Disclaimer: I don't own Code Geass, nor Persona. This story is a work of fiction, and what not.


Villain


Lelouch's mind was racing as he thought of ways to resolve this new problem. He had wanted to clean up his lose ends, and now here he was with a new problem. He cursed himself for not only his carelessness in regards to his new power, but on not having made sure he had a backup plan. If he weren't in the middle of this confrontation, he would be far harder on himself than he already was. But he had far more pressing matters than to focus on his mistakes.

"Well, are you going to answer me or not?" Kallen's tone was making it clear that she wasn't going to just let him go without saying something. She was clearly growing increasingly more frustrated with him.

"And what makes you think I know anything about all that crazy stuff?" Playing dumb was all he could really do now. He had already made the mistake of engaging her on her terms, so there was no getting out of this anymore. Fortunately for him, his response clearly seemed to sow some doubt in her mind going off of her expression. He hadn't even technically said that he didn't know anything, should the conversation progress

"Fine, I can buy not knowing what any of that stuff was. But what happened after I passed out? How did we get away, and how did we get out of...whatever that place was?"

A trickier question to answer. He was hesitant to tell her anything, let alone that he awakened to some kind of power on the other side. But a half truth wouldn't be out of the question. "Something else showed up and attacked those knights, so I just grabbed you and ran for it. Or would you have preferred I just left you to save myself?" She was clearly taken aback by the comment, and looked like she felt a bit guilty about her accusations before. He was getting control of the situation for now.

"Well, I guess when you put it like that...thanks, I guess..." She averted her eyes a bit as she said that, not wanting to look him in the eyes. "So, uh, how did we get back, then?"

"I ran back to the warehouse, and believe it or not, hiding in the same spot brought us back." She raised an eyebrow at that, clearly finding such a simple solution hard to believe. Which was ironic considering he that of all that he had told her, this was the one thing that happened exactly as he had said it did. He hadn't hid anything there, especially that they had basically accidentally got out of there. "Anyway, if thats all for now, I do have something else I need to attend to before class starts."

For her part, Kallen was torn on what to do. Did she trust him? No, not entirely. But what did she call him out on? It wasn't as if he himself had tried to attack her. He had been attacked, the same as her, in that weird situation. And he did seemingly save her, given she had awoken back at her home. For a good few minutes, she stood silently, though keeping her eyes locked onto him.

"...fine, thats it for now." She was reluctant to say that, but she didn't have much of a basis to do anything else for now. All she could really do was keep an eye on him for now.

With the potential disaster at least stalled for now, Lelouch made his way to his next destination to cover some very pertinent matters. As he did, he was unaware of someone watching them from a window on the second floor.

It wasn't as if Shirley had been following him. She had been passing by on pure chance, having been walking down the hallway an glancing out the window only to see him and Kallen together. She couldn't hear them from where she was, and had no idea what they had been talking about. But from her perspective, all she needed to see was just that the two had been together. From her perspective, and she wasn't entirely wrong to think so, the two had been having a secret meeting. And now with only her own thoughts to go on, her imagination ran wild as she could only think that Lelouch and Kallen could be secretly dating.


Lelouch stood outside of a particular door, and knocked. The door being the office of the Principal of this school, one Reuben K. Ashford. The older man, grandfather of Milly, had been a friend of his mother's in her life. The Ashford family had once been a family of prominence, a noble family who were among the top of the field in developing what would become the Knightmare Frame. And that was how this man and his mother had come to know each other, as she served as the test pilot of their Ganymede model. And with her death, the Ashford family fell from grace without its star pilot and chief backer.

Following the invasion of Japan, he had taken he and his sister in, giving them shelter from both harm and attention, allowing them to live in obscurity while the world thought them dead. It was even at this man's request that he had even begun reluctantly attending this school, starting in the middle school grades. He hadn't particularly been interested at the time, but Nunnally had been open to and wanted to go to school. And needless to say that had been attending ever since.

"Come in."

With permission granted, he opened and entered to find the elder Ashford sitting at the desk. From the look on his face, it was obvious that he was not expecting to see him come to his office. There were clear signs of weariness on his face though.

