaque-looking orb that seemed to cover the entirety of the face. "This is what I temporarily call the Zero mask. (I took it from the shape the mask makes). This is really special, do you know that? Ask me why."

"...why is it special?" asked Nunnally slowly.

"Because!" the man answered enthusiastically, "It is the first portable device that has its own portable camera embedded! It is the ultimate Mind's Eye yet!"

Nunnally was shocked. "So there wouldn't be a need for those small things?"

"Precisely! With this, you can just jam it on and poof! Instant sight! It has its own little power source, lasting for about the time of an entire session...I've always been wanting to develop something like this, and now - !" The man looked like he was on the verge of extreme pleasure as he hugged the mask close. "It's too bad that it's shaped like this, though I've been looking for ways to improve the appearance. And the view!" the man exclaimed as he put it on Nunnally's head. "You must see how the view's different!"

For a while, Nunnally was plunged into darkness again, until the Mind's Eye images returned. She was speechless - it was vastly different from anything she'd seen with the system before. It was like she was actually seeing things in front of her, from her point of view, like a person who could truly see!

"It's..."

"Amazing, I know," nodded the scientist. "Of all of them, this is the one that mimics true sight most."

Nunnally nodded, still speechless, momentarily forgetting her woes for the moment as she panned her view around the room in an almost exact replication of what true sight should be.

"Will the grumpy person standing in front of the gate please enter the grounds and make his way to the Student Council Club Room? I repeat..."

Milly Ashford's high, clear voice boomed across the Academy grounds, carried through the air by the school's PA system.

To those that were newly enrolled, this was a surprising and mildly unsettling event that had come out of nowhere. To those who knew who the student council president however, like Milly's own grandfather the principal, it was a time to put one's hand to the face and sigh deeply in exasperated understanding.

"Prez..."

"...the grounds - what is it Shirley?" Milly said as she turned away from the microphone to look at the orange-haired girl who was in the camp of the people who did not know this audacious aspect of the president, and who was now squirming visibly. Nearby, Nina was standing uncomfortably - a member of the latter camp - but still visibly anxious nonetheless.

"Do you really have to do that?" asked Shirley. "I mean, we're Lulu's friends right?

Can't we wait for him to-"

"To make up his mind and finally come in to class?" the blonde grinned. "If he decides not to enter, it's the school's responsibility to persuade him otherwise, and if he DOES decide otherwise, then all the more reason for us to know why he's that way now."

"But, doing it this way is-"

Milly made a dismissive sniff. "What's wrong with it? We're the student council, we have the right to commandeer anything that's the school's if it serves the purpose of helping a student. Just as we are attempting to help one particularly truant student right now."

Once again, Milly turned to the microphone and repeated her message for Lelouch Lamperouge, who had been seen standing at the gates of Ashford like some living statue. Rivalz was back in the clubroom, responsible for using the president's binoculars to keep watch on Lelouch. In his right hand he held a cellphone that he'd been ordered to use to contact Milly should the other boy act.

"What's with that guy..." muttered the boy as he kept his eyes glued on the gate. And why's the president so interested with him? It was frustrating this particular guy to see someone he likes worrying about someone else she (might possibly) liked.

"OH!" Rivalz exclaimed as he hit the speed-dial button on the phone.

Back in the sound room, Shirley, who was on the other end of the cellphone, shouted,

"He's moving! In!"

"Tell Rivalz to meet him at the entrance!"

Quickly, the president shut off the machine and dashed for the door, with a panicked Shirley following close behind. Steady Nina took the time to shut off the power in the room before following them out.

For Milly Ashford, knowing everything there was to know about a person was a secret little goal of hers. There were boundaries, true, but they were always flimsy and quite negotiable.

But sometimes, she would stumble upon something that would be impossible for her to overcome, and one of those things right now was that barrier that sealed her old friend from her.

Staring dully from across the entrance hall, Lelouch was the image of a deathly phantom, perhaps returned from his repose to haunt the school. Those violet eyes that once mesmerized were now cooled - defenseless. It was an unpleasant thing to one who knew what warmth there could be in those eyes.

It didn't take a genius and it didn't take Milly long to figure out what that could possibly mean.

As the other oblivious members of the council expressed their concern over the apparently truant boy, Milly on the other hand stood back and observed the boy's figure.

Lelouch, what DID happen?Milly thought silently to herself. Not for the first time did Milly wish that she still had the resources of a noble available to her, so that she could pry into whatever Lelouch was hiding (or where Nunnally, his sister was) Then, she thought, she might have thought of ways to do something about it.

"Y'know, Lelouch, you might be a transfer student, and you MIGHT be a friend of the principal's grandaughter, but you can't go off doing spontaneous things like that! I mean," Rivalz paused for a beat as he cleared his throat, "You can't go off doing something random without me, I mean!"

"Rivalz," Shirley frowned at the other boy, "people have their circumstances, so Lulu must have his, right? Don't go off lecturing him like that."

"I'm not lecturing him...I'm just saying if he did want to pull something like that again, then it'd be better for him to bring me, y'know?" Under his breath he added,

"...and since he is SUCH a close friend of the president, truancies like that..."

Lelouch still had not moved where he was, and it was as if the boy was merely staring off into nothingness. It was like he'd become a statue all over again.

Let's try that...

Putting on one of her best smiles, Milly strode confidently across the hall to where Lelouch stood. The others stared quizzically at her as she locked eyes with the living statue.

Give me the strength, my heart... The invitation to the student council had been the first phase. Surrounding him with "friends" in a sense had been an unexpected, but welcome development.

Now she would have to try other things, to chip away at that thick armor that walled off Lelouch from the world.

"Whatever your reasons for being truant, Lelouch," she began, "there is no excuse for it. But your little truancy's just given me an excellent idea. Everyone!" She looked back at the puzzled others. "Why don't we all go out to the city to have fun. Student Council Business, of course."

"Wha-" "Huh?" Their flabbergasted faces were expected, and Nina's particularly was, but she couldn't back down now. She looked back at Lelouch, who seemed to have stirred after she'd made that announcement. "What do you think, Lelouch? Are you up for some karaoke?"

"What is Milly thinking?" Nina was whispering to herself, and partly to Shirley, who was nearby.

