A/N: now don't think I forgot about this story, although I got caught up in the rush I got from writing Threads of Revolution I was still working on this chapter. There were some issues I had to work out with the story, but now that I got them taken care of its full steam ahead.

There was one other issue that kept me from finishing sooner, but I'll mention it at the end of the chapter so without further delay enjoy the chapter and Happy New Year in advance to you guys.

Chapter 4

Eye of the Demon

Inside the old Black Hand hideout which would serve as Lelouch's main base of operations as Zero, but first he would need to get some supplies and the means to properly furnish it. As such the group was sitting on the ground on futons C.C. had brought as the rest of the wooden furniture was in no condition for anyone to really use without it crumbling under their own weight. Unfortunately despite the possibility Chelsea wanted a real chair to sit in and decided to take the risk.

"So this is Zero's Bachelor pad…" Chelsea said before sitting down in the old chair, which promptly gave way and broke apart causing her to fall onto the floor.

"I warned you the chairs were in no condition for use." C.C. said deadpan while drawing a slice of pizza from a plate she had on the ground next to her. "This place hasn't been used in four-hundred years."

"So who had this dump originally?" Chelsea said getting up while rubbing her behind since it was feeling sore from that fall.

"Zero was trained by the remnants of the previous owners of this stronghold and they gave it to him to use as he sees fit because they don't want their own hideout becoming known to the world." C.C. explained.

"I see, so I take it you will not tell me who the previous owners were," Chelsea said before using her hands to dust herself off.

"No because that would lead you to figuring out who I really am and right now its best that my true identity remains unknown to you," Lelouch said as he locked gazes with the lollipop addicted assassin, but for now Chelsea didn't seem interested in pushing the issue.

"Well I guess that is your call, but you don't need to feel shamed because you must be either a really old man under that mask or an ugly woman," The redhead said with an amused grin which caused Lelouch's eyebrow to begin twitching under his mask.

"I am not going to fall for your provocation, but if you can prove to me that I can trust you then I'll tell you who I really am. Then you'll grasp why I didn't want to tell you," Zero said before turning to march down one of the hallways as he needed some time away from that woman.

Once Lelouch was far enough away he took some deep breaths to calm his nerves while he wondered how that woman became an assassin and how her old associates had put up with her troublesome behavior. Even so once Lelouch could win her over to his side then her skills and her Teigu would be very useful to him, but it would take time and Lelouch had much to do.

'Tomorrow I'll meet with Kirihara and get that taken care of before I can begin focusing on recruiting others to join the ranks of my new group,' Lelouch thought as he began planning out his day for tomorrow.

As Lelouch was alone elsewhere in the base C.C. decided to lead Chelsea to what would be her accommodations, although it would be some time before they properly refurnished the base since most of its current furniture was too old to use. As the two women walked down the hall together Chelsea decided to strike up a conversation hoping to learn more about Zero.

"So what are you to Lelouch," Chelsea inquired before pulling out her lollipop for a moment with her right hand.

"I am his accomplice it's as simple as that," C.C. answered with a deadpanned expression.

"Oh so you two aren't lovers then," Chelsea asked with a mischievous smile hoping she might succeed with the green haired woman where she failed with Lelouch, but her hopes were quickly dashed.

"No, but why do you ask? Are you jealous of me being close to him or interested in him," C.C. replied with a sly smile turning the question meant to provoke her into a brief rage where she might have accidently let slip some information Chelsea could use right back at the lollipop addict.

"It's…nothing like that," Chelsea huffed crossing her arms over her chest.

Meanwhile outside in the countryside between the capital and the Narita was the small camp set up by Suzaku and Seryu, although they could have stayed at one of the inns in one of the towns along the way Seryu insisted on camping out so they could be ready to move at dawn. Suzaku didn't mind, but he wasn't sure if it was ok for him to sleep in the same tent as Seryu. They had their own sleeping bags, so it wasn't like they were sharing but there were two issues Suzaku had a problem with.

One the fact Seryu was a girl and so Suzaku felt sleeping in the same tent as her was inappropriate. Then second and the most important reason of all was Koro.