Reuben K. Ashford had, for as long as Lelouch had known him, been a man of high spirits. The few times he had seen him while still a prince were usually at parties thrown by him that his mother brought them to, and the others when he would come to their villa to speak of matters usually pertaining to business. Even in the years after her death snd eventually taking them in, he always maintained a sense enthusiasm at his age. It was from him that Milly had inherited her penchant for throwing parties and events at any given opportunity. And so seeing him now, it was clear that something serious was weighing on him. And he had a strong suspicion on, at the very least, something related to it.

"Lelouch? Its rather unusual to get a visit from you. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Lelouch weighed his options in how best to approach the situation, and ultimately decided to take the direct one. "Benjamin Rosenberg." Though subtle, the man visibly flinched at the mention of the name, and it was all he needed to know that he was on the right trail. The "secret" that the Shadow of Rosenberg had mentioned was clearly something significant. Something that could be used as leverage for the man's ambitions, that he felt could be used to wrest control of this school and even consign his own granddaughter to the whims of this man. The question was, what secret could be so great that he could hold such power over the man?

Choosing his words carefully, Lelouch thought about the best way to approach the subject. "Are you aware that the man has been showing an uncomfortable amount of attention to your granddaughter as of late? She doesn't seem entirely fond of it, either."

The man before him clearly appeared to be uncomfortable by what he said, averting his gaze from Lelouch. "...yes, I'm aware that he is attempting to court her." His tone was even, but Lelouch could tell from his expression that there was far more to the situation than just what he chose to say.

"And are you okay with that? And if it went further?" Watching him, it was plain to see the internal turmoil within the man before him. Milly loved her grandfather, and he cared greatly for her. Seeing him like this, Lelouch decided this was the time to go right to the heart of the matter. "You're being blackmailed, aren't you?"

The elder Ashford's eyes were as wide as plates at the accusation. "How...?" He was clearly not prepared for such a direct action, but it was evident from the reaction that he had hit the nail on the head. It also meant, for him, just how connected the Shadow Rosenberg was to the real one. While he didn't necessarily doubt the words of Geachi, he wanted to confirm things for himself. Just being told that the man from the alternate Ashford Academy was manifestation of a suppressed side or that he knew all things the real one did, it was best to confirm. After all, how much of what that Shadow said could be attributed to the man's delusions? Things like this would be best confirmed for himself, so that he could better understand these strange phenomena he now found himself caught up in.

As he watched the old man, he eventually let out a heavy sigh. "...yes, I'm afraid that is true."

"So then what is he holding over your head? What secret is he using against you?" He was glad the elder Ashford wasn't bothering to hide the confirmation he needed, and was hopeful that he would be willing to shed further light on the situation with Rosenberg.

"I... can't say." The man refused to look him in the eye, though Lelouch couldn't help but feel he had a look of shame on his face. He seemed as if he had let someone down, though that raised the question of what it could be. What was so great that could be held over the man's head to this extent, that a man could use to wrest control of the school and take the man's beloved granddaughter?

"Is this secret really worth Milly? Is it more important than her?"

"It... is a matter of grave importance. I couldn't..." His voice trailed off, unable to finish the sentence.

The state of the man before him, such that he had never seen him like this before, only fueled Lelouch's curiosity and determination. It was clear that the weight of this secret was so great that it gave others power over him to such an extent. He clearly felt guilt in the situation, but could not refuse because the secret was clearly that important. And if he was going to keep being reluctant, Lelouch was considering using his Geass if need be.

"I hope I'm not intruding."

A new voice spoke up as its owner entered the room, not bothering to knock. There was a coldness in the tone, a far cry from the usual friendly tone this particular man ordinarily used. He looked over at Lelouch and the elder Ashford with a stone face, almost like a predator watching his prey. Adjusting his glasses with his finger, he didn't take his eyes off of Lelouch.

It was none other than Benjamin Rosenberg himself who strode into the office.

"I was coming to speak with the principal on our arrangement, and I couldn't help but overhear your conversation." He was right in front of Lelouch now, and he stared into Lelouch's own. As he did, there was something smug about the way that he was looking at him. His eyes showed a look of confidence, of a man who felt his victory was assured.

"I don't know how you came to this knowledge. But I'll be happy to answer your question." It was unmistakable now from the tone in his voice. The way he was speaking and carrying himself, it was if a man who was sure that he held all the power in this situation. "I'll tell you exactly the secret that has given me power over the man before you. I'll tell you his greatest weakness."

The man before him adjusted his glasses with his finger once more, and for a brief moment, there was a wide grin on his face. He leaned in towards Lelouch, close to his ear, probably meaning to intimidate him. However, no matter the answer, Lelouch was determined not to back down before this foe.