"I can't figure that out," the other girl replied as she straightened her wrinkled jacket that smelled faintly of mothballs.

Nina looked down at her own clothes, hastily put, no, forcibly put on her by the overbearing student council president. After that grand announcement, Milly had ordered the council to head back to the clubroom and change while she went to talk with her grandfather.

The fact that Milly had stuffed clothes that fit their size into a niche in the room was an unsettling thought for Nina.

Lelouch Lamperouge, the boy who Milly seemed to be fixated on, had not said a word as he was allowed to return home and change; as Milly had not prepared clothes for the boys in the clubroom.

"Heeeey~"

The boys had been ordered to wait for them at a certain spot in the entertainment district of the Settlement, and so far, as the girls arrived, only Rivalz was there in his casual clothes.

"That guy, I wonder if he ditched us..." Rivalz said as joined the group.

"Well, we can't start our session without our vice-president, so we'll be waiting here."

The president sat down on a nearby bench that was shaded under the eaves of the store.

"Prez, what's with this activity all of a sudden?" Shirley asked, echoing what the other two members also desired. "Is it all because Lulu was acting strange, or...?"

The blonde-haired president only smiled silently like a cat that had found a content place.

Rivalz scratched his head as he shielded his eyes to look around them, observing the various passersby around them. "If the guy's gonna ditch us today, then he'll have to repay me next time we meet, this heat is boiling my head!"

"Then stop standing out there and get in the shade!" Shirley angrily rebuked from her seat.

"If I don't stand out here, then I wont be able to spot-" The boy stopped. "Wait, that's not...is that?..." The boy's eyes squinted at something in the distance.

"What is it?" The others stood to look in the direction the boy was facing.

"No way..." Shirley recalled that painful incident with the Elevens, and of how an eccentrically dressed young man saved her.

A young man who became her classmate, and co-member in the student council. The young man who was now walking towards them, dressed in the outfit she'd seen him before. And it was...an overwhelming sight.

In the darkness of the back-alley and in the panic she'd felt, she hadn't focused on her savior's clothes that much, only recalling how it was similar to how most Elevens down in the ghettos dressed.

Faded, torn jeans below and a leather jacket on top, with a frightening skull motif at the back. And perched on his head, large headphones and even larger orange shades that seemed to cover most of his face.

He looks...

"Pffft..." Milly snorted before bursting into a hearty laugh. The effect was contagious, as Rivalz also doubled up in laughter. Only Nina and Shirley stood transfixed, the orange-haired girl smiling halfway between horror and amusement.

"WHAT in Emperor's name are you wearing, Lelouch?" The president asked as soon as the boy was in earshot.

The boy raised his eyebrows. "Casual clothes, as you've ordered, Miss Ashford. Is there a problem with it?"

"It's not 'a' problem, silly boy, it's a whole truckload of it!" Milly had another fit of giggling as the boy looked down at his clothes.

"'I' don't see a problem, Madam President."

"Well 'I' do, and so does everyone in this particular street," the President gestured around at the passersby, who were all collectively shooting suspicious looks at the ill- dressed boy in their midst. "You look ridiculous, Lelouch. I'm quite serious here. You either have a massive laundry problem or you have a quaint, pathetic wardrobe. He looks ridiculous, am I right, Shirley?"

"Eh?" Shirley cocked her head at the president, before quickly turning her head back to Lelouch, "Er...um...not to the point of ridiculous...maybe unique...?"

After another chuckle, Milly turned the grumbling boy by the shoulders and started marching him down the street. "Looks like we'll be taking a detour to an outfitter before that karaoke gig..."

"I think I know just the place, Madam President!" Rivalz said as he fell in step with her.

"Very well, please lead the way, Rivalz."

After a raucous hour at the place Rivalz recommended, after many changings and heated complaints from Lelouch, the new and improved version of the vice-president emerged from the shop looking very much like any decent Britannian youth. Save for the little wrinkle with the glasses and headphones (a point where Lelouch had been adamant), the boy was no longer sporting the forbidding-looking outfit that had the potential of having him arrested by the Knight-police on suspicion of being an Eleven.

The president looked quite pleased with herself at this metamorphosis, and after the accounts had been settled, she then proceeded to usher the group down to the livelier parts of the district.

Again, Rivalz lead the way, as apparently the boy was more familiar with the Settlement than anyone in the group, and he was ordered to find a suitable karaoke place.

"I've always wanted to try out karaoke, the previous president kept on saying how it was a good stress reliever for those stressful council days..." Milly said dreamily.

"Huh...I wonder if any of those places are open at this time of day...sure as heck that the ones close to the border'll still be closed..." Rivalz muttered as he looked around him.

With a determined expression on her face, Shirley asked the newly clothed boy in a cheerful but wavering voice, "W-w-what kind of music do you like to l-listen to, Lulu?"

"Music?" Lelouch glanced askance at the girl.

"W-w-well, I'm only asking because you seem to be using those th-things quite often when you're outside..." Shirley pointed at the headphones that covered the boy's head.

After touching the devices for a moment, Lelouch closed his eyes before replying, "Music, is...an encompassing art. It has permeated every aspect of human society ever since-"

"What he's trying to say, Shirley, is that he has no idea what kind of music he likes," Milly said loudly.

"W-what, how dare you say that? I'll have you know my tutors have taught me-" Lelouch paused, a difficult expression crossing his face. Another tense moment occured, which was thankfully saved by Rivalz' cry of joy as he pointed to a nearby establishment.

As it was daytime, there were virtually no other patrons in the place, for it was unusual to be having them at this time in the first place. Their host was quick to point this out, looking especially doubtful when he'd estimated the average age of the group. But a quick flash of the Ashford name had erased all worries, and the Student Council was led to a quaint little room that had just enough seats for all of them.

Filling one side of the room was a large plasma screen, connected all around by intricate machines with loudspeakers. On the center of the room was a low table and on top was a thick book.

Their host had excused himself out of the door after informing them that as of this time, a group meal would be impossible, but drinks would be served. Milly had waved him off as she excitedly grabbed the control. "To your places everyone, we shall be starting this student council activity shortly!"

Everyone sat down on one one of the cushioned chairs, Lelouch taking his place as far away as possible from the machine.