Sleeping in the same tent as something capable of devouring whole men easily might have made some people feel safe, but Suzaku has always felt a bad vibe from Koro and was afraid that one day the Teigu would eat him because he is too close to Seryu. It might have been Suzaku's imagine or his fear of ending up like some of Seryu's previous partners fueling this feeling of suspicion, but no matter what Suzaku couldn't shake the feeling. The creature in question was sitting upon Suzaku's chest while the latter was asleep with a teeth-filled smile.

Koro's growing woke Suzaku up while Seryu was sound asleep, but upon opening his eyes the brown-haired young man noticed something.

"Uh Seryu what do you," Suzaku managing to wake the young woman who proceeded to look up at the star filled sky. He avoided eye contact with Koro fearing it might provoke him into attacking him if he wasn't careful.

"I see a lot of stars, Suzaku," Seryu replied with a yawn as she was clearly still half-asleep.

"And what else do you see?"

Suzaku was hoping Seryu would see Koro on top of him, but he knew there was another issue.

"Well," Seryu began yawning again before saying, "astronomically, it tells me that there are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets. Horologically, I deduce that the time is approximately a quarter past three. Meterologically, I suspect that we will have a beautiful day tomorrow. What does it tell you, Suzaku?"

Suzaku was surprised by Seryu's response, but he suspected it was most likely the fact that she was not fully awake yet.

"Someone has stolen our tent," Suzaku answered bluntly as his words caused Seryu to snap wide awake as she was now fully aware of the fact that their tent was missing.

"Koro why didn't you stop them," Seryu asked while her Teigu only whined in response. "GET THEM!"

Koro hurried off in the direction of where the thieves had gone, which unfortunately for them didn't get far as the sound of their screaming indicated as Koro had transformed into his much larger form.

Suzaku sighed as this left them with a new problem. If Koro devours the thieves then where would they sleep?

'I should have asked her to instruct Koro to catch them instead of killing them.'

The following morning Lelouch had left before dawn in a disguise before leaving for town, but he took great care to ensure Chelsea was asleep when he left. Thankfully C.C. was keeping an eye on her to ensure she wouldn't cause any problems while he is away.

Before reaching the capital Lelouch had taken time to visit the dead drop to collect his reward and the outline for his next mission plan which noted that Kirihara would have all of the details. By the time Lelouch reached the capital it was close to noon.

His disguise for the day was that of a seemingly obese man with curly red hair and a beard with green eyes. He wore a mask and a padded body suit to disguise his appearance while wearing red and green robes suitable for a wealthy merchant, but of course Lelouch carried a few hidden weapons and wore a few perfumes to mask his scent and the smell of gunpowder of his weapons too.

He had an hour before meeting with his contact so Lelouch went into a tavern to relax until it was time to meet with his contact, but as he was finishing a drink a familiar blonde haired woman approached him before sitting in the chair opposite of him at the table he was sitting at. Lelouch recognized her easily as Leone of Night Raid, but Lelouch was certain she couldn't be aware of her identity so he was beginning to wonder what were the busty blonde haired woman's intentions for coming to his table.

"Hey I recall seeing you around before," Leone greeted cheerfully, "are you new to the capital or just passing through?"

"I am here on business mostly," Lelouch replied using his skills to disguise his voice with a heavy accent to mask his identity.

"Really now…must involve trading huh," Leone asked with a smirk as Lelouch was growing suspicious of her.

Upon feeling something near where he kept his purse of gold coins Lelouch realized what Leone was trying to do, but it felt more like she was testing him.

"Indeed I have been all over the place," Lelouch said while pretending to be obvious to Leone's attempts.

"Is that so, how about a game of cards then?"

"Really," Lelouch asked as he suspected what Leone's real aim is adding in a causal manner, "so any stakes involved?"

"A little money on the side that's all to make things more interesting." Leone said dropped a small sack of gold coins on the table.

Lelouch kept a seemingly clueless expression on his face, but on the inside he was grinning.

"Ok I am interested in a friendly game, so what shall it be?"

"Blackjack!" Leone announced cheerfully as some of the patrons looked at Lelouch with sympathetic expressions.

"Alright let's play then…would you like to shuffle." Lelouch asked politely while carrying a smile on his face while Leone was smiling as well.

"Oh you are so kind." The blonde haired assassin replied cheerfully while she was laughing on the inside.

'This will be too easy. I'll rob him blind.'