"And that is you, Lelouch. You," his voice then became hushed as he said his next words. "Lelouch vi Britannia."

Now it was Lelouch's turn to find himself shocked by the words of another. His eyes widened in an instant and he involuntarily took a step back. As he tried to keep himself composed, he couldn't hide everything he was going through. And from the look on Rosenberg's face, he was enjoying every moment of Lelouch's newfound crisis.

"Yes, I found out exactly who you and your sister are." He placed a bit of emphasis on the words 'your sister' to no doubt remind Lelouch that this involved her as well. "That the both of you are two long thought dead royals, children of late Empress Marianne vi Britannia, whom our dear friend Reuben here was personally connected too.

Rosenberg paused here to let his words sink in before continuing, watching Lelouch carefully. "You're probably wondering how I found out, aren't you? Well, I've been investigating you for a while. I methods investigate every student who comes to this school. After all, there had to be some reason the principal gives you such special privileges ever since your time in the middle school classes. It took a quite a while, but I eventually found out.

Lelouch couldn't help but pick up on one thing that the man had said. The same thing his Shadow had said to Mario. In hind sight, he should have been more cautious. But he had been so focused on the Ashfords that he hadn't considered what this all meant for himself. Perhaps it was the Shadow Rosenberg's lack of remark for him directly, but now he realized he likely just hadn't gotten a good look at his dace with the mask he had been wearing.

"And now that you know what the secret is," Rosenberg then turned to Ashford. "One week."

"E-excuse me?" The elder man was clearly taken aback by the sudden statement.

"You have one weeks to make the arrangements for me to marry your granddaughter. Then we'll talk about your retirement. If after that, you still haven't done so, I go public with my discovery."

"Now wait a minute! We had-"

"Our previous arrangement of doing things discreetly is pointless now that he knows. So I'll use it to my advantage. Fortune favors the bold, after all." He then turned once more to Lelouch, his smugness practically radiating off of him like and aura. He clearly felt as if he had complete control in this situation. "And don't go thinking about taking off. If I think you're even going to try, I put your identities out there. After all, royalty or now, if you're in hiding like this, someone wants you dead, right?"

"YOU WILL NOT!" As Lelouch yelled these words, he even activated his Geass in his fury. The complete indifference to his command was a painful reminder of the lesson he had just learned with Kallen. And far more than with her, he cursed himself for his carelessness. His utter hatred for the man before him was only serving to taunt him for his foolishness. At this rate, killing him might be the only way out of this hellish situation. And he was prepared to do it. Either he do it himself or he use his Geass to force someone else and avoid any connections, it would be easy.

However, life was never that easy for Lelouch.

"I recognize desperation when I see it. But I'm a cautious man." Adjusting his glasses once more, he withdrew his phone. On it was a timer with a space for inputs. "You're familiar with the concept of a dead man's switch, right? If I don't put in a password every two hours, everything I know goes public, sent to media and any sources of note like the police and other government officials. More than just your secret mind you, but none as important. But its my way of promising to drag down everyone I can if I fall."

Lelouch had to admit the snake before him had seemingly covered his bases as he clenched his fists in rage. It seemed he man who only revealed his move when he was sure that there was no way to counter his plans. Try as he might, he struggled to find a solution to this trap he had found himself in. He couldn't use Geass and killing him where he stood would only doom him. The man had placed him in what seemed like an inescapable Checkmate.

As he felt the metaphorical noose tighten around his neck, Lelouch found himself running out of the office. Down the halls, across the campus, and eventually into his own home. He was breathing heavily, and his mind was racing. Nunnally wasn't home currently. If he ran now, maybe he could get away. He could pack his and Nunnally's necessities, withdraw his money from the accounts, and get a head start...

But it could never be enough. If their identities came out, he couldn't move freely to avoid being seen, especially with Nunnally. Her wheelchair restricted their movements and would stand out too much.

"Lelouch? What are you doing back here?" Geachi stood in the middle of the doorway to his room. Then, taking note of the state that Lelouch was in, he quickly realized there was something more important to ask. "What happened?"


Kallen sighed as she walked along the school grounds. She had come here today to get answers, but didn't really get any of that. Lelouch didn't seem to know any more than she did. That or he was lying. She definitely couldn't rule that out. She had no idea whether or not she could trust anything he said.