"Since you've guided us all to this point Rivalz, I will appoint you as temporary Head of the Party committee." Milly handed the remote to the boy, who recieved it as if it was a royal decree from the Emperor himself.

"...when did we have a party committee..." Lelouch's tired mutter echoed around the room.

Choosing to ignore that snide comment, Milly took her place on one of the seats as Rivalz fiddled with the remote.

"If I might..." the shy Nina said. "What's karaoke all about?"

"I've heard that it's basically singing along to a song that will be played on screen," replied Milly thoughtfully.

"That means...we'll only be singing?"

"That's the point!" Rivalz chuckled. "It's basically showing off your singing prowess (or lack thereof) to your friends, and generally having a good time! It's one of the only good things we adopted from the Elevens."

"Eleven...?" Nina paled slightly from that name.

"This is stupid..." came Lelouch's mutter again. This time, the boy and the president shared gazes again, and Shirley was helplessly looking from one or the other, again pressured by a hidden tension between the two.

She was saved by a blare of music that came from the machine, which jolted the entire room's attention to it. On the screen now flashed multi-colored objects, while a steady techno beat played in the background.

"I think I have all the settings down..." Rivalz said as he reached for the thick book.

"So, I guess it's time to decide who will be singing and what he or she will sing, I guess..." Rivalz looked doubtfully at a starry-eyed President, along with the others were staring amazingly (or suspiciously, in Lelouch's case) at the bright colors on the screen.

"Can you give us a sample?" Milly tapped the book excitedly.

"What-you mean sing?" Rivalz said uneasily.

"Just something, anything, a song!"

"Alright, alright, we can 'random' this," the boy grinned as he pressed the appropriate button on the remote control. Immediately, the soothing notes of a song replaced the cheerful technobeats as it started playing.

"Oh, this is that famous song..."

"Wow..." Shirley stared at the screen. Nina could not speak anything as she watched the images of a calm sunny sea rolling before her. Little words appeared below, apparently the lyrics to the song that was playing.

Uncertainly, Rivalz held out his hand that held a microphone to the president, who seemed to be mulling over something. After a beat, the President grabbed both the phone, the remote and the book from the boy's hands and started pressing the buttons on the remote randomly.

"This is a boring tune, Party Committee Head. Isn't there, anything-" The screen flashed different scenes now, with different tunes starting and fading to the next as the president cycled through them quickly. "-that's a bit more lively?"

Frowning impatiently, the blonde president looked down at the book and opened it up to the last few pages.

"Oh, Madam President, that's not...really recommended..." Rivalz said anxiously.

"Oh I see..." Milly muttered as she recognized the writings on the pages. "These're Eleven songs, huh? So they do have those in here."

"Yes, and it's mostly reserved for particularly wild parties, when no one cares if you're playing an Eleven tune or not...and I think it doesn't really matter for us here, so-"

"Milly-san..." Nina whispered, her face cramped up for some reason.

"Nina, it's just their songs...Not really Elevens themselves..." Milly was still looking for something amidst all the foreign sounding titles listed there. Rivalz and Shirley looked quizzically from one to the other.

"Just choose one, and get it over with, please..." Lelouch muttered again.

"Glad to see you getting pumped up about this, Lelouch!"

"I'm not-"

"There!" The president suddenly stood up, inputting something into the remote as she took her position in front of the screen. The sleepy tune that had currently been playing was now replaced by a sudden riff of music that, to the experienced Rivalz, clearly presaged a rock song.

"Madam President..." came Rivalz' panicking voice. If the host caught them singing this, then they'd surely be reported, or worse! He was temporarily silenced however, by the President's clear gaze as she shifted confidently into a singing position.

And indeed, the effect of the song and of the president singing it in a cool, composed manner was a definite buffer on the others' protests that were written clearly on their faces.

"Futari no aida ni wa iroiro atta..." The President had a high, cheerful singing voice, and it certainly seemed to fit the mood and tone of the song, never mind that she was reading Eleven script off the screen flawlessly.

"Shumi no chigai ni tomo ni souji shinai..." Nina looked positively horrified at this sudden display of defiance by Milly, singing an Eleven song fearlessly and without regard for the possibly consequences if she should get caught.

"...Konna futari waraiatte, Sugoseru hi ga itsuka kuru kana..." Shirley gazed, mesmerized, at this bizarre sight of the President singing that particular song. For the briefest of moments, she was able to break the spell and glance discreetly at Lelouch, who sat to her left frowning at the screen.

"...Demo fushigi na hodo kimi wo suki na mama de iru nda yo, Dakara anshin shite hoshii..." Though he'd been distracted all day, causing him to accede to Milly's outrageous requests, now he was devoting his full attention to her strange figure that was singing an "Eleven" song in this place, at the heart of Britannian domination in the Area. Didn't that woman know the political climate in this place well enough not to do foolish things like these? Lelouch understood the lyrics well enough anyway(as he'd been taught that in the bowels of that place), though its meaning flew way over his head. Who knew this 'karaoke' thing was so painful to the ears?

"...Ah! Nani ittenda kao ga atsui!" Milly had never felt this sensation since that little farewell party for the previous president, where she'd felt the heady rush of pleasure when it was finally announced that she would be the next president. Although she wanted to know what Lelouch's reaction to her singing was; she was strangely devoted her all to the song now as she felt slight beads of sweat on her forehead - despite the indoor cooling the room had.

"...Mou naku no wa gaman suru..." The images of a heated firefight between a man and a woman played on the wide screen, increasing in intensity as they seemed to head deeper into a city of sorts.

"...Dakara atashi waratteru yo..." The two reconcile towards the end, as the last notes of the song reached its fading conclusion. After a slight pause during which Milly was still in her singing position, the screen shifted to display a number accompanied by a blare of trumpets.

"What's that?" Slightly out of breath, Milly asked Rivalz.

"It's a score to gauge how the machine thought of your singing, though I have no idea how-" Rivalz explained, before Milly did a loud whoop and tossed the microphone to Shirley.

"You're next, Shirley! Make us all proud!" Milly prodded breathlessly as she helped the blushing girl up.

"W-why me? I'm not r-really good at s-s-singing..." Shirley gazed pleadingly at the president, who seemed oblivious as she now input something new on the remote.