Five minutes later the game came to an end with Lelouch having won much to Leone's shock and sorrow who was trying to grasp how she lost. Lelouch was smiling, but he was resisting the urge to laugh because her attempts at false shuffling were obvious from the start. Unfortunately for Leone the former prince easily countered her and beaten her using card counting. As a result Lelouch filled his purse with almost all of the gold he won, but kept one piece out before flipping into the air before a teary Leone.

"I can't believe it," Leone said in-between sobs, "I never lose at this game so how."

"Maybe today was my lucky day, but here you go little lady."

Lelouch flipped the coin into the air causing Leone focus her attention on it before catching it.

"Anyway it's been fun, but I have to go."

Just as Lelouch was about to leave Leone approached him and put his arm over his shoulder, but Lelouch didn't react as he had been expecting this. Lelouch pretended that nothing was amiss as he decided to politely bid the blonde haired woman good day.

"I am sure we'll be seeing each other again."

"Oh I hope so." Leone said as she waved good bye to the traveler, but once Lelouch was gone Leone went to the bar to buy a new drink with a smile on her face she slammed Lelouch's purse on the countertop.

The bartender didn't seem hardly surprised by this, but it was a common occurrence not just from Leone but from some of his other regulars.

"He might have beaten me, but I still win."

The busty blonde was laughing but when she reached into the purse she realized it wasn't filled with gold but with pieces of copper cut and shaped to look like coins. She didn't know it, but while her attention had been on the coin Lelouch flipped into the air he quickly swapped his purse with his decoy purse knowing that Leone was going to rob him.

Leone was speechless as her mind was trying to register the fact she had been tricked.

"It looks like that traveler turned the tables on you." The bartender said with a light laugh.

"Where is he?" Leone said with a dangerous tone in her voice before rushing out to track down Lelouch, but it would be a fruitless search.

Thankfully for Lelouch he made his way to his meeting which was in an older part of the capital where a representative of Kirihara was waiting for him to lead him to his master for their meeting. They entered a tea shop where Lelouch was led into the back through the kitchen before being led down a ladder into an underground tunnel. He and the representative traveled for a ways until they came up into a closed theater where an elderly man wearing brown robes with a bald head sat at the front row before the stage with two bodyguards standing next to him.

"Mr. Kirihara?" Lelouch inquired as the man turned to face him.

"Ah it's been awhile young man I assume everything is well?"

Taizō Kirihara gestured for Lelouch to sit next to him so the two could talk.

"Everything has been proceeding smoothly, but also its time for me to begin building."

"I see so Lucien gave his approval to begin building your own force. I thought as much when he contacted me about providing you with resources and supplies, which I assume is for providing the needed supplies to restore that old fortress you have taken as your headquarters?"

"Indeed you are correct."

"I'll be more than happy to assist you, but there is something I need you to do for me."

"I am listening," Lelouch said as he expected something like this, "I assume you want someone killed?"

"Yes," Kirihara said before reaching into his robes to pull out some documents before he continued speaking as Lelouch accepted the documents and began reading the documents, "This is the Ismaren Family they are a wealthy family that owns a number of the Empire's industrial factories that produce weapons and supplies for them so as such they hold a great deal of influence with the higher ups in the palace."

"I see and I assume they use their position to abuse their influence for their own gain correct." Lelouch said with a stoic expression as such was a typical story of most wealthy families in the capital.

"Correct, but they are among the cruelest of the wealthy families because of their hobby." Kirihara said not hiding any disgust in his voice which Lelouch knew was directed the family in question, before the old man took a breath before continuing. "They have a habit of finding people of low-standing or more often they find those who travel to the capital from the frontier to seek better lives and opportunities there."

'I see where this is going.' Lelouch thought as he didn't interrupt Kirihara.

"They begin by inviting them to stay at their house under false pretenses, but at some point they are usually drugged and brought to their storehouse where they are cruelly tortured to death."

"The entire family is involved in this," Lelouch said gesturing at the photo of the family which included the head of the household, his wife and his daughter, "including the daughter I presume?"

"You are correct even their daughter takes part in the deceptions and the torture, so they along with their entire staff at the mansion are guilty."

"I'll kill them."

"Yes, but aside from that there are documents and information contained in the family safe I would like you to recover along with assassinating that family. That is your top priority over killing the family."

"How so…didn't you want them killed?" Lelouch asked crossing his arms over his chest.

