Well, once again, I'm updating. Seriously on a role here. Who knows, I might even finish the story this week…that would be bitter sweet. Well I guess I'm trying to get out tons of chapters before school captures me. Ugh, school… its way to soon. And I won't have the inspiration of FinalSymphony, who's been at my house for a week straight.

Chapter 19—

R2—7

Dai leaned on the railing of a balcony that over-looked the bright lights of the Vermillion City. She sighed as she stared at her helmet. 'Guess I don't really need this anymore…' she thought. Someone walked up behind her, and she didn't even have to look to tell that it was Suzaku.

"Why…?" he asked.

"'Why' what?" she spat.

"Why would you join the Black Knights?" his voice was pleading. He wanted to know why his sister had betrayed him.

"Do you really care?" she asked sadly, rubbing a smudge off of her helmet.

"Of course I care! You're my little sister!"

She turned to glare at him. "No I'm not your little sister. You aren't my brother, not anymore. The Suzaku that used to be my brother is dead."

Her words sent daggers through his heart. "How could you say that?"

"Because you betrayed Japan! You betrayed me..! You killed the first Zero, the only person who ever thought I was worth something, the only person who let me fight for what I believed in!" she screamed at him.

He snatched the mask from her. "Are you saying that I thought you were worthless?"

She took a deep breath to calm herself down. "You might as well have."

Suzaku slapped her.

She just stood there, her head still turned to the side from the blow. She stared down at the floor. Suzaku thought he might have seen her eyes get watery.

"You really are just like Dad…" she whispered in a pained voice.

The mask fell from his hand. He stared at her, wide-eyed.

Xingke came upon the scene.

"Dai, I need to ta… is everything alright here?" he asked.

Dai grabbed the helmet off of the ground and walked over to Xingke. She smiled up at him.

"Yes, everything's just fine. The Knight of Seven and I were just talking."

He gave her a scrutinizing look. "Well, we need to discuss something, so come on," he turned back the way he came and headed off, with Dai following closely behind. Xingke looked down at her. "You lied," he said quietly. "You said you're brother was dead."

She looked down at the floor with a sad look in her eyes.

"…He is…."

At the wedding…

Dai helped Xingke fend off the guards at the wedding, as he tried to save the Empress. She knew how much he cared for the young ruler, and Xingke was like family to her, so what ever he found precious was precious to her as well.

Just then, Zero appeared behind the Empress. Damn, she kinda forgot about Zero's plan. She'd been so upset last night, that when Xingke had asked her to help she'd forgotten about it.

She walked up to Xingke who was in a complete panic at the man holding a gun to the Empress' head.

"Dai, are you going to join us?" Zero said.

"Yes," she said simply. Xingke looked betrayed, but as she walked past him she whispered, "Don't worry. He wont hurt her, and I wont let anyone else hurt her either."

"Son of a bitch, Xingke, I told you she'd be fine…!" Dai said to herself as she watched Xingke appear in the Knightmare Shen Hu.

Zero turned to her. "Dai did you bring your knightmare?"

"Yeah… but it's not battle ready, I was working on it and it's not put back together…." She said, clenching her fists.

She watched as Kallen was soon captured by Xingke.

"I'm going to have to hurt him for this…." She muttered to herself.

Ohgi turned to her. "What about that strange Knightmare, the one that looked like a big suit of armor? Could you contact that one to help?" he said pleadingly.

"No…she's busy…" Dai said.

"Like I said, we should just leave. Kallen is, after all, a single combat loss," Diethard said.

"Hey, Diethard, come here a sec," Dai said, motioning him to come closer. He gave her a strange look before walking over to her.

"Closer," she said.

He took another step and leaned closer.

And she punched him.

The force of the impact to his face sent him tumbling backwards.

"You are such a idiot, Retard!" she yelled at him. "If Zero was out there you wouldn't say that, or even Todoh for that matter! We need Kallen, just as much as we need them. You're only the second person who's made me made enough to hit them..."

Lelouch rubbed the side of his mask. She had had quite a left hook when she was 10…

"Dai..!" Zero spoke up, standing. She flinched and looked up at him. "Come with me for a moment," he said, walking out of the large room. Dai gave one more death glare in Diethard's direction before following.

He led her up to his private room aboard the large airship, closing the door behind her and taking off his mask, setting it on the table.

"Dai, there's something I need to ask you," he said. She raised an eyebrow.

"What's that…?"

He opened a drawer and handed her a small container with a glowing pink liquid inside. Her eyes widened a bit. She looked up at him, confused.

"This is what you need to get you're Knightmare up and running, right? Liquid Sarkuradite."

"Y-yeah," she said taking the container.

"If things go badly, I need you to kill Xingke."

Her gaze shot back to him, her eyes wide with confusion, fear and anger. "What…?"

"Dai, I need you to do this for me, you're the only one who can. No one else is capable of it." he said, resting a hand on her shoulder.

"What? No!" she said, backing away.

He sighed, and then brushed his hand across is face, secretly removing his contact to reveal his Geass.

"Dai," he said gently, walking up to her to close the distance between them. "You will kill Li Xingke when I tell you to."

"Lelouch…h…he's like my brother, I cant kill him," she said.

'Hmm…? Is she resisting?' he thought. But, it didn't seem like it, she was just saying no. He tried again.

"Dai, you will kill Xingke when I give you the order," he said more firmly.

"No…! I will not kill him," she said, her anger starting to bubble up.

What was going on?

He grabbed her face to make sure she was looking him in the eye.

"If I order it, you. Will. Kill. Xingke!"

She sighed and closed her eyes.

Lelouch relaxed a bit. 'Looks like it worked…finally….' He turned to walk back out the door, grabbing his mask. "Wait until I tell you to kill him."

Dai opened her eyes and looked up at him.

"Lelouch? How many times does it take before you realize your Geass won't work on me?"