"Here's something for you...I assume you can read Eleven, right?" Milly asked the girl who made a gesture in a mix of affirmation and denial. "Here we go, student council members! Our next performance...we'll be rotating through all of you, and whoever has the lowest score gets to buy us refreshments!"

"Eh?" The others cried out in unison, obviously disconcerted at the thought of having to sing. Meanwhile, Shirley was now standing in front of the screen, looking oddly determined all of a sudden, although that did not remove the now constant shade of red that stained her face.

The song that the President chose for Shirley was just as upbeat and rambunctious as hers, with lyrics that played across the screen so fast that it caused this orange-haired girl, who had never mastered Eleven language, to render an awkward performance. In the end, after much clapping and cheering, she had a modest score, considerably lower than the president's.

Rivalz, who was ordered next, stood up with a fixed look on his face, as if he would not let his audience down. The song that was chosen was not as fast as the previous two, but they were upbeat nonetheless. However, Rivalz seemed to match Milly's mastery of the Eleven script flashing across the screen that he was able to snag a score that, though lower than the president's was still higher than Shirley's.

The mood had considerably picked up in the little room, despite Lelouch's continued distance; and now Nina's adamant refusal to sing any song, let along an Eleven song. In the end, Milly switched to a familiar Britannian melody that Nina sang with an undertone of gratitude in her voice. This ended up with her being slightly above Shirley score- wise.

And then, there was the grand finale. Lelouch cocked his head to the side after all eyes in the room had turned to him.

"No."

"You have to."

"I only promised to come along, I did not promise to go along with these ridiculous acts."

Milly put her hand to her chin. "Oh, is it because you're afraid you're going to have to buy us all refreshments?"

The violet orbs flashed for a second through the orange lens. "Was that what I thought that was, Milly Ashford?"

Milly had an innocent, quizzical look on her face. "What do you mean by that, Lelouch Lamperouge?"

"Fine," the raven-haired boy stood up from his seat. "But only once."

"A fine idea, my throat is almost parched from all this energy."

Lelouch snorted as he grabbed the microphone from the president, who was scrutinizing him closely. The boy said nothing more as he walked up to his position in front of the screen.

The other three breathed a collective sigh of release after yet another hair-raising moment. For Shirley most of all, aside from the disappointment she felt out of being the lowest-scored was a curiosity for the way the mysterious Lulu would be able to do Milly's demand. She almost expected the boy to have an almost commanding presence while he sang, or some other power.

She would be disappointed yet again, in a more comical fashion. The boy, for all his apparent allure for the girl, had his flaws, one more prominently was an apparent tone deafness. It was either that or, as Milly said in between her chuckles, that this was the first time that Lelouch had sung out loud, and that he was actually reading the lyrics instead of forming a tune.

Either which way, the boy returned to his seat, fuming and red-faced as Milly and the others continued to laugh about his abysmal score on the screen. The president had seemed to forget about the Lelouch's punishment as she'd called for the host to order drinks herself.

Afterwards, Milly caught herself when she glimpsed something that brought a warm smile to her face. Calling out through the animated conversations the others were having,

"Lelouch, are you enjoying yourself?"

The boy glanced back disapprovingly at them. "Most definitely not."

"You seemed to be," Milly nodded approvingly. It seemed as if nothing would wipe that smile from the President's face.

"What would make you think that I would seemingly enjoy this little farce?" the boy said defiantly.

"Your were smiling just now," Milly replied simply.

Once, when Nunnally had requested it, she was taken by Dr. Duran to the place's exterior, facing the ponderous depths of the Pacific. She had felt the cool breeze waft over her, reminding her of the chill that would sometimes come over Area Eleven.

It also reminded her of the chill of battle, right before the start of a mission - an unwelcome and unsettling thought.

Now, returning after almost a month in solitude from the facility, she felt the opposite atmosphere of a warm breeze waft over her as she was escorted back to the familiar safehouse.

For Nunnally, who could never have born being away from her brother for so long a time, the man had been a reluctant replacement. Tolerating his presence was, to her, something she had to do in order for her not to be overcome by a distressing void of solitude.

And, she'd admitted privately to herself as she lay in the dark room, the man was certainly different from before, no longer forcing her to test the Mind's Eye; and instead enthusiastically sharing things about his work whenever he visited.

He had also been quite supportive all throughout her stay, especially during the first few days when she'd been having recurring vivid nightmares.

To Nunnally, they were the most repulsive images that her mind could have possibly conjured up, of scenes of blood and carnage, of seeing herself floating above it all like a sinister sorceress from a childhood story. Always there was a cloud that continued to smother her, but this time she was free, free to do ANYTHING she could, because she could.

She would then force herself to wake up from this nighttime phantasm, shutting off the image as she might shut off the Mind's Eye, plunging her into the familiar darkness of lucidity.

The man, who was apparently just nearby, would then hold her trembling hand, and as much as she disliked it, she would squeeze as strongly as she could until the trembling stopped.

As the weeks progressed, the nightmares seemed to end, and in the past night, as she was preparing for transport back to the settlement, she'd been visited by a warm, childhood memory of sorts.

"Nii-sama!"

Nunnally burst into their room, wearing one of Duran's inventions on her head. She expected to scare her brother momentarily with it, perhaps even catching him in a defensive position of sorts before dissolving into a happy reunion.

Instead, she was greeted by a solid silence, broken by the occasional sounds that filtered in from the open window opposite her.

Disappointed, the girl slowly closed the door behind her and made for the familiar sight of the king-sized bed.

As she looked down on it, she spotted some wrinkled clothes on a pile near the foot of the bed. Wondering if she'd stumbled upon the wrong room, Nunnally quickly scanned its entirety again, and her thought was banished when she saw the black, rectangular familiarity that was her Mind's Eye terminal, waiting patiently for her all this time.

So this must be nii-sama's... Nunnally thought as she bent over to pick up some of the clothes in the pile. Then this meant that these were her brother's clothes, apparently something he'd bought for himself in her absence. They varied from long sweaters to tight shorts, and all varied in their levels of use. One shirt in particular, had had its sleeves torn quite fiercely.

Impulsively, she put her face close to the clothes, taking in the familiar scent of her brother that permeated them.

Nii-sama... Quickly she grabbed the entire pile and hauled them onto the bed.

Breathing deeply, she dived onto the pile, trying to sink herself into the very midst of it.