"Yes, but I have heard word that someone is seeking to contract Night Raid for the task of killing them." Kirihara explained before a smirk appeared on his face. "The way I heard it that they were a number of people wishing to hire Night Raid to kill that family that they had to hold a lottery to decide who they will accept the job from. I don't know when it will happen, but if they happen to come and begin slaughtering the family then fine. I want those documents, but if they don't show then kill the family as well."

"Understood and I have a plan in mind already." Lelouch replied with a sinister smile as he brought one hand close to his right eye.

Meanwhile as Lelouch was meeting with Kirihara, Leone had spent the last hour in a fruitless search for the disguised Lelouch but it amounted to nothing leaving Leone tired and frustrated. Sitting down at an outdoor café Leone used her one gold piece to buy a cup of coffee as she wasn't able to get anything else with it.

'I can't believe he swindled me like that. Even though I tried to swindle him I know, but still that didn't expect him to see through it.'

Leone was depressed, but suddenly she heard the voice of a young man from a passing crowd behind her.

"WOW so this is the capital," A young boy with brown hair exclaimed as his green eyes stared at his surroundings with a starry look in his eyes before he added, "If I do well here I could buy the entire village. I better find the barracks and quick."

'So another naïve country boy has come to the capital huh.' Leone thought before a mischievous smirk appeared on her face.

Tatsumi fresh out of the countryside and visiting the capital for the first time made his way through the busy streets of the capital until he found his way to the military recruitment office. After standing in line for a short while the cheerful brown haired travel approached the man behind the desk.

"I am here to join the army!" Tatsumi declared happily to the clearly bored and disinterested clerk behind the desk.

"Uh-huh," The man said without even looking at Tatsumi as he handed him a form. "So you want to join the ranks too huh? Well fill out this form and hand it back to me."

Tatsumi looked over the form before asking, "Does this mean I have to start as a private?"

"What do you think? And most likely you'll be sent to the remote regions."

"I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THAT!" Tatsumi shouted bombastically before he added while drawing his sword. "Just see what I can do. If you think you can use me then start me out by enlisting me as a captain."

The only thing that display did was have Tatsumi thrown out of the recruitment office and onto the street.

"The heck! Give me a shot at least!"

"GET REAL! If you want to become a solider then you need to enter the lottery to have a chance at joining. In this recession we're being flooded with new applicants so I can't test each and every one of you. Besides we have a limited number of spots to fill!" The recruitment officer snapped.

"Oh…is that so," Tatsumi said as he didn't realize so many people were trying to enlist.

"GET LOST, YOU DAMN BRAT!"

The door was slammed shut leaving Tatsumi alone sitting in the middle of the street. As Tatsumi contemplated a way out of this predicament Leone was slowly approaching him from behind with a smirk on her face.

'I had a feeling this would happen.'

"Hey there," Leone said greeting the down on his luck young man before asking, "You look like you are in a tight spot kid so could I lean you a hand?"

Tatsumi was rendered speechless as he looked over his shoulders at the beautiful woman and his eyes were on her busty bosom.

"So what's your story?" Leone asked with a smile.

When Tatsumi still didn't respond Leone answered for him.

"Let me guess, you came from the country to follow your dream in the capital right?"

"How did you know?" Tatsumi said as he was both shocked and impressed she guessed it right.

"When you lived in the capital long enough, you can spot the out-of-towner from a mile away." Leone explained raising one hand up wagging her right index finger back and forth. "So I know a way to get you into the army."

"REALLY!" Tatsumi exclaimed happily.

"Do you want me to tell you?"

Tatsumi eagerly nodded in response.

"In that case treat me to a meal."

But little did Tatsumi know that his troubles were just beginning.

It was after dark when Lelouch, having changed his disguise in the event he ran into Leone, made his way back to his base before midnight having accomplished everything he needed to do. He even found time to scout out and inspect the Ismaren Estate allowing Lelouch to plan out his way of entry and how he would bypass the mansion. He was out so late because he needed to better set up conditions for him when he intended to infiltrate the estate tomorrow night.

Upon returning to the hideout Lelouch was met by C.C.

"So how did it go?"

"It went well and if you are wondering why I was out later than I said I would be it was because I was scouting out the estate of my next target."

"Oh so the old man did give you a mission after all."