Come to think of it, she had been so caught up in trying to figure out what the madness she had experienced yesterday was thar she had forgotten to ask him why he was there to begin with. She mentally slapped herself for that one, since that could be important. Or he could have just been checking out the crash site. That was what she had been doing, after all.

Either way, she was still warry about that boy. He had seen her there and seen her act in a way that she did not here at school. She had no way of knowing what he'd do with that information. And she didn't know how likely it was, but it was definitely on her mind that it could even be possible for him to find out her secret. After all, it would be just as strange for the daughter of the Stadtfeld house to be wandering around the ghetto as it was for him.

Putting that matter out of her mind for now and taking out her phone, she stared at the weird eye icon once more. She had already tried deleting it a couple times by now, but it always returned. It was honestly kinda creepy, almost like something you'd see how in an old horror movie.

As she entered into a building, she bumped into someone. "Ah, I'm so sorry." she said, putting on her school persona and speaking in a meek tone. She quite disliked it, but she didn't really want to draw attention to what she really was like. It would be quite bad if people found out who she really was, or rather what she was.

"Miss Stadtfeld. So you decided to come to school today." The voice was neutral, but held some strictness. The person in question that she had bumped into was a teacher, though not one she recognized as one of hers. Something about the way he looked at her behind those glasses of his bothered her though. Adjusting his glasses with his finger, he continued. "You should watch were you're going instead of getting lost in your phone."

"I'm sorry, Mr..."

"Rosenberg. You'd do well to remember it." Something about the way he said that carried a hint of a threat towards her, she felt like. She wasn't sure why, since the guy was largely no different than most teachers, showing strictness where necessary. But she just got a bad vibe from this guy. At the very least, she felt like he probablydidn't like her. "You miss far too many day, Miss Stadtfeld. If you're not serious about you're studies, you bring shame on Ashford Academy."

Kallen fought back the urge to roll her eyes at that. "Sorry, its just I've been rather sickly lately."

"Right." His tone came off as if he almost didn't believe her. Which she supposed if he didn't, he was right to. But her act had been fooling the rest of the school. "On that note, you also have yet to join any clubs. All Ashford students are required to participate in at least one club while attending."

"Sorry, I guess most of the clubs here are just a little too much for me..."

Rosenberg's eyes narrowed slightly for a brief moment, though Kallen didn't notice. "Well, you should look for one that someone like you can handle, then. Rules are rules, so you should follow them." And with that, he headed off on his way.

"Geez, whats that asshole's problem?" Kallen muttered under her breath. As she watched him go off on his way, she then turned to her phone, which still had the weird app open. Much to her surprise, something had appeared on her screen: The words Rosenberg and Ashford Academy. "What, so it wants another word? Like teacher or school?"

"No candidates found."

Her curiosity getting the better of her, Kallen decided she was going to try and figure out what this app was. And if that meant guessing words to connect to these, then she was going to do it. "Lets see... high school. Or middle school. Private school..."


"Hm... Quite the mess you've found yourself in..." The plush crossed his arms, thinking over what Lelouch had told him. It was not a good situation overall, but that was an understatement. "And if you're here like this, then I'm guessing your Geass only works on a Persona once..."

"If you knew, then you could have warned me!" Lelouch snapped at it, grabbing the small toy. He was on edge, and the stress was getting to him.

"Hey, take it easy! I had no way of knowing what your Geass does or any limits it has! The power and details is different for everyone!" The toy retort, obviously not liking the boy lashing out at him needlessly. And it wasn't as if he had any way of knowing the situation that Lelouch would discover himself in. Letting Geachi go, he resumed trying to come up with a plan.

"I can't waste any time now. I need to figure out how I can take care of all of this." He was sure he could devise something, he just needed more time. With two weeks, maybe he could figure out Rosenberg's schedule, learn the password and swipe his phone. But that could take time, learning his schedule, setting up cameras to pick it up, and that was assuming he didn't deviate. Would one week be enough time, Lelouch wondered...

"What if I told you that I know a way to solve this situation?"

Lelouch stopped what he was thinking about and turned towards the plush. He didn't know how trustworthy the thing was, and he didn't know how seriously he should take the things it said. But in his desperation, he was willing to grasp at any silver lining he could. If not for his sake, then for Nunnally's. He didn't want to put her through anything that could endanger her, and going on the run would be to hard for her. "What can you do?"