Nii-sama...nii-sama...And now, she was surrounded by her brother's smell, and his apparent warmth. On all sides she felt that he was there, embracing her again. The scents sparked memories, the good and even the bad, and Nunnally accepted them all.

In that moment, Nunnally only had a single wish, that she could stay like this forever, blissfully putting all things aside, that she would never have to be separated again, no matter what...no matter what...

So where was Lelouch at this time of the day? If one accessed the Mind's Eye and cycled it to the "shopping district", they might seen the multitude of Ashford studentsstrolling around the streets without their uniforms on.

For today was a free day for Ashford, and the students were using it quite productively as the principal had urged.

But that did not mean that all students had their day offs: the student council, in particular was using this opportunity to catch up on some much needed work. And this was why Rivalz was busy stamping on papers when he could have been strolling around like the others, or why Nina was resolutely hammering away on her keyboard. Off to the side, Milly was opening and closing envelopes, dumping the piles of paper on Rivalz.

And that left two other student council members unaccounted for in the clubroom - the bright young Shirley and the enigmatic Lelouch. If one were to again use the Mind's Eye and set it to the shopping district, they might have been able to spot the two, wearing light clothes and walking together in the side street.

Occasionally, they would stop in front of a certain store, and the girl would enter as the boy waited outside. Moments later, the girl would exit, shake her head at the boy, and the would continue walking again, apparently searching for something.

When Milly had requested that someone should buy some emergency supplies, Shirley had been the one chosen. As she was about to exit, the president had stopped her and then ordered Lelouch to accompany her.

This naturally led to another blushing fit from the orange-haired girl and a glare sent the president's way as the boy resentfully stood.

To Shirley, this was the first time that she was ever truly alone with the boy ever since their first meeting back then. She could never seem to approach the boy in all the other times that Lelouch seemed to be alone.

Now she had an excuse, however contrived it seemed to be for her, and they were now, unofficially on a "date". And that thought seemed to be the one that caused her to have a perpetual blush on her face throughout their sojourn through the settlement, never mind that the boy never seemed to show any inclination of engaging in a conversation unless it was for the purpose of the supplies.

Would people think we were a couple, if they were looking at us? Shirley thought hotly. The girl could not bear to dwell on that thought, as it was virtually impossible for that to happen.

Not at this point anyway.

But she was grateful for them not yet finding the right store, as it prolonged the pseudo-date to the girl's mind.

"Shirley." The boy said suddenly. The girl halted at his voice, looking with surprise at the boy.

Lelouch pointed to something across the street. "Would you like something to drink?" Shirley followed where he was pointing to a refreshment stand where an enthusiastic Eleven was barking out his liquid wares.

"Oh, y-yeah, sure!" Shirley stuttered, following the boy as he crossed the street. Well,it was certainly a hot day, so it wasn't weird for him to want to have a little drink after all this time. Inviting her to a drink was normal, just normal.

"No, it's fine, I swiped some of the budget from the council," Lelouch said as he waved off the money that Shirley was about to hand to the seller. "Here," the boy handed the cold plastic glass to her as he started to walk away, sipping his drink. "Replenish your fluids."

Looking to try a different approach, Shirley asked somewhat chidingly, "What did you say about swiping the budget? Aren't you not supposed to do that?" Won't Milly be mad if she found out, was an unspoken question.

The boy chuckled softly into his drink. "Trust me, there are some things that even our wily president doesn't know about. And besides," Lelouch shrugged. "she's bought far more extravagant things during our trips before, and I think a little drink like this won't be that crippling to the infinite budget, right?"

Shirley grinned in response, sipping thoughtfully from the straw. "Though if she were to find out, then..."

"I think I'm more than adequately prepared when that happens. I've proved it once already, haven't I?" Lelouch raised his glass, as if challenging an invisible president.

That was certainly true. During the past week, certain events had transpired which would have, in Milly's own words, been the "end of the student council as we know it".

Fortunately, the hidden genius of the new transfer student, combined with Milly's innate tenacity and the (silent) support by the rest of the council decisively repelled the equestrian club's physical efforts, and a few were even still sporting injuries up till now.

It was at that point that the rest of the council and the rest of the school came to recognize (finally, Milly had pointed out) how dangerous it would be to cross the new transfer student, if the equestrian club's humiliation was any indication. Rivalz had also pointed out how he was even being treated better at school because of the council's newfound reputation.

And here she was, right in the middle of it. The girl couldn't help but giggle at her ludicrous circumstance, which caused her to choke on her drink for a few seconds.

"Are you alright?" Lelouch asked.

"Yeah..." Shirley coughed. "I mean, it was just because I laughed while I was drinking..."

"Were you thinking about something funny?"

"I guess," Shirley smiled bravely at the impassive boy. "You know, come to think of it, we haven't been alone like this since that day-" She froze, her words stopping abruptly.

Idiot! Idiot! Don't mention that embarassing event, he'll think you're just a-

The boy raised his eyebrows. "Since what day?"

"Since," Oh no, think, THINK, silly girl, you had to just go and open your big mouth- "that time we met on your first day!" She finally said as she paid close attention to an unlit neon sign in the distance, face so hot she could practically feel its heat.

"If I remember correctly, Rivalz was also there, so-"

"Details, schmetails, who cares about that stuff! Let's go before Milly will scold us for taking too long," she dragged the boy down the street by the hand. She was surprised at this newfound audacity of hers, sort of the way Milly would have dismissed a slight wrinkle that the boy would always find in her plans.

Is that a good or a bad thing, I wonder?

Gradually, she'd cooled down, and the mood between them settled once more on urgently finding what Milly had ordered. Some minutes later, they'd finally found what they were looking for, and upon Shirley's insistence, they took an Eleven taxi back to the academy.

"Did you go on a date or something? Why were you taking so long, you two?" Milly almost shouted as soon as they entered the room, Lelouch carrying the packages quite precariously.

"That's crazy, Prez! I-I-I mean, w-w-why would you think that," exclaimed the blushing Shirley.

"A date?" Lelouch scowled as he dropped the packages on an empty chair. "What's a date?"

There was a period of silence as everyone in the room looked at the nonplussed boy.

"I guess there was nothing to worry about," Milly sighed in relief as she went to open up the packages. Rivalz echoed that very same thought to himself.