"Yes and in exchange for accomplishing it he would provide us with everything we need." Lelouch said as he looked around the place while remarking mentally it would be good to see this place get cleaned up and restored to proper order.

"Wow you are back late, but could that be what you look like under the mask...old man?" Chelsea asked entering the room and noticing Lelouch's disguised appearance.

Lelouch had swapped parts of his disguised he used early to go into the capital and swapped out his previous face mask for that of his old man disguise to prevent Leone from recognizing him should he run into her again.

"Unlike some who have Teigu capable of completely disguising oneself I have to disguise myself the old fashion way." Lelouch said deadpanned.

"That is a relief then you are not some old coot then because I would be worried about your capabilities as an assassin." Chelsea jokingly commented with a smirk.

"Anyway I'll be heading out tomorrow night to assassinate another target." Lelouch began deciding to change the subject. "Have you heard of the Ismaren Family?"

"Not really as most of my jobs keep me busy out on the Empire's frontier."

"They are a family of wealthy business owners with connections that go all the way to the palace itself, so in other ways they are corrupt and abusing their influence to carry on their little hobby of picking up people from the country and those who wouldn't be missed in the capital and then torture them to death."

"So you are going to kill them then?"

"Yes and it seems Night Raid is being contracted to kill them as well. Heck I was told there was so many people that wanted this family dead that Night Raid had to hold a lottery to see who they would accept the job from." Lelouch said with an amused smirk on his face.

"What you are saying that you might run into Night Raid?" Chelsea said before placing a lollipop into her mouth.

"Most likely, but it will work to my favor since their usual method of attacking head on and wiping out opposition typically has provided me with a easier time slipping away." Lelouch answered with a smile because for an organization to believe to be a band of assassins they do not actually sneak in using stealth to kill their targets most of the time, although there are some times they use stealth in their assassinations. "But you are the only one I consider to be a genuine assassin since you are quieter than some of your capital-based co-workers."

Chelsea smiled at the compliment she received before asking, "So are you going to wipe out the whole family then?"

"The head of the household, his wife and even their daughter take sadistic delight in the suffering of innocent people who didn't want to die and were deceived by their deception just to fuel their sick hobby. As far as I am concerned they already sealed their own fate…I am just the reaper." Lelouch replied darkly.

"That is a bit cold." Chelsea said while her eyes narrowed as she was trying to get a better read on the personality of the man before him.

'I am almost certain he is young somehow, but…'

"I might ask you to join me on one of my future missions, but this one I should be handle. Besides if Night Raid does get involved like I know they will things are going to get crazy really fast."

"So what am I going to do here?"

"I'll be teaching you some of our tricks tomorrow so you can better keep up with Zero." C.C. said with her arms crossed over her chest. "So don't worry you won't be bored."

"I guess that is good."

The following night Lelouch dressed in his Zero grab including his signature mask was sneaking through the shadows of the trees surrounding the estate. Lelouch approached the backdoor where he spotted two guards, although he could infiltrate through one of the windows on the upper floors of the mansion Lelouch had a different method in mind for tonight.

'Excellent they didn't change their patrol time and members.' Lelouch thought before he approached the guards. When they saw him they immediately assumed a defensive stance, but a second later their eyes began flowing with a red ring around their irises before their expressions changed suddenly. Then men stood at attention as they saluted Zero while in some kind of trance like state.

"We await your orders Master Zero." The guards said together in unison.

"Excellent," Lelouch began as observed the guards the previous night he managed to discreetly approach some of them and use his Teigu to put them under his control, "Both of you will relieve the guards outside of Mr. Ismaren's study and then proceed inside where you will restrain him. One of you will let me in before you help me in using my Teigu on him…understood?"

"Yes sir…" The guards replied stoically.

"Good now go…I'll meet you there."

Lelouch quickly began scaling the wall of the mansion making his way to the rooftop before sneaking across the rooftop to reach the window where the study was located. The masked assassin knew the location of the study thanks to studying the information Kirihara provided him as well as the guards he questioned after he enslaved them using his Teigu. Lelouch cautiously climbed down from the roof and hid by the window to the study where the head of the household spent his evenings.

The former prince waited for a few minutes until one of his mind controlled guards opened the window to let him in.