"Not so fast! I'm only gonna tell you on one condition!" It held out its arm with a single one of its small fingers held out. "I hate to take advantage of you when you're in this kind of trouble, but I also have something I need to do!"

"You want my help in saving that girl, right? C.C. was it?" The same issue the toy had first approached him about this morning. And given the circumstances, it was obvious that he only really had one option. "If you have a real solution to this disaster, then yes, I will help you rescue her. But only if it works."

"Then we have a deal." It extended its hand to Lelouch, obviously intending to shake on it. As silly as it seemed to Lelouch to do so, he indeed took its hand as sign that their deal was sealed. "Now then, you need a way to stop Rosenberg without killing him, right? And you can't use your Geass to make him do so because you wasted it."

Lelouch wasn't too keen on having to be reminded of his mistakes, but that was all true. "Correct."

"Well then, you remember what I told you earlier about the Palace, right?" Lelouch nodded, interested in where he was going with this. "Well, if a Palace is their distorted desires given form, what do you think would happen if it were to disappear?"

It was easy to follow exactly what the intended train of thought was. "If a Palace is formed from the distorted desires of the heart, you're saying that you get rid of the Palace then the distorted desires that formed it go with it?"

"Exactly. Since the Palace is connected so closely to the one who its created from, significant changes to one will always affect the other. And taken to the logical extreme, destroying the Palaces destroys the desires that formed it. So by doing so, you cause the person it belonged to to have a change of heart."

"A change of heart? Can you elaborate on that?"

The plush nodded before going on to explain the situation. "So, even if the person's warped and distorted desires disappear, its not as if their previous thoughts and actions do. If we do it right, the guilty confess their crimes, or cease committing them."

"So we can make it so Rosenberg ceases his blackmail and other pursuits?" Geachi nodded as Lelouch thought over what this meant. "So how do we do it? Is it as easy as placing a bomb and blowing it or is there a special trick to it?"

"Good question to ask. Palaces can't be destroyed by normal means. To do so, you have to remove the core of the Palace, and that is the Treasure."

"Then how do we do that?"

"One step at a time, because this whole process is not going to be easy. I'll get to that part when find the Treasure. The first thing we need to do is find the Treasure and secure and infiltration route."

"Then lets get started now."

"Hold your horses! Not today! Not only will you run the risk of wearing yourself down by going into a Palace twice in one day, but the place is gonna be on edge. You have to wait a day for the place's security level to go down, or else we'll get overwhelmed." Lelouch hated to wait, but the reasoning was sound. Rush in after the ruckus they cause earlier, if they got outnumbered... Well, they only barely escaped last time. And he still remembered taking a beating from that one particular type of Shadow.

"Fine, we start tomorrow." He relented, knowing there wasn't much he could do on the matter without Geachi's help.

"Good. Glad you listen to reason. Still, its gonna be hard for just the two of us..."

"Well, I should probably head back to class." Leaving the room, and making his way back to the school building, Lelouch thought about Geachi's words. Both how to do this, but on the last part particularly. The situation was dangerous, and they had barely escaped with their lives before. Could the two of them get by on their own strength? Geachi seemed to think for his own goal of rescuing that C.C. girl that he needed more Persona users...

That triggered a realization in his mind, as he now knew one other Persona user; Mario. Could he be persuaded to help them? Rosenberg seemed to have it out for him as well, so perhaps stopping him could be used as a reason. He didn't know much about him, so he wasn't certain about the odds. But it was worth a try. And he still had Geass if necessary.

As he walked, he caught sight of Kallen in the distance, making her own way. He decided it was probably best to avoid her, lest he have to deal with more questions. And just as well, he didn't want to encourage Rivalz's misconceptions any more if they returned to class together. And-

Suddenly, he watched as Kallen vanished into thin air, and a realization immediately hit him. It wasn't hard to figure out what happened, given what he knew she had on his phone. He just hadn't expected her to accidentally figure out how it worked. He quickly reached for his own phone, knowing there was only really one thing he could do right now.

"That IDIOT!"


Kallen took off running, dodging around the weird masked men in suits trying to grab her as they yelled "Delinquent!" at her. This was the same mess she had gotten caught up in yesterday. She cursed herself for her stupidity, knowing she should have been more cautious than she had been. But then again, how was she supposed to know that figuring out the word 'University' would do this? The stupid thing had instantly started up as soon as guessed right. It should have at least asked her permission before doing this!