So I guess I should be thankful that Lelouch is still as ironically clueless as ever... Shirley thought gratefully, her quickened heartbeat slackening.

I mean, that wasn't even a real date, right? Right?

The sun that had so plagued the backs of the cheerful daytime wanderers of the Settlement had already started to set when Lelouch Lamperouge went out moodily from the Ashford grounds.

The president could find nothing to complain about the results of their day-long work as she cheerfully dismissed the student council. But Lelouch did find something to complain about when Milly, in the same tone as when she congratulated them, ordered him to stay back and clean up the mess in the clubroom.

Said mess consisted of piles upon piles of unwanted paper and even more mounds of trash of various materials, from plastic plates to half-eaten breadsticks. The boy visibly glowered at the president who had nodded as if the matter was settled, before stooping to do the ridiculous task.

The orange-haired girl, Shirley, had volunteered to help, but he impatiently waved her off as Milly dragged the startled girl off at the same time.

It took him almost another hour to finish the dratted exercise, and by then, his body was beginning to feel the slight scourge of fatigue. So the boy could not be faulted his foul mood as he started the way home.

The way home was now a familiar sight to the boy, as he wove through crowd-thronged streets and stuffed alleys. The buildings all around towered over the people as usual, fresh from the day use and looking eager for the night life.

The boy saw laughter and enjoyment on every face he glanced at. The joy-drunk fools who did not know that a living bomb was walking in their midst.

As ever, he resented the infuriating masks that were on every person, as if they mocked him and his condition. The boy looked down into his store-bought coat and frowned.

He had become increasingly aware of his surroundings since the day he discovered that he was helpless, paralyzed in inaction where Nunnally was concerned. It was then that he realized just how much the two of them were in the power of the hellish "Project" that they had been thrust into, and how hard it would be for even Lelouch to find a way out.

On that day, the boy's mind had been a haze, unable to think of anything as his body went on auto-mode towards the school. It was then that the boy's overwhelmed spirit seized on the small gap opened for him by Milly. He'd hated the very idea of "having fun" even if it was just for pretend, but that time, Lelouch felt that he really needed it to fill the void that had been left by his sister.

And so it was that he played along with Milly's demands wearing a mask of deceit, never mind that behind his bemused exterior was a fountain of murderous rage that would have ended up with him killing off the rest of the student council.

The boy soon found out that "having fun" in the day was the only thing keeping his spirits up in light of the awful reality facing him whenever he went home.

Nunnally, where are you still? The older sibling had that constant thought, a hungering concern for his lost sister. He couldn't bear it - just the sudden sight of her would release all the burdens on his head, leading him to unparalleled glee at the unseen reunion. It was her face that he would always see in his waking and unwaking mind.

But there was nothing yet, no sign of her lovely familiar face, and so he quailed at the prospect of another night spent alone in the safehouse. Please...

"Something on your mind, boy?"

The boy froze where he stood, heart stopping in a single moment as he sensed HIS eyes boring into his body like loathful insects.

Lub-dub.

He knew that hateful voice, the one that could only belong to that figure, to that towering beast that had deprived him and Nunnally of everything. The mere thought of that man and his ever-taunting figure made his blood boil.

Lub-dub.

As he felt his own pulse beat loudly in his ears, Lelouch turned slowly from his path to face the source of the voice.

Lub.

There, he beheld the beast, crouched before a table, the lengthening shadows of the kiosks surrounding him shrouding most of his massive frame.

Dub.

With a great mustering of strength, Lelouch willed himself to stare into the man's shadowed face, which he saw was emitting puffs of gray smoke like some dragon brooding in its cave.

"I asked you a question, boy." The last word oozed out of the man's mouth, striking the boy with all its hated familiarity.

Something in him rose to attempt to defy the figure before him, to lash out whatever the consequence. But something else held back that other one, instead making the boy reply through narrowed mouth, "I have nothing on my mind."

After a visible puff of smoke, the figure breathed out, "Are you sure about that? It certainly seemed to look like you were. In fact, I have seen you look like that a lot. Every day - since that day."

The boy said nothing, merely concentrating all his attention on the figure and letting the now increasing crowd bump and jostle into him standing in the middle of the street.

The figure tilted its head. "You have been missing Subject N. for the past three weeks." It was a statement of fact, not an inquiry.

"I am concerned for Subject N., and for the continued progress of our missions." The last part was a prepared afterthought, and Lelouch saw the figure's eyes twinkle in bemusement.

"Your enthusiasm for the mission is commendable," the figure nodded. "and it seems that it will be-or has already been rewarded, as Subject N. has been waiting for your arrival in the safehouse for some time now."

Nunnally? She has been released? She's there! The boy's thoughts turned swiftly from the danger in front of him to the joyous realization of the reunion. It almost made him turn from the man and into the direction of their safehouse, which now seemed an attractive beacon for the boy.

"So that place seems more like heaven now, boy? When, in any other time over the past weeks, you would have dreaded coming back there?" The boy froze, ecstatic thoughts suspended in a myriad of questions.

What is that man implying?

"Ashford. Quite a familiar name. Familiar to me, of course. I've always been keeping watch on any potential additions to the gutter. A shame they didn't in the end - a lot of my old friends would've liked them reaching that point." The figure shook its massive head as if shaking off a stray thought. "Of course, being fallen nobility doesn't really change the inherent nobility in you. Most of the time anyway, and it certainly wasn't the case here."

The figure tapped its finger on the table thoughtfully as it produced a little square photograph from its coat and held it up in the dimming light. Lelouch's eyes narrowed when he saw what was on it.

"Did they really think they could use their old Court charades in here? Against me? They made it too obvious when they started to sniff around for something about you. Just the first inquiring look, and their pet was already under our power. After extracting what little he knew, I gave orders and..." The figure shrugged as it crumpled the photograph into a pulp.

Slowly, it dawned on the boy where the figure's rambling would lead. And that was-

"It was then that I started to wonder: what was it that made the two of you suddenly so interesting for the Ashford? Why did they have to use subterfuge to find out everything there was to know about you? And it was after a sudden flash that connected all the dots, that I figured it out. You know the feeling, I think you've had those kinds of moments before? It made sense - of course!" The man rumbled as he breathed another great cloud.