"Good work," Zero said as he was smiling under his mask before he turned to a man in his early fifties with gray hair and brown eyes wearing a brown suit, "So you must be Mr. Ismaren…it's a pleasure to meet you."

Mr. Ismaren couldn't speak as the soldier holding him captive had also using one of his hands to cover the older man's mouth to keep him silent.

"Did you lock the door?" Lelouch inquired before the soldier who let him in went to lock the door to ensure no one could bother them. "Good now onto the business at hand."

Lelouch brought one hand up to his mask pressing a hidden switch which opened up a panel on his mask revealing his purple eye, but it suddenly shifted its appearance into a demonic eye with a silver iris and a red slit-like pupil before a red emblem similar to that of a phoenix began glowing upon it.

"This is my Teigu called Geass, but better known by its other name as the Demonic Eye of Domination. I won't waste time using threats to get you to cooperate with me where I'll force you to follow my commands including walking to the guillotine." Lelouch said as he was grinning under his mask before he gestured for the other guard to help the first one in properly restraining the older man while one of them used a free hand to forcibly keep his eyes open.

"Zero commands you to follow my orders from this moment on."

In that instance an unseen power began to overtake Mr. Ismaren's mind, although he struggled against it briefly like all of the previous victims of the Teigu they were now enthralled under Zero to obey whatever orders he gives them. Of course Lelouch could always compel them to follow his orders for a short time before releasing them from his control or until the conditions of his orders were fulfilled which would then leave them with memory loss including events during the time they followed his commands and before he cast it on them ensuring no one remembered him.

After seeing Mr. Ismaren's face become a blank slate Lelouch gestured to the two controlled guards to release him.

"How may I serve you master?"

"I want you to open your personal safe and give me all of the documents contained within along with all information on your illegal smuggling and trading activities."

"Yes sir," Mr. Ismaren said stoically as walked to a wall near the window and opened up a secret panel concealed behind a painting of him and his family revealing a safe.

Lelouch watched him entered in the combination before he opened the safe emptying out its documents and handing them to Zero who opened his satchel bag to place the documents inside along with every shady deal he had ever conducted as well as other secret documents no one outside of the Ismaren Family should see.

'These documents should be of great help to Kirihara especially since these other documents should allow him to lay claim to the Ismaren Family fortune and estate.' Lelouch thought with a smile hidden behind his mask as aside from the documents and records of every illegal deal they conducted behind the scenes the safe had the deed and financial records that would be needed for Kirihara to absorb the family's wealth following their passing.

Once the documents were secured Lelouch turned to the guards.

"You there take this," Lelouch said pulling out a small gas bomb from his bag, "once I safely leave the room and reach the rooftop detonate this." Lelouch ordered while he placed his usual calling card in a place where it would be found.

"Yes sir."

Lelouch wasted no time leaving the room while taking care to close the window behind him. Once he reached the rooftop the gas bomb was detonated.

The masked assassin climbed down to observe the hallway leading to the study as to observe if anyone unfortunate enough would enter the room. As expected the screams of the three men dying an extremely painful death could be heard luring other guards to the study including Mrs. Ismaren who was a younger woman in her early thirties with blonde hair and blue eyes. A very sinister smile graced Lelouch's features, which were of course hidden behind his mask, when he watched them open the door before the contained gas was released infecting them.

As he observed what would come next as the gas was quickly taking effect Lelouch saw someone else coming down from the other end of the hallway towards the commotion, although Lelouch wouldn't have cared if it was another guard but he quickly recognized the woman as Sheele from Night Raid. Not wanting the female assassin to end up killed by the gas Lelouch grabbed Sheele and pulled her out the window as the two assassins fell onto the ground, but Lelouch quickly righted himself catching Sheele before landing in a graceful crouch.

Remarkably Sheele was still holding onto her large Teigu.

"I apologize for starling you like that, but you really don't want to be anywhere near that study." Zero said to a stunned Sheele who would have attacked him, but upon seeing it was Zero she stayed her hand. Sheele recalled the description Mine had given when she saw him that one time and quickly recognized the mask, but most importantly she didn't even know he was there so she was caught completely off guard.

"Z…Z…Zero," Sheele said as her mind was still trying to wrap itself around the fact she was face to face with the mysterious assassin who until now no one had seen up close like she was right now.