And this place was disgusting! It was grossing her out seeing such perverted imagery all around. The school wasn't supposed to look like some gaudy mess made by some pervert! She didn't want to even touch anything. And why were there normal people just going about like this was all ordinary? These students should be as grossed out as she was, not gawking around or dressed in skimpy uniforms. And why weren't the girls bothered by dressing like that? This all made no sense to her!

Running into a building, she then recalled what Lelouch had said about yesterday. That they had gotten out of that mess by going back to the spot they had been in when everything got weird. She had been so preoccupied with avoiding being caught that it had slipped her mind. Looking back at the mob pursuing her, she would have to find another exit of the building to avoid being caught, as going back that way wasn't an option for now.

As she turned a corner, she saw another group of masked men coming towards her, causing her let out a groan of frustration. Charging at them, she leaped up as she got close and jumped on one's head, then another and got over them. She had already learned the hard way that fighting things like these head on wasn't gonna work, so she would focus on avoiding getting caught again this time. As she got past them, she dashed down the hall, glancing back to see some of the first group bump into the second and knocked them to the ground, though the majority were still in pursuit.

Things took an unfortunate turn as she came to a new group whose masks came off and the men transformed, one into a thing with a pumpkin for a head, and another into a small pixie. With their new forms, they fired fireballs and lightning at her, and she tripped over herself trying to avoid them.

"So, more intruders have stepped into my glorious Academy today?" It was a family voice who spoke out next, though there was something about the voice that made it sound distorted. And the one it belonged to was the same man she had bumped into not long ago, the teacher Mr. Rosenberg, walking towards her now. Though he certainly wasn't dressed the same as before. Instead he was just as perverted looking as the rest of the school was now. Seeing her, he made a look of disgust. "Oh, its that disgusting Stadtfeld girl now."

"ME!? Have you seen a mirror? Or the rest of this place!?" She yelled, not willing to take being called disgusting by a man dressed like that! Still, things were looking bad for her, now being surrounded by the masked men. Some had already begun to hold her down.

"I'd say theres few things more disgusting than seeing the line of a prestigious Britannian noble family tainted with Eleven blood. A disgusting half-breed like yourself should have no place at this school." Kallen's eyes went wide at that, not at all expecting for him to know her secret. She was too stunned to move for a moment as he approached her. "Oh yes, I'm well aware of your tainted heritage, Miss Stadtfeld."

"How...?"

Ignoring her question, he approached her, looking her over with a certain look in his eye that she did not appreciate. "Its such a shame that such good looks had to be wasted on half-breed like yourself." He put a hand to her chin to get a good look at her face. Even if he might say he was disgusted by her being Japanese, the lust was still apparent in his eyes. "You seem more feisty than usual, too~."

Before he could continue, someone shouted out something she couldn't quite make out and suddenly some of the masked men were knocked away, including the ones holding her down. Quickly punching Rosenberg in the face, she made her way in the direction opposite of him. When she did, she was shocked by what she saw; Lelouch dressed in a weird outfit with a demon floating next to him.

"Don't ask questions right now. If you want to get out of here, follow me now." While he was a little forceful, she didn't need to be told twice as she headed towards him. None of this made any sense, and she wanted to out of this mess as soon as possible. Once she was closer to him, she commanded Moriarty to attack and it fired its dark blasts before disappearing. Kallen noted as the thing faded into a blue flame, that they went to Lelouch and formed a mask or helmet over his head. Gesturing to follow, the two took off down the hall.

Lelouch chose to avoid fighting unnecessary battles at this point, feeling the toll on his body all this fighting had been putting on him. Not only those from this morning, but the ones he had gotten into while trying to catch up to Kallen. He could understand why Geachi had told him that it would have been better to start fresh tomorrow. He would probably wear himself down if he fought all of these things on his own.

Unfortunately for him, as they exited the building, a group was waiting for them outside and he noted that there were a few ones already having transformed. While there were pumpkin heads and the pixie girls, there were a few of the angel enemies that he had trouble with earlier.

"You think I'll just let you walk out a second time?" Shadow Rosenberg walked out of the door, having followed them. He was flanked by several Shadows, one of which looked different than most. "You're that masked man from earlier who was with the other Eleven trash."