"It is the same reason that you visited the Ashfords a while back. There is a connection, between you and the Ashford heiress, is there not?" The figure's eyes stared in affirmation, although Lelouch felt that the man already knew the answer.

"And that connection is what keeps you leashed to her, what makes you do the things we see you doing! I see your eyes waver, I am right. I know everything - I have even seen a few of your 'activities' myself. And you continued to do them, despite your given personality. And it is because of that connection.

"The loss of their pet was just a little warning from me, boy. Its feeble attempts weren't even supposed to draw my attention, and yet it did. And now, they know how dangerous it is for them to pry further. I only stopped it at that, because I knew that they couldn't threaten me or my Project with that pathetic display of subterfuge.

"Everyday I tirelessly work to ensure the secrecy of this Project. And I will work just as ceaselessly to silence anything that might threaten it. That includes snuffing out those puny lives that you've taken all this time to make connections with."

"You b-" The boy stopped himself, biting down on his quivering jaw as he felt a wringing rage take hold of him. They would stop at nothing. Why would they stop at nothing?

"It amused me so, very much as I was watching you amidst all their...'cheerful' faces. That you would bravely put up a front for them - when you have been trained not to feel such things. Again, I commend your vast enthusiasm for this mission that makes you put on such a convincing mask."

He'd had no attachments to the people he'd "befriended" on the other side. Yet why?...

"Although I have to wonder...you're practically surrounded by three budding flowers, so it wouldn't be completely out of line for you, as a growing man, to be interested only for 'that'. Well if you are, don't be forming anymore attachments than you can handle; it would be a real shame for little Miss Ashford or one of the other two to be found in a sewer grate somewhere, like..."

A numbing pain gripped his neck, and the boy seemed to see the figure's face in all its clarity, its malice. He shivered in spite of himself as he watched the monster casually flick its cigar onto the ashtray - exhaling one final, rumbling puff.

"Remember boy, the two of you belong on this side, MY side of the gutter. There is no looking up from the shade for you. You do not belong there, to their bright little world.

You are weapons, MY weapons, forged to my specifications. You are bound here, for as long as I will it. Remember that.

"I suppose I shall dismiss you for now boy, as it seems that you're raring to go and see the other Subject again. Tomorrow, I will have new assignments sent over, here's hoping your inactivity hasn't dulled your blades, it would be a shame..."

Lub. Dub.


Nunnally could sense the day end, hearing the familiar sounds of the night life starting up just beyond the window. She'd just woken up about an hour earlier, buried under a pile of her brother's clothes.

Thinking that such a strange sight would only make Lelouch raise an unseen eyebrow, the girl had hurriedly arranged it all, folding up the fabric so the entirety could be placed into one neat column.

Then she'd waited, and waited and waited some more - lying down and basking on the bed.

She'd thought of preparing a sort of surprise for her brother, just like the one she'd planned for upon her earlier arrival, but thought that just a simple reunion would be enough. It had been too long after all.

Still, why was Lelouch taking so long to go home? She remembered this time as the usual time when he'd return from the Academy, barring any unusual days when the mission would intrude.

She so wanted to touch his face, feel the familiar contours, as she was imagining it in her head now, a bright image that had been granted by the Mind's Eye...

To reach out and with her arms and feel his warmth right there, just the same as ever...She didn't allow any other unpleasant thoughts coming in, no dark presentiments of what might have happened - explaining why he still wasn't here...

Quite suddenly, she heard it. The sounds of her brother's shoes, shuffling in the corridor just outside. Her heart seemed to stop in her chest as she braced, prepared to welcome her brother with a cheerful greeting as he approached. A warm flush seemed to enter her face as she listened closely to the ever-approaching sounds of his feet...

The door, so rudimentary a security option, finally opens on its antidiluvian hinges, and she is there...

Wanting it to be as natural as possible, she'd forgone the Mind's Eye, instead turning her head and reaching out her hands as wide as possible, exclaiming in a joyous tone - as she'd been imagining in her head for the past hours...

Mind's Eye auxiliary system for Subject not initialized, condition D reached, eliminating and excluding other scenarios of resistance, quick scan reveals no other change in the domicile, but proceed with caution nonetheless...

"Nii-sama! Welcome back!" She practically shouted, not minding that the door was still open, and that the other possible tenants might have heard; because he was there, her brother was finally there, in front of her...

She is there, at last, his most precious treasure, carved and shaped by an unholy hand into an instrument of wrath. She is his only means of existence; as he is, possibly, to her...

The door was closed, and she felt his presence come near; but so far, Lelouch had yet to respond to her call as she sat on top of the bed. She felt something...wrong, and as she was about to...

But first, to confirm that existence, to affirm that this creature before him was Nunnally Lamperouge, formerly Britannia, now a pawn in this hideous program...

...call out, she was suddenly swept into his embrace. She smiled as a tear escaped from her eye, rejoicing in his familiar warmth, so reassuring, protective...She now felt that she was finally home...Nii-sama...

So it has been confirmed that this was she. She, I should protect. She, I should've protected. She, I could've...

Quite unsurprisingly, she felt the wetness on her head, signalling to the girl what her brother was feeling in this moment. It was understandable, as it had been a long, long time; and she felt no harm in letting her own streams flow.

Protect, yes I have to - protect...The only way...to protect - what is it? I am hers and she is mine...Is she mine? No, she is not mine, she went away so easily, like a blade of grass cut by the wind...So I have to make her mine...My own...Nunnally is...

Suddenly, she felt herself being pushed down by the shoulders. The girl was puzzled by this action, and also as she felt Lelouch's hot breath tickle her neck. Then she felt his kiss.

Many times before, the two had shared a kiss, and it had mostly been a slight peck on the forehead or on the cheek. But not the lips. Never the lips, unlike what Lelouch was doing right now.

"Nii-sama?" she whispered as soon as the connection was broken. Her fingers sought his face, seeking an answer from his silent form, just as she felt his breath on her neck once more.

His caresses became even more violent, tracing paths along her body that sent unpleasant shivers down her spine. A sudden draft on her chest signalled to her that Lelouch had opened the front of her clothing, to what purpose the girl could not fathom.

What use was his "brilliant" mind if he did not use it for the sake of a cause? He recalled someone asking him that question, but the boy did not know what answer he'd given.