A scream from upstairs turned their attention where they saw Mrs. Ismaren sticking her upper body out the window in a vain effort to escape the gas, but it was too late. Sheele was wide-eyed with a look of shock as she saw Mrs. Ismaren in a lot of pain, but it appeared her skin was beginning to melt off.

"I set off a gas bomb containing a potent cholinesterase inhibitor fashioned from poison I usually use in my assassinations." Lelouch said as he began to explain the effects of the poisonous gas bomb. "Similar to the poison harvested from the Chaurus stops the brain from sending nerve messages down the spinal cord within thirty seconds. Any epidermal exposure or inhalation and you'll know by a twinge at the small of your back as the poison seizes your nervous system. After that the poison kicks into overdrive as your muscles freeze, you can't breathe, you spasm so hard you break your own back and spit your guts out. But that's after your skin melts off."

Sheele swallowed hard as a result of realizing how close to death she had just been.

"I would advise your co-workers to stay away from there until the room airs out, but in case you were wondering I got the head of the house so I guess the daughter is left."

"Uh…thank you."

"Don't mention it, but since you are here could you do me a favor?" Lelouch said before handing Sheele a sealed envelope. "Could you give this to your leader for me?"

"Ok," Sheele said accepting the letter as she took a moment to examine it.

In that moment Sheele had taken her eyes off of Zero to examine the letter Lelouch had vanished leaving Sheele by herself.

Moments later Leone, Akame and Bulat arrived to find a confused Sheele looking around for Zero before her friends approached her.

"Sheele what happened you were supposed to be going after your target?" Leone asked.

"Oh well it seems Zero got her and the husband before we did. He used a poison gas bomb to kill the husband while the wife and some guards entered the room breathing in the poisoned gas killing them as well." Sheele said with a matter of fact tone before holding up the letter Zero gave him. "And he gave me this letter to give to our boss."

"You saw Zero?" Bulat asked as he was surprised that Sheele saw Zero face to face.

"Yes and he pulled me out of the hallway before I got too close to the study. He said he didn't want me breathing in the gas."

'He snuck up on Sheele without her even knowing he was there?' Leone thought as she was surprised by this turn of events as well too.

"Sheele was the daughter caught in that trap?" Akame asked unperturbedly.

"No he said the daughter was the only one left unless one of us got her."

"We haven't seen her yet, so I guess that means she is still alive." Bulat said as he and his fellow assassins still had one target left.

Around the same time in another corner of the estate one of the few remaining guards and the daughter of the Ismaren family head were running towards a large storage shed in a last ditch effort to escape the massacre that wiped out everyone else. The girl had blonde hair and blue eyes wearing a blue dress, but they were soon joined by Tatsumi who during the previous night was found on the street by Aria after Leone swindled him out of his money leaving him to spend the night out on the streets until the blonde girl found him and brought him to their estate.

He had spent the day helping the family as a way to repay them for their kindness.

Like a majority of the household the assault by Night Raid and those being killed by Zero's gas bomb woke Tatsumi up. After witnessing most of the guards get slaughtered when they fought against the assembled members of Night Raid whom Tatsumi had heard about from one of the guards while he accompanied Aria around the capital today.

'I can at least save Miss Aria.' Tatsumi thought as he managed to escape the mansion without incident before coming across Aria and the last living guard on the estate grounds near the shed at the rear of the estate.

"Miss Aria…there you are!" Tatsumi said after catching up to them.

"Tatsumi!" Aria said in surprise at the sight of the young man.

"Perfect timing," The guard exclaimed proudly before he added, "You can hold off the enemy while Miss Aria and I seek refuge inside the shed until the authorities arrive."

"Huh…that might be a little much." Tatsumi nervously as the memories of seeing how the other guards were cut down by the members of Night Raid so easily was still fresh in his mind.

Either tempted by fate or Tatsumi's words Akame arrived on the scene with her sword drawn.

"Shit I guess I got no choice!" Tatsumi boldly declared drawing his sword as Akame rushed him, but instead of attack she simply leapt over him by using his shoulder to hop further into the air.

"You are not a target." Akame said stoically in passing before landing directly ahead of the guard and Aria.

"Shit she is coming this way!" The guard said realizing Akame was intending to kill him before killing the girl so he unloaded the entire magazine of his rifle trying to gun down the fast moving female assassin. It wasn't enough to stop Akame who through an impressive display of evasion and speed dodged all of the bullets before slicing the guard in two through his waist.

Aria was stunned by how quickly the guard was killed and began cautiously backing away before tripping on a rock.

Akame in that instant stood over her with her sword ready to cleave her in two.

"You will be buried."

Before the killing blow could be delivered Tatsumi intervened coming in-between Akame and Aria forcing the red eyed assassin to back away.

"Not so fast!"

"You are not a target, so there is no reason to kill you so stand aside." Akame emotionlessly demanded of the young man blocking her from her target.

"But you want to kill this girl don't you?"

Akame nodded her head in response before offering what would be a final warning. "If you get in my way I'll kill you too."

"I very well cannot run away now can I?" Tatsumi said defiantly, but he knew his chances of winning were slim to none.

"I see…then I will send you to rest." Akame said with a dangerous tone of determination in her voice.

Approaching the scene to provide any back-up if required was Leone as the rest of their group had finished mopping up any guards they had missed, but as she approached the shed she saw the battle about to erupt between Akame and a boy she wasn't expecting to see again.

"Oh boy…that kid's got shit for luck."

Despite the odds stacked against him Tatsumi showed no signs of backing down, because in his mind if he couldn't save one innocent girl then how could he save his whole village.

Akame and Tatsumi's blades met in a fierce clash between them, although Akame was clearly far more experienced and better trained than Tatsumi was the young man held his own against the master assassin and swordswoman. The clashed was quick as Akame was clearly the faster of the two, so she was keeping Tatsumi on the defensive which was about all he could do. But after a kick to his arm Akame found an opening in his defenses and thrust his sword into his chest where his heart would be.

The impact was enough to bring Tatsumi to his knees having been seemingly killed.

"Tatsumi!" Aria cried out as the last person standing between her and death had fallen, or so it seemed.

Akame backed away realizing her blade did not penetrate into his body.

"So you won't come near me even after I dropped my guard." Tatsumi said getting back up to his feet while feeling a pain against his chest, although the object there blocked Akame's sword from piercing his heart the impact of the thrust and the pain it caused still hurt which was just a testament to the power Akame had put into the thrust.

"I didn't feel my sword pierce you."

"Heh my friends from my village protected me." Tatsumi declared pulling out a damaged idol which he was given by the village elder before leaving.

'Huh he is clearly fighting a losing battle, but he is holding his own against Akame a lot better than I thought.' Leone thought as she was observing the fight between the two.

"Rest in pieces!" Akame said with renewed determination as she rushed Tatsumi intending to behead him this time.

"Wait hold on," Tatsumi said waving his hands in the air in an effort to get the assassin to stay her blade, "if its money you are after then let this girl go! This isn't a battle so don't kill an innocent girl!"

Akame didn't slow down and she was just seconds away from taking Tatsumi's head off.

A/N: well we kinda know how this will end, but there will be one notable difference and the mentioned issue I am bringing up now, which I have decided to let you the reader decide.

The fate of Sayo…should she live and join Lelouch's ranks as one of the first of his new group or should she die in canon.

I intended for her to live if mostly as a means of breaking canon, but the decision has caused some disagreements with some saying I am a bleeding heart for deciding to spare her, which is not true because as a tradeoff I am going to off a CG cast member when story conditions are more ideal for it.

And NO it will not be Euphy or Shirley because those two are predictable choices for characters that get killed so no those two will probably survive this story.

It won't be Suzaku either since he is just as important as Lelouch is, so not him either.

As for pairings so far I am going to try and pursue the Seryu and Suzaku pairing to see how far it goes, but for Lelouch its still up in the air between Chelsea, Mine and possibly Sheele…and no there will be no harem because I can't see one happening in this story with its set conditions.

Also Lelouch's Teigu has been revealed, although I reluctantly decided to call it Geass because I could figure out a much better name for it. But it has a trump card ability besides its basic abilities similar to the Geass Lelouch had in canon. Lelouch just doesn't use it too often only because he runs the risk of exposing himself which I will explain in the next chapter.

And for Aria's family since her father and mother weren't really given any names that I knew of I had to make up a family name for them since only the daughter really had a name so yeah.

Anyway I hope to have the next chapter out sooner, but we'll see and I appreciate the feedback.