Lelouch remained silent, as he looked at his odds. Alone, this would probably be a tough fight. He was starting to lose steam on his own. However, he noted that he wasn't really alone in this situation. The words of Igor from last night's dream echoed in his mind on those who might be beneficial to him. He though back to what had just happened with Mario earlier, and thought that maybe he could reproduce it. Perhaps with a bit of prodding...

"I wasn't just going to let you do as you please. Whatever you had planned for her, I'm here to put a stop to it."

"What, do you fancy yourself some sort of hero? Coming to the rescue of worthless Elevens?" Shadow Rosenberg let out a laugh at that idea. Lelouch noted Kallen clenching her fists next to him as he did. "They shouldn't even be here in this school in the first place!"

"Hey, who the hell put you in charge!? Why is it any of your business?" Kallen yelled back at him. Sure she avoided attending often by pretending to be sick, but it was still her choice to come here. This perverted asshole had no right to spout off his bullshit!

Grinning from ear to ear, he adjusted his glasses with his finger. "Don't worry, soon enough I'll be able to make sure you and that other Eleven boy are out of this school for good. Once that Ashford is out of the way, I'll make sure you two never come here again!"

Kallen absolutely hated this man. His condescending, elitist, racist attitude was pissing her off to no end. Who did he think he was spouting off all of this nonsense? For him to look down on her like this? He talked about the Japanese like they were trash, acted like he could decided what they could and could not do. He was the epitome of the things she hated about Britannians and Britannia, acting like he could crush her in the palm of his hand. She was burning with anger the more she looked at him and listed to his mad rantings.

And it was people like this who made her angriest, that she had to hide who she really was. That she couldn't just admit that she was also Japanese. She hated that she had to hide who she really was, and what she was really like. She hated that she had couldn't be honest and chose to play the sick girl to avoid standing out. That she was always afraid of what might happen if her secret came out.

"Although, maybe I'll make an exception for you. It would be a waste to just let someone with your good looks go to waste. I'm sure we can find some reason to keep you around, if you're willing to play along~."

At that moment, something inside of her snapped.

"So, you done putting on the frail girl act?" As soon as Kallen heard these words, her eyes began to glow gold and her entire body was engulfed in pain. She cried out as if her entire body was burning from within. She fell to her knees and she held herself, trying to endure the sudden sensation.

"Were you content living it up in that mansion, hidin' away from your problems? Nah, I don't think so. So we're gonna forge ourselves a Contract. I am though, thou art I..."

As this voice spoke to her, she stood up straight and reached towards her face, touching the mask that had materialized on it. While she couldn't see it, it was mostly white, framed by silver on either sides and red markings around her eyes and painted on a couple other spots. It covered the top half of her face and had two protrusions sticking up that resembled long ears. Overall, it looked almost like a rabbit, though she wasn't concerned with how it looked though right now.

Without thinking further, she screamed out as she yanked it off and red liquid spurted out. In that instance, she was engulfed in a burst of blue flames and a blinding bright light. Many of those gathered around had to shield their eyes from this display.

When the burst of light began to fade and revealed her to all onlookers, her attire had been transformed. She now wore a red body suit, with some silver parts on areas like her legs and arms, and vest. This new costume was also zipped down, and gave a view of her cleavage, not that Lelouch was noticing that aspect, he would tell himself. One other detail, her hair, once simply falling straight, had spiked up wildly at the sides now. And most importantly, a look of fierce determination was on her face.

As for her Persona, it was markedly different than any he had seen so far. Indeed, there was no spectral figure floating around her. Instead, something was below her. Something she was now perched on top of, sitting on the seat of. Something that was not at all shaped like a human.

"A...motorcycle?" But even as he said those words, it was clear to all this bike was no ordinary motorcycle. Red in color, this motorcycle had what appeared to be a face at the front. It had an asymmetrical form to it, as at the front on the right side was a silver protrusion.

Kallen revved the bike's engine for all to here. Neither her nor Lelouch knew if it actually mattered given what this motorcycle really was. However, the sound it made definitely achieved her desired effect of intimidating the enemy, and some took a single step back. Though Shadow Rosenberg didn't seem very intimidated, he seemed to be showing caution after earlier as he backed away and lets some of the lesser Shadows stand between him and the others.

"I'll be retreating. Take care of this." He made his way to go back into the building.

"Lets do this!" She yelled as she hit the gas and drove forward and rammed into a Shadow and knocking it into others behind it. With precise movements that normal bikes could never hope to mimic, it quickly spun around and hit other Shadows with its rear wheel. Then, putting her sights on the leading one, she drove it towards it. The Shadows between the two transformed to protect Shadow Rosenberg and cover his escape. There was a new one in the group now, and feral looking horse with two large horns atop its head curving backwards.

"Now... Bonnie!" She declared her Persona's name for all to hear, and as she got close to the leader Shadow, the silver protrusion on the right side of the bike revealed itself to be some sort of appendage, as it came out and a hand with five steel claws grabbed at the horse Shadow before releasing a powerful burst of some sort of magic attack. Not done yet though, she then drove her bike forward and rammed it into a wall. "Who's next!? Who else wants some?"

Deciding he should intervene now, as he used Moriarty to attack several Shadows, he got her attention. "You seem to be having fun, but we should go. We're heavily out-numbered and I'm running out of steam myself."

As much as she wanted to let loose even more, she saw merit into what he was saying. No sense getting killed, even if you was having fun right now. She probably wouldn't be able to take everything on her own. And so she pulled Bonnie out and rode it towards Lelouch and grabbed as she sped by, throwing him behind her. "Hang on!" she yelled out, and he wisely chose to place his hands on her shoulders than anywhere else. Moriarty returned to being his mask, and the crimson bike took off and sped past the Shadows.

"You know where you're going?"

"You said you got out before by going back to where you came in, right?" He was surprised by her words, but glad she caught on quick. It didn't take long for them to reach the point that they would exit, and drove to it.

Unfortunately for them, something that they didn't account for was how they got there. As they reached the spot, much like the other times, their attire gained by awakening their Personas vanished and returned to normal. And naturally, so did the Persona. What did not disappear was the speed with which they were going when they returned to reality. And without the Persona, the two tumbled across the way, and because Lelouch had been holding onto her ahead of time, the two ended up in a rather compromising position with him on top of her. He quickly got off of her, leaving Kallen red in the face with embarrassment.

Getting to their feet, Kallen was about to say something about that, but suddenly felt hit by a wave of exhaustion. "What happened to me... It feels like I just ran a marathon..."

"That happens the first time, apparently. Though going back for round two isn't much better, it seems." Lelouch was also finding himself breathing rather heavily. He understood better than ever exactly why Geachi had recommended against going in a second time. Still, perhaps this was a worthwhile accident, given what had occurred.

"I see..." Kallen stood up and looked Lelouch over, thinking about what she had just seen and everything that had led up to this point. "So then, you wanna start again? And actually tell me what you really know about all that stuff?"

Lelouch sighed, already having expected this part. "Yeah, I guess I owe you an explanation..."


Suzaku followed Cecile to some place nearby, noting that the location was a university, though across the way was a private school. "Interested in that place?" Cecile asked as she noticed his gaze.

"Just taking note of the surroundings." he replied. There wasn't much need for someone like him to know much else.

"Well, just so you know, we've already enrolled you into that school. And you don't have to worry, they said accepting an Honorary Britannian is fine." Suzaku wasn't to bothered by the idea of attending a Britannian school, but he was surprised to hear that they would accept him at all. Still, he liked the idea of attending a school again after all this time.

"Ashford Academy, huh?" he mused as he followed her through the university gates, and eventually they came to a building that looked like a dorm. Stepping aside, Cecile held the door open for him and gestured for him to enter. Thanking her, he entered.

"WELCOME~!"

And immediately fell back in shock as a man with glasses and lavender hair was there in his face. He also was dressed in a white lab coat, giving one the immediate idea of what his profession likely was.

"Lloyd! You shouldn't do that to people!" Cecile said sternly as she got into the man's face, who seemed to back away from her.

"Sorry, just having a bit of fun." He then turned back towards Suzaku, and flashed a smile. "Private Kururugi, glad you could make it. My name is Lloyd Asplund, your new boss."


Author's Notes

And thats another chapter done. I have to admit, I was a little worried about maybe going to over the top with Rosenberg. But I figure, hes going to be playing the heel anyway, so lets see how it goes.

For Kallen's Persona, I selected Bonnie Parker, one half of the infamous Bonnie & Clyde duo to serve as hers. As for the design, since her attire is based off of her pilot suit in season 1, itself giving her a "biker" look, I went all in on that to give her a a fitting bike to fit with it, while the bike is largely based off of the Guren.

Any feedback is appreciated.