Many times before he had been praised as a budding genius, one who had the potential to be great. And he did not disappoint: he'd used his gray mass effectively and efficiently, from the light-hearted tutoring at the Aries to his present misery.

The boy had a cause - his will to live, and that was his sister, the only family he had left in the world. And he'd sworn on the day he'd witnessed her weak, blinded form at the hospital a week after the accident and on the day he'd renounced his royal heritage, that he would be forever responsible for Nunnally's well-being for the rest of his life.

But not a year had passed then and he'd already failed, his inability to use that "brain" of his landing them in this hell. Many times over the years he'd watched each failure at his sworn duty carve deep wounds into his ego, into his soul.

And the last, great failure had now led him to ensnare others who weren't supposed to be involved in the first place.

No, he'd thought to himself as he'd stormed away from the presence of that brooding monster. There was no connection between him and Milly Ashford, nor Shirley, Rivalz or Nina...none at all!

But the monster had not seen it that way, and indeed the boy's bumbling actions were highly indicative of a connection 's spirit, so buoyed in that brief instant when he'd been told that Nunnally had been returned, were now weighed down by the thought of his failure; and he imagined persistent shades of torment following him wherever he went.

To Lelouch, the world itself seemed to have taunted him personally, towering down over him with the force of cruelty, much like the two monsters in his life had done.

And the only hope lay in his light, Nunnally, the only one in the world who could possibly share in his anguish and grief.

For all his purported "genius", his brain was nothing more than the primitive, bestial apparatus that it essentially was.

It was why, when he'd returned at last to their mutual room, the one overriding instinct pulsating from within was the urge to be one with his sister by any means, to be able to unite in body and mind at last and prevent any more grief from coming to pass.

Surely that was what she wished too right?

An INSIGNIFICANT part of him thought still rationally, screamed at him from the depths to cease his foolishness, to return to pale rationality. It was so INSIGNIFICANT a voice, like a bothersome fly that never seemed to stop.

For a BIGGER part of him knew that he would get MUCH pleasure from this act of union, after everything was said and done. It was much easier to give in to what MOST of your brain was telling you to do, GENIUS that it was.

It was the part that ignored Nunnally's many questions as he methodically stripped and sometimes ripped her clothing that got in the way, eager to get at what was hidden away like a beast who was only interested in the inner part of the fruit. And indeed, like a beast, he enjoyed reaching the SWEET, sweet core to the utmost, which strangely

"Nii- that - tickles - hyah! Wh-wh-wh-what are you trying t-t-to do?"

made him satisfied

It seemed like an eternity later, as he watched Nunnally's pale body glow with an unearthly sheen in the faint moonlight, that he would marvel at the precipice that he was about to jump over.

By crossing this he would - So why was Nunnally gasping, like she was out of breath - finally be able to achieve the utmost joy, with this - Face scrounged up in an expression of pain and something else - THEY would finally be, one.

Ah, but INSIGNFICANTLY he came again demanding a stop to everything a stop from the line crossing and reaching the point of nay return,

As Lelouch watched, poised over the brink, he felt her white, moist fingers brush his hair softly as Nunnally, his sister said,

"I love you, my beloved Lelouch, most beloved brother..."

A freezing wind seemed to wash over his naked body, like an unwelcome draft if the window had been opened, and he felt it crush his heart like so many frigid hands.

"No...Nunnally...what- what was I doing?"

"Nii-sama?"

"I- no, what is-" He'd stumbled out of the bed, clutching the sheets close to his body as he crawled away - away from the light streaming through the windows and into the shadowed corners.

"...this is- I'm...I was- I don't-" The boy babbled senselessly like a madman, glancing fearfully at Nunnally's naked form, framed by the moonlight behind her.

"even if, I wanted...ridiculous...I was-only...NO!"

An impulse seized him suddenly, forcing him to vomit uncontrollably onto the sheet, heedless of Nunnally's panicked cries.

Wretched fluid poured recklessly from every orifice on his face as he dug his fingernails deeply into his sides, drawing blood.

"But, no...why? WHY? No...how could I have - NO! NO!"

Dear Diary,
I'm shocked! So many things happened today that I can't seem to write about as well as I wrote in the journal before! I know it's usual to begin at the start of the day right? But I really have to write the last part down fast so I don't forget, because it's the most bizzare event I have encountered yet!

Okay, so this happened right at the end of the day, after Madam Prez pushed me out of the school. I was so confused about what happened during the day that I couldn't even find the motive to go straight home, so I just walked around the city. I think I was sorta out of my mind back there, and I'm glad that didn't leave me right at the godawful border. Again.

I was just about to leave when I spotted Lulu, Mr. Enigma himself, standing in place in front of a coffee shop. He was sporting his trademark "Club Slayer" scowl and staring at something inside the shop. At first, I wanted to give him a big shock by surprising him, but I stopped when he started talking! So I hid at a magazine shop that was just across, and like some second-rate spy from a movie, I watched Lulu talk with some guy that I couldn't see from where I am at first.

So I watched Lulu's reactions, and I'm telling you, I couldn't make heads or tails of it! I mean, I've seen all sorts of expressions his face would have, but the things I saw there, I thought I was going to faint from the sheer...pressure. It was like he was a completely different person!

And then in a blink, Lulu's gone and I'm left holding a racy magazine. I was so shocked that I immediately left the store, and then BAM, I knock into this guy and I'm blown away by the sheer force of it. When I looked up, there was this scary-looking fellow standing over me, and I swear, I think he was smiling at me, I wasn't sure, but the way he seemed to tower over me made the atmosphere drop a centigrade or two (I blame Nina for that saying)

Brr...I still feel them now as I recall him. I've met my share of fat guys, and he sure didn't fit the jovial person you usually typed a fat guy as. And those creepy looking eyes too...And yeah, I really think he was smiling at me, but I really can't be sure since I got the heck away after that and straight here. I swear, there are things...

...There are many things I wanna ask Lelouch. Yes, I wrote his name like that. It rolls out of my tongue like so...and it's nice. Anyway, that guy has a lot of unanswered questions, and I have a feeling Madam President has a few answers. But I'm sure not gonna ask her, I have to get those right from the horse's mouth! Go